The Day After

After a long trip like I just took, it's normal to come home and rest, relax, catch up on laundry, etc. but no, I can never be normal!  I had a load of laundry done by Sunday morning, Regan packed for church camp, and it was our week to serve at church!

I do nursery check in for the 2nd service, Regan works with toddlers, and David does campus support. So as soon as we were done, Regan and I rushed home and ate lunch, took Princess to her boarder (a friend of mine that grooms her) and picked up some food for Hunter, ran home so David could use my truck to get Hunter to his boarder (he loves Dog Boys!) and I took Regan to the church to drop her off for camp. 

She was so excited for her first year of youth camp! And so tired too, poor thing!

Then David and I hit the road for Port Aransas. We only have 2 nights here, but we are making the most of them! We got in Sunday night, rode the ferry (my favorite way to get to the island) and found a dinner place that was decent and not too crowded (service was terrible so they gave us free bread pudding to take back to he room)  Then we took a late night full moon stroll on the beach. It was perfect! 

Today we had breakfast at the same place we had dinner last night because they had really good looking cinnamon rolls! And they were! And then we hit the beach for a bit. There must be a storm or something out there cause that was the roughest water I've ever had at the beach! We didn't stay too long, came in, got cleaned up and went to lunch and a movie. Been a while since I've been to a movie in the middle of the day!

 Then we went to this place called Shells for dinner. I had heard great things about it from my sister, Wendy, and she was NOT wrong! There was an hour and a half wait last night, only 30 minutes tonight so we thought we would stay. And we are so glad we did! We both had farfalle with bacon, tomatoes and spicy garlic cream sauce for dinner, his with shrimp, mine with chicken. And a roasted garlic and grilled focaccia bread for an appetizer. Yum! Now we know why it's always so busy! And it's super small, 14 tables total, and that includes the 5 outside! We will definitely go back there next time. 

And another moonlight stroll on the beach (this time with a mojito for me, piña colada for David) and I am SO not ready to go home tomorrow! It's been a very busy few months for us and it has been nice to get away and reconnect and talk and just be 2 grown ups for a change, not mom and dad, aunt and uncle, or anything else. I really wish we could do this more often! And, I SO <3 the beach! This is totally my happy place!

Camp Texlake

Another year of Camp Texlake! Regan looks forward to this camp every year, but I think this year, even more so. She finally aged out of the "no air conditioning" cabins, and this time we signed her up for horse camp! She was so excited to have a week of intensive horse camp.

After church we dropped the guys at home with Elise, put her down for her nap and then headed out to camp. It wasn't as hot as it usually is when we check in, so that was good! Got her bags checked, got her cabin assignment, and then she was ready for me to leave so she could get her horse on.

They posted pics on their website so I got a few good ones of her from the week. This is the camp she spends her cookie reward money on! They raised the price this year, most of the time she makes enough to pay for the whole thing herself, but she still paid $300 of it, so that's pretty good! A good return on those 1000+ cookies we sell!

HHS MCJROTC Camp

Those are a lot of initials! It's for Hendrickson High School Marine Corp Junior ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps?) Camp.  It was a week long, morning camp where he met other kids that will be in ROTC this year and they did drills and practiced their marksmanship and stuff like that. He really enjoyed it and it was a nice break from football camp!

He won a drill competition too, because he's in Sea Cadets also and already knew how to drill. So at the end of the week, they did a little graduation ceremony and I brought his friend Yash with me so he could see him graduate, and then I dropped them off at the movies to celebrate.

Camp Buckner!

I think church camp is just about the best thing ever! I loved it when I first brought kids to Camp Dry Gulch WAY back in the day, and I loved it even more when I could bring my own kids and drop them off, and see them come home changed, but this year, I was honored to be the 3rd grade girls camp counselor at Camp Buckner!

Riley left for camp on Sunday and came home Wednesday afternoon, and he really didn't want to go. He thinks he is too old and he's gone every year, but I have my spies out and they all said he had a great time and was a big help, so I know he enjoyed it!

Regan and I left Wednesday morning and came home on Saturday afternoon. This is Regan's last year for Kid's Camp, she was a "Purple Peep" and I was with the "Pink Polkadots!" It was so much fun. We had night services with games and contests, and we learned all about the armor of God, what each item was, the sign language for it, what it meant, etc. Worship was awesome, and I just love seeing all those little 2nd through 5th graders jumping up and down with their hands in the air praising God!

We would get up in the morning, head to breakfast, then chapel (after a little game of Ga Ga Ball) and then we had activities like swimming, water slides, crafts, concessions and movie, the kids were worn out by the time it was light's out at 10:30! The camp is really nice and peaceful and the cabins were clean (and cold!) and it was a blast.

I have to say though, the absolute best part of camp for me was when a little girl in our cabin, 8 years old, tells me she heard God speak to her for the first time, we had 5 girls give their lives to Jesus for the first time. We had awesome prayer time, praying for parents who are Muslim to get saved, and questions about why parents have to get divorced, and why did Jesus have to die on the cross. 8 year olds! I was amazed at their faith, and some of the things that they are going through at only 8 years old and I know that these kids are gonna be great leaders for Jesus, really, they already are! I just stood in worship at nights and cried watching these girls with their hands up, tears running down their little faces as they praised Jesus. What a sight! I know some people don't understand why I would want to go to camp or work with kids but when you see that, how can you not want to be a part of that?

And then, the next day at church, we had a baptism day, and I got to watch one of my little Pink Polkadots get baptized! I took pictures and cried, again. Another life changed by something as seemingly inconsequential as church camp.

Camp Buckner

Tammy's Farm!

I usually stop in at Tammy's, or in this case, spend the night at Tammy's, when I have to go get Regan from Camp Texlake. She lives about 5 minutes from Camp, and it's over an hour from my house, and since I had to get Regan at 9am, I spent the night! Kenzie rode with me to drop Regan off at camp, and then we went to check out Tammy's farm, and then I went back Friday night since the guys were out of town on a deep sea fishing trip, so Regan and I spent the day helping her milk the goats and feed the menagerie!

Camp Texlake!

One of the best parts about selling 1117 boxes of cookies is the free camp! Regan earns the money for Camp Texlake every year with her cookie dough, and this year camp was 6 nights away from home! She didn't bat an eye. The Juniors sleep in NON air conditioned cabins, which really should not even be an option in central Texas! We packed a sheet set for her bunk, and when she brought it home I noticed it never even made it out of the bag, she said she slept on the mattress, too hot for even sheets!

But she had a good time, several of her Girl Scout Troop buddies were with her and this time she did a horse camp, so she got to buy cowboy boots and ride horses! She had a good time, and can't wait to go back. I think this was her last year in the NON a/c cabins!

Girl Scout Trip

Time for our end of year, cookie reward trip! We had a nice, big trip planned since our troop was the highest cookie seller in our service unit! Riley had gone to church camp at the beginning of the week, and then on Wednesday, Rgan switched and went to church camp, so on Friday morning, I had to drive out to Burnet to pick her up from church camp and meet at our Girl Scout Leaders house by 10am! It was a busy morning!

We loaded up the cars and headed to Brenham, for a picnic lunch and a tour of the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory. The girls loved it, and we got some good group pictures and all got a free scoop of yummy ice cream!


Then we loaded back up for the rest of the way to Houston. We checked into our hotel, and then went down the street to Prince's Hamburgers for dinner. They had the best root beer, which of course, when you have 12 nine year old girls, root beer is a must! Then we headed back to the hotel for a swim at the pool.




The girls all wanted to sleep in the same bed, so they looked so cute laying longways with their little blankets!!

Then we got up, had breakfast in the hotel lobby, and then headed out to the Children's Museum. We split into our groups of one adult/three kids to make life more manageable and had a great day exploring the museum. I had Regan, Hailey and Azure, and we had a great time. We played in the Kidtropolis, played on the giant indoor playscape, and then braved the outdoors to play in the water area a little while.

Children's Museum

Then after the museum, we loaded up and headed to NASA. We got there and unloaded our bags, and went to dinner, and then after dinner, we spent the next 4 hours or so doing badgework for the girls to earn a cool badge for their new Junior vest! They were so tired but we were up till after midnight working on badges. Then we got our assigned sleeping area and it was in the spaceship gallery. It was very cool, we got to sleep right underneath models of the spaceships and an astronaut walking in space, but they don't turn all the lights off, so it was very hard sleeping in the super bright room, and it got VERY cold overnight there!

So the next morning, we got up (no showers, grumble) and loaded our vehicles, had breakfast, and then took the tram tour to see mission control and an Apollo rocket. Then we spent some time back at the space center, letting the girls play on the giant playscape and then touching an actual moon rock. Then it was time to make the long, traffic filled drive back to Austin!

NASA

But first, I met up with my cousin Christina and traded kids. Regan stayed in Houston for the week with her cousin Joy, and Jeremiah got to come home with me in a truck filled with Girl Scouts. I don't think he appreciated being the only boy on the ride home, the girls were really giving him a run for his money! It was cute though.

So, the trip was a success, no typical girl fights, or frumpy moods, even with so little sleep! But, I vote for next years trip to be somewhere where we have a shower every morning, at least!

Camp Texlake

Regan got to spend another week at Camp Texlake this year. I'm bad, I didn't think to take a picture before she left. She is about to be a junior, and for God only knows what reason, the Juniors at Camp Texlake stay in "unclimatized" cabins. Meaning, no a/c. I was a little worried for her, she gets hot when she sleeps anyway, but we got several fans, squirt bottles, shorty pajamas, and hoped for the best. This year we didn't get to go to their cabins and set up like last year, you just drop them off after the check in process and leave them with their counselors and wave goodbye. Very grown up. Most of her troop went, the cabins were "tree house" cabins, with screens and high up in the trees. She had a good time and spent most of the week in the pool. The lake is super low so they did kayak, but they didn't do any other lake activities, other than fishing, which is always her favorite thing to do at camp!

But on Friday when I picked her up, she was in the infirmary, running a fever and with a sore throat. They thought she was just dehydrated (she also had sunburn blisters all over her face, poor thing) but I got her in to the doctor first thing the next morning and sure enough, she had strep. They said if she gets strep one more time this year we will talk about getting her tonsils removed. Anyway, other than getting sick the last day, she had a great time, and I didn't even send her with a disposable camera! But, some of her friends had one, so I'm hoping one of them got a good picture or two of her and will be willing to share!

Camp Texlake

Camp Texlake

We went to Camp Texlake for our service unit camp out. The girls were so excited and we had planned long and hard for this trip. This one, we had to plan, bring and cook all our own meals, use a mess kit and wash and hang it up after each meal. So, it was a stressful trip for us adults.

We loaded up the vehicles and headed out on Friday afternoon, stopped at Angel's for a burger along the way (to avoid Friday night's dinner dishes!) and then got checked in and went for songs and swaps at the singing trees. Then it was shower time and bunk time, which surprisingly was easier than I expected. We had a long hallway with 6 rooms, each with 4 beds, so I think that helped, having 3 girls and one adult in each room, cut out the flashlights, trips to the bathroom and general giggling that these 8 and 9 year olds are prone to.

Then first thing Saturday morning was a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs and biscuits cooked in the box oven over charcoal. Worked well, if a little slow at first. The girls were running late to their first event, kayaking, so Krista and I stayed behind to wash up and get lunch organized.

We met up with them at the screen printing, they all got to print a clown design on a canvas bag and do some crafts. Then we headed back to the bunks for lunch, grilled hot dogs and fruit, and pudding with dirt and worms!

Then it was balloon animals, which was very frustrating for the girls, they must have been cheap balloons or something because they just kept popping right when they got close to being done with their shape. Regan was getting to the end of her rope and was NOT having a good day at that point! It was so hot already and every activity was at the opposite end of the camp!

Then it was fishing time. We were excited about it, but dreading the walk all the same. But, we got down to the dock, the grown ups stuck our feet in the coooold water and it felt SO good!! I was surprised but our troop caught something like 17 or 18 fish among the girls. Regan caught 2 herself! She would have made her Papa Leo proud! She was so happy when she reeled those babies in. We released them all, but they really enjoyed it.

Then, it was back to camp for dinner time, we had the girls make their own pizzas on English muffins with sauce, and an assortment of toppings, and then cooked them in the box oven. Dessert was a banana boat, a foil packet with half a banana, topped with marshmallows and chocolate chips. Then we had a talent show, complete with a clown from the Shriner's Circus, who was pretty good!

Then it was showers and bedtime again and then in the morning we packed up and went to the closing flag ceremony, loaded our vehicles and then got to work cleaning the bunks. Each girl got a job and they did pretty well. We got home so tired, dirty and exhausted! But, they had a good time, and I realized I really am getting to old for this camp business. The things we do for our kids!!

Suncrest Farm

It's been a pretty laid back week for Riley and me, we just stayed home, ran errands, and got stuff done to get ready for school. But Regan spent the week at Suncrest Farm! Since it never worked out to have her birthday party over the summer, she decided she would take a week of horse camp instead of a party. And the great thing was, 2 of her Girl Scout friends were going the same week, so she had buddies there.

And she had a great time! She came home every day exhausted and full of good stories. She got to "adopt" her favorite horse, Louie for the week, she took care of him, brushed him, fed him, saddled him, and rode him all week. One day they learned about the mounted police, one day they learned about vets, and one day they took the horses to the lake and got to swim with them. That was her favorite day!

So this is the official end of summer for us. I'm waiting on a few last curriculum orders and as soon as they get here, we will be back to the daily grind!

Riley, Camp and The Oasis

With Regan at camp, it was time for some boy time! I took Riley to see Despicable Me, we spent one day at Gattiland, and then on Friday night, we took Riley to the Oasis. We had a gift certificate that we won at NYOS almost 3 years ago and never used. I wasn't sure it would still be valid, but it was, so we ended up having a nice, cheap dinner at one of the hottest places in Austin! It was hot too! But nice sitting on the deck and watching the sunset.

We had our consultation with the lady that did Regan's assessment and found out that Regan has mild dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. The good news is that with tutoring and some specialized work in a few areas, she will not have to struggle with this forever. She just needs some extra help right now to learn how to deal with these issues. So we will be starting tutoring soon, and I'm looking forward to learning exactly how to be able to teach her this year.

On Saturday, Regan came back from camp, both kids had a great time, I have gotten great reports about both of them, and I'm so happy they had the opportunity to go and have such a great time!

Oh, and Regan's cheer this year (Sunflower Girls was their cabin name):
Who Rules? God Rules!
What Rocks? Camp Rocks!
Sunflower Girls, Sunflower Girls,
Can't be stopped! Can't be stopped!
(But she liked the Pink Power Puffs cheer better!)
P-I-N-K Praise high!
P-I-N-K Praise low!
Pink Power PUFFS!

She's BaaaAAACK!!

I was so torn, I really wanted to bring Princess to pick up Regan and surprise her in the car, but I was afraid that Princess wouldn't appreciate the long and winding road to Camp Texlake! So, I left her at home, and we stopped by Tammy's house and got to play with the bunnies, chickens and goats, and our human friends too! Then headed home, I could hardly keep my mouth shut, I just knew she was going to be so excited. And she was! She opened the front door, saw Princess running around and she just started squealing. She was so happy, and Princess was such a good dog for letting Regan cart her around for the rest of the day! She even slept on the foot of Regan's bed and anytime one of us would step in the hallway she would sit up and growl. She's the sweetest dog and Regan has said over and over again that this is the best birthday ever.

Skateboard Camp Video

Skateboard Camp

While Regan is at girl scout camp this week, Riley is at skateboard camp, which is nice because it's just down the road from our house. He goes from 9-12 for one on one lessons and then after a lunch break, they have free skate till 3, and he can stay and skate until 10PM. He called the first day a few hundred times wanting me to bring him more drinks. It's not air conditioned in the big skate park, although it is indoors, it gets pretty darn hot in there! I can barely stand there and take a few pictures, I don't know how he skates all day in that!

Camp Texlake!

It's hot but we're here!

Sent from my G1 phone

Update:

So I got Regan settled in to her camp. This is her first time away for so long, and over her birthday too! She isn't as upset about that as I am! She's going to have so much fun though. I packed her a few things for presents, a pack of bracelets she can share with her bunk mates, a deck of cards they can play together before lights out, and a stationery set so she can write me some letters (yeah, right!). She was so excited to be there, and barely gave me a good-bye. I even wrote her a letter for each day that she's going to be there, and left them with the camp to be given to her on certain days! I miss her already, it's so quiet while she's gone (but it's also the reason I'm able to update my blog right now!)

Camp Champions

Regan went on a Girl Scout camp out to Camp Champions, without me! Mainly because it was also the same weekend as our church's Gattiland Lock-In, and David and I have our usual late-night-date. So, Regan was a big girl, and went with the Girl Scouts without me. Which was good practice because this was only 2 nights, this summer she will be going for 5 nights! Anyway, here are pictures from her awesome, but rainy, weekend.

Camp Cheers

Since the kids came home from church camp, this is what we've been hearing:

Regan's cheer:
We're the Pink Panda's and we're here to say...
We're strong and cute in a Mighty Way!
We sing, we dance, have lots of fun
We're the Pink Panda's so YOU BETTER RUN!

Riley's camp cheer:
Now I know cause I've been told
Christ is better than priceless gold.

I don't know but it's been said
Green Disciples will rock yo' head!

I think it's so cute! I love that they had fun, and learned more about God and had such a great time. Regan's craft was a little purse she said she can use to bring offerings to church! Have I said lately...I heart our church!

Kid's Leaving for Camp!

Had to get a picture before they go. Riley is anxious, Regan is excited, they're gonna have a GREAT time, we have a great church!

Twilight Camp

When I first asked Regan if she wanted to go to the Girl Scout Twilight Camp, she was all excited, and tells me, "YES! I will get to see Edward and Bella and..." about this time I realize her meaning of Twilight, and the camp meaning of Twilight are a little different. I said "No Regan, Twilight in this case means it's at night time, NOT the movie." And boy, was she upset! No camp with Edward the Vampire!? Forget it! So, I signed her up anyway, thinking she would eventually get over her heartbreak. But it hasn't happened yet. She's still mad that I'm making her go, and still mad that there are no vampires there.

Jump Camp

So Riley went for his second sleep away camp this summer, this time to Jump Camp with our church, and when I went to pick him up from the church, I got real nervous, because his camp counselor said he wanted to speak to me. Uh-oh, that's not usually a good sign. So I go over and prepare myself for the worst, and he tells me that they told their bunk at the beginning of camp that they would give a prize at the end of camp to one of the kids who best exemplifies the fruits of the Spirit. They read the scripture, and they said they would be looking to see who they think met those qualifications, but they weren't going to keep reminding them, and telling the kids about "rules" and stuff. And at the end of camp, they picked Riley to win the prize. The counselor said that Riley showed an amazing amount of growth this week at camp, and truly demonstrated the fruits of the Spirit.

Of course, at this point I'm thinking they have the wrong kid (not really) but I thought wow, that's nice, he will probably win some candy or something, but no, check out his super awesome prize:


It's an Enjoi Skateboard, a really nice one! He was stoked! His counselor has even called the house again to tell us again how great Riley was at camp. I'm so proud of him! And he hasn't let that board out of his sight either, he's been practicing his Ollie's. He even tried taping his feet to the board to see if that would help him. But he loves it and now wants to spend any free time at the skate park. Thanks to Raphael and Travis, you guys rock!!