Family Camp

I worked for 7 summers and 1 spring as a camp counselor for the CYO.  I always loved working family camp.  Dave and I started dating at family camp.  As much as I enjoyed working at family camp, I never thought I would be an attendee.  I mean, who wants to go to camp with their family!?!  Besides, who wants to ride horses, swim in the pool, do arts and crafts, and other program activities?  Apparently, becoming a parent changes you in more ways than one because now all those things sound great.

We spent the weekend at Camp Don Bosco.  Linus was the one who talked me into going.  It's kind of like going to a very rustic all-inclusive resort with almost all programming geared towards kids.  I dragged my feet registering because recently it just feels like we have constant new expenses popping up and the idea of forking over another $200 was less than appealing.  Luckily, it was money well spent.

Words cannot describe how much fun the kids had (Dave and I had fun too).  They only thing we didn't seem to get a lot of was sleep.  I convinced another staff alum family to go which definitely added to the fun.

Outside Starbucks.  The goal was to hike along the Snoqualmie trail to Starbucks and then berry pick at Remlinger.  We were a bit overly optimistic in terms of time and never quite made it to Remlinger.

The highlight of the weekend for both kids was riding horses.  They each got to ride around the arena. You have to be at least eight to go on a trail ride.

so excited

Linus rode Ghost.

Eileen rode Hi-Jack.  She repeatedly said pretty pony as she road.  When she saw Sam the Wrangler (pictured) the next day, Eileen exclaimed, "Ride Pony!!"

Heading to the pool

I refused to swim after getting in up to my knees.  I don't do cold.

Linus and another little boy created a game that involved setting up lots of large orange cones and then competing to knock them over with paddles as fast as possible.  Linus had excellent form.

Eileen and Ben Hutchinson performing a balancing act.

Making a strong fashion statement for campfire.

Campfire was another favorite part for the kids.  Linus led Jimmy Brown both nights, as well as Boogie Woogie Washer Woman the second night.  Both kids beamed from ear to ear.  As we walked back to the cabin the second night, Eileen unprompted stated, "Campfire fun." 

We tried out those new OFF! bug repellent fans.  They definitely worked and we were all glad to not smell like bug spray.

We made s'mores, played with other kids and families, did arts and crafts.  It was fun.  Everything flowed so nicely time-wise and the staff was really accommodating to special requests.  I loved sharing camp with my kids.  Despite a lack of sleep, the kids were really well behaved which I think just improved everyone's experience.

Sporting our new CYO summer camp knit hats.

Neither kid wanted to leave.  As we tried to load Eileen in her carseat, she screamed, "CAMPFIRE!" 

Family Camp was great and we are already looking forward to going again next year. Hopefully, we will get the chance to visit camp again this summer.

Epilogue:  We arrived home dirty and tired.  As I brought bags into the house I thought it was funny that the cabinet doors in the dining room were open.  Then Linus brought Dave a piece of metal.  Dave asked him where he got it and Linus took him to the back door.  It was then that we discovered that while we were away, someone kicked in our back door and rummaged through the house.  Every door, cabinet, and closet was opened.  Our file cabinet was open.  It doesn't look like they took anything.  It took a long time for the police to show up to take our report (a little over 7 hours).  We found out our next door neighbors got hit too.  They weren't so lucky and had jewelery and a passport taken. Hearing what they lost makes me feel a little better that we only lost our sense of security.  The whole ordeal definitely put a damper on the weekend.  Tomorrow I need to find someone to fix the door ASAP.