Monday/Tuesday

We’re settling into camp and trying to figure out what the summer will look like without the normal daily/weekly schedule, programming, kids, and staff. Luckily Xander’s shyness with Mary went away quickly and they had a fun first day together. In fact, every time I saw him, he would say, “don’t you have to work?” or “Mary is still going to play with us, right?”  

Meghan, Sean and I spent all day Monday tearing apart closets and the office in the staff house. It’s been years of random junk piling up and it was good to get things cleared out and organized. After a hot day of work, all of us headed to the beach for some swimming. Augustus swam for a few minutes and then was done, so he and I hung out on the beach. Xander swam with Mary, Sean and Meghan. I didn’t get a good picture of Xander, but he was BEAMING. He loved every second of their undivided attention.

Both boys were still tired from the weekend and adjusting to life at camp. Augustus fell asleep while I was cooking dinner. He wasn’t happy when I woke him up, but they both ate well and then I took them back to the trailer for bath time and early bedtime.

The problem with early bedtime is that this morning, Xander woke up at 5:50! I convinced him to stay in bed until about 6:15, but it was an early morning for all of us! Xander started the day hanging out with Meghan and I while we worked, but got bored of us quickly and went back with Mary and Augustus.

Ross and Julia are former staff members who met at camp and got married and are back for the week to volunteer. They are also the hardest working, most talented people I know and I am thrilled that they are our first volunteers. They worked in the hot sun all day, rebuilding our gaga pit. They were AMAZING. Sean was also a rockstar, as he spent the day cleaning and organizing the Welcome Center and I can’t believe how awesome it looks.

Meghan and I tore apart all of the old camping gear, sorting, taking pictures and trying to figure out what to throw out and what to sell. I am trying to get rid of some junk we don’t use and hopefully raise a little money in the process.

trying out the old camping backpacks

a mess of stuff

Xander and Augustus were THRILLED to receive their first care packages of the summer.

By the late afternoon, all of us were exhausted and sweaty. Everyone else headed to the beach, but Augustus wasn’t interested. It worked out well because it gave me a chance to cook dinner while everyone cooled off.

After dinner, Mary, Sean, Meghan, the boys and I headed back to the beach to take the boat out to jump off. Both boys LOVE jumping off, and after Xander watched Meghan jump off the rail of the boat, yelling, “cowabunga!” he insisted on doing it too. And then “cowabunga-ed” off about 15 times. 

After swimming, it was bathtime, rest time and regular bedtime, which hopefully means a normal wake up time tomorrow. I am exhausted, but very excited how much progress we made in just the first 2 days. I was unsure how camp would be without campers. It’s not as energy-filled and exciting as usual, but so far, it’s as good as it could be. I’m feeling happy and grateful we are here.