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Back to normal camp life. Nate left this morning (after the boys had given his car a quick squirt gun wash).

Sundays are pretty much the same every week- lead staff meeting at 12:30, staff meeting at 1, projects around camp until campers start arriving at 3.

The boys helped me with check in for a while.

Then they spent the day playing with Katie. They were so excited to see her when she got back to camp this morning. And at bedtime, when I asked about what made Xander happy today he said, “playing with Katie!”

After dinner and a few things I needed to get done in the office, the boys and I headed home for baths, playtime and bedtime. Meghan stopped by while we were in the midst of after-bath snack time. We talked about some camp things while I fed Augustus a bagel and yogurt (alternating bites). The majority of our important professional business meetings involve children on my lap touching my face while I talk, children eating (and needing help), naked children, children screaming, or some combination of the above. I’m not sure I’d even know how to have a regular adult meeting at this point. 

What a great weekend! Campers left on Wednesday afternoon and we’ve had 3 full days of relaxing and playing. Our weekends are usually pretty short, so this weekend has been a treat! On Thursday, my mom, my aunt Cindy, my cousin’s son Mikey, my brother Danny and his wife Heather (and of course, their dog Buddha), as well as my cousin Jason, his wife Michelle, and their sons Jackson and Sawyer all came to camp. We spent the day paddle boarding, paddle boating, swimming, and hanging out around camp. We shot archery, played a bunch of games, ate some great meals, and made s’mores!  

We celebrated 4th of July- we attempted to watch fireworks on the lake, but the mosquitoes won the battle and we all ended up inside. 

My grandma’s 5 great grand sons all in the same place for the first time ever!

Friday we spent more time kayaking, paddle boarding, paddle boating, swimming and playing.

#nofilter

Xander and Augustus’s new favorite activity is jumping off the dock, over and over and over again.

Nate had to work on Friday, but arrived on Friday night, in time for dinner, a campfire and some games. This morning we got up and swam for a while, and then all of our guests left after lunch. Nate, the boys and I relaxed, played, and I got a bunch of things on my “to-do” list done. We even had time for some impromptu family photos in a field of flowers.

Tomorrow Nate has to go home, campers return and it’s back to regular camp life.

Another 2 hour swim time for the boys today. It was hot and sunny and they both jumped off the dock about 20 times each.

Augustus was so tired after swimming, he fell asleep on the way back to our camper to change clothes and I briefly considered skipping lunch so he could sleep. However, after lunch, he was not as tired and did not want to nap. After not napping al of rest time, I handed him off to Katie, who walked him around in the stroller until he fell asleep and then I worked while he slept and Katie and Xander ran around and had fun. 

Monday-Thursday, the lead staff sit at the camper tables during dinner so that counselors can take turns sitting at the head table with Meghan and I. It’s a good time to check in and also gives them a little break from the kids. I had to decide if I should change the whole policy about where lead staff sit or if I should let him sit at a different table. He sat with Mary. He even carried his tray over by himself. I was proud of him for being independent, but I was genuinely emotional and sad. Is this what it feels like when your kid goes off to college? Mary is amazing and helped him with dinner, and at one point, she was shading his face from the sun coming in and helping him eat (I’m not sure she even got to eat). He ate his dinner and was fine without me and looked quite proud of himself for his independence. 

After dinner, Xander went to his job in the camp store. When I went in, he asked what I wanted to order and once I got a bottle of water, he told me to have a nice day. When I didn’t leave, he said, “What are you still doing here?” and I said, “you guys are still here!” and he said, “We work here!” and then literally dismissed me with a wave.

After his shift at the store ended, he and Katie headed off to the dance party. He BARELY gave me a wave and a casual, “bye mom”. Some days he still needs 5 hugs and kisses before I leave him with Katie for an hour, but this “cool dude” thing is new and hopefully temporary. Because I’m definitely contemplating a new baby, a puppy or getting a hobby, because I have LOST my baby!

pre-dane party dancing

The mom part of me is trying not to cry (he was just a tiny baby!). The child development professional knows that he is gaining self confidence, problem solving skills, independence, communication, and so so many other important life skills. When he is not with me, he is with Katie or someone she specifically hands him off to. He’s not just wandering around camp (although he thinks he is). I trust all of the staff 100% and I know they are watching him closely, treating him with kindness and patience and genuinely have his best interest in mind. I know he is safe, loved and being well cared for. This is an ideal situation for him to grow and learn and blossom. He has gone from a baby to a little boy in front of me and it is miraculous to watch and also breaking my heart a little bit. He is so smart and funny and curious and I HOPE he retains some of these memories as he grows up.

We stayed at home for breakfast today. Some days, Augustus just doesn’t want to get dressed (as in, he was naked all morning, and yes, he peed on the floor twice) and we move kind of slow and it’s better to just eat at home, rather than try to rush them off to the dining hall.

After a slow start to our day, we managed to have a FULL jam packed day of fun! Katie and the boys played all morning long. They rode their bikes and ran around. I fought with the internet that didn’t work and tie dyed with the campers and was busy with a million things.

After lunch, instead of resting (because they never want to rest anyway), we went to the beach to paddle board and swim with Meghan. We were there for 2 hours and they would have stayed longer, but I made them leave so they could rest before the fell over from exhaustion.

After swimming, they ate freeze pops naked and relaxed. Xander got dressed and then ran off to go help Meghan with some golf cart maintenance. Augustus and I took a nap (I dozed off before him, and then woke up after 10 minutes to find him asleep, naked and completely sprawled out in bed.

After maintenance with Meghan, he went off to find Mary and Katie. He is always happy to follow them around and ask questions about what they are doing.

At dinner, Xander was adamant that he was going to sit with Jacob (who was sitting with some campers tonight). I had to do a lot of coaxing to convince him to sit with me. Xander adores Jacob and Mary (both lead staff) and wants to follow them everywhere. So if they are sitting with the big kids, he wants to. That’s a very new development and I can’t imagine my baby going off to sit with big kids, but I have a feeling that might be coming soon.

After dinner, I thought we were going to go home for an early bath time since Xander had not stopped moving since the morning, but he had other plans! He got himself a job! He sat with Mary in the camp store and assisted the whole time. His customer service was excellent.

After camp store, he still wasn’t done. On Monday nights, the all camp game is called Angels and Demons and involves kids running through the forest getting chased by “demons” (counselors). Xander was ready to run fast and be with the big kids. I took Augustus home for bath time and told X to tell Katie whenever he got tired. He said, “if I get tired, Katie can carry me home”. I told him not to play so hard he couldn’t walk, but that Katie would take him home whenever he was ready. He played the whole game and came home at 8pm!

It’s been a FULL day for 2 little boys!

Friday was our last day of the first session! It was a great first week- maybe the smoothest we’ve ever had in my 12 years. Usually all the counselors cry, it rains every day and everyone is late to everything. But it was decent weather, the counselors were pro-level and life was good. I really enjoyed the kids, but like every week, by Friday, I was ready to say goodbye and send them on their way! Friday is tie dye day, and everyone looked awesome. 

150 people at the closing program, and this child was unfazed. He walked right up on stage like he owned the place.

Saturday

The last time we were home was a full month ago. This was the first weekend since the beginning of June that we were free and it also happened to be Nate’s birthday on Friday and Xander’s best buddy Skylar’s birthday party on Saturday!

So after the campers left, and the post camp staff meeting ended, we loaded the car and headed home for a whirlwind weekend of fun. The birthday party was well worth the trip! There was a pool, a pj mask mask craft, pizza, 3 cakes, and a bunch of running/chasing/screaming. It was so good to see all of Xander’s school buddies. He had an absolute blast playing with his friends. We have SUCH a great group of kids and parents at his daycare and it was great to see everyone! I know he misses his friends and I am so glad he could be at the party!

While Xander and I partied, Augustus went with Daddy to pick up stuff at his new office.

When we all got home, Grandma Debbie came over for a visit. The weather was SO hot. I left for some errands and when I returned, my mom and the boys had swimsuits on and the hose out. I’m not sure who came up with the idea of creating a giant mud pit (Grandma), but when I came home from the grocery store, the top of the sandbox was filled with water and the yard was a giant mud puddle. I am a huge fan of kids + mud due to some fabulous muddy childhood memories. Xander can be kind of delicate when it comes to getting dirty, so I was very pleasantly surprised to see him rolling around.

Then we added the bike ramp into the mix, creating a mud slide.

We had a wonderful dinner and birthday cake left from yesterday. It was a full day!

Visits home are a sometimes a little bittersweet. We have such a wonderful life and I miss it when we are away. Fun weekends like this especially make me miss being home.

I know the summer will fly by, so I am going to enjoy it while it lasts. Because I also really love our life at camp.

Also, the traffic was RIDICULOUS everywhere I went today, so I’m ready to get out of the city and back to the woods. And it was HOT today. It gets hot at camp too, but living on a peninsula means that it is typically much cooler and breezier at camp.

Session 2 starts tomorrow. We’re heading back bright and early. Goodbye St. Paul, we’ll see you in a month (or so).

It’s been a full day, and I had 2 tired boys by the end of the day. They were being very patient with me  when I took a detour to the office on the way to bath time.

Also- here’s the face of an executive director who got a $73,000 donation today. WHAT?! Yep. It was a pretty good day today!

The last few days have zoomed by! It’s nonstop! I lifeguard for one hour in the afternoon, and then it’s a million tiny things- helping the kitchen with garbage, talking to a homesick kid, answering emails, hanging out with my kids here and there, working on cabin lists for next week… and so on and so on.

A bunch of photos to catch up on the last few days-

2 tired boys who needed some extra snuggles  before I had to leave for shower duty at night

Pre-dining hall breakfast at 6:30am

Xander likes sitting by Mary best because she tells the best stories

Tuesday night is the campfire and counselor show. We took baths and changed into pjs before we went, because it starts at 7 and by the time we get home, it’s basically bedtime. Xander picked out this whole outfit (notice the shorts over the pants) and said it was his “super hero outfit”. He was very excited to show all of the counselors.

waiting for all of the campers to be seated

Despite having a major sweet tooth, Augustus doesn’t really enjoy s’mores, but did enjoy unlimited graham crackers.

roasting a marshmallow

We take every camper’s photo with their s’more and Xander did everything just like the big kids. He roasted his marshmallow, walked over to the s’more station and then stood in line to get his picture taken.

Wednesday fun-

Katie took the boys to the archery range and Xander shot his bow just like the big kids. He was very proud of himself.

Wednesday is tug-o-war day. We mix the mud pit and make sure the mud is as sloppy as possible. Xander wants nothing to do with it, but Augustus was VERY curious. I think he would have gone in if I would have let him (it would have been up to his stomach). I picked him up while I was mixing it and dipped his toes in.

Wednesday night is the dance party! By 7pm, both boys were filthy, without shoes and Augustus had also ditched his shirt. We spiked his hair for the dance and then headed to the dining hall for a pre-dance party. It was fun to have all of the tables and chairs taken down so they could run around without any obstacles. They played superhero with Katie, sang, danced and ran

They were a little shy once the actual dance started because the music was louder and all the big kids were there, but Xander still danced for a little while before I made them both leave for bath/bed.

Tomorrow is our last full day of the first week! It is supposed to be hotter than today, so we’ll have to get to the beach.

The day started out with a little bit of rain, but overall, was a pretty nice day! It was humid and the rain sprinkled down a few times, but none of the activities were changed and it was a decently warm day.

Katie shared her rain coat and sweatshirt with the boys.

One of my favorite things about camp is watching the boys interact with the staff. Even though they are busy with campers, they still have time for little boys who want to tell them and show them things, or climb into their lap and demand that they share their cereal with them.

Augustus says lots of words, but doesn’t actually talk yet. But I’m convinced he had a full conversation with Leah at dinner tonight. He showed her his toy and just babbled away for a full 10 minutes.

This photo sums up Xander and Augustus at camp this summer. Xander is so interested in everything everyone is doing. He wants to talk to the counselors and he is so curious about everything. But then he gets shy and hides behind me or Katie. Augustus meanwhile is not nervous ever. He doesn’t hesitate to join in with the big kids or the staff. He is always in the mix.

Now it’s bedtime for the boys, and I’m heading to supervise showers for the 2 hours it takes to get kids through!

It’s the first day of camp!! I haven’t seen any of the camp pictures yet (internet is going SUPER slow today), but we were all excited to welcome our first group of campers! We have 100 kids to kick off our summer! It rained (like it ALWAYS does the first week), but everyone seemed excited to be at camp.

Xander was feeling a little shy, but Augustus didn’t hesitate to go onstage as always.

The boys and I had a super fun weekend with Nate at Grandview, but I had 2 tired boys today. We got up and had breakfast, packed, loaded the van, hugged Nate goodbye and headed back to camp. We stopped at the grocery store on the way back and made it back in time for a quick lunch and then I was off to the Sunday staff meeting. While I was in the meeting, there was a little scuffle between brothers. Augustus landed on one of the few paved areas of camp. He has a big scrape on his chin.

At dinner, someone asked, “Oh my! What happened?!” and I said, “he got pushed.” Xander chimed in, “Well, actually, he got tackled.” Brothers.

I need to schedule 100 kids into 3 activities each, as well as assign counselors to each activity. I also need to shower, type several things, and possibly throw in a load of laundry… Camp has begun!

Another great day at Grandview Lodge. This photo doesn’t do the breakfast buffet justice- it’s fabulous and has everything you could ever want. Both boys started with donuts, because it was an easy way to keep them sitting while I loaded up plates for all of us. When I got back to the table, Xander had ordered himself a drink, which I was quite impressed by- I definitely couldn’t have done that when I was 3! This kid appreciates the finer things in life!

We had a full day- playground, swimming, running around outside. There were water balloons and a slingshot launcher that we tried out before lunch. I missed some photo opportunities, but it was a gorgeous, sunny, fantastic day.

Everything at Grandview is so pretty, I wanted to take pictures all day!

 We spent time jumping off this stump for quite a while.

There was also some time for resting.

This afternoon, while Augustus and Nate napped, Xander and I went and got ice cream and popcorn.

Tonight was the dinner and awards banquet. I really wanted to go to this with Nate but I have been in full panic mode about the kids. The dinner was 6-10pm. Childcare was provided, including dinner, but I couldn’t imagine dropping off my babies with strangers and also expecting them to feed them dinner, while also letting them stay up so late. But childcare on Friday went well and Nate and I decided to feed them dinner before dropping them off and see how it would go. I was prepared to drop everything and run to them (they were literally down the hall) if necessary. I think the lesson this weekend is that I sometimes underestimate my children. They were fine! They ate dinner, made a craft project and were all smiles when I picked them up at 9. I think they could have stayed longer if I had been later. I shouldn’t have worried. I had a nice dinner, some cocktails and got to learn a bit more about Nate’s new company. It was a great evening and next year I will let them stay in childcare the whole time. The night was a success!