Survivor Camp

The theme of the week at Camp Susque this week was Survivor Camp. This was to include a mud crawl. Given the insane amount of rain we received from Saturday through Wednesday, I am sure there were plenty of options as to where to have the mud crawl at camp. I looked through the pictures and I have to say most of the girls looked a LOT muddier than Nadia does in this picture (actually most of the girls in this picture don't look that muddy. I am curious to hear if she did the mud crawl or not. she's not one to mind getting dirty so I didn't it would bother her, but maybe it did. I am thankful that it didn't rain the WHOLE week. They were able to go swimming, sleep outside, make the famous "Susque stew" that the girls make outside each year, etc. Tomorrow I will get to hear ALL about it! I am thankful that the camp posts pictures on Facebook. I will deactivate my account in the near future, but it has been appreciated this week! I have been emailing her, but I haven't heard from her at all. I gave her two stamped envelopes. We shall see if I receive a letter or not. We will pick her up tomorrow morning. I can't wait to give her a big hug and hear all about her week at camp! I know she'll want to return next summer for another week of camp. They have the girls divided into three different age groups, and next year she'll be in the middle group. The hawks (oldest group) get to do certain activities that the younger ones can't do (archery and riflery for example). We shall see if Ian decides to do a week of boys camp next year or not. Oliver is already excited about doing Adventure Camp next summer (the 3 night experience that Ian did this year and Nadia did in 2015).

The boys had been planning to spend the night at their grandparents' house last night and the day with them today, but I knew I didn't have the stamina to go ballroom dancing with Paul last night. Praying my energy will return to normal levels in the next four weeks!!! Paul took them down this morning (they live close to where Paul works) and will bring them back this evening. I have been getting some homeschool planning done (social studies) and my friend, Joyce, called me and we talked for over an hour. We have been friends for 22 years, but we don't see each other often or even talk that regularly because we live more than an hour apart. It's always a treat to talk to her though, and usually it's hard to talk to anyone on the phone when the kids are here (they are too loud!). It was heavenly to have a nice chat on the phone in a quiet house. Soon I'll be heading out to run a few errands - pick up free tickets for a baseball game in August, get some carpet samples for Ian's bedroom, return dvds to the library, etc. Then I'm going to meet my friend, Cheri, whom I haven't seen in 15 months (and she lives about 40 minutes from us) for dinner at 4:00, and we're eating at a Mexican restaurant I have never visited. I am going to two Mexican restaurants in one month! I sometimes go years without visiting one! Then we are going to a free concert that the Christian radio station is having at a church 20 minutes from my house. Cheri is only going to stay for a little bit of the concert as she doesn't drive when it's dark out, but we'll be together for part of the concert. I thought of doing some exterior painting today (or mowing the lawn but then remembered my allergies), but I decided just to do work on the computer. If the reason I am tired is because I pushed myself too hard for nine months, then hopefully taking it easy will help me rebound back to normal.

So basically it's win/win today! Nadia is at Camp Susque - one of her MOST favorite things to do all year (despite the zillions of mosquito bites she always comes home with). The boys are with Grandma and Pop Pop - one of their favorite places to be. And I get to do something with a friend, which is a very rare treat for me (maybe once a year and sometimes not even that often). I think we might be able to schedule one last day at Grandma's house for the kids towards the end of August. They will be in camps, swimming lessons, etc the next three weeks. Grandma and Pop Pop enjoy having the kids at their house, my kids love to visit them, and I love a day of peace and quiet. The boys would enjoy the concert, but considering they are with their grandparents I don't think they'll mind missing the concert.

Yesterday morning Micah (age 7) and Isaiah (age 5) came over to play for three hours. Oliver had all of these plans made - he wanted a dance party (his words) and water balloons for starters. Check to both of those. They also were on the trampoline and spinning seesaw and played inside some as well. Ian and Micah must weigh very similar weights because they were balanced perfectly on the seesaw. That is also a win/win situation as I really enjoy talking with their mother. We need to keep seizing these opportunities this summer before life gets too hectic again! One of my things I checked off the to do list today was calling to schedule the cable company to come out in early September to hook up our cable. We always do it right before the NFL season starts and then turn it off after our teams are done for the year. We start it a little earlier every four years for the summer Olympics and leave it on an extra month in the winter every four years for the winter Olympics, but the other months of the year we just watch things via Amazon Prime, Right now Media (our church provides that), or DVDs. Usually I get the cheapest cable package possible (which isn't actually cheap in my opinion), but this year I went up one notch so that the kids will get channels like Disney Junior that aren't included in the cheapest package. I saw how much they enjoyed those channels when we were at Aunt Janet's house and decided to splurge and pay for those channels for 3-4 months (length depends on how well the Giants and Steelers do this year). I usually don't watch any television aside from my Pittsburgh Steelers games, but I did watch a DVD recently from the library that I would recommend. If you haven't seen "I can only imagine" I would recommend that one!