YFL Essay Contest

Months before YFL Camp, an invitation was sent to enter an essay contest on what event or person we would have liked to witness or shadow from history.  The first three places received a cash prize and the first place winner would have an opportunity to read their essay at the Parent/Camper Awards Night on the final evening of camp.

Guess who won first place?

Here it is:

“Courageous Freedom”
                                                                
     “Naked and starving as they are, we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery,” described General George Washington. The event I would have liked to have witnessed is Valley Forge.  I would have liked to have been there to talk with the men and ask them why they kept going in those terrible conditions. I would have liked to see their unfailing devotion first-hand. They weren't there fighting for fame and glamor, rank or prestige. These were mere farmers, merchants, and statesmen who where there to fight for their children's children. They were there to fight for their rights and liberty. That's us, that's you. I would have liked to share the hardships with them to fully realize the extent that they where willing to stand for freedom.  They suffered all this for one principle – liberty. They suffered so that a man can stand on his own two feet and say, “I am free, I can choose what I want to do with my life.” They were fighting against the boot of tyranny that had grounded its heel into the backs of mankind. That is why I would have liked to have been there – to see their courage and to help grow mine in the fight for freedom.
     Their experience is relevant to us today. We can read their story and become inspired to fight for freedom. Their trial was physical and at times spiritual. We may not have the physical trials as they did, but we definitely have the spiritual. We need to reach deep down inside ourselves and ask, “Are we willing to make that sacrifice?” The sacrifice is to fight for liberty no matter what the consequences. I know that as I have read the story of those men at Valley Forge, I have felt a burning inside me that I need to do as they did. I need to fight for freedom – not for me, but for the liberty of future generations. There are countless people that could taste the same fruit we are tasting right now. Like Ronald Reagan declared, “Freedom is never more then one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
     Even today tyrants and evil men seek to destroy our freedom. We need to follow after the example of our founders to keep fighting when all seams lost, like the nine black students at Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas that where chosen to integrate. At the time of their lives when they needed to fit in the most and feel loved, they where beaten, tripped, kicked, and almost killed. They didn't go to that school for themselves. They couldn't participate in any extra-curricular activities because of the treatment they received. Years later in an interview one of the nine students was asked, “what was it like to attend Central?” Melba replied, “I got up every morning, polished my saddle shoes, and went off to war. It was like being a solider on a battlefield.” They were there for their children's rights like the men at Valley Forge.
     Both groups had vision, because without vision one could not withstand the horrific trial they endured for so long. At Valley Forge they probably thought the war was all over, but they persisted and used that trial to strengthen them and not break them. Those brave souls fought for us and suffered for us. They thought with the end in mind – the freedom of their children. I hope as today's Americans, we can be as those men at Valley Forge and never end the fight for freedom. 

On a whim I brought my essay just in case fate happened and it did. The leader was about to announce who won first prize when she added that she had forgotten to bring the campers essays to camp. Another leader piped up "he brought it with him." It was then that it hit me that she had overheard me tell my friend that I had brought mine. Wow! In a split second, I realized that I had actually won the contest.  My thought was confirmed when the announcer read my name as the first place winner.  What a thrill.

I was honored and humbled as campers came up to me afterward (some with tears), and said that they loved my essay.  The week had truly been a feast.  I felt more committed than ever to remember the influence even one person can have in the cause of freedom. 

Summer Splash 4/4

4. YFL

How do you describe the most wonderful week of the summer?  I will try my best do describe what fun I had at Youth for Liberty Camp.

To start off with, I went with some very dear friends.  You know who you are.  Thank you for inviting me.  We slept in cabins, which was a hit.  (Very different from scout tents).  We had cabin inspections (military style) every morning.

During the day we would have activities, games, excellent food, simulations, and seminars and workshops on the constitution and the liberties we have in this great country. 

In the mornings I would run in the beautiful mountains on crisp days with the sun shining through the trees.

After I got back, we would clean the cabins and eat breakfast.  Afterwards, we had inspections and started classes.  Some of the big activities included obstacle courses, the constitution quiz, and free time.  We had a water balloon fight and water balloon volleyball.

One morning we were awoken in the middle of the night by our leaders dressed in military uniform, and we were told to dress quickly and filed out silently onto the parade ground.  They split us into groups. The boys were given wooden rifles and were instructed on how to carry them.  They explained that during the American Revolution, we would hold our rifles with the barrel up to keep the gun dry.  In modern warfare, they point their guns down, to be able to bring it up quick for immediate action.  We hiked about half a mile through trail, stream, and hill.  We ended in a clearing with tall grass on all sides, as one of the camp leaders talked to us about the Minute Men and how they responded.  We realized that we too had been woken up just as they might have been during those early days of the Revolution.  We hiked back singing a song commemorating 9-11.

(We learned later, that the girls had been given lanterns and they also hiked to the top of a hill to have their own morningside). 

One other simulation occurred on the first day.  We were given a pamphlet with five pages of detailed rules.  As we read them, we realized that some of them were rather ridiculous (i.e.  no chewing gum while walking).  We were beginning to doubt how fun this camp was really going to be?  That night, our leaders explained that all the rules were forfeit.  They were compiled them simply to show the restrictive nature of communism.  We had an insightful conversation about how the youth were going to respond to the rules imposed.  Some said that they were determined to break as many rules as possible because they seemed ridiculous.  Others said, that even though they doubted the rules, they would obey them because they knew and respected the leaders.  We learned that the leaders had watched us as we had read the rules and felt terrible as they saw our faces become dull and responding with blank stares with our freedoms taken away.  We were relieved to find out that those overly strict mandates were no longer in force.  Just as in a healthy republic, we examined the book of rules, and chose the ones that we felt would protect us and benefit the camp.  Now we could say that our "liberty camp" was truly free!

Summer Splash 3/4

3. Man in the Moon

Glen Beck had a production about the Man in the Moon.  We were so dedicated to see this that we drove two hours and stood in the rain for another hour.  We were drenched, but it was so worth it!  The ampitheater stage production with projection showed the history of the Moon and the Earth.  From the beginning it showed Adam and Eve to Noah's Flood, and events throughout our world.  I was blown away with the analogies used to describe our world from the Moon's perspective.  He described the sun as the great light that loved us, his beasts.  The Moon realized that he could only reflect the great light.  He also described how special it was that each of the beasts (us) had some of the great light in us.  He spoke of the wars and the fighting, the love and the liberty won.  I was inspired by the story and was grateful for my history studies so that I could recognize the many analogies described in the presentation.  One part of the show had the Moon talking to us directly.  He explained how in one point of history, we forgot to look up and remember the great light that the Moon reflected.  As a result, I tried to find the Moon every night and thank him. 

I am grateful for the Freedoms we have and I am even more determined to protect them.  

Note:  The firework finale were the best fireworks I've ever seen on the 4th of July.  It was an Independence Day Celebration to remember!  

The Build - Stage 7 Main Floor and Walls

The main floor walls are installed.  Even unfinished, it looks gorgeous to me.

This is the back wall from the inside. 

Here is a view from the front.

The Build - Stage 6 Stairs

Had to take a whole post to show the stairs.  Imagine using only a ladder to get up and down from the basement to your main floor carrying tools, wood, basically everything. 

First steps are on!  Its feeling real.

This the completed staircase from every angle.  Can you tell that I was excited about this?!

The Build - Stage 5 Basement Floor and Framing

This is the floor being poured in the basement.  This is the coolest truck.  I wouldn't mind driving this around town.  Here's how it works.  First, the sand and gravel is mixed with cement to make concrete.  The it is poured into giant rolling barrel trucks to keep it from solidifying.  It is then poured into the back of this awesome truck (shown above).  The truck funnels it down into the basement pouring the bearing wall footings and basement floor.  The driver controls the crane pump as he walks around the site with a large remote control device.  (Note: Do see my bike tipped over?  Would you believe the wind knocked it over?  Crazy, eh?)

Gorgeous!  Oh yeah.  (It's so smooth, you could have a regular hockey game right here).

Can you guess what this is?  Pretty cool picture.

This is the ramp to climb from the ground down through the window into the basement.  It turned out to be very handy for moving wood so that we could begin framing the basement walls.

This is our first framed wall in the basement.  Proud moment.  Of course its the girl's rooms.  Ladies first! 

All the joists are up!  Blood, sweat, and tears.  Enough said.  The hole in the middle is for the staircase.

Backfilling!  We're moving upstairs. 

Basement walls finished.

Upstairs floor is on.  Finally!  We have shade.  Take a look at this little blessing outside. 

The Build - Stage 4 Radiant Heat and Exterior Basement Walls

Foam insulation and metal grid for radiant heat.  (Translation:  The floor in my bedroom will be warm even in the winter.  Ahhh...)

Radiant heat installed.  That's the black snake pipe.  I ziptied all of the pipe to the grid myself.  (Pretty humble about it too :)

The steal beams are slid through the insulating foam.  This is the construction of the walls for our home. 

This is the capping process and reinforcement of the steel studs.

This is the pre-programmed foam cutter that is controlled by computerized technology.

Here is the table in action.  You may think that foam isn't strong or heavy, but it is.  I took a hit at it and hurt my hand and it has to be lifted by a huge utility dolly.  

Here are the basement wall pieces finished. 

Basement walls being installed.  Hooray!  Celebrate : )

More about the walls:  They include 6-inch, 2 lb. foam.  (Translation:  Pretty tough stuff). It is surprisingly heavy for foam.  The walls also include 6 inch metal studs.  They are off-set so there is no thermal break in the walls, which means we get 30 R.  Most conventional homes only have 19 R factor in their insulation and thermal bridge. 

Translation:  Cold air can't seep through the walls, because the metal is protected by foam on the exterior part of the wall.  Therefore, the metal cannot conduct the air into the home.  Plus, there is a 5 R for every inch of foam.  We have 6 inches.  Do the math.  Its a 30 R factor.  An R factor is an insulation measurement.  Our house will be like a styrafoam cup. Pretty sweet!  Metal studs are slid through hot wire cuts in the foam.  Precut channels in the metal and foam allow for electrical and plumbing lines to be run through the walls. 

Can you guess what the picture above is?


Basement walls and floor completely installed.  The gray is a called a 'brown coat' and is a protectant mixture that strengthens the foam from denting and acts as a primer for stucco application.  

The Build - Stage 2 & 3 Footings and Rough Pluming

Footing are poured.  On top of these concrete lines our walls will be secured. Our basement is going to be constructed of insulated steel forms and will be bolted down to these footings.  I'll tell you more about it in future posts.

Gravel is being poured as filler.

Time to install rough plumbing.  This was probably my least favorite task.  We had to make sure the pipe was angled at 2%.  That required lots of gravel moving and hot hours leveling. 

Orange lines indicate where future footings will be placed to support the bearing walls.  The truck is shooting gravel across the basement.  Not only was this cool to watch, but it saved me hours and hours of hauling gravel and lots of sore muscles.

Gravel spreading completed.  What a beautiful sight! 

The Build - Day 1 Excavation

Surprising picture maybe?  Why is this machine excavating right here?  Well, we're building a house!  It was amazing how fast a hole could be dug!  It brought new meaning to the backyard shovel escapades of my youth. 

To start, we had to dig down deep enough to reach the water and sewer hookup.  We then attached these lovely pipes to bring it to our house.  The blue pipe is water.  The green is sewer.  The excavator told me to remember him down in the hole attaching pipe once the house is done and I'm using the facilities. 

Here the hole is almost completely dug. There is a four feet over-dig all around the house to make the wall installation easier. 

The island shows where the the future garage will be.  Dig is complete.