Thursday was our Friendsgiving celebration, and the teens showed up ready to eat, laugh, and reflect. We all took a moment to share what we’re grateful for, and I can tell you right now: I’m grateful for these incredible teens we get to see every night. They show up with their full hearts, their wild ideas, and the kind of energy that makes CYA, CYA.
We played football and participated in Madelyn’s iconic party game: a Cool Whip toss. The rules are simple: put a scoop of Cool Whip on your wrist, launch it into the air with a good slap, and try to catch it in your mouth on the way down. Easy in theory, absolute chaos in practice. The laughter was so loud I wondered how we’d explain ourselves if the police showed up.
On Friday we were featured as the nonprofit of the night for the Spud Kings’ tater toss. If you’ve never witnessed a tater toss, just imagine the most Idaho activity you can think of and then crank it up. Fans buy potatoes, and at the end of the second period, they throw them onto the ice toward a target. The potato that lands closest wins $500. It was naïve of me to think the amped-up hockey crowd would wait until we were safety behind cover before launching those babies. Thankfully, the potatoes were foam, so we all remember the event. The crowd had a blast, we got to share who we are with the community, and it was the perfect ending to a week filled with gratitude, laughter, and airborne foods.