Ballet: Princess and Mermaid Camp

This summer Hadley had the opportunity to enjoy two ballet camps at the dance studio where she participates during the school year. The first camp was a princess one - you can imagine how excited she was about that!

Since she's getting older, this was the first time she was able to participate in the two hour class vs. the shorter one. They practiced their skills, made crafts, had snacks, and learned a special dance routine, which they presented at the end of the week.

Crafting with some friends (Hadley's in the black)

They made princess wands to use in their performance as well as tutus, which they created by tracing their sweet little girl hands on construction paper.

Marie, Hadley's "Awana friend" who she met a couple years ago, signed up for the class too. They enjoyed being with one another all week.

With the boys, it was really hard to stay the whole two hours and watch her each time. Thankfully though, the first day of camp Granny kept them so I could enjoy watching my girl.  I tried to sneak in here and there to get a few peeks and pictures of her throughout the rest of the week too. I think she's beautiful!

She'd smile and wave at me through the window sometimes if she saw me hanging out, but I don't think she noticed too much if I was there or not - she was so happy to be spending girl time with her friends. From lunch time to crafting, I loved watching their interactions as they huddled together, sharing with each other and losing themselves in conversation. It is strange and exciting to watch your children going off into the world and forming their own relationships apart from you. Her happiness kept me smiling as I watched them creating friendships.

Since it was the last week of kindergarten for Caleb and it was kind of a busy time with everything wrapping up, the week was hectic, but I'm glad we decided to go for it.

By the final day, there she stood beside her friends, proud to show off all she'd learned and made .

After that we had a week off before Hadley got to attend a second camp. This time a mermaid one. 

Though she was a year younger than the cut off age, her teacher said it would be okay for her to join the class and she did a great job with it. Hadley was a little slower at times to catch up, but that girl is a great direction follower and was trying her best. I think it was a good learning experience to stretch her a bit.

There she is - in the teal tutu.

Again, she made some new friends and had a wonderful time!

On the final day, I was impressed to see what a difference there was in the improved skill levels and synchronicity of the girls compared to the younger group at the princess camp. A year can make a big difference!

We decided to give dance a nice long break for the rest of the summer, but I know a little girl who will be thrilled when it it is time to get back to it in the fall. 

Great American Backyard Campout

We were bummed last year when thunderstorms decided to make an appearance on the night of one of our favorite annual summer pastimes - the Great American Backyard Campout at Sky Meadows State Park. Four years ago, we started the tradition of taking part and definitely look forward to this laid back outdoor excursion, which is just the right speed for our mini campers (and their mommy). While Dave is looking forward to more rugged camping experiences as the kids get older, for now at least it gives him a chance to expose them to the joys of spending the night in a tent, roasting food over a campfire, being unplugged from technology, and making memories together.

We were watching the weather for days leading up to the event this year, hopeful we wouldn't have a repeat of last year's downpour. What an exciting relief it was when we saw God was blessing us with clear skies!

Since we've had a lot going on lately, especially with school wrapping up, we had some deep cleaning we needed to get done around the house that morning plus some packing to do, so we didn't make our way to the park until around supper time. It was a little later than we expected, but still in plenty of time to enjoy dinner on the lawn. 

Usually, Sky Meadows provides a spaghetti dinner, but this time they switched it up and gave us hot dogs, chips, baked beans, and watermelon - much more traditional camping foods, which Dave and I agreed were easier to manage with kids as they balanced the plates on their laps. 

After dinner, we found a site for our tent among all the other campers who had already gotten there early and picked a spot. But right as we were about to start setting up, the rangers let us know they were starting campfire songs, so we abandoned our efforts for the time being to join everyone else.

There was an evening hike that we decided to skip so that we could get our tent up and enjoy playing in it a little before it was time for s'mores and bed.

This was our first time using the new family size tent I let Dave pick out for Father's Day a year or two ago. There was a little more involved to putting it up than our old one.

It ended up being a bit larger than we expected too. We had the biggest tent there actually! I felt a little embarrassed. Dave said he felt a bit silly too when he brought over the two queen size air mattresses we brought. Later that evening we saw a few more people doing the same though...really roughing it!

The kids tucked themselves inside their sleeping bags and scooted around the tent pretending to be caterpillars - Caleb's camo one being the coveted sleeping bag since it had a hood that worked great for this game.

Dave needed to take a break after all of that. We all helped a little but for the most part it was better for us to just stay out of the way.

We ended up taking our own mini hike around the campground and met a little girl that Reid was smitten with. He loves babies and kept saying, "Hi, baby...hi, baby!" - getting all tickled at how cute she was. At one point she fell and he said, "I help you, baby" and like a gentleman did just that as her mommy "aww"ed at how sweet he was.

It wasn't long before we spotted some cows across the way and went to check them out - the baby and her mom following us as well.

He kept trying to gently bounce the baby's curls in his hand, staying close to her on our excursion.

She didn't pay him much mind and even brushed his hand away when he tried to pat her leg. 

I think he's going to melt some hearts when he get's older.

And here's another sweet little fella.

As dusk began to fall, we made our way back to the campfire and were some of the firsts to roast our marshmallows.

As more kids came, everyone began chasing lightening bugs.

Since it was getting hard to see the kids in the dark, it wasn't long before we headed back to the tent to wind down before quiet hours kicked in. It was a good thing because it definitely took a while to get everyone to the bathroom and relaxed. Between arguments over flashlights and Reid crying he wanted to go home, I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but once we all got tucked in, it wasn't long before sleep came...at least for the little ones.

The night was pretty cold and I had a really hard time getting warm. That, coupled with two teenage girls in the tent behind us who ignored the quiet hours rule and Dave snoring, made getting to sleep a feat. I'd doze off here and there but something would undoubtedly get me awake again. I'd have to go to the bathroom or someone would make a noise, and then I'd lay there forever trying to get settled again. At one point the wind picked up and I thought and animal or someone was trying to get into our tent. My adrenaline high, I definitely had a hard time calming even after Dave assured me it was just a few strong gusts. Reid kept whimpering beside me in the bed because he was cold too (since the little booger refused to use his sleeping bag). I had put a quilt over him after he fell asleep but I guess he was too little to put off enough body heat to keep warm enough even under it, so finally I tucked him in the sleeping back with me and we both dozed until morning.

"It's awake time," Reid sat up announcing proudly when the sun woke him up. Still, Caleb and I snuggled in the blankets a little longer while everyone else went to get breakfast. It was nice enjoying a little bit of stillness that morning before it was time to pack up and head home in time for church.

This was the first year that all five of us stayed the night instead of part of us going home early or one of the little ones staying with my mom, so it definitely had its challenges and wasn't quite as relaxing as in year's past. We also had quite a few cranky moments from both us and the kids, which was a bit frustrating, especially when you are camping to close to other people. But, in the end, I think we were all glad we went and look forward to more family campouts.