Camps: VBS Fun Day and Tiny Stars Dance

Summer camps are always a fun thing for kids to look forward to this time of year. When it comes to anticipating them, my little ones are no exception. Even though they are still very young, Caleb and Hadley got the chance to participate in a couple already. 

One of the events I always like to take part in annually is vacation Bible school. Growing up I attended every year, and as a teenager and young adult I helped teach/facilitate. Now that I have kids, I want them in there learning too!

Last year was the first time Caleb was really old enough to be a part of any of the local ones, so we tried a couple. The one that we always stick with though is hosted by our former church. Their "Fun Day" is an all-in-one day VBS full of Bible teaching, crafts, and activities. 

Hadley wasn't quite old enough to meet the age requirement this go around. As a result, she was some kind of upset when she heard about her brother and cousins, Anabella and Daniel, going without her. The night before she cried at bed time and again got herself all worked up the next morning. It broke my heart! Since I was going to hang around after dropping off Caleb anyway, I finally relented and decided to just let her tag along, hoping that they would let her participate. Thankfully, our friend Melanie met us by the registration desk and told Hadley to go ahead in with her daughter Hannah. My girl was pleased as punch! Sitting with Hannah and Anabella - her two best girls - she was in heaven.

After a few worship songs to open, my kids' age group went outside for some games.

After getting out some energy they went inside to learn about the story of God's provision for the Israelites during the Exodus. This church did a great job with their "Ultimate Survivor" theme, tying in Scripture, some unique visuals, and creative costumes/decorations to draw the kids in. 

Everyone got "wander in the wilderness" (aka the church building) on an adventure.

Then, they gathered "manna" (Corn Fakes in this case).

Next, was craft time. They made survival backpacks.

Once they had lunch, everyone went outside for face painting, an obstacle course, tractor rides, and a waterslide. They even had some homemade ice cream...all things to keep the little ones wanting to come back next year.

Dan had his own personal cheerleaders.

Giving Jesi's arms a workout

That waterslide line couldn't move fast enough!

Dan, Caleb, Anabella, Hadley, and Hannah

They went much faster on the rafts.

At the end everyone went together!

Again, a great experience and looking forward to 2016's camp.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aside from VBS, Hadley also got to participate in two "Tiny Stars" dance camps hosted by the studio that did her dance class in the spring. She really had been missing it, asking when she could go back to dance, so I was thrilled they had this summer option.

She actually did two camps. The first in June...

Thrilled to be there!

Ms. Stephanie was the teacher again. Love her!

Do it, girls!

"Itsy bitsy spider..."

...and the second in July. Each camp was a week long and lasted for an hour each day.

Hadley and her friend Marie from Awana got reunited with one another. Marie's mom and I have been trying to get them together all summer, but one thing after another keeps coming up so I was excited they got to do this. We didn't even know we'd both signed up until we got there. Hadley was a little confused that Marie was her Awana friend at first, seeing her out of context, but it wasn't long before they were best buds again, often sitting right beside one another and/or hugging each other.

"I'm a little teapot..."

With two brothers, Hadley needs some little girl time, and I was excited she had this opportunity. 

Only one of the kids who attended the camp had been with Hadley in her previous dance class, so it was nice for both her and I to make new friends. I even reconnected with some high school classmates and a family friend I hadn't seen in a while. It got a little hairy sometimes when I had the boys with me (especially Reid), but Granny, Mom, and Dave helped most of the days to make things much more manageable. 

We were hoping Caleb could participate in a Bible based soccer camp as well in a couple weeks, but he just had his tonsils and adenoids removed Wednesday. (No physical activity for two weeks - doctor's orders!) Sadly, he'll have to miss as a result. Maybe next year though?

Lake Arrowhead

The weekend after the Fourth, we made plans to try out a local man-made beach in Luray that I found out about recently called Lake Arrowhead. Last year, we drove all the way to Lake Anna, having no idea this little place existed, so we were pretty pleased to hear we could enjoy the sand and the water without the 2+ hr. trip.

Lake Arrowhead was quite a bit smaller, but it was also significantly less crowded, especially since we went on a Friday. It may not have been quite as scenic and upscale as the Lake Anna setup, but it had its own charm too.

About half way there, I realized we'd forgotten the kids' puddle jumpers. We debated making a Walmart run for some water wings but didn't want to waste any time since we hoped to get in as much swimming as we could before the kids' nap time. Thankfully, it all worked out though. Available for rent were life jackets - $1 each. Amazingly, I found three that fit the kids' perfectly, and off my little fishies went, swimming to their hearts' content.

Lake Arrowhead had one feature that we definitely appreciated - wooden docks for jumping. We stuck with the one in the shallow end, and Reid was especially fond of this part of the adventure, showing no fear and jumping right in without any prompting needed. Hadley jumped a few times too, but Caleb was more interested in just floating around or playing in the sand.

All the kids played in the sand some, but most of our time was spent in the water. This may in part be due to the fact that we forgot to pack any sand toys, but also the sand there was more clay-like and compressed than we're used to so it didn't run through your fingers quite as well. Compared to Lake Anna or Lake Holiday, the beach could actually probably use a few more loads of sand, but it wasn't terrible either and worked fine for us.

Now that we know we have such a nice place to go so close to us, we can add Lake Arrowhead to our annual summertime outings. Definitely a recommended spot for any of our friends who live locally. :)