ACYF

As children, we were taught that it stood for: Apostolic Christian Youth Fellowship. But this year for me defined the true definition. About to go Crazy You call it Fun? Being officially graduated, I am technically no longer involved in our ACYF weekends like I used to be. Oh, wait...explanation may be needed. For those of you who don't know exactly what ACYF is... It is a weekend of fun and fellowship (oh, and don't forget food...we are real AC's!) where the AC churches of Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott, San Diego and Altadena (oh yes, and more recently, Magdalena) get together. Loads of fun.
Well this year, I became the designated driver. It was an experience, let me tell you. Due to slight irresponsibilities on my part, it was Friday night and I had no plan for the following day.

Coveted plan: Aly gets dropped off Friday night, Suzy and Aly go get Petter and Ashur Saturday morning, Tina drops Christi off at Klotzle house, we are packed and ready to leave, we drive over an hour up past Malibu to Sycamore Cove beach. And hope to arrive at 11.

Reality: Aly does get dropped off Friday night. my mum told Petter and Ashur that we would pick them up at 9:30. Well since they live half hour away and we wanted to leave for the beach at 9:30...that is not happening. So we wake up early, and on our way to their house, call and tell them we will be there at 8:30, could they please be ready. (FYI, no one informed me they were still sleeping at the time, we just got a cheerful, ok, they'll be ready!) Once we followed our stellar mapquest directions to the middle of LA (not the safest place for two white girls in a Bonneville to be driving on a saturday morning) we arrived at their apartment. And we waited. And waited. So much for getting back home by 9. During this time i took down directions to the beach. (yeah, failed to get those earlier). and they read something like this:
Go 101 for a long time. go down steep hill. pleasant valley and santa rosa. left food, right beach. ten miles to lewis road, lots of farms. up and over quick left onto 1.

but they were far more complex. When the boys finally got into the car, we discovered that
they had been woken up a mere twenty minutes ago. (I felt Horrible!!!) So I began to retrace my steps to the freeway. But I got lost. I took the truck route and then the signs disappeared.
Then from the back seat:
Ashur: you could have taken the short cut, you know.
Suzy: WHAT? there's a short cut and you didn't tell me???
Petter: you didn't ask. we go by the freeway all the time on our way to school
Suzy: Well where do we go. you promise you know how to get there?!
petter and ashur: YES! turn left.
suzy gets in left hand lane.
Petter: um you were supposed to turn right!
Suzy: but you told me left!
Petter: No I didn't.
Suzy: *sigh of frustration* Ok, now where.
Petter: Well let me take off my john lennon sunglasses so I can see. um...keep going straight.
Ashur: Oh, over there is the penitentiary. but its ok, it has maximum security.
Me and aly are getting slightly nervous. Suzy almost kills us a time or two.

Finally we make it back home, and as the boys get something to eat (remember, we woke them up...no time for food), i replayed the morning.
Suzy: So this guy named oscar called me and said you guys would be ready
Petter: Oscar? who's that??
Suzy: I think he's your cousin...
Petter: We don't have an oscar...maybe it was my dad.
Suzy: but he said he was your cousin!!
Petter: Oh maybe he was the other Oscar, the one in Puerto Rico...
Suzy: I'm pretty sure it wasn't. um...maybe it was Antonio?
Petter: Oh, thats our dad.
Suzy: Why did he say oscar??
Petter: I dont' know...maybe you're crazy

At this point. i was going crazy. and it was only 9:45.

I won't recount the rest of the day. but the weekend went swell. the speaker was Matt Steffen. We had fun and fellowship. and food.
I got to hang out with a bunch of seventh graders and it took me back to being a kid.