The Story of Us. Part Five.

* The Disclaimer

June 1998

Leading up to this, I should mention a couple of other details that will soon be important! For one, I'd been going through "Experiencing God" with Dave (Mike's uncle) during the Spring and getting to know he and his wife, Christy, through this. Also, Christy was due with their first baby in June and I was going to be their babysitter. And thirdly - and most distractingly - Mike was coming back for Camp Travis.

So fast forward a couple of snail mail exchanges and the serendipitousness of growing out of the awkwardness of braces and short hair. Mike was coming back!

For some reason - we usually left on Monday morning for Camp - we left on a Sunday afternoon. I remember walking the long way around the sanctuary to snag a spot with friends during our pre-Camp meeting. And Mike was at the end of the row. And afterward, I remember leaning over with a cheesy smile and waving to him from across a few friends.

The details of Camp are a little fuzzy, which is interesting, because I am sure I was hyper-aware of the things happening that week. I remember "The House That Mercy Built" and four very cute (at the time) and very short (looking back) dresses. There was also a night when I spent the entire Country Night confiding in a youth worker about my serious crush on Mike. Which is interesting, because I can't believe there was anyone who needed confiding...since I think it was probably not much of a secret.

And then there was 50's night... This is fuzzy to me, too, but apparently, after our poodle skirtin' shindig, Mike and I found some time to catch up on this (pictured) brick wall outside. According to Mike, this is when he really began to look at me a little differently. I don't remember much that we talked about, except for the topic of babies (I know! But his mom was babysitting a little one that Mike was attached to...). And then Rob told us to go to our cabins because it was "Light's Out." And I'm thinking he also took this picture??? And then Camp ended, complete with a really emotional and conflicted Katie on the bus ride home.

(Ugh. Pretend that this is a new paragraph!) It's still crazy to me that we have this picture (like the one from Part 4) because it was a big turning point to which we often refer. You can't see it, but we're sitting on a short brick wall. If you've been to Alto Frio, it's the one that borders the main road dividing the tabernacle and the cabins. You can kinda see the tower-thing in the back. The purple stripes are just the premium quality of pictures taken in the 90s. And yes, I'm wearing saddle oxfords leftover from 50's night. I think I also had a "Wonder bread" ribbon in my hair (which Mike would say is a detail I'm allowed to forget). As you can see, Mike wasn't so into the 50's night garb.