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| On Fridays, everyone at camp wears their tie dye tee shirts. |
What a great extended weekend! Nate has been here since Wednesday and we’ve been having so much fun.
We’ve been very busy!
We went on a boat ride.
We had a picnic.
We hung out outside.
Nate and Xander went on a million ATV rides.
And everyone took some time to rest and relax.
Happy 4th of July. Pinterest empowers me to pose my children in matching shirts and expect them to smile and look at the camera. But these actually turned our pretty cute, so obviously, the next holiday I will have high expectations.
Big Sandy Lake has a great firework show and so we decided to make popcorn for a snack. About 30 minutes into this ridiculous hot project, we looked at each other and asked what we were doing. But it was delicious and a nice addition to fireworks.
Xander really enjoyed the cabin cheers and was pretty mesmerized.
These are photos of Meghan roasting him a marshmallow. However, he actually went to the campfire early (even before I got there) and had a s’more. Then he wanted a “clean” marshmallow, which he got, so this is actually his third of the ni
Julia helping him make a s’more
I handed Augustus off (luckily several of our staff are baby-crazy and always happy to hold him).
At 8pm, after he told me “one more song” every time I told him we had to leave, I finally got him into the stroller. He wasn’t happy we had to leave.
We had visitors this weekend and it was so fun!! Grandma Debbie, Aunt Cindy and Cousin Mikey came to camp to visit. We drove the jeep, did arts and crafts, shot archery and slingshots, paddleboarded, paddleboated, made s’mores over the campfire, and golf carted all over camp.
Now our second group of campers is here and camp is in full swing!
Last night, the boys woke up every hour or so- they alternated who needed a drink, who was crying, who needed tylenol, who was just restless and it was a ROUGH night. They are both still sick and just miserable. They both slept until 8, so we skipped breakfast in the dining hall and had oatmeal and fruit when they got up.
But they both woke up crabby. I woke up tired and also sick. We struggled to eat. We struggled to get dressed. Both kids kept bursting into tears. And then I heard over the walkie talkie, “can a lead staff come to the welcome center?! We’ve got a runner.” This is the same kid that tried to run away yesterday (who we had to CHASE and catch). So I left poor Katie with 2 half dressed/half covered in yogurt crying kids and ran to the welcome center to try to reason with a hostile 8 year old.
The first week is hard. It always is. The theory of campers is so easy. And then they get here and counselors are like, “whoa! kids don’t listen and they walk slow and everyone is swinging their towels around!” and then they burst into tears. So we have spent the last few days reassuring them they are actually doing fine and also making a long list of notes for the staff meeting of things I don’t want them to do next week.
Also, everyone at camp is currently sick.
So overall, it’s exactly how it always is and every time I have the urge to update my resume, I have to remember this is normal and I love this job. It’s a privilege to be at camp and it is SO lucky and wonderful that I have a job that allows me to see my children all day. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit this is HARD. It’s hard to know that the AMAZING lead staff is up at 6am mixing the mud pit, after bringing dry sleeping bags to cabins at 3am after a bed wetting incident, and I can’t be there to help with any of it because I’m attending to my own kiddos who need me. I am so thankful for such a hard working team who keeps camp running (while I feel like I’m barely able to get three of us out of the door fully dressed in the morning!)
And then there’s Nanny Katie, who is also keeping camp running because she is a SUPER STAR. She texts me pictures like these-
And manages to get both children to take a nap in the afternoon (they weren’t even considering that option with me!).
She also understands camp and takes initiative to help counselors, get out the tug of war rope (with a baby in her arms) to help prepare for mud pit time, and manages the boys, Olivia, and me! She steps in to help with camp programming when I have a screaming fussy baby who just wants to nurse, which means I’m unavailable to help with whatever is happening at camp.
It is such a relief to have another set of hands who understands camp and is competent and a strong leader.
I’m hoping that tomorrow we can all wake up healthy, the boys can go back to their normal easy going, happy little selves and I can stop feeling like I am constantly running behind.
We’re halfway through week number 1…. And counting down….
Last night, I put Xander to bed and walked down the two little steps into the main area of the camper. After a minute or so, I heard a high pitched shriek, followed by several more intense screams. My feet barely touched the ground as I FLEW up the stairs, imagining my child being stabbed, maybe stung by a swarm of bees. Years of first aid training came flooding back- I was prepared for any level of triage… it’s truly amazing how much can go through your head in just seconds.
I rushed to his side and said, “what’s wrong?!”
In a small voice he said, “my animals”.
Xander sleeps with 3 stuffed animals and I hadn’t tucked them in like I normally do.
“Never make that sound again” I said calmly and then I tucked them in.
Crisis averted.
We’ve been getting ready for weeks (really the whole year!) and FINALLY on Sunday, campers arrived! 
Xander was impressed by the three giant busses that rolled in and fascinated by the 105 “big kids” who poured out. He has been pretty quiet and has stuck pretty close to Nanny Katie, but he is interested. Unfortunately, everyone is sick. All of the counselors, Nanny Katie, Xander and Augustus (not me yet, but it’s coming).
It’s just a cold, but it’s pretty miserable and has made for 2 crabby little boys.
On Sundays, campers sign up for activities and it is a PROCESS to get them all assigned. It typically takes about 2 hours (on a good night). On a night when you add a sick baby (who doesn’t want to be put down), it takes a bit longer. I made it to bed slightly before midnight, which was earlier than I’d expected, but still late.
Today was a pretty good first full day. The weather has been perfect and kids are having a blast. My 2 children were very “off” as they were both sick. So Augustus hung out with me for a lot of the day and then we ended up skipping dinner in the dining hall and had soup and fruit in the camper instead. Early bath time, early bedtime and I’m crossing my fingers they wake up feeling better…
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| I was on camp photo duty and he assisted. |
Then it came time to take the staff photo and my 2 year old wasn’t having it. And so I said, “if you come and take this photo, I will give you a treat” winning both parent of the year AND youth development professional of the year awards in just one sentence. Not one of my finer moments. e ran right over. 
So everyone won.
One of the best parts of camp is getting a care package in the mail! Campers get PILES of mail even though they’re only here a week.
Even now that most of the sessions I am leading are over, I still try to go to as many things as I can. It’s not always easy to balance work and being a mom. I’m eager for camp to begin and a more set schedule to be in place.
Xander talks about everyone each night. He can be shy sometimes- tonight there was a dance party that he very much wanted to attend. He talked about it all through bath time and afterwards. But when we went up there, he was VERY shy and didn’t want to dance. But he likes to watch.
I feel very lucky that everyone on staff has embraced my children and are always willing to talk with them, run, chase, play and include them as much as possible It makes this whole journey much easier and also really special.
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| Staff weed pulling= put that kid to work! |
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| Staff moving a big pile of rocks with a 2 year old assisting |
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| Nanny Katie is the BEST |
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| The face of a guy who just got her to make him a s’more |
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