There were lots of summer camps (as well as soccer) going on throughout the summer.
Katie went to a bunch of different ones - ice skating (which you saw in an earlier post),
Art Camp, Girl Scout Day Camp and most recently, Theater (Drama) Camp.
Mikey spent one week this summer at a half day Lego Super Hero Camp.
The description said "For PreK & K".
So, I thought, "Perfect! A bunch of 4 and 5 year olds!"
Well, I didn't take into account that lots of people hold their boys back from kindergarten until they are 6 or even 7. Sigh.
Mikey had JUST turned 4.
My bad.
He was the youngest and smallest dude there.
He was fine until the last day of camp. He REALLY didn't want to stay. He told me that he was going to be "lonely".
I think it was really hard to be the smallest guy.
There were lots of tears that day, but he decided to stay and made it through.
When I asked him if he liked camp, he said that he did.
Hmmm. Not sure what to think about that.
Meanwhile, Katie was busy at camps of her own.
Here are some samples of the masterpieces she created at her Art camps....
A peacock.
"His tail feathers couldn't stand up, otherwise he would fall down."
The description said "For PreK & K".
So, I thought, "Perfect! A bunch of 4 and 5 year olds!"
Well, I didn't take into account that lots of people hold their boys back from kindergarten until they are 6 or even 7. Sigh.
Mikey had JUST turned 4.
My bad.
He was the youngest and smallest dude there.
He was fine until the last day of camp. He REALLY didn't want to stay. He told me that he was going to be "lonely".
I think it was really hard to be the smallest guy.
There were lots of tears that day, but he decided to stay and made it through.
When I asked him if he liked camp, he said that he did.
Hmmm. Not sure what to think about that.
Meanwhile, Katie was busy at camps of her own.
Here are some samples of the masterpieces she created at her Art camps....
A peacock.
"His tail feathers couldn't stand up, otherwise he would fall down."
I'm not quite sure what technique was used to make this.
But it involved a nature hike, paint and a giant press.
A still life dye painting.
"Nature stuff on a table."
Clay sea animals.
"An octopus, a sea star and a fishy."
A vase.
"Decorated with all sorts of sea stuff."
This is a rock painting of an orca whale.
And then, it was off to Girl Scout Day Camp.
She had a GREAT time!
Loved it.
She spent one night overnight.
She didn't like that so much.
She said the girls in her cabin were very noisy.
She kept telling them "the rules of camping" (which happened to be OUR rules of camping).
That you were supposed to lay there quietly until you fell asleep.
Like, reading or something.
But, they wouldn't listen.
She survived, but fell asleep in the car on the way home the next day.
The camp directors were great about working with me as far as her food allergies went.
I packed her a lunch everyday.
They provided snacks - just fruit and veggies.
For dinner on the night that she stayed over, the directors went above and beyond to check all of the food out.
The only thing I had to provide was dessert.
She was able to participate fully - which was fantastic.
At the end of the week all the parents were invited to Closing Circle.
This is a picture of her closing circle performance.
I didn't get video of it - but I DO have video of her performing the song at home.
Here is her section of camp:
"Hidden Forest"
This is where she spent the night.
Open air cabin.
Pretty cool.
I was so proud of her.
This is a fairy house that she and her camp friends built.
"I LOVE GIRL SCOUT CAMP!!"
She must have been in a really good mood or missed Mikey or something because
when we got to the truck to leave she shared her last two dessert cookies with him.
Katie wanted me to put this on the blog,
"And this is what your feet look like after a day at Girl Scout Camp!"
Her words!
Next up, it was theater camp.
The kids got to make their own play.
They did everything in one week - create characters, develop a plot,
write dialog, make props and scenery, create costumes, etc.
On the last day they got to perform their play on stage in front of an audience made up of us families.
This is an advertisement for their play:
The Plan: The Princess Rescue
Within the poster was some artwork I recognized.
Katie drew a picture of her character: Sara, The Elf next to another character in the play,
Princess Celestia (she's the girl with the horn on her head in the video you'll see below).
Mikey was so excited to see the plays.
There were two of them and he sat through each without a sound.
Totally transfixed on the art playing out upon the stage.
Here is Sara The Elf in all her coolness.
Look at that attitude.
The heros finally capture "Dragboto".
Sara dances at a party celebrating his capture.
Yes.
That is an elf ear sticking out the side of her hair.
Awesome, with a capital A.
So many things learned, new things tried, new friends made.
She's growing up into such a creative, imaginative, extraordinarily friendly little person.
She's so confident and brave.
Outgoing and adventurous, yet empathetic and loving.
He's learning that it's okay to miss people you love.
That they are always with you, even when you think you are on your own.
They love you from afar and that can give you strength.
He's brave and, although a little hesitant, is willing to give new things a try.
He wants so badly to lead and yet still feels small in such a big, big world.
Man. As much as it's hard to watch their baby days disappear,
it's just wonderful to watch them blossom into great kids.
Next up, we have some visitors and do some pretty cool stuff.
