Camp and Camping

6th grade offers the opportunity for the whole grade level to spend a week at an adventure camp on the Bay. They talk about it all year and Emma was thrilled by the idea. She is a bit of an adrenaline junky not to mention very independent, so the prospect of ropes courses, zip lines and a week away from home with friends, made this a must-do in her mind. I was not as sold on this. A week away with school kids that I don't know, sleeping over with parent chaperons I don't know, doing a public school curriculum that I don't know. There were too many unknowns for my comfort but it could also potentially be a great experience. Jim and I talked it over and decided she could go. 


As the week approached I was excited for her but also apprehensive. They were being assigned a cabin with 8 other girls and a parent and the assignment was being handed out on the Friday before the trip.  On Thursday evening the principal of the middle school called me. He said that he was reviewing the cabin assignments and he noticed that Emma seemed to be placed in a cabin with girls that he had never seen her with. The kids had the opportunity make cabin requests but Emma had failed to turn it in. He asked for some names of girls that she would like to be with. I was incredibly impressed and grateful that he cared that Emma would be comfortable and have a good time. Emma was astounded that he knew who she was and more so that he knew who her friends were. That call relieved my misgivings about the trip immediately . Emma wound up in a cabin with her best friends and parent chaperons that we know well. 


Each of us secretly wrote notes to her and hid them in her suitcase. The little sisters really enjoyed the note writing and Rachael commented that she hoped she would get notes if she went away. We sent her off and despite having the opportunity to call us each night she only called the first night. I really missed her but I think it was Rachael who missed her the most. She came home exhausted on Friday and sadly was too tired to be her normal talkative self. She did share that she volunteered to go first on the high ropes course and wished she had gotten a chance to do them again. She said it was wonderful, but I was disappointed not to get details right away because that evening Rachael and I were heading out to go camping with our Brownie troop.



 Rachael had been counting down to camping all week and was packed promptly. April is always iffy for weather so I wasn't too surprised that it rained sporadically as I packed the van. I was really glad that I had booked screened cabins and didn't have to set up a tent in the rain. We had a great group. 9 girls and 7 adults. A lot of them had never been camping before but enough of us were seasoned campers that it went smoothly. It rained lightly on Friday night but not enough to dampen the fun of making bags o' fudge. The girl's excitement was expressed with lots of squealing and screaming that night, especially Rachael. We were all glad that the rain cleared out before dawn and that we had dry firewood. 


The campfire was a highlight of camping. We cooked all of our food over the fire and the girls even made a box oven to cook biscuits and then later baked potatoes. The food all smelled a bit smoky and had a hint of ash but it was all yummy. We went for a hike in the afternoon. The girls kept naming animals they found Fred, Fred 2, and so on. It was mostly caterpillars but during the hike one of the girls startled a snake. The snake had a large frog in his mouth by the leg. The frog immediately became Fred 3 and much sentimentality was expressed. We worked on some water activities but Rachael's attention was on that snake and frog. We continued the hike but as soon as we returned Rachael spearheaded the creation of a memorial for Fred 3. That night we stayed up late around the fire because it was getting very cold and of course we had s'mores to eat. I am glad we packed for the weather (in the 30's) complete with hats, gloves, extra layers and blankets. After pancakes on the griddle Rachael was sad to head home but she was also very satisfied. I was happy to get home and in the shower.

Stream Clean

After our snowy winter, we have been blessed with a beautiful start to spring. Scouts does a local stream clean up each year and this year we had 70 degree weather and sunshine in which to do it. All 3 of our big girls were signed up to participate in a different way. Megan's Daisy troop had baked cakes a few days prior and they were preparing food for all of the volunteers. Emma's Cadette troop had a challenging section of stream, and Rachael and I were assigned yet another section. Emma had an attitude about going and claimed she didn't know about the clean up but by the time we were geared up she was enthusiastic. After dropping Megan off, we picked up our gloves and trash bags and then I got my Brownie troop started. I then I drove Emma over to her section. We didn't see Emma's troop immediately but heard them up the stream a bit. Emma decided to walk along the water in her boots to meet up with her group. Em had her bag over her shoulder filled with dry clothes but just after a few steps slipped and fell in the water. She was soaked but she was a good sport, I helped her up, and we walked together till we found her troop.

   I rejoined my troop who was making fast work of our section of the stream. We spent more time on the banks picking up all of the plastic wrappers and convenience food trash. Rachael was having a blast and popped back and forth between sections. She didn't clear one section of trash but instead climbed all over the area picking up trash as she went. On of the dad's commented that Rae reminded him of his son, who is hyper active, but that Rachael followed directions better. She had a great time and we pulled out 8 black trash bags full of garbage. Everyone was getting tired, so we prepared to head over for some food.

Rachael had found a number of interesting things during our clean up and was really upset that I had thrown them in with the rest of the trash. I had explained that we weren't keeping anything ahead of time but she had gotten attached to a green plastic ladybug. She was over tired and wound up crying for the next 45 minutes. It was very difficult to deal with because we had another brownie with us and we needed to meet the troop for food. Luckily Jim arrived in the church parking lot with Bridget, where food was being served, to pick Megan up for a birthday party, shortly after we arrived. It gave Rachael a little time to calm down and I was able to check on my troop and Megan inside. Megan was proud to show me the cake that she had baked and decorated before she left with Jim and Bridget.

Rachael stopped crying but became self conscious of her red eyes. She found a knit hat in the car and pulled it down really low, She ate and regained her composure, and had a great time playing in the hall. We were there for a long time waiting for brownie parents to arrive and for Emma's troop to get back.  I was glad to see Emma arrive and in great spirits. She had a pretty substantial bruise on her knee from the fall she took earlier. Emma obviously had a great time in the stream and they too pulled out lots of trash.

I know that I get a surge of accomplishment out of this type of service activity and I love watching the joy that the girls get out of doing something helpful. Serving just feels good and I hope Emma, Rachael, and Megan seek out activities for this feeling over and over again.