This past week I had the opportunity to serve as a chaperone at the Girl's Camp our church holds for all the Young Women ages 12-17 in our area. When they had asked for parent volunteers Haley said, "Mom, you should come!" I figured I was pretty lucky to have my 15-year-old *want* me to go to camp with her, so we drove a van full of girls 5 hours east to an environmental camp about an hour north of Duluth, Minnesota. It was a gorgeous setting and a wonderful experience. I was so impressed with many of the girls and their strength, good attitudes, and kind spirits.
This was Haley's 4th year at camp so we got to go on the 4th year "hike" - which this year was an overnight canoe trip. We loaded our gear into canoes and paddled around and across the lake to a (very) primitive camp site where we cooked dinner over the fire and spent a rather cold, uncomfortable night in tents. On the positive side, the setting was stunning.
Bo and the boys held down the fort while Haley and I were gone. Bo said he was waiting for Jake and Alex to naturally get tired of screen time, but we still haven't found their limit (must be more than 4 days). When I got home I asked Jake to put away the package of bulk toilet paper. He's been known to create TP towers in the past, but the addition of cotton balls to the one in our bathroom was new.
Saturday the boys and I went shopping for Father's Day presents. With a bribe of breakfast at Starbucks, they were semi-helpful in picking out some new running gear for him. We spent the afternoon playing at a park and eating banana cream pie, after which Jake talked Bo and Haley into playing Risk. He's always looking for someone to play with him!
