Monthly Archives: June 2018

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…

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.

Staff training is Friday-Friday and begins each day with breakfast at 8:15 and ends every night with evening chapel at 8:30pm. Each hour has a different topic- everything from how to teach archery to what to do about homesickness to crazy teambuilders with the whole staff to emergency procedures and much more. The first 2 days were all led by me. On Monday, we switched the focus on more of the fun stuff like programming, so it’s not all listening.

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.

Luckily I have an amazing community of people around me who are always ready to distract a toddler or snuggle a baby. Nanny Katie is FABULOUS and always focused on the boys. And the rest of the staff are SO wonderful. The give both boys so much attention and love. It is wonderful to watch them.

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.

Staff weed pulling= put that kid to work!

Staff moving a big pile of rocks with a 2 year old assisting

Nanny Katie is the BEST

The face of a guy who just got her to make him a s’more

We’ve had a busy few days! Grandma Debbie was here from Thursday-Saturday so that Katie could go to the first 3 days of staff training. Nate was here from Friday-Monday. And Grandma and Grandpa Whited came all the way from Ohio from Saturday-Monday! It’s been nonstop fun for Xander and Augustus!

On Saturday, it rained all day so Xander, Nate and Grandma and Grandpa headed to Duluth for the day. They checked out the Duluth Aquarium.

Sunday was Father’s Day and we were lucky to have not just Daddy, but also Grandpa to celebrate with!

Everyone left on Monday afternoon and the camper is much quieter! It was so fun to have everyone at camp and we can’t wait for more visitors to come soon!

Well, we attempted to catch a fish. Xander was actually ok at casting the line and if he had kept the bobber in the water for more than 30 seconds, he might have caught a fish. Not this time though.

We spent almost all day outside. Xander drove his jeep from one end of camp to the other, checking out the mud pit several times, stopping to (attempt) to shoot some slingshots, and checking in on Ross, Julia and Meghan to see what they were doing every few minutes. Xander is the ultimate supervisor because he likes to keep close tabs on everything they do.

Ross was using a sledgehammer to demo a giant stone bird bath today. We spent about an hour watching and attempting to help. Xander spent some time hitting it with a stick and climbing all over. Then when Ross got out a shovel, he went back to our house to get HIS shovel, . Some days it’s like we’re running a montessori school over here… but really, what else are little boys supposed to be doing all summer, if not hitting stuff with sticks and digging in the dirt?!