July 2019 - The King-Whited Family Blog

A Series of Unfortunate Events

What a dumb day. No sugar coating, today was not great. Not with my kids- they are cute and wonderful. Look at that picture of a 3 year old in a robe. It’s been chilly the last few days and this morning was a robe kinda morning!

Camp needed some extra hands this morning, so Katie jumped in to help a group and the boys and I went into town. We went to the grocery store, the pharmacy and the bakery. Less than 10 minutes into the drive, Xander was complaining about car sickness. When we walked into the bakery, he said he was going to be sick and I managed to catch his vomit in a plastic cup, until they could give me a bag. He felt fine after that, but I was firm that the treats were “to go” so that they didn’t come back up on the ride home.

We’re having a lot of issues with the kitchen and that continues to be a multiple-time-a-day thing to deal with.

After lunch, I thought all of us would nap because none of us slept well last night and Augustus was super tired all morning. But neither child wanted to nap and then Augustus had a meltdown as rest time was ending and Katie arrived. I left her with a screaming child, which was hard to do, but also, I was so frustrated I was near tears. Luckily, Katie managed to calm him down and get him into the strolled where he fell asleep pretty quickly. I spent most of the afternoon sitting with a sleeping baby/hiding from everyone. I answered emails and assigned cabins for next week, so it was productive, but also, I was too tired and crabby to be out and about.

Xander came back around 4 and was also tired, so we all hung out and rested until dinner.

More kitchen issues at dinner.

Primetime was fun. Xander worked in the store and was being super silly with everyone. Augustus was a social butterfly and wanted to hang out with all the big kids.

We went to the campfire for a little while and then I took Augustus home for a bath. While he was in the tub, Meghan was in crisis mode in the kitchen re-planning breakfast for tomorrow and the nurse walkied with a camper issue in the health center. I walkied Katie to come back with Xander (luckily they were right outside the door), and I ran out the door to go deal with a kid in a full on panic attack. I calmed the camper down and came back grab some snacks for her, and to tell Katie she was going to have to put Xander to bed (Augustus was already asleep). I went back to the health center and then on to camper shower time. Just as Meghan and I were driving home after getting 68 girls through 6 showers (it took about 1.5 hours), another walkie from a counselor who couldn’t get a kid to turn off her flashlight. That turned into a ridiculous meltdown (and involved Meghan sitting outside in the dark for an hour). And now it’s 11:30 and I’m tired and also still kind of wired from the ridiculous day of unfortunate events. I’m SUPER hopeful that both boys sleep well and wake up feeling good. I need to get a solid night of rest so I can tackle these kitchen issues, complete some maintenance, and follow up with the anxious kid and the stubborn kid. Tomorrow should be busy.

“Watch this!”

Today was nonstop fun. It was a little chilly, but sunny and clear and we were busy! We started the day picking raspberries with Meghan. The entire camp is covered in berry bushes and they are ripe.

After morning berry picking, the boys hung out with Katie while I tie dyed with the campers.

After lunch, Augustus took a nap and Xander came with me around camp. He was a camp director while we went to activities to observe. We watched the dance class. We checked out the forts. We shot a few arrows at archery.

Then we went to the warped wall. That turned in to him ninja-kicking the sign next to it. After doing that for a few minutes, he needed to go change into an all black outfit and find a ninja headband. After the wardrobe adjustment, we went back for more ninja kicking. I’ve read a million articles about the value of free play. My instinct is to plan things for the boys, so I have to remind myself that allowing him to guide us and use his imagination is so important. He said, “watch this” approximately 100 times and it was really fun.

After ninja kicking, we ran through a puddle. Then we went to the sky chairs.

I had to lifeguard during the activity before dinner, so Xander went with Katie. Augustus was awake and they all played and also helped put the camper mail into mailboxes. When I got to dinner, Xander was making plans with Counselor Becca. I never figured out what they were up to, but I am thankful every day for wonderful staff who, even in the few quiet moments they aren’t with their campers, are willing to play with my kids.

There was lots of singing and dancing at dinner tonight.

After dinner, Xander worked in the camp store and I hung out with Augustus. Often during the day, while Augustus naps, I get to spend big chunks of time doing fun things with Xander. So it’s nice to get one on one time with Augustus too.

We finished the day with Xander playing all camp game while Augustus took a bath and relaxed. Xander came home and took a bath. Both boys had a snack and then snuggled into bed. It’s still chilly and both were wrapped in blankets and warm and snug. A wonderful day!

Rainy Sunday

This morning, we slept late, relaxed, did a few chores and then Nate left around 11 (that’s our typical routine for Sundays- it’s wonderful). The boys both have colds, so after lunch, they had quiet time until Katie came and then it was more quiet time for the whole afternoon. And then the rain came!

I HATE rain on check in day! The parents can’t take a camp tour. The whole routine is a mess. We had to move check in and luggage to the dining hall. Ugh. I had to hide my crabby attitude all day! I smiled and greeted parents, but I wasn’t happy!

But we survived and everyone was smiling (maybe they were all faking it too) and both campers and parents were pretty flexible. It was a perfectly fine day, despite the rain.

We had dinner and then the boys and I headed back for baths. They were both asleep by 7!

The rain stopped right around camper bedtime, but it’s supposed to be nice the rest of the week. I’m hopeful that both boys wake up feeling better and that my body continues to fight off the sneezes directly into my mouth.

Here’s to week #5!!

2nd Annual St. Paul Friends at CYC!

Our second annual St. Paul friends at CYC weekend was a huge success. So much good food, lots of drinks, perfect weather, nonstop activity, kids running everywhere. Jake, Anna, Paul and Jo slept in a tent! Grayson, Sarah and Oliver brought 7 week old Elliot! Jamie and Ryan were unfazed as always by the madness of 5 toddlers. And the King-Whiteds- we were excited to have friends join us in the woods!

Everyone arrived on Friday and immediately started running around (literally- running up the warped wall), all the kids took turns in the jeep, I got to hold baby Elliot (Xander was also very interested in him!), Jake and Anna put up a tent that all of the kids were excited to check out, and then we had dinner, put the kiddos to bed and stayed up way too late having drinks by the fire.

Today has been nonstop from the moment we woke up and enjoyed breakfast pizza and donuts. We headed right to the beach for a boat ride. After that, we swam until lunch.

After lunch, we had a dance party, that turned into a talent show with karaoke and then some 3 year old stand up comedians.

After that, Xander opened the camp store for his friends, and then we swam again. We had snacks, played on Sunset beach and then had dinner.

It was a whirlwind day of fun and I think all toddlers AND adults are going to sleep VERY well tonight! Until next year…

Friday

Typical Friday at camp! Late breakfast meant that I got to start the day slow, drinking coffee and checking my email while the boys played.

After breakfast was closing chapel which Xander enjoys and Augustus usually leaves early to climb around Sunset Beach.

After chapel, the campers have small group reflection time, followed by Capture the Flag. My boys play with Katie while I meet with the lead staff. And then it’s lunch time, followed by parents arriving and our closing program. It’s a whirlwind day every week.

After the closing program (where I debuted my new white shorts), and the staff meeting, we had a quick swim at the beach and then rested for a while because our friends are arriving on Friday evening.

One of those days

The day started out great! Right after breakfast, we went to the archery range to shoot. Xander had asked to do it yesterday and we ran out of time. But he shot about 15 arrows and hit the target most of the time and it was really fun. He did so well!

We went to the art hall to decorate a letter for Xander’s pen pal.

We hung out together all morning. It was super wonderful.

The talent show was extra long today, so Katie took Augustus to play because he was having a hard time sitting still. Xander hung in for the entire hour of performances.

There were some dining hall challenges at lunch, so after we ate, Katie took the boys back for quiet time so Meghan and I could meet with the kitchen staff. Augustus woke up this morning with a cold and was pretty miserable, but despite that, he didn’t nap today. He relaxed in bed for a while (I thought we would fall asleep) and Xander and I went into town to go to the grocery store. We stopped by Dairy Queen for a quick treat, loaded up on some necessities and headed back to camp. We were 1 mile away when Xander’s new(ish) motion sickness kicked in and he projectile vomited all over himself and the van (fun mom fail!). Katie and I got him cleaned up, the van cleaned up and I left both boys with her to have some quiet time while I worked.

checking out the bird enclosure at the DQ

The walkie talkie call was, “um, anyone who can hear this, can you come to the hill and help, we have a golf cart situation”. The golf cart had rolled backwards from it’s parking spot off the edge of the Sweeney hill. The good news is that it hit some trees and didn’t go over the edge of the cliff. The bad news is that Meghan and I got man-splained to by 3/5 of the men at camp, even though we pretty much had it figured out. But we all worked together and pulled it out and all was well.

Dinner was followed by 1.5 hours of mid summer staff reviews. It was poor planning on my part to leave the majority of them for Thursday night, but such a great chance to talk with staff. But it made for a LONG night away from my boys and by the time we got home for bathtime, I felt like I hadn’t seen them at all today (even though we started off with so much fun stuff this morning). I got a very sick, very tired baby bathed and in bed, followed by a very tired 3 year old. Katie returned and I went to supervise camper shower time.

Now it’s time for laundry, running bus/check out lists for tomorrow, dishes, shower and bed… eventually. Luckily the weather today has been breezy and warm, but so nice!

Fun Day

Another gorgeous day in the woods. These 2 goofballs started the day with big smiles. We were at the dining hall by 8am and had time to ride bikes before anyone was even there yet!

Xander and Augustus and Katie played all morning and I was very productive in the office. I have spent a lot of time this summer outside, playing, enjoying camp. But every now and then I have to tell my boys (and myself) that I am here for my job and I need to do some paperwork!

After lunch, Augustus took another good nap (I think this is 3 days in a row!) and Xander and I went swimming, followed by paddle boating with Meghan. Xander and Meghan jumped out of the paddle boat and swam around in the lake with the other big kids who were paddling. When Christine and her family were here, Xander didn’t jump off the paddle boat, even though I knew he wanted to. So I was happy he was brave today. He had a great time. If I could make a list (including paperwork) of everything at camp, paddleboating would be the LAST thing I would choose to do- it looks fun, but it’s just a TON of work for little actual fun. Xander kept encouraging us to go faster, but it was pretty windy and we were peddling as hard as we could! He had fun though, so that’s all that mattered.

At dinner, campers got to frost their own cookies! That was hit with my boys as well!

After dinner, Xander worked in the camp store, Augustus got covered head to toe in dirt, followed by bath time and bedtime. Xander skipped the dance party (he said he “felt a little shy”) and so he took a bath and then we played. We played with PJ Masks until he said, “ok, I’m going to play by myself now” and dismissed me. But after that we played ninja and wrestled for about 10 minutes until it was time to calm down and go to sleep.

Ben and Patricia are good friends of camp (and me) and they are here visiting. So after the camper shower time, Meghan and I joined them at the beach for night time swimming. A great way to end a hot day. It’s been a long time since I got to do that, so it was really awesome!

A BUSY Day!

What a full day! We had a slow start to the day- we skipped the dining hall and had a quiet breakfast at home. Then Xander, Augustus and Katie played for a while.

Tuesday means beach party, so we all headed to the lake for some swimming before lunch! After lunch we rested for a while and Augustus fell asleep.

Xander and I went kayaking and then I dropped him off with still sleeping Augustus and Katie. The goal was for Katie to wake Augustus up and to play until dinner, but instead, Xander fell asleep too!

I tried waking them up and they were OUT. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I decided that I could just roll with it- I like to stick to our schedule, but we don’t HAVE to. So I let them sleep. We missed dinner and they woke up at 6pm. Xander was very crabby that we missed dinner in the dining hall, but we ate at home- first at the table, and then, when we realized Jacob and Ben were moving heavy things, the boys decided to bring their plates outside and watch them while eating.

eating dinner, watching Ben and Jacob

After our jeep dinner, we went to the camp store for ice cream sandwiches.

And then we headed to the campfire. Augustus never gets to go to because he is usually in bed, so it turns out his 4 hour nap had a good outcome. Xander usually only goes to the beginning of the campfire, but this time, we got to watch the cheers, make s’mores, and watch the counselor skits. Xander helped hand out s’more sticks and Augustus was onstage while the counselors performed.

watching the camper cheers

Giving fire safety directions before s’mores

handing out s’more sticks

a VERY dirty camp kid

watching the skits

After the campfire, we went home to take baths and get ready for a very late bedtime. After bath, Xander looked outside and said, “the sun is setting!” which is not something they usually see. So we went to Sunset Beach to watch the sun set.

Both boys were asleep by 9pm, so, while it was a bit off our schedule, it ended up to be a great night!

A Great Monday

It’s possible that by the end of the summer, 50% of the photos will be of Xander and Mary hanging out. When Xander is not with Mary, he will ask, over and over, “where is my favorite Mary?” (we also have a counselor Mary, who is wonderful, but not Xander’s Mary). One of his new favorite things is Star Wars. He hasn’t seen it, but Mary has told him the story over and over and they talk about it nonstop. I found a Star Wars ABC book and he was VERY eager to show Mary at breakfast this morning. I wasn’t actually sure we were going to go to breakfast because we woke up late and when that happens, I don’t like to rush the boys. But Xander said, “I need to show Mary this book!” and was out of bed, shoes on, hat on, saying, “come on” to us as I got Augustus dressed.

Today was GORGEOUS. The heat wave broke and it was perfect breezy weather. I went to the doctor this morning for more steroids (we’re going on a month of poison ivy and I’m going to have a nervous breakdown soon). Katie, Xander and Augustus were busy all morning. I was back in time for lunch and then we had some rest time. Today was a rare and beautiful Augustus nap day, so Katie hung out with him while Xander and I went to the art hall to make a necklace and then went swimming and paddle boarding (neither of which I got any pictures!)

Tonight was all camp game (Angels and Demons). Kids have to run through the forest, get a piece of paper signed 3 times (by the angels) and then run it back to their bucket. Whichever team has the most papers at the end wins. If you get tagged (by a demon), you have to give up your paper and start over. It is BY FAR, the activity that campers LOVE THE MOST. I don’t really get it. It sounds like running laps to me. But, like all campers, my child LOVES it.

Augustus hung out a little later than usual tonight. He was still full of energy and playing with cars, throwing handfuls of dirt and kicking a ball. He was dirty head to toe by the time we headed home for bath time. He was dirty enough that I showered him off before I put him in the tub!