Camps Part 3

The dusk of summer has settled upon us but before school takes over everything you have to hear about our final round of camps. Our lucky girls had amazing experiences at the beginning of August. Rachael struck out into the world in a way that made me hold my breath a little bit and used her birthday gift of camp money to go to Girl Scout Resident camp for a whole week. The camp was called Best of Wingo and it was full of all of the best parts of Camp Conowingo: archery, zipline, canoeing, horseback riding, everything that appealed to Rachael. We were able to send letters but there was not going to be any other communication. It felt strange to be disconnected, so in preparation everyone wrote her a note and I wrote her a note for each day and included a puzzle of some kind. There was a Harry Potter crossword, logic puzzles, Sudoku, and a state capital quiz. I drove her up on Sunday with Hanna, while Jim had the girls at a friends baby's baptism. She was talkative and a little nervous. The biggest concern was that all of the other girls would know each other already, but God answered that immediately as we unloaded her gear from the car and a girl stuck her head out of a car and called "Finnigan!" (Rachael camp name from the beginning of the summer). It allowed me to exhale and take in some air.  I dropped Rae off at her unit's table after saying goodbye and 2 more girls greeted her excitedly. It was so reassuring to know that there were girls there that already knew her and liked her.

    We followed her activities through a parents camp site where the camp posted pictures. Some days we poured through 300 pics to catch a glimpse of her in the distance of group shot, but some days we saw a photo like this.

 It rained off and on all week and I worried a little but I trusted that Rachael was making the most of every activity. When I picked her up, she sang and told stories to Em and I, full of adventures and good experiences. Emma was in the van because after we picked Rachael up, I drove Emma to PA to visit Maura for her birthday, then Rachael continued telling stories as we drove the 2 1/2 hours home. She was running on adrenaline and talking a mile a minute. As we got closer to home Rachael got very quiet, curled up and took a nap. She got enough of a rest to be able to happily share more stories with Jim and the little sisters when we arrived home.

That same week Megan and Bridget headed to a local church hall for a Girl Scout American Girl Day Camp. They packed a doll with their lunch and water bottle and went off together. Bridget was tentative that first morning but by the end of the week, she arrived to friends calling her name and being happily drawn in. Each day the camp focused on a different AG doll and the time period she was from, with snacks, crafts, songs, and games that fit the theme. The groups were arranged by age and were given a AG pet as their mascot. Bridget was the kitten Inkpot and Megan had Picasso the horse. By mid-week Bridget declared that she wanted to be a scout. Megan has bridged to the next level and is a Junior now, so she was old enough for the Thursday night Junior sleepover. She beamed at the prospect of being the one of the older girls and packed with gusto. I saw her Friday morning and she was all smiles as she greeted Bridget, Hanna and I at drop off. She had had a blast.

 The week was a wonderful experience for all three of our middle girls.