No Sanity Required
No Sanity Required is a weekly podcast hosted by Brody Holloway and Snowbird Outfitters. Each week, we engage culture and personal stories with a Gospel-driven perspective. Our mission is to equip the Church to pierce the darkness with the light of Christ by sharing the vision, ideas, and passions God has used to carry us through 26 years of student ministry. Find more content at swoutfitters.com.
No Sanity Required
The Porta Potty Princess | Life as a Camp Kid
What’s it like to grow up where summer camp is home and adventure is part of everyday life? In this episode, Brody sits down with his daughter Lailee to reflect on her unique childhood as a “Snowbird kid” and pastor’s daughter. From cliff-jumping and crawdad villages to cleaning porta-potties and choosing mission trips over Disney vacations, Lailee shares stories that are both wild and refreshingly normal.
She also opens up about how faith, family, and a love for service shaped her perspective—on sports, identity, and life. This candid conversation offers insight into raising kids with purpose, resilience, and strong values in a world full of pressure.
Interview with Brody and Little: 30 Years of Marriage, Ministry, And Parenting
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Click here to get our Colossians Bible study.
Before me and Layla get into this conversation, we have a very important, prestigious guest who's very prolific in the YouTube world. Y'all may have heard of DJ Holloway. How can people find you?
Speaker 2:Just search up DJ Holloway no spaces. And yeah, Does it on YouTube, On YouTube.
Speaker 1:Okay, you got some good content and yeah, that's it. On YouTube. On YouTube. Okay, you got some good content.
Speaker 2:A lot what's your latest LP?
Speaker 1:What's that song that Laylee's been singing?
Speaker 2:Give Me Grace is the song. Give Me Grace.
Speaker 1:It's the story of a guy that goes to prison.
Speaker 2:It first starts with Pull it For Real. He's walking, some guys jump him. He takes them out. A few years later he ends up in jail. Yeah, mm-hmm and yeah. It's just kind of like living out on the streets, yeah.
Speaker 1:I think it's a great song.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Haley can sing the whole. Thing.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, yeah, I think I got it.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm, yeah, I think I got it, mm-hmm yeah.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, I like that line.
Speaker 1:I didn't mean to kill that guy, but I meant it.
Speaker 2:A lot of people have been talking about that line.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a good line, it's a solid line. Come on, so tell me so, me and Laila, we're going to do an episode. So you've been on NSR before yes, many times. People are very familiar with you. I think something. What do you think is something that you would want people to know about living at SWO, being my little son, being in our family, growing up at SWO, being able to go camp you know you go to camp every day when it's summertime and, uh, during the school year. We've talked about where you go to school on other episodes, but having weekend things, retreats and stuff, what's something that you think would be interesting for people to know about your life as a snowbird guy that maybe they wouldn't think about?
Speaker 2:I'm good at gaga ball.
Speaker 1:You're good at Gaga Ball Solid information Really good to get on. Do people ever ask you how you got so good at Gaga Ball?
Speaker 2:Not really, are they impressed though. Really impressed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, are you impressed?
Speaker 2:No, I know I can do it. Yeah, I know I can do it.
Speaker 3:I feel like I never see you in the Gaga Ball pit. It's confidence I can do it. Yeah, I know I can do it. I feel like I never see you in the goggle ball pit.
Speaker 2:Oh, I today I took out three people, took out three people.
Speaker 1:Moses does not need confidence, because he has plenty.
Speaker 3:Endless supply.
Speaker 2:I don't get it.
Speaker 1:You got plenty. What do you ever have? People ask you questions like man, what's it like living here? Yeah, today somebody asked me that and I said, it's pretty fun.
Speaker 2:I get to come here a lot, see all my friends play a lot of gaga ball, meet a lot of new campers, yeah, just stuff like that.
Speaker 1:And on the wrecks, what's your favorite wreck as a camp?
Speaker 2:kid.
Speaker 1:Paintball, yeah, and you like the pool. And the pool, and the pool yeah, what are your thoughts on going down to Nantahala River?
Speaker 2:Cold and I'm not really. I don't do it a lot. That's not your main thing, Not my main thing. Too cold, yes.
Speaker 1:I see you got a new fade. That, yes, I see you got a new fade. That's a good-looking haircut. Yes, what about? Is there other than an inhaler? Is there a favorite off-campus rec?
Speaker 2:I would say laser tag. That's what I thought.
Speaker 1:So laser tag.
Speaker 2:Laser tag is the main thing, yeah.
Speaker 1:That makes sense. Laser tag off-site, which is North Campus, and Paintball Main Campus, because you enjoy like what do you want to be when? You grow up A.
Speaker 3:YouTuber Alright Yep A cop. I wonder how many kids would answer that question the exact same way.
Speaker 1:Probably too many, probably a huge majority. Yeah, you've talked a lot about that. You want to be a cop yeah we went and introduced you to sheriff and visited the sheriff's office, into jail and everything a lot yeah yeah, so that's what I was getting at. Is that's probably why you like paintball and laser tag. You like that kind of action.
Speaker 2:Yes, and we shoot real guns. Youtube could be a side hustle.
Speaker 1:Yeah, YouTube be the side hustle.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yeah, youtube will be the side hustle.
Speaker 1:Okay, you got. Anything else you want to say to the folks?
Speaker 2:Go subscribe to DJ Holloway.
Speaker 1:Go subscribe to. Dj Subscribe.
Speaker 3:Well, you almost have 500 subscribers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I lost a subscriber today. Yep, okay, thanks for having me on. You're welcome. Thank you, my time is up.
Speaker 4:Welcome to no Sanity Required from the Ministry of Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters. A podcast about the Bible, culture and stories from around the globe.
Speaker 1:JB last week and this week, two weeks in a row, I've had so many people say how much they love your input on the podcast. So, thank y'all. Everybody's listening, for we love getting feedback. And I don't know, you know, before we get into this, I've got lately with me, um, I got my daughter lately with me today and I don't know, um, I don't know how many people say to me every week at JB's, right off the screen. So, chris and Sam, what's the feedback you get on the like? We have these diagnostics that, oh, we get X thousands of downloads a week. But I have, I have a hundred conversations a week. People come in here talking about NSR, right here where the studio is. We, um, if you walk behind the cameras and there's a door over here and we've, that's where we store, um, like volleyballs, basketballs. So there was a door over here and that's where we store, like volleyballs, basketballs. So there was a church youth group and these kids were playing. They were like just bumping.
Speaker 1:You know, you just stand in a circle and bump and set they're all standing there and it was like the youth pastor, a couple dads, and the ball went over the fence behind the Super Coupe into the cornfield. Well, you can't get it. Like, if you're going to go to that cornfield you have to go quarter mile to the gate, a quarter mile to the road, a mile around, two miles around to the farm road. You know it's like you're not going to get that ball, yeah. So I was like it'll be fine, they'll throw it back over when they're next time they're in the field plowing or whatever. And so I was like, come on, we'll go. And it's like two eighth grade girls. And I said, come on, we'll go get another volleyball. They're like what? Because I just happened to be walking by, we walked through here and they went. Oh, my goodness, is this where NSR Like these two eighth grade girls are like NSR listeners?
Speaker 1:And I was like yeah, and I thought afterwards I should have got a picture with them or something. They would have loved that, you know.
Speaker 1:Uh, when we got them a volleyball and then they were happy, yeah, so Lord's blessing it and lots of people are listening and we're grateful for that. One of the things that I just I asked lately to come on I'm always hesitant about, not hesitant. I don't bring my kids and family on a ton, cause I it's not like while since you guys got to hear from dj holloway, aka mad dog holloway, aka moses dorsey holloway, known most affectionately as mo um, as you see, he's not lacking no self-confidence. I mean, he thinks, he thinks have you noticed the most recent thing is he thinks all girls like him.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, he was flirting it up with my campers week one and I said no, sir, I will clock you in a second. And he's like, because you know he's also just very like, personable and great personality. So it's like I think to him sometimes, it's like oh, they're just my friends or whatever, but he's also not naive, so I know he knows what he's doing uh, yeah, he does, because he'll say some things for you like oh yeah, that's a public school talking.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he learned some stuff in the hallways. Yep, yeah, what I want to do today is I want to get into, I want to talk about. I talked to so many, I don't know if you have this experience. Um, do you talk to pastor's kids at camp much? Have you had some conversations?
Speaker 3:um, I've had a couple campers that will talk to me about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but not just on the regular of like coming up to me random just yeah, in the flow of camp, like I mean every I would say almost every group that comes, there's a pastor's kid in the group, because it's either the youth pastor's kid or senior pastor's kid or an associate pastor.
Speaker 1:I have that conversation a lot, so I thought it'd be cool to talk a little bit about your experience as a, as a pastor's daughter. And then also it's unique because it's layered, because you're, you're a pastor's daughter and but then you're also you grew up a snowbird kid. You're you're what I would call first wave snowbird kid. I mean you and your older brother and sister, you were the three snowbird kids. That was it. Now, when people show up here, I mean mean there's 50.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I had a hard time keeping up. Yeah, keeping up with them, it's hard.
Speaker 1:And then you know, and then everyone sort of ends up in like smaller groups, like friend groups based on their kids' ages and stuff. But I mean, when you're growing up it was just well. First it was just the three of y'all. The Potters were here for a season. They had a daughter that was between you and Kilby's age Closer to Kilby's age, though. Yeah, the Joneses moved here in 2013, so you were eight years old Like eight.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then it was you and Emma became best friends. So just a unique environment to grow up in, to go from being one of the three only kids here to now you two years ago you were like the oldest of all the snowbird kids as you were finishing high school, so that perspective might be fun, yeah, and then just let's just have some fun with it. Like some funny stories, some memorable moments, some family traditions that are connected to camp, like I want, want. I thought it'd be cool to talk about spillway cliff jumping on the lake yeah I'll tell one story to start the conversation about laylee.
Speaker 1:Laylee is like probably one of the most fearless. You're probably um. You and tucker are both very fearless and kilby is too, but you're fearless in the adventure sense, like heights and yeah, and I think all three of y'all were like I don't I feel like kilby is two and tuck yeah honestly but not as much as you like. I've watched laylee jump off stuff that when I was a 20 year old dude I'd have been like, okay, let's go. And she's like whoop, no hesitation, so you love cliff jumping? Yes, it's literally like.
Speaker 3:I love doing that. Now, yeah, like the highest one I did, I probably won't do it again because it just hurts, but it's still fun. It's fun. I just had to do the one at the spillway because I've seen so many people do it. I think it's about 65 feet.
Speaker 1:The upper spillway. Oh, that's high. I've got that video on my phone.
Speaker 3:But that one is so fun because you fall for so long. But no matter how good you are at bracing yourself, it just hurts.
Speaker 1:It rattles every bone in your body. Yeah, and it's like 65 feet and me and mama were last night right at bedtime. I I'd come in and lights were out. It's probably one in the morning and she's sitting there with her phone on watching that people doing death dives, yes. So I was like, oh, you're watching death dives and I jump it. I just got a shower, I jump in the bed and I like for 20 minutes it's crazy we're watching people and a dude jumped 109 feet, spiraled like have you seen where they fold?
Speaker 1:And then they yeah, go in like this.
Speaker 3:That is wild.
Speaker 1:So my favorite Laylee cliff jumping story. Laylee was about one of those dudes when I talk trash to those guys. What were you? Probably 11?. Yeah, I think so 11 or 12, something like that of those guys how old?
Speaker 3:were you probably 11?
Speaker 1:yeah, I think so. 11 or 12, something like that. No more than 12, yeah, and maybe 10 somewhere in that range, yeah, probably 10 or 11.
Speaker 1:So we go up to this. There's a place on nana hale lake. We don't do this as a camp wreck. There's some things that we do that are not camp wrecks but they're camp connected and we'll take, sometimes, friends and guests out. So we get in, we get in the boat, we go out to this cliff, this cliff, depending on how full the lake is, because they, the lake, will be drawn down after summer, and that cliff, when the lake's full, that cliffs maybe 30 feet and then, and as they start going down, it could get to 50 feet.
Speaker 1:You know so, and I think that at that time it was about 40 feet yeah so we pull up, here's my 10, 11 year old little girl and I mean, and Laylee is my spirit animal, like like she just is, she's like you know, um, every kid's different. Laylee's the one that's probably most like me, as people say, you're like me and so like I think we're on the same wavelength in the way we think. And so we pull up and laylee, little 10, 11 year old laylee, just wants to go jump off the cliff. And so we get there and there's a boat and there's about six dudes that are all probably like college guys or college age, and they're trying to get the nerve to jump.
Speaker 1:And it's sketchy, cause it's not like a, a doc, I mean it's you're in the woods and you got to kind of clear out of the trees and then jump over some rocks and then you go down and hit. And these guys were like trying to get the nerve up. And I knew what Layla was thinking. I knew already she wants to get up there and jump before them, just to make them look like dummies. And so we pull up. Before I get the boat slowed down, she, she dives and starts swimming.
Speaker 1:Her little, her little teeny self and she swims over there and she starts climbing. There's a little rope and you got to go up this rock and she's climbing, climbing, climbing, and then from the boat, so I'll back the boat up and then when you're watching a person climb up, they disappear. You kind of go back into the woods and then you pop back out up on the cliff and so lately, and then I see her little bitty head just over the edge, like this, and all these dudes are standing right on the edge. They're like oh gosh, oh gosh, I don't know, I, I don't know. And I can see her little bitty head sticking up and I said, hey, boys, if y'all get out of the way, my little girl jumped to show y'all how to do this and they're like they're just confused.
Speaker 1:And most people. When they go off that cliff the first time, anyway they'll get right to the edge and they'll just easy step, like they're going to make it a shorter jump Like I just slowly step off these dudes barely give her any room and she just comes running dead, sprint from about 20 yards back and just launches I mean as high as she can jump, launches off the side of that cliff like whoo hits the water. And I talk so much trash to those guys and every one of those dudes jumped in the next 60 seconds. They're like I can't do this. Um, so that's one of my. Someone had asked like tell some, tell some stories. When folks heard we were going to do this, I was like that's my laily, my favorite laily summary story of what it's like to grow up in snowbird. You're literally like fearless. Um, so I like that one um yeah, any other like.
Speaker 1:Can you think of any other like adventure, memories of stuff we've done, either like a one-off or something we do consistently when you're growing up that you really like?
Speaker 3:I'm trying to think like mama did so many things with us that was like just such good memories but like even just I think I think a little bit of it is just like a natural desire to do stuff like that. But also growing up like I mean you know, I remember well, I don't remember, but y'all made me do the three man swing when I was like four maybe. So I think so much of that stuff is like push me, you know, and give me that desire and stuff. But I'm trying to think of stuff with mama that we've done Like just always I mean it's not always illegal, but so many little things where it's like this is borderline, you know.
Speaker 1:Jumping off bridges and major highways.
Speaker 3:Jumping off bridges, like I remember.
Speaker 1:There's a bridge in a place. There's a bridge in a place.
Speaker 3:There's a bridge in a place.
Speaker 1:On a main highway in a place.
Speaker 3:Yep, that you're not supposed to jump off of.
Speaker 1:And it has the sign with the state.
Speaker 3:Right before it and there's like a little pull off. And I can remember like growing up doing that like just pulling off weird. She'd be like, okay, went up doing that like just pulling off weird. She'd be like, okay, you guys ready, you gotta jump out. And so she'd pull off and we all jump out of the car, run make sure no cars are coming, jump off, climb out and drive away. And I remember there was one time when, uh, I don't know if what kind of cop it was but.
Speaker 3:I think it's yeah, deputy, he pulls up. And it was like me, tucker, I think, emma and we all get under the bridge, and mom was like get under the bridge and I'm like, no, it's going to make it look worse. And she's like just stay. So then she goes up. But there's been a lot of stuff like that. That is just good memories, yeah.
Speaker 1:What about when you were a little kid, like when you think about because people, I'm sure you get the question a lot what's it like growing up a snowbird? What's it like being a snowbird kid, like in stages of life, when you think about, like elementary school age lately, what was your favorite thing about camp?
Speaker 3:I literally would give anything to go back to one of those days like I think I feel like a regular day was just going to camp and I remember me and Gabe Clark would just get on our bikes and just ride, and then one of our favorite things was to just work our way up the creek, um, looking for crawdads and stuff.
Speaker 3:And I've told this story, I think, to some of my friends, but I remember one time we made like this gigantic crawdad like village and we had like different swimming holes for like the different sizes, like really big ones would be in this hole, really small ones, and we probably had like I mean it was a lot of crawdads Because we walked the whole creek and we would bring them back and put them in their little pools and we were so proud of it, and so then we left them and then we go back the next day and every single one of them is dead because we didn't leave any running water and they have to have running water, so there's no oxygen and we were like well, it was like a mess.
Speaker 1:Crawdad genocide.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was world war on the crawdads not good, but yeah, stuff like that and then like making forts in the woods all the time, like I don't know. I feel like a lot of the stuff that I see the camp kids doing now it's like a lot more involved with like the staff and like campers, like so much more of the campers.
Speaker 3:But I feel like growing up we were just like kind of doing literally whatever kind of no, I mean I hung out with the campers and stuff for sure, but I feel like it was a lot just on our own, just you know yeah, it seems like this wave of camp kids.
Speaker 1:They want to be at camp, doing camp things with camp kids, with staff and y'all would I mean, sometimes y'all would just come back for meals. The one fort I remember you had up kind of on that mountain at Slow, fast, yeah, like a whole fort built. Yeah, you'd stay gone like Tom Sawyer H. Yep. Yeah, you'd stay gone Like Tom Sawyer, huck Finn stuff Roaming the woods.
Speaker 2:So fun yeah.
Speaker 1:And when you were in elementary school, you were homeschooled.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 1:So you would come to camp during the day. A lot, a lot Travel with me, a ton.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was really fun. I'd always finish school early, which I always would brag about to all my public school friends. But yeah, then like just even I remember me and Kilby would just do really stupid stuff to the campers, like to freak them out and stuff with bugs Eating stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, like stuff like that where I think with you it's like that's so, you like just to do it to get a reaction uh-huh like I remember, we would set up a little literally like it was our version of like a lemonade stand, but it was with worms and we would get cameras to pay us to eat worms.
Speaker 1:Eat, not crawlers.
Speaker 3:Terrible. It was so bad.
Speaker 1:Do you remember making money doing that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh, yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yep, that's really funny.
Speaker 3:Yeah, stuff like that. When I'm like that, it just doesn't feel real. It feels like I don't know a whole another life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there is like, uh, there is like two eras of slow. Your childhood era is is it's? It's interesting in so many ways it's still the exact same, like the core of who we are and kind of the mindset, but just the organization has grown so much bigger. There it's like a different era. So, like the kids that are growing up now, they are not having an experience, they're not having the same experience you had.
Speaker 1:I was talking to amanda potter, who's my admin, but amanda works remote from dallas. I think now they've bounced around over in Orlando, then they're in Richmond, other in Dallas, but they worked here at SWO from for about eight years. Well, she hasn't been back here in 10 years, almost nine years. She came back for Kilby's wedding yeah, 2019, but she didn't go to camp, they stayed in hotel, went off site, the wedding was off site. So she's not been here in nine years and sometimes she'll this happens a lot where we'll be? We'll be in our weekly phone call. I was talking to her yesterday and she'll say, well, it is summer camp so, and she'll say something and I realize, oh no, it's not like that anymore. It has changed.
Speaker 2:Like things are different yeah.
Speaker 1:You kind of you got to grow up in the golden era in some ways, and in some ways it's way better now. Yeah, you know, like there's there's just it's different, different experiences. Okay, all right, we're gonna. We're gonna stop and take a question from jebby. The question was when you were growing up um, now your second year working on summer staff did you always want to do that?
Speaker 3:yeah, I think for me, like I used to, I think, getting into seventh, eighth grade and then like ninth and tenth, I love like hanging out with element girls and like um loved being a part of that. I could never like fully do it because of sports, but like I just loved being, you know, doing the stuff they did and I think I think I always had the desire to work and I always kind of saw myself doing it. Um, whereas, like with I think I think I went through a phase in middle school, brat phase, like seventh, maybe sixth, sixth, seventh grade I think I remember talking to Kilby about this. I feel like at some point most camp kids, whatever you want to call them kind of go through like they don't want people to know, like they'll do anything for you not to know that, oh, my parents work here, I grew up here, whatever, um, and I don't know why that is.
Speaker 3:I think it's just a phase where it's like you just want to be you're trying to find your identity, yeah I think, trying to find a balance of like not being arrogant and boastful about it, but then also just being like yeah, yeah, like that's, you know, part of my life, that's who the Lord's made me, and stuff.
Speaker 3:So I think, like in seventh grade I struggled with that of like not wanting to people to know, and also that was a time where I wasn't like truly pursuing the Lord daily. So that makes sense, um, but I think once I really started to find the balance of like that's not maybe something I'm going to lead with in conversation, but like if it comes up like yeah, I'll talk about it. I think that kind of season in life starting to like really also get to an age where I can actually have relationships with the staff and like obviously different seasons of life, but like genuinely hang out, have conversation more than just like oh, let me do the poopy poll 12 times, you know, and that's like our relationship, but like actually hanging out with them outside of camp and stuff. I think that's when I really developed the desire to work and was like, yeah, I definitely want to do it as soon as I can, so yeah.
Speaker 1:Uh, I, one of the most proud I've ever been of you. So we so you homeschooled through eighth grade. You shifted to public school for all of high school, primarily for athletics, um, and I'm proud of you that you're the all-time scoring leader in Murphy high school soccer. But that's not, that's not. That's as awesome as that is sports accomplishments. And I would like to talk a little bit about cause. You had a, you had a very successful high school sports career.
Speaker 1:I want to touch on that. That's a segment that I want to talk about, because I have this conversation with parents all the time. Yesterday I'm at camp. I have a long, an hour-long conversation with a dad who's a leader from a church and the youth pastor, because their church is, they're struggling in youth ministry, because the parents are all consumed with weekend travel ball and club soccer and travel baseball and like where's the balance? I want to talk a little bit about that. That's one of the things only a few things I really want to get into, but that's one of them. Yeah, so, and I want to talk about the point where you decided I don't want to pursue collegiate athletics because that was a cool moment at the end of your freshman year kind of going into sophomore year.
Speaker 1:That I think changed the dynamic of how yeah for me it took all the pressure off to just enjoy your high school sports. It was so. Do you remember what I would say to you after your games?
Speaker 3:I would say I love watching yeah, I love watching you play ball yeah.
Speaker 1:So if it's volleyball, I would just always say I love watching you play volleyball. Yes, I love watching you play basketball. I love coming. I love watching you play soccer yeah um, because it was like I just loved being in the moment of those sports yeah you know, and so I want to talk about that balance.
Speaker 1:Um, but something that I think is I don't know how to say this I said it makes me proud of you, but that I'm thankful for, and I think, growing up, this gets instilled in the home, but I also think it's a product of growing up at SWO, because one of our core values is that we're hardworking. Describe for the good listeners what your job was the summer after your sophomore year at Snowbird. It involved a golf cart. Was that after your freshman year or sophomore year?
Speaker 3:Sophomore. So the summer between your sophomore and junior year, you worked at camp I worked in the kitchen for, like I think, sixth to ninth grade in the summers and then 10th grade. Yeah, after my sophomore summer I mean sophomore year that summer I cleaned the porta potties every day and honestly, I think people like think that would be terrible, but it really was. Yes, they do think that would be terrible, but it really.
Speaker 1:Yes, they do think that would be terrible.
Speaker 3:Everyone thinks it's terrible but it really was honestly a great job because I would have the golf cart. I only had to do it, I think, once a day and the and I could do it whenever. So I would just do it before breakfast when it was cool outside it wasn't hot and muggy, so like you know and I would just get the golf cart, get my clean stuff go and I didn't have to, like get the stuff out of the park potty, I just had to wipe everything down, sweep it out, just pull out paper, whatever. But yeah, I did that for a whole summer just once a day and it would maybe take like 45 minutes to an hour and it was like 16 of them and you locked them all down, picked up trash.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there was only one time where it was like something really, really gross.
Speaker 1:But the point is that was so normal to you, but that is not normal to most kids. Not many kids would want to do that. There's kids that would, yeah, and I just would challenge parents to raise your kids to be tough, make them do hard things, whether that's jumping off cliffs or cleaning porta-potties. You might not have that same opportunity, but I think those are the types of things that form a different mindset in you don't?
Speaker 1:you think, yes, the fact that you would sit here and say it wasn't that bad, yeah, but that's because it wasn't that bad to you.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I would challenge parents to supportingly push your kids to do things that are uncomfortable, that are out of the box. Nothing wrong with getting a job at Starbucks or Chick-fil-A that's awesome, I'm not saying that's not a good thing and maybe bucks or chick-fil-a there's like that's awesome, I'm not saying that that's not a good thing and maybe that is the out-of-the-box thing. To just have them work, the point being put a workload on them and it's okay if some of it's hard and it's okay if they whine or complain, which you never did about any of that. But but I'm just I know that there are some parents that if you start to push and challenge your kids because you have some siblings not going to say who will voice their complaints about many things, yeah, the struggle is real y'all when it comes to raising kids, and so I think that's important. You decided so.
Speaker 1:Your freshman year you go into high school for the first time. You had played club soccer up until that point. We moved you to high school. The next town over we live in Andrews, north Carolina we moved you Tuck's first year, shifting to Raven Gap where he transferred for football recruitment. You didn't go to Andrews, you went to Murphy High School because they had a women's soccer team. So we were kind of going in all directions that year. Talk a little bit about that transition from homeschool to public school let's talk a little bit about because we have people that are homeschool, public school and private school that listen, what was that experience like? Are there things you like better about homeschool, things you like better about going public school and private school? That listened, what was that experience like? And are there things you like better about homeschool, things you like better about going to public school?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think it was an easier transition than it could have been, for sure, because I think sports helped just like break the ice of like meeting people. Because you know, summer workouts and stuff like the summer before my freshman year going into public school like we were doing basketball stuff and some soccer stuff, so I got to meet some girls through that. So I kind of already had a little bit of a group of friends, so that was really helpful. Um, but then like COVID and everything was my ninth grade year and that was like growing up homeschooled and at camp, like I mean, obviously we're a big movie family, like stuff like that, but I didn't really have any skills with technology whatsoever, so I was honestly not doing great my freshman year, because it was like you could go one day or two days or not at all, and I was like I'm not going to sit in a classroom for eight hours in the same room with six people.
Speaker 3:So I went on to online and, like I think, I barely passed two of my classes because I would. Everything was on a Chromebook and you are a mom and didn't know either, so I was like yeah, and I still don't really.
Speaker 3:But so like that was definitely a struggle for sure. But if it wasn't for sports, I really think it would have been way harder because I wouldn't have really met anyone. So that was. I was very thankful for that.
Speaker 3:But like sophomore on sophomore year on school was fine cause we were in person and stuff, um, but yeah, I think for sure, like being surrounded by people pretty much my whole life being at camp, and we're also a family, that's not like you just, you know, go into your rooms and do your own thing, so like pretty much my whole life just surrounded by people.
Speaker 3:And so I think the transition of like being in a social setting for pretty much the whole day, like that wasn't too hard as smooth, just being at camp all the time, um, and then also just like I think it provided so much perspective seeing Kilby do it and seeing Tucker do it and then me going after them, just like because you know I was, I remember begging to let begging y'all to let me go to school, like seventh grade, and I literally think about that all the time and I'm so, so thankful that you said no, no, because I was not in the right place to go and I think I would have really struggled and so like even just being thankful for that, and get into a place where I genuinely think I was ready and I had a foundation, and like I think I would have been fine if I wouldn't have gone to public school, but it really helped me like genuinely put things into action, um, in my faith, and just like actually be submersed in a community that was not all believers and didn't have the same morals, all that stuff.
Speaker 3:So I mean I think anybody needs to do that, but you went in it was.
Speaker 1:it was really crazy the time. And this is just like uh, especially with sports, whether it's high school, college, professional, so many things have to line up with the right opportunities. Timing is everything. You know, hank, who was a professional race car driver, he'll say he became a NASCAR, a high level NASCAR driver because the timing was right. You know, like Tucker's recruiting um the time, and if COVID is what pushed him to go to another school, that turned into a crazy recruitment like otherwise, he wouldn't get recruited.
Speaker 1:Um, you went to Murphy high school at a time when there was a group of girls, the basketball program there was hitting on all cylinders. The coach was phenomenal, Ray was a super gifted dude and it was like three straight state championship runs and you got in on the second and third one Like a team that was highly ranked. I mean, I think at one point out of all North Carolina schools, y'all were ranked second. You were first in 1A but then all classifications as a 1A school, all classifications, y'all were ranked second out of all 400-and-some high schools in the state. And I think you'd have beat the one-ranked team which was a big 6A-type high school in the state, and I think you'd have beat that first the the one rank team which was a big 6a type high school in charlotte or something like you like literally a once in a lifetime group of girls that kind of came together and you got to come in.
Speaker 1:I do think that was opportunity for success, but could have also derailed you because, um, how'd you manage that coming into like? Because you're doing that in basketball and then in soccer your freshman year you scored 33 goals. I think is what it was?
Speaker 1:Something crazy. It was like a record for a single season or something. How did you I've talked with this with talk about this with Katie how did you balance sports and school Cause it was highly you were in, you were in a program that in both sports like really successful, a lot of success notoriety how did you balance that with just staying grounded?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1:What do you say to people that are like sports are kind of the thing that drives?
Speaker 3:them. I think growing up at Snowbird like helped with that so much because, like, whether you like it or not, there is, you know, eyes on you pretty much at all times. So I think, like the pressure area of it, like with sports, and just like those teams being so successful and balancing that like, I really think the Lord equipped me very well growing up here with just like genuinely not even thinking about it and like not letting it affect like your pride and confidence. Um, and then also like just I mean it was a lot of those girls were, I mean, freak athletes, so like intimidating but in a good way, like in a humbling way and like coming into it. They set such good examples of just like hard work, like working your butt off and not taking. I mean they were.
Speaker 3:I think some of them were definitely believers but like not genuinely pursuing the Lord. So, honestly, that was also a huge gift from the Lord them not being like super cocky, prideful, arrogant girls, like it was just they were all pretty down to earth and just hard workers. And so I think they also set a good example of like we're a team, like there's not one person carrying and even if there is, you know, because at times there definitely was. But like I think, just like, just as a believer, always having the mindset of like literally every single thing you have as a gift that can be taken away, and so like just living with that mindset of like this is, I mean, our school had 500, has 500 people in it and like to go on a run like that with sports, with two sports, like it's crazy for them the size of the school school. So just like always genuinely like having reminders, however, like I remember, you know, just certain verses that I found that were very helpful to just really keep me humble, and just like perspective of even I think Tucker helped a lot too, because he was, I mean, he plays football in college and all that, and so like I think I'm also very thankful for following him, like being after him, because I think that gave me humility also of like okay, this is nothing crazy.
Speaker 3:Like, even if it's uncommon in our family, just seeing Tuck do it. I don't know, it just seemed not normal, but it didn't seem like, oh, this is like the peak, this is like the best thing that I could be doing. I think I don't know if that makes sense it does.
Speaker 1:I think what you're saying is um, success on the sports field or on the court was normal enough, but it was all tempered and balanced with. But that's not who you are. That's not your identity. You know, you saw. You saw Tuck have an extremely successful career, but it never became his identity and we worked to try to keep y'all grounded. Your, your parents were both collegiate athletes. Both your granddads were, but no one none like people that know. Uh, your mom would never know if somebody didn't tell him that she was an elite division one athlete. She's in the hall of fame at a division one university, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I think there's that.
Speaker 3:There's that balance of hey, let's use these gifts for the lord, let's have a good time with it, but this is not what defines me yeah, and I think like that just also, like you know, after a great game or after a goal that we reach, like we would talk about it and celebrate it, but then I mean that, mean that's pretty much it, like it was never, like brought home every day of like, oh, this is our only conversation. This is, like you know, I had teammates where that's all their parents talked about was the amount of three-pointers they got or whatever, or you know the goals that they got, and so, like just seeing the effect of that on those girls, I was very thankful that, like we had sports and then we we left it on the field, we left it at school, Like it was always good to celebrate and like encourage and affirm. But it wasn't everything and it wasn't all conversation was about.
Speaker 1:That's good. I'm grateful for that, so that and not like when I'm talking to those guys yesterday, I'm sitting there thinking I know parents, you know, want the best for their kids and if I could just understand. This is a fleeting game that provides incredible memories, life lessons, experiences, but it's not as valuable as playing around the five crowns at the kitchen table, talking trash to each other and having fun with it, you know, and yeah, the whole family pounding three tubs of ice cream while we're doing it, you know, on a power outage night like we had the other night, it's just like
Speaker 1:put it all in balance. What about when, when people ask you, you you mentioned something a while ago you, you said, you know, in seven, two, you said two things that I want to come back to and then and then we'll go to like our wrap up points. But, um, you said, in seventh grade you wrestled with that. Uh, you know, kind of want to create some my own identity, so I'm just not a snowbird kid and you worked through that. Then you got to high school and you were accustomed to having sort of all eyes on you.
Speaker 1:What, um, you know growing, how hard has it been growing up as mine and little's daughter, uh, as a snowbird kid? Like, has has it been really hard? Or do you think like, would you say it's just hard and you just got to buckle up for it, or is it more like it's not that hard, people just make it hard, or you, you make it harder than it has to be? Like what? What are your thoughts on growing up when people say to you hey, what's it like being a snowboard kid? Is it hard? What's it like being brody and little's daughter? Is it hard? Like, you can speak freely?
Speaker 3:you know that. But, um, I honestly don't think it's that hard, like for me, I don't know. I feel like it was just really fun and like I think at times, like I remember, like jb was saying earlier, there's so many things that I'll just mention that I feel like is so normal and they'll be like, really, that's not like normal kids do that. Like in high school I remember I had like a group of little friends, you know, and they would give me so much crap because, like they would be like they would say something oh, like, I can't imagine doing this, or oh, did y'all see this? And I would always have a story of like, oh well, my family did this, or oh well, I went to whatever and I was never trying to be like, oh you know.
Speaker 1:You just wanted to share your story.
Speaker 3:I was just like oh, that made me think of this. There was like, I think at times I was like dang, like I never want to make you know them, feel like I'm trying to brag and stuff, but also like finding the balance of that is like your life and so you know you can share that with people, and like finding friends who see you for more than just like Brody's daughter or, you know, a good soccer player or something like. I think the Lord has just grown up at Snowbird. I found every single one of my close friends here and so I think he has gifted me with like such good friends that genuinely like, I think, strive for like yes, that's a part of me, and like we can do fun things because of it, and like you know it's.
Speaker 3:it can be a different friendship just because I have grown up here and like, but also like we're just friends and like it's it's not all about snowboard or you know, but I just I do think of that at school, cause that was kind of a time when I was like like I never want to seem know prideful in that way and like I know they didn't mean it, but they would just nag at me about it and stuff and I would just I would just laugh, but it's funny because people live tend to live more in the controlled parameters.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I also one thing that we tried to do with y'all and I wonder if you now reflect back and you realize this but we tried to do very spontaneous things like the jumping off the bridge. I remember a couple of times that wasn't planned, or remember when you traveled with me, I flew somewhere to speak. I used to take you with me. I loved it. Some of my favorite memories is I I mean you and I logged a lot of miles together um planes, trains and automobiles kind of thing and we had flown back into atlanta we're coming up into the city yeah and I'm like look at that massive building that huge tower with the round thing you know I'm talking about and what's it?
Speaker 1:called the west yeah, like let's go up there. So we're you remember that? Yes driving home from the airport and we're like, yeah, and finding our way to where, to I don't even know where we parked or I don't know.
Speaker 3:But yeah, we went up there you know, it's crazy and we had nachos.
Speaker 1:Yep, because it was expensive yeah yeah and nachos and shared a sprite I think yeah and walked. You were probably 14. Walked around looking out over the city yeah but I like that's a simple little thing and you think that's not a big deal yeah but people don't do stuff just stop pull off the road.
Speaker 1:You don't have to get home so fast yeah I would say to dads you're with your daughter first off. You should be with her going somewhere. Just the two of you should be doing that, and then figure out something along the way and do it. You know, do it. Um, yeah, I mean, I, I remember what. Two years ago we rented those polaris slingshots.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm gonna tell I'm gonna tell on us because we rented these. They're like tri-wheeled two wheels in the front, one in the back. We rented, I rented two of them and there were five speeds and lately was just learning to drive a straight shift. She's just getting ready to get her license.
Speaker 1:So it's been the year you got your license and she could drive a stick shift. Okay, I make all my kids learn on a stick shift and she's learning, she's getting the hang of it. But this thing was just geared different and the gears were real tight because it's like a sports car. So I rent two of these and me and you, mama and Tucker, we drive to Clingman's dome. So from here you get clean. We rented these over towards Cherokee, then we drove Clingman's dome and drove them up, parked, walked up to Clingman's dome to the tower Awesome, we're coming back down. And I was like I tossed Lely the keys, so it was 15,year-old Lely. I'm like you're driving us back. So we're at the highest point in the Smoky Mountain National Park and Lely's now behind the wheel of the slingshot and we're coming off. And I remember we were getting and I was showing you how to downshift and she went from fifth Instead of hitting third, said whoop, boom and hit first gear and we're like bam, I mean we almost smashed our faces and we're like like I almost blew the
Speaker 3:transmission you know it was bad, but I think I have a video, or you were taking the video, I think I think maybe I was like it made that awful sound grinding them, yeah, but I think, uh, that cost, that day costs like $600.
Speaker 1:And I'm like I remember thinking that's a lot of money, for we rented them for like two hours, three hours. I'd spend that money like that again. Like you know what I mean. It's like I'll never forget that day and hopefully you won't.
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah that was so fun creating those memories.
Speaker 3:I think that's important um yeah, and I don't know, like I just think about how mama is, like just car rides, or like I remember, you know, anytime, I remember one time like we ran out of gas and we're sitting on the side of the road and you know she just figure out fun games to play out of nothing. So like, so many small things like that I think have impacted just the way like our brains are now like, just make it fun, like, and she, she always says if you're bored you're boring and so it's like you're boring yeah like you know, just come up with something.
Speaker 3:I mean she would like pick. You know, let's try to hit that tree with the rock, or let's all go around and say whatever. So but yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So debbie asked the question um why, what, ultimately? Why did you decide you didn't want to go play at the next level, you only want to play high school sports, and then move on. And then, um, how did you stay grounded with a lot of high school sports success?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think with soccer. I love soccer so much and I played it growing up until senior year and everything, and it was like my number one sport, I think, going into you know, because you've got to decide freshman, sophomore year, all right, am I going to do this or not? And so I like I mean there was times in middle school where I was like, yes, I definitely want to play 100% and like that's when we started doing stuff whatever. But then I think honestly, a big part of it that I'm very thankful for was like just seeing Tuck and the process of getting there and like I mean I saw him, obviously junior, his junior senior year, but like I mean he was pretty much out of the house junior year, you know, and like that was his life, like everything. And I think I have a passion for like stuff, like camp and working with kids and working like in that kind of world, and so I think like I was a lot more drawn to like being around camp and like hanging out, you know the staff and the kids and even like the little staff kids, and so like I think I was torn of like man, like I'm watching this happen, and it is like his life, which is what he wants to do and what the Lord's called him to. So that's amazing and so inspiring for so many people. But I just don't know if that's what I want to do and like.
Speaker 3:So I think I was like making my mind up of I love soccer and I want to finish strong and I don't just want to like, just have fun and it be like a casual thing, like I want to work hard, I want to, you know, pursue it the same way I have been, but take the pressure off of if I don't score a goal in a game, like you know that's okay, like there's not going to be, you know, whatever repercussions of maybe not playing in the next level.
Speaker 3:So, like, honestly, I'm glad that I decided soon, like freshman, sophomore year, because I mean it was so fun, like our team dynamic was so fun, like we just worked hard and we you know we we were pretty successful and like but it was just do what you can now and have fun and work hard and finish strong and like I remember like my last game of my senior year I was like I felt so good about it and like the Lord really blessed me with the fun last season and I was so content, and now, like this past year, I did like intramurals and stuff, but I'm so thankful that it's not everything, cause I mean it's a, you know, full time job and more, and so I don't know, I think just through prayer, but honestly no-transcript. So yeah, but I think that was a process of not deciding.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I remember I think one thing that you were able to achieve that was different from the path Tuck took or Katie Cousins is At practice you gave 100%. On game day you gave 100% and then you went home and did other things, plugged in at camp, and so I think you can give 100% and do other things and so, yeah, I appreciate it. One thing I always just loved and appreciated was when you were there, you were all. Yeah, I, I appreciate it. One thing I always just loved and appreciated was when you were there you were all in, but you just said it and then you left it on the field. And practice will be there tomorrow when I get back.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And that's okay, that's yeah, that's, that's an option for people. Um, what about? The other question was how do you stay?
Speaker 3:grounded. Yeah, I think it's so hard for so many people because, like, I feel like I don't know if this statement is true, but I feel like the majority of teenagers like really start taking their faith serious like junior senior year, serious like junior senior year. And it's so hard because you've set this pattern and you've set this like expectation of oh, I do enjoy these things, I do take part in these things, like partying, all that stuff, whatever. Um, but I think going into high school like I had a pretty good foundation and so with sports, I mean it was hard, for sure at times, just like so much negativity and so much just typical high school stuff, but like being consistent and honestly, it did not take long for people to just know I don't even ask Laila that because she's probably gonna say no or I don't, you know or even like get into the point of like them being protective.
Speaker 3:Like I think my whole first semester, I think the summer before freshman year, my whole first semester of freshman year like setting that foundation was so crucial because it made the rest of my high school career so much easier.
Speaker 3:Because, like I mean I would still like I had close relationships with all of my teammates pretty much and like we would have, you know, team sleepovers, team whatever, go out to eat before games after all that stuff, like I loved doing all of that. But there were so many small moments that built up like to big things of like they just knew that. Oh yeah, you know, if I gossip to Lily about this, she's probably not gonna like make me feel shameful about it, but just not respond and then it's pointless. So like I think just there's so many little moments at the beginning, if you're intentional about like standing strong and staying grounded, of like I'm not gonna, I might like sit here and while they play this foul rap song, like okay, but I'm not gonna sing every word, and like just small things like that, where I think they noticed and by the first semester of my freshman year it was like honestly so much easier because they just expected that of me and it was like weird if I didn't act like that, you know.
Speaker 3:And then there were times where, like they've like don't say that to Laylee, or don't ask her that, or let's not, you know, and it almost came like a protective thing for them.
Speaker 1:I think a good phrase is establish yourself, yeah, and your freshman year is the time to do it. Establish yourself. If you'll do the hard work of doing that, if we've got young people listening and maybe you're going into your junior year and you haven't established yourself, start school, commit this first semester to establish yourself, and then it'll just get easy. It just will.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and if you are in your junior year and you haven't established yourself, honestly, the Lord could use that a whole lot more, because people can see the change and you don't have to make them feel shameful. You can keep your same friends but create that distance of I'm not going to take part in those things. And that could lead to so much good conversation of like why, why are you doing that?
Speaker 1:You know, um, or why are you changing in those ways? Well, and I appreciate what you said about, and I watched you live this out. You weren't, you weren't condescending, you weren't holier than thou, you were just a genuine, sincere person. And if they're listening to that music, you didn't tell them to stop. That takes some inner fortitude to to not let that music affect you. But at the same time, if you're around people that don't have a relationship with the Lord and then you try to impose Christian principles on it, like it's not going to be a good reaction, and so there are times to speak up and there are times to just quietly live out your faith. And so you're there, they're listening to it, and pretty soon they started to realize there's something different here and and then being confident of who you are in Christ. I remember we talked about this. We've relived this, replayed it a lot.
Speaker 1:Your freshman year, early in the basketball season, y'all were having a sleep over at one of the girls houses and you called me. I was here at north campus. It was winter swow, it was between christmas and new year. We were at a winter swow. You called me at it's 11 o'clock at night and I take the call, step away. I take the call and you say I'm in the bathroom at this girl's house. Um, we're going around and you might can give some clarity to this.
Speaker 1:There's one of those deals where everybody's going around sharing, talking, and you said I'm getting ready to share the gospel with this entire team. You're like the freshman on the team, they're 12th graders, they're 18 year old girls on this team and you're 15. I'm getting ready to share the gospel. Just pray for me. And I prayed with you. And then you went out. And what was that scenario and how did that play out?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I can't remember exactly what we were talking about, but, like I said, that group of girls was very unique and like it wasn't like I had to fight for opportunities to share the gospel and share the truth, like the Lord really worked it out, where there was pretty clear times where I was like, okay, yes, the Lord wants me to share this. I can't remember exactly what we were talking about, but like they liked having deep conversation and so like I think they were just talking about like general stuff, like how the world is here, like stuff like that. You know, general stuff like how the world is here, like stuff like that, you know. And I remember there's always like just a time before where I was really hesitant and obviously the enemy was trying to make me fearful and stuff, um, but like I remember just sharing the gospel and that was kind of it, and then they were all like listening and then the conversation kind of got into things like abortion or like pretty heavy topics that you could talk about for hours and like I kind of also the Lord gave me in those moments the wisdom of like it's OK, like you don't have to speak on everything because I mean I was like 14, 15.
Speaker 3:So like I don't think I was very equipped to debate abortion in those moments and I don't know if I had the confidence. And I think the Lord gave me the discernment of like, ok, you shared the gospel, you know, you had the confidence and you took that step. So it's OK if you don't have the knowledge and the wisdom to. You know, go into these deeper things and like also, that's not the problem with their hearts, like knowing what abortion is, you know, talking about that it's probably not gonna. Like maybe make them truly question, like, what their lives are, you know what they're pursuing and stuff. So like there was a lot of times like that where it was good conversation but it was never like it was always a pretty clear opportunity. Like I don't feel like I ever had to really force it and then just being faithful when the opportunity did come.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just being faithful. Yeah, chris, what were you going to say? Yeah, great talking point. The question was when, me and your mama back in the fall, we did a pretty big series, a long sit-down conversation talking about just our life, and we talked about how, when you're growing up. So first of all, let me ask you a question how many times have you been to Disney World or Orlando? None, Zero.
Speaker 2:Zero.
Speaker 1:Now I'm not saying it's wrong to do that.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying but we just didn't do it. Yeah, how many trips have you taken from the time you were that you can remember until you graduated from high school? Do you have an idea how many out of the country trips you took and how many weeks or months total you probably spent in another country?
Speaker 3:yeah, I think trips from like what 2 to 13. We would go to honduras every year and then we lived in africa for those four months.
Speaker 1:So you think all of that gave you a better experience than a disney world vacation?
Speaker 3:yes, I do yeah, and I'm not being facetious, but yeah, I think, even just like a side note, even the vacations we do take or we did take, it was like not to Disney World, where it's like there's entertainment everywhere you look. It's like we just go to the lake and we just chill and we just make things to do. We, you know, like I don't know, we would for hours throw the football off the dock and catch it like into the water, stuff like that. Like even the vacations we did take, it was like truly restful and like just let your mind think and as a kid, like really cultivated, like creativity and just like entertaining yourself.
Speaker 3:It's our family yeah, and then, like all those trips, I mean that's like genuinely priceless, I don't I don't even know how to describe like the impacts and just the perspective, yeah, of of those trips on my life, like I think obviously it always just makes you super grateful for what you do have in the life that the Lord has blessed you with, um, but it also just like really helped with being relational and like not being fearful of like talking to people and like going into situations that I don't know how this is going to go, but like it's going to be great and it'll be fine, like just like little things like that where it's like you know, when we were going to Africa, like we were just going, like there wasn't steps to walk out, there wasn't a plan, like a direct plan, so many of those things where it's like I feel like now I can really see like the Lord has used that to just give me like a perspective of I don't need to know exactly how this is going to go, or this conversation or this experience, like it's going to be good and I'm going to grow from it, so like that's something to be excited for.
Speaker 3:You know, um, but I don't know.
Speaker 1:There's so many things the uh, yeah, I'm glad you brought that up, because that was going to Africa was a crazy deal and I've never told that story on here or really anywhere. But I mean I had. I had located a lawyer. We were leaving. We were flying out on a Wednesday out of Dulles Airport in DC. Tuesday or Wednesday, wednesday out of dulles airport in dc. Tuesday or wednesday.
Speaker 1:We had a court date the following monday at a court in kampala, uganda. We were going to get in country. We didn't have anywhere to stay. I found a little guest house where we could rent a room. I emailed the guy. He said oh yeah, give me your flight information, I'll have my, I'll have, we'll have our, our driver. The guy that kind of has is our taxi, our go-to taxi guy. Pick you up at the airport. I don't know. I'm gonna see if you remember this. So I've got directions to when we get to kampala and they've changed that airport now. You've seen it. It's very nice now In 2014,. It was ghetto, third world. It's really nice now. I was shocked last time I went.
Speaker 1:I was like whoa, this is way different. But at that time, when you got off the plane, you walked outside into the terminal, went through the airport, went through customs, checked in into the terminal, went through the airport, went through customs, checked in and then you walked straight to luggage and outside and you're just in the you're in Africa and he had told I'd emailed this guy hey, I need a place to stay. I got a family of five and we're going to be bringing two more children into our family. I need a place to stay. Can I rent a room from you? One room. You remember that we all lived in one room for there four months.
Speaker 1:He said yep. He said I, and I said I need a ride from the airport. Our flight landed at 11 o'clock at night. Get through customs. I said we'll get through customs and I need a driver. We're an. We're staying an hour from the airport. The driver was this dude named Muhammad and and he said he'll be in. He's larger than most ugandans and he'll be in a red shirt. He'll be waiting for you outside of the airport. So it's me, your mama. You were what? Seven or eight?
Speaker 1:seven I think seven years old at that point, and then tuck would have been in 10 and kilby would have been 12 or something like that. Yeah or no? Let's see it was early 14, so nobody had birthdays yet that year. So y'all would have been in 10 and Kilby would have been 12 or something like that. Yeah or no? Let's see, it was early 14. So nobody had birthdays yet that year. So y'all would have been 13, 11 and eight. That was your ages. So we walk out of the airport at 1230, midnight 30. Walk outside there's a hundred cabbies trying to get us to come get in their car. I'm like now we waiting on my man, muhammad, and we sat down with all of our luggage for an indefinite amount of time. Indefinite amount of time. We didn't know how long we were going to have to stay Sat down on the curb in a third world country. So we'll wait here for Muhammad. We had been traveling for 40 hours at that point yeah.
Speaker 1:And an hour laterhammad walked up. I was kind of like I don't know what to do and back then phones wouldn't work like that. Yeah, yep, he walks up. You didn't see this. But muhammad said he had a guy with him and he said I said are you muhammad? And he said yeah, I said where you, he said I'm taking you to, and he said the name of the place. I was like okay, I think it's a real guy. But he had a guy with him and I'm like who's this? And he said this is my friend, he's a former policeman or he's a policeman, he's, he's, he's trustworthy. So I sat behind him in the car you didn't see this I took my belt off, I leaned up and whispered in his ear and I said I will die for my family and I will also kill you for my family. Drive me straight to this house and if you do anything funny, I'm putting my rope, my um belt, around your neck and I'm gonna kill you.
Speaker 1:I literally said that in the studio oh my gosh because I was freaked out, man, you know. Now I think I wouldn't be scared to go there, but I don't know. I mean I had emailed a guy I didn't know. Yeah, and I'm like our kids were going on an adventure and some people say, man, it was reckless the way we did things. We're sitting in a van at one in the morning in a third world country. I just took my belt off and I sat behind the driver and I said I'd die for my family, I'll kill for my family.
Speaker 1:You drive me straight to Herb and Ellen's house. If you don't, I'm going to put my belt on. So y'all didn't know that, but that's an experience like sitting on the side. Can you even remember getting there?
Speaker 3:I can remember getting there. I don't really remember the driving stuff, but even thinking about so many of those situations where y'all never, like you know, complained, Like I think just observing so many parents and like my friends in high school and stuff like that was such a direct effect on them, Like just complaining and like making a big deal about stuff, Like I mean there's never really a time where I can remember y'all like complaining about stuff, like sitting on that curb or whatever, and so to us it was just like it's great, it's like you know just chilling.
Speaker 3:So like I think that was also a really big thing too.
Speaker 1:What about Chris mentioned? You know, instead of going on those vacations because what we would do, our split was in in the spring, on y'all spring break we would go to, we'd stay in a lake house in the middle of nowhere. We go south, it'd be warm, it'd be march or april usually april, yeah and it would be warm and we would buy groceries and we'd spend seven to nine days just right there, yeah then every december we would travel to until you got, yeah, until you're playing high school ball.
Speaker 3:Um, we would travel to honduras and spend a week at an orphanage yeah yeah you feel like you missed out not going to disney world no, I like literally the anticipation of going to Honduras, like I can remember I mean, that was like the most excited, because it was so cool, because I got to build those relationships, like you know, growing up with those kids kind of like obviously didn't grow up with them, but every year I would go, it's the same girls I would hang out with and so like just y'all making it exciting, like just, I don't know, it was never a thought of my mind of like, oh, I would rather be doing, you know, disney World or something. Um, it was just, it was.
Speaker 1:I loved it yeah, and I I don't want to just sit here and hound on that, but I just wanted our listeners to hear, and maybe it'll challenge parents to, hey, instead of spending the money to go on a cruise next year, take that money and look at an orphanage in Central America it's not hard to get there or even in Africa or India, and just go there and say as a family, we're going to do the work of getting passports, getting visas, you can do it, it's not that hard, it just takes work and effort, but it's not that, it's not that big of a deal.
Speaker 1:And then take your family and go, instead of going on a self-serving vacation, go on an others serving vacation, and what you'll find is it fills your tank much more than going on a cruise or going to the beach or renting a house. You know, in a tourist area, um, I mean, I, I, I, I hate so much for close family members that I know that I love and they listened to this podcast that have never done anything like that. Every year they go to the beach and they rent a house and they love you know, they watch movies and they've got their little routine. They go through, and I'm not I'm not criticizing that. I'm just like if one time, instead of doing that, you would take your family, you would go spend seven, eight, nine days at an orphanage, it would. It would return so much of an investment in your spirit and heart.
Speaker 3:You could make that so much fun. It's not like the whole time we were at the orphanage. We were digging trenches, we were doing fun stuff with the kids, but serving them and being just present with them.
Speaker 1:You played so much soccer.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so much soccer. They yanked my hair out braiding it every day, like just stuff like that okay, well, I'm really grateful you come on.
Speaker 1:I'd like to do it again sometime and maybe folks could y'all email like conversation you'd like for us to have or questions you'd like to ask lately and I'll let her answer those and I'll just get out of the way. We'll be totally transparent. But anyway, thanks for coming on and taking the time. It worked out because your students, it's Friday, we're recording this on a Friday. Your students had to leave camp early. They left this morning. So, it worked out great.
Speaker 2:I've been wanting to do it for a while. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Thanks.
Speaker 3:Yes, it's fun.
Speaker 4:Thanks for listening to no Sanity Required. Please take a moment to subscribe and leave a rating. It really helps. Visit us at SWOutfitterscom to see all of our programming and resources, and we'll see you next week on no Sanity Required.
