Author Archives: Natalie King

Another gorgeous, breezy, sunny day at camp. The boys and Mary went swimming today and the water was super warm. I should have planned my day better because now that it’s almost bedtime, I am wishing I’d gotten to swim today too!

For me, it was more walks up pole barn hill today. More getting dusty and dirty. I’m so so tired.

Despite playing with Mary all day, Xander still asked me every time he saw me, “can we still play with Mary?” We’re going to miss her when we get home!

“Cheers” to root beer floats and best friends

One of their favorite past times- just hanging out (literally hanging)

It was sort of a low key Sunday today. Nate and the boys played all morning as Meghan, Sean and I had another garage sale to raise more money for camp. I can’t believe how much junk people are interested in buying, but we’re getting much needed cash and cleaning out every corner of camp, so it’s a win win!

After the garage sale and lunch, the boys and I went into town for ice cream. Dairy Queen is next to a bird enclosure that has geese, swans and emus.

When we got back to camp, they were stuck with me all afternoon. The boys played and eventually, after Xander “checked on” Mary for about the 5th time (just to make sure she was ok… I didn’t say to him, it’s her day off, of course she’s ok relaxing), she took over playing, which made them very happy.

We have more volunteers arriving on Wednesday, but we were back to our core group for dinner. We pretty much sit down to dinner as a family every night. I don’t make everyone else take 2 or 4 bites (depending on their age), but we all eat together and it’s great.

As I am typing this, Xander came over to look at the photo and said, “Mary looks good”

It was perfect sunny, breezy, gorgeous weather today, but not quite swimming weather. After dinner we hung out, Augustus practiced driving, Xander rode his bike a little, and then it was time for bath, ipads and bed. A great start to our last week at camp! The month has FLOWN by!!

We woke up to crashing thunder. There wasn’t much rain, but it was “balmy” according to Nate.

This morning, Nate and I had a good conversation about our house projects, daycare and the fall overall. It’s been a whirlwind month and every weekend is busy with volunteers, and I felt like we hadn’t talked in a month! It was so good to catch up with my husband! But while we were talking, I was feeling a little stressed and worried that I should be with the volunteers, or at least checking in. Once we finished our conversation, I went to check in with Meghan and Sean and then I felt stressed that I should be with my family. That’s a good summary of how I’ve felt all month long and why working weekends is not a sustainable lifestyle. It’s just a constant pull and while I am enjoying our time at camp, I am also looking forward to the end of the month!

After lunch, everyone headed to the beach to cool down as we were all already sweaty for the day. The pontoon is not made for tubing, but we went really slow and I think it was fine. Xander would have liked to have gone faster as he is turning into a daredevil!

When we finished tubing, Meghan, the volunteers and I headed to the pole barn to gather more items to sell. There were some giant logs that are super cool, but also super heavy. We managed to create a pulley system and get them down with zero incidents! It was hot, heavy, dirty work and by the time we were done, I was a mess.

I rinsed off in the shower and then cooked dinner for our crew. After dinner, we headed back to the beach for our nightly boat jumping.

I’m a self-described crazy dog lady. My first 2 dogs were my babies. I spent so much money on them and my life revolved around them. When I had children, my perspective shifted slightly, but I still loved them.

I was very excited to welcome Axel into our family 2 months ago. He was (almost) perfect- well behaved, calm, easy going, potty trained, didn’t chew things up. He didn’t even shed that much.

We were very cautious at the beginning, since he was new to us, but he was very patient with our kids. Even the few times they tripped on him or ran around like crazy kids, he seemed relaxed, unbothered.

He adjusted to camp quickly and I was just starting to think how great he was fitting into our family and how happy I was that we found him. I was imagining our cute family of 5 family photos for the fall, Christmas pictures… I was thinking how good the boys were being both helping out feeding him and being gentle around him. They were learning responsibility and really enjoying him.

And then on Monday, he tried to bite Augustus for no reason. Nate was right there. He left a mark, but we weren’t sure if he had bumped him or actually bit him. We were both on edge and watching the dog closely after that. So after lunch, when Nate took the boys back to the camper, he was watching closely. When Augustus walked by Axel, Axel crouched like a tiger and pounced, knocking Augustus down and biting him in the face.

Augustus is fine. He had a cut under his chin, on his face and a tooth mark in his forehead. It could have been so much worse. Every time I have closed my eyes in the last few days, I imagine how much worse it could have been. The “what ifs” have been terrifying. How many times in the last 2 months have the three of them been playing on the floor while I was in the other room- our house is small, but I wouldn’t have been in arms reach like Nate was.

Nate was on his way home for the week and so he took Axel so we could figure out what to do. I googled dog bites until midnight and I don’t recommend that- the images are HORRIBLE. I emailed everyone I know who knows about dogs- a vet tech, a professional dog trainer, a woman who rescues english bulldogs. In the morning I called animal control to ask their advice. 3/4 strongly recommended putting him to sleep because face bites are serious. They also said we could re-home him if we were clear with whoever took him about his history.

I am a dog lover but I really wasn’t sure what the most responsible thing to do was. He bit Augustus unprovoked, with no warning, out of the blue. That’s TERRIFYING. Is he safe to be around anyone if he’s so unpredictable?

I posted on an english bulldog facebook group and was very clear about why we were getting rid of him. I was surprised at how many people didn’t seem concerned about the fact that he’d been aggressive in his last home to dogs, and that he’d bit a kid unprovoked. The woman we got him from was a whole other source of drama in this. She couldn’t take him back but she was pretty hysterical about the possibility of him being put to sleep. My phone conversations with her (including the one where she screamed at me and hung up on me) as well as her text messages turned into play by play updates for Nate, Christine, Meghan, Sean and Mary. I kept wanting to respond to the crazy facebook people- HE BIT MY CHILD IN THE FACE! Get some perspective people- and that is coming from a crazy dog lady. I love dogs. But my goodness, it could have been so bad. I feel guilty and sick to my stomach that one of my kids could have been hurt. And I’m afraid someone else will get hurt.

We ended up finding a couple who had bulldogs in the past, don’t have kids, don’t have dogs, who were very excited about taking him. I’m still not sure it was the most responsible choice- I really hope he doesn’t bite them or anyone around them. I spoke with them for almost an hour, Nate spoke with them and I followed up with a written account of every detail I could think of from his history, to what his last owner said to our experiences. They have been warned. They met Axel and took him home on Friday. They were very excited and sent me photos later in the day. I wish everyone the best.

Xander cried and was very sad when he found out Axel wasn’t coming back. Augustus is fine- he doesn’t seem phased by any of it- the bite or Axel being gone. I think I’m the most traumatized one- I keep thinking about my baby getting bit and how much worse it could have been. I would never have forgiven myself if he’d been really hurt.

So now we are back to a family of 4. Xander said he wants a puppy, but I need to recover (I literally can’t stop thinking of my baby getting hurt).

What a whirlwind day! I barely took any pictures, so you know I was busy!

Today was camp’s Day of Giving. We pre-recorded several videos and then we went live on facebook about 5 times. We weren’t sure how much we could raise in a day, but we just closed out the day with $8700!

My mom was here this morning and the boys were thrilled to have her here. One of the facebook live videos was of Meghan and Sean jumping off the pontoon into the cold lake (it was about 68 degree outside this morning). Xander and Augustus went with us and didn’t jump off the boat (which is good because I think the cold water would have been too shocking), but did run into the water and swim for a few minutes.

The rest of the day the boys played with my mom and then Mary. I ran around filming videos and refreshing my email to see if we had more donations. I also sold some more items on facebook, so in the midst of the live recordings, I had to stop to meet with people who were there to buy our junk.

There was a zoom call for preschool at 6pm, so I was hurrying through dinner, hoping to be done in time. Both boys ate well and then at the end of dinner, Augustus climbed under the table and managed to smash his lip into the table.

I’ve done a lot of first aid, but I have never seen blood POUR like that. He and I were both covered. The flood was a murder scene. I threw away 3 blood soaked dishtowels at the end. He has a very fat lip but is fine. He already has a beat up face from earlier in the week, so he’s looking sort of rough. It was an added layer of chaos to an already crazy day.

But the day is finally over and we raised more money than I’d expected. We have just one more week at camp for the summer and it’s starting to feel bittersweet. I’m looking forward to being home again, but also sad to leave the woods.

It was a good day. A crazy day. But a good day!

Fundraising team!

A snuggly start to the day

Today Grandma Debbie came to camp! She arrived a little before lunch and the boys were bouncing around all morning in anticipation.

They were very excited to show her all around camp at the things we’ve been working on and their favorite places to play this summer.

Like always, she was able to play and clean at the same time, this time getting Xander working on dishes.

Later in the afternoon, the boys both tie dyed tee shirts.

After dinner, we had ice cream cones and then made a campfire and roasted marshmallows. We are going to have to do a sugar detox when we get home from camp, but it’s fine for now. 

I was busy all day getting ready for our fundraiser and I am hopeful tomorrow is a success. There is a LOT going on tomorrow- the fundraiser, a pre-school zoom call, people coming to buy some of our junk… it’s going to be a bit hectic, but it should be good.

It was rainy and cold when we woke up and the whole day was chilly! It was kind of a nice change to be in sweatpants and sweatshirts, but it was surprising how drastically different it was from the day before. The boys and Mary played in the dining hall for a while- they had a new stomp rocket to shoot, bikes to ride and I think they did some exploring as well. Meghan, Sean and I quietly worked on our computers, snuggled under blankets all morning.

After lunch, we decided to have a movie afternoon, so we set up a theater and the boys snuggled in with snacks. Not pictured- Meghan, Sean and I working in the dark.

When the movie ended, the boys played and ran around. I worked some more. There isn’t much to say about the day- I worked and the day that flew by.

After dinner and bath time, Xander was insistent that we have a jammie party. He tried yelling at everyone to change into pjs, but I don’t think anyone did. We had cake and they listened to music and danced while I took a long phone call. When I got back, they were busy discussing music and cake, so I think the party was a success.

Tomorrow Grandma Debbie is coming to camp for a visit! It should be another busy day!

We had volunteers at camp all morning and after lunch, so I did some more heavy lifting/hauling junk around. We have 25 buildings at camp but I still can’t believe how much random useless junk we’ve accumulated. I think my 38 year old self is getting too old for all of this backbreaking labor! The boys helped out for a few minutes.

The volunteer group finished their projects a little after lunch and so we all headed to the beach for swimming and paddle boarding. It’s taken us a few weeks but we finally hauled paddle boards over and I was so excited to finally paddle around. The boys LOVED jumping off the boards and we took a ton of go-pro videos that I will try to upload tomorrow.

After swimming, we headed into town for a dinner edition of pizza-picnic. The pizza truck isn’t usually open on Mondays, but they had a special pop up, so we went. This time, we all traded pizza, so I got to sample a few new kinds and they are all SO amazing. I don’t want to be dramatic, but I’m willing to say it’s some of the best pizza of all time.

Tomorrow-Thursday is GAME ON for fundraising work. We have 1 million things on our to do list, but we’re gearing up to save camp, so here we go! I recorded a video today that explained that we have 2 sources of revenue- donations and tuition. With the loss of programming, that wipes out an entire stream (roughly 3/4 or so actually) of our revenue. So we need to massively increase fundraising to a level I have no yet achieved in this short of time. It seems like a global pandemic is the ideal time to take on this challenge…

It was a busy weekend for everyone. Meghan, Sean and I were busy cleaning out closets and storage rooms, finding every piece of junk we could get rid of or sell. We found some old boating tubes and filled them with air, and a few of them were still good. You can’t tube on a pontoon, but you can slowly drag 2 toddlers. They loved it. The boys spent the whole weekend either in the boat, swimming or taking ATV rides. I spent time in the pole barn, which was a dirty, heavy, hard job of organizing and carrying things down the hill. On Sunday we had a massive garage sale and raised some money for CYC. Our big fundraiser starts this week, so it was a little head start.

We were supposed to get crazy weather on Friday night, but only ended up with a little rain and not much else, so that was a relief.

We celebrated our garage sale success with ice cream sundaes in cone bowls.

We have more volunteers tomorrow and MUCH work to do on our fundraiser. It should be a busy week ahead!