hair do!

Blaze has always had beautiful hair;
incredibly thick....

I certainly don't blame her for wanting
a shorter cut
before the hot, busy days 
and quick showers of camp





'course she's eighteen now 
and it's her own money

so other things happened too:





So cute!

Life Guard

Blaze's second big accomplishment of the season involved

Another fat textbook




Online classes

Membership at the local Y

A dedicated schedule of swimming 4 times a week for several months



Some private lessons to learn the breast stroke


Followed by a 4 day class --over those same mountains--


And this certificate:  totally earned!




In less then two weeks, Blaze leaves for her job

at a summer camp as life guard and program staff!

Another dream of her's coming true!

The green band is off!

Once upon a time 
there was a little girl
who adored her dad.
Wherever he went 
she tagged along....
including the fire hall.

the festival grounds,
in-house training,
fundraisers...
I think the first thing she ever helped
with was hiding Easter eggs!
It wasn't long before she was
serving pancakes 
and holding tent poles.
One day she happened to be
along when her dad responded
to the scene...
Her trusty camera was with her
and that was the beginning of her
interest in fire journalism.
The guys urged her to join the company
so she could respond to calls safely 
and take those pictures that she
now strived for. 
The day she joined, there was a barn fire.



She was only joining to take pictures,
she informed her parents. Only.
First there was some extra gear for her...
then cleaning up after a call...
then running for tools....
then in-house training...
then Mod A.....
Right before our eyes
she grew up to be a firefighter.



When Blaze was fourteen, 
she faced a difficult time that left
her feeling at loose ends.
I prayed regularly that The Lord
give her a passion to invest her energy in.
Oh boy, can you imagine I didn't see this coming?
It makes me laugh every time!

Following Mod D, there was one more class to complete:
Live Burn.
Just what it sounds like--
heat, flame and smoke; 
entering a building to fight active
fire in a controlled environment.
With that completed,
Blaze is now officially a firefighter.

The green band is off.

Mod D completed!

Hello friends!

It's been an incredible season; both challenging and changing. 
One of the biggest accomplishments so far belongs to Blaze.

These feet (in her favorite uniform boots) made the brave journey across two mountains to complete her Fire Fighting Essentials.

It was a little unnerving to go to a different facility 
especially since the students had already completed Mod A, B and C together and she just joined in for D. 
(Mod means Modular, or class--including text/lecture and hands-on practicals-- and there are four of them to complete, about 160 hrs.)
We have been so spoiled; the State Fire Academy 
is less then an half hour away and she completed her first three Mods there. She had to be 18 years old before she could take Mod D.  Because the classes run in cycles, it could be a number of years before D is offered at the Academy again. She decided the distance and drive were worth it to finish her training.

As usual, there was a ton of reading and a difficult test--hard stuff for her--but she passed!

Also, as usual, she aced the practicals! 

One instructor's dad runs on our company
and it was a proud moment to get praised by him. 
"I heard you did better then the boys--" He bellowed for all to hear.

Most of the class came from a more elite department. They had nicer turnout gear, fancy accountablilty tags, more calls per month... but it soon became clear that she had more experience. 
One of the perks of being a small town volunteer!

I'll leave you with this selfie until I have time for more of the story:

Proud Firefighter mom,
                 Zinnia Girl!

Note the green band on her helmet--it indicates a junior member in our fire department. Junior refers to both those who are under the age of 18 and/or has not completed Fire Fighting Essentials training. Those in charge at an incident scene can tell at a glance what jobs she's not permitted to do.