The Day After

The day after our very exciting Fourth of July was another very exciting day - Cat's birthday!  I hated the timing, but it was also the first day of Cat's first sleep-away camp, a 2-night Daisy camp in Park City.  I still wanted to commemorate Cat's birthday, even though we'd had her party and cake and done all of her presents earlier in the week.  So I decided to make her original requested birthday treat: coffee cake.  I got up and made it a little early so that we could all enjoy it together before Ben left for work.

As I was getting things together to leave, Cat decided to use the time to teach Jack and Eliza about the alphabet.

There were five girls from our Daisy troop going to this session of camp, so I decided to make them matching bandannas.  It was a last-minute thing, so I just cut big triangles out of some yellow gingham I've had since I was a kid.  (Not joking.  Remember those curtains I made back in, oh, 1994, Mom?)  Jack and Eliza were envious of the bandannas, but I didn't have enough fabric to make them their own.  So they got Rambo head wraps instead.

 

As we were waiting to meet up with the Daisy leader on the way up to the campground, it started raining.  And it didn't stop for the rest of the morning.  By the time we got up to the camp (yes, up on a mountain), it was quite cold and wet.  I was really glad that we'd packed Cat's winter jacket.  She wore it the rest of the time I was there.

Here are all of the girls from our troop, except the one who arrived earlier.

Sophie, Cat, Kylee, and Hannah

Here the girls are talking to one of the counselors, getting everything figured out.

Each of the counselors had camp names that they used while they were there.  Names such as Maverick Sunshine, and Frog.  Cat and I talked about what her camp name should be and her first idea was "Rebecca."  After further consideration, she decided on "Flower."

 

Jack thought camp was awesome.  He would have gladly stayed if I'd let him.

It didn't hurt that they were handing out Thin Mints while getting Cat's paperwork squared away.

The rain caught everyone off guard, so the counselors were kind enough to offer us big trash bags for the kids to use as ponchos.  Eliza didn't want hers.  Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to keep Jack and Eliza warm and dry except a few thin receiving blankets that stay in the storage compartment of my trunk.  We cranked up the heat on our way home!

Cat wasn't nervous at all about staying at camp without me.  I had been hesitant ever since I found out that we wouldn't be able to send a parent with the girls (something we were told after all of the girls were registered - the website was wrong!) and the night before, I still wasn't sure I wanted her to go and be without me, or any adult she was familiar with for 3 days and 2 nights.  I made up my mind to get everything ready and drive her to camp, then talk to the counselors and get a feel for what the camp would be like.  After being there and seeing how great the staff was, how considerate they were of the girls' young age, how quick they were to help the girls get everything figured out, and how excited they were just to be there, I felt fine.  It also helped that the camp is so secluded that there are NO exterior signs giving away that it's a camp for girls - to the extent that I drove right past it and continued on a mountainous dirt road in the rain for 15 minutes before turning around.  So I felt safe about the location and the staff and the fact that Cat would be with 4 friends.  Also... it helped that they told me I could call any time.  :-)

They promised Cat would have a fun birthday with cake, a banner she could wear, and all kinds of special treatment.  When I called that night she really was having a great time, and I guess it turned out to be a fine way for her to spend her birthday.

Later in the afternoon I decided it was finally time I take my camera in to be cleaned.  Lots of outdoor excursions = lots of dirt crudding up my camera and lenses.  I'd been putting this off for a while because I was afraid of not having a camera.  But it was time.  This is one of the last pictures I took before we dropped the camera off:  (Notice Jack still wearing his yellow Rambo head wrap turned necklace.  He actually wore it for a few days.)

And do you know what?  It took THREE WEEKS to get it cleaned.  Three weeks!  Without my camera!  Holy cow.  I was going just a LITTLE crazy.  I still took pictures, but I just had my phone, so the pictures are pretty bad.  I apologize in advance for the next several posts.  The picture quality is... well, poor.