PA Vent Camp

Since being in Millville, PA, I have been back in State College for 2 and a half weeks now, but I still long to be back in that secluded piece of the world that I think so fondly of nearly every day. PA Vent Camp has been a part of my life since my amazing parents founded it in 1994, and I truly cannot imagine my life without it. Every morning at camp when I wake up and ride trusty old Brittany the Bike (whom I rode all week this year with a flattened back tire!) up to the cafeteria, I make a point to look out across the field at the mountain that Camp Victory sits under. It truly is a beautiful scene to look upon, and I thank God for allowing us all to be there together, if only for a few days.
Kids who depend on ventilators to help them breathe are able to come to camp and for 5 days participate in activities that they may only have access to during that week.


They can fly along on the zip line, or scale a rock wall.

They meet new friends (some, much furrier than they expected!)

And reunite with old friends.


Clearly, the BFFs are looking as good as ever!
This week is the time that these kids can throw away everything and just act like kids!


(The adults can, too!)



Each year we remember the lives of the beautiful children who changed our lives while they were with us.



And we pray that next year we will all return to see each other again, and that I get a date to the dance, and it's not my underwear hanging from the flagpole!

Home is wherever I'm with you

I just got off the phone with my Grandmother (my dad's mom). I love talking with her. I think of all of my family members, we are the most alike. I tell stories exactly like her, she is constantly surrounded by people she cares about, and is very sentimental. We talked about what we were both up to the past couple of weeks, and then she told me how blessed I was because I had such amazing friends and a wonderful family. I know how blessed I am and think about it every day.

I'm so happy to have been able to spend the past weekend with so many of my closest friends. Arts Fest in State College is always a great reason for people to gather in Happy Valley, but this year really outdid all of my previous Arts Fest experiences. I finally made it to the Allen St. Buckets, which ironically enough was on my Penn State bucket list. Every year there are buckets set up on a platform that fill with water and dump on the brave people who race underneath. During the day it's popular for bathing suit-clad children, but once the sun goes down it's the students dressed in their going-out clothes that frequent this spot. I was privileged enough to have a blast in the buckets three nights in a row, and can definitely say the buckets now rank in my top 10 favorite Penn State memories! For the first time since just before New Year's Eve my four best friends were reunited! Zig has been in London for the past 6 months so she finally ventured back to Happy Valley with KB and Emily to join Sara and I in the festivities. As our favorite song, Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros came blasting through the speakers we shared one of my most favorite moments of all time. The five of us disregarded everything that was going on around us and danced like we've never danced together in my living room. It felt so amazing to be together again and to be so full of love and happiness. That may sound corny but I've missed my best friends.

This weekend I am venturing to D.C. then to Baltimore to spend time with my sister, aunt, and uncle. I cannot wait for the opportunity to be able to hang out with my family. We're going to Artscape which is the largest free arts festival in all of Amurrrica, so I'm pretty pumped for art, music, food, and my family!