(told you I'm not really a fan..can't even remember the guy's name!)
Every now and then, our local Christian radio station will call us for help at the concerts which they promote. June 14, 2007, Ernie Haase and SSQ were scheduled to be here with a nearly sold out Civic Center. Sometime during the day of the concert, the crew who were supposed to work the product tables called to say they couldn't make it. Rather quickly, we gathered some friends and made our way downtown to work the tables. Now, I have to say, I wasn't planning to attend the $17.50 per ticket concert. I love the energy and the sound of this particular group (especially when I can't hear Ernie - never been a fan there), but I guess I have to say that I prefer men to look and act like men. Some may disagree with me here, but they aren't particularly the type I would choose for role models for my sons. Enough said. Anyway, the really good thing about this is that since SS's pianist went off the road this month, Bill Gaither loaned them Gordon Mote (http://www.gordonmote.com/) who has to be my favorite pianist. I would be thrilled to attend a concert with all Mote, but that rarely happens in this neck of the woods, and since I don't frequent Gaither sings much anymore, my chances of ever seeing him were becoming pretty slim. I was thrilled that he was at this particular concert, we had free tickets plus a few little perks, and the boys were able to go free as well. We did not attend the 2nd half of the concert, but sat in the lobby waiting for the rush of people who would be wanting autographs and product. Evidently, during the 2nd half, a bat flew into the auditorium and swooped around a few times before heading for the lobby. I was scared, of course, when he started whooshing around the product tables. I was really wondering what this would do for sales in the following few minutes! Greg happened to have a heavy, cotton long-sleeved shirt laying over the railing (they wanted us to all wear matching EH&SS t-shirts during sales), and he used that shirt to knock the bat out of the air and against the wall. He hit it again when it dropped to the floor, and just as it "came to" he put it into an empty box, taped it shut, and threw it into the garbage. A few minutes later, out came the crowd and all the grannys and teen girls were able to hug Ernie -- bat free.
An interesting highlight this year was that we were privileged to have Josh, an Englishman, on our team. He is a professional soccer player in England, and was in the U.S. for a short while. I think the last year of his soccer contract begins in a couple of days, so he is probably already out of the States. He loved basketball, which he had never played, and he would be proud if I let the world know that he was "frozen" in Bible Bowl. This is hilarious -- we only had female participation from our team in Bible Bowl this year. Josh studied one question, and decided he'd give it a try. It just so happened that the quizzmaster asked the question he knew, and he jumped and answered correctly. The next question was answered correctly by the opposing team, but they spoke before recognized. The question was automatically given to our team, and since Josh heard the other team answer and remembered their answer, he correctly answered and received the points. We all know the routine - answer 2 in a row correctly, and you're frozen! Great job, Josh! Seriously, even though we didn't place very high in the final standings, we did have a good Bible Bowl team. Our team had a lot of fun, and there really wasn't any pressure beyond that. We love you Barracudas!
Bible Bowl team - this is the session where Josh was frozen :)
I hate my scanner (either that or I seriously don't know how to use it!) Ignore the previous photo!
It is almost impossible to read our poster, but each team at youth camp is required to put together a team name, poster, and song. For Wednesday's afterglow, we do a station-to-station activity. We were Burley Barracudas, and our girls did a great job on the poster. Every year this activity stumps me, as I am not "Miss Creativity". So, our song this year was to the tune of "Who Is The King Of The Jungle" and the words were as follows: Who is the king of the ocean? Barracuda!(yelled) Who is the king of the sea? Bubble, bubble, bubble - Who is the king of the sand and sun, the king of PYC? Barracuda! Don't even laugh, Angie, it was best I could do! Back to the station-to-station. This year there were 10 teams, hence 10 stations at various locations around the campus. In order for your team to earn their points, they had to sing their song (very loudly) and carry their banner to all stations. With 10 teams screaming their lungs out from 10:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., I'm sure Frankfort will never be the same. In fact, the Hispanic community which borders one side of the campus, and the assisted living facility at the other end are probably already petitioning city council to refuse us rental next year -- and, I can't say I blame them
GBS Quartet did an awesome job with the music at PYC. All of the hymns, choruses, and praise songs were on Powerpoint, and Brandon Hilligoss was the praise leader.
Greg blew out the leg of his pants with his first slide to home. I think he had 1 run and 4 home runs in the Stars vs. Stiffs game. Final score: Stars 16, Stiffs 28 
Hilligoss and Dewhurst broadcasting live (audio only, lol) from the HNN (Holiness News Network), where according to these correspondents, "Bad news travels fast." They were hilarious...if you can handle the sarcasm!
Dewhurst and Burley getting ready to serve drinks at the '50's banquet
Rev. Maurice and Jean Roll always have a great activity time planned for the staff kids during the PYC banquet. They have stories, games, pizza and prizes. I couldn't talk Kaitlynn into staying, but the boys always enjoy this fun time.
Teens having a great time at the banquet.
Oops...same pic
Rest of the group. You can't see too well, but there was a '50's diner set up on the stage in the center of the cafeteria. That's where they took all of the pictures.
With this PYC came the revival of the "Ton of Fun Quartet"! They haven't done this since my earlier youth camp days, and it is an absolute hoot! I'm trying to remember the original group: Mark Lemon, Paul Gray, Ben Colburn, Mark Mowery as Road Manager, and Darlene Line as "Sandi Fatty". This year's group used all the same songs since this crew of campers had never heard them, and they were quite a hit. Travis Johnson (pictured above) served as Road Manager. I'm sure he'll be delighted to see his famous mug shot on my blog ! :)
I just loved this pic of Greg and Paul Gray
L to R: Rundell (can't remember the 1st name), Paul Gray, Craig Dahler, Greg Burley, and Travis Johnson. Greg's main job was to sing bass and eat chips and marshmallows the whole time they were on stage. Considering there were no beverages, he came back to the room very nauseous!
"Ton of Fun Quartet" here pictured with their pianist, Connie "Cream Puff" Hilligoss.
