Here are some beach and camp pictures.
Here I am with my little sweeties, watching the waves. The weather was beautiful. Yes, Benjamin is strapped to me in the Ergo...again. We didn't dip his feet in the ocean because he was asleep, but this was technically his first time to the Pacific, I think.
Jeff and Jonathan
Grace didn't feel as brave about the waves as Jonathan did. This also happens to be the location of Grace's first trip to the beach. She was just a few weeks old her first time here.
Conked out on Daddy on the trip back to camp.
One thing Jonathan enjoyed about dining buffet-style was the frequent availability of olives. I was just happy not to cook and do dishes. And I ate a lot. :)
A little ice cream date. I didn't share with Benjamin, but he didn't protest.
The programs for the kids were fantastic. Jonathan got to go to Day Camp, which was for elementary-aged kids, in the morning and evening, and Grace got to go to Child Care for toddlers. There were lots of adults (college-aged) who were there for the summer to love on kids. Grace did pretty well, and Jonathan loved it. I don't have pictures of Jonathan's Day Camp experience except for this one that Jen got of him and Ella on the giant slip 'n slide. They had big, fun stuff planned every day of the week.
In the mornings while the kids were doing their thing, Jeff and I got to enjoy the speaker and choose from some different seminars and activities. (I usually fed Benjamin at the beginning of speaker time and then let him spend some time in the infant room. He did great.) One morning, we took a guided walk in the forest.
Our guide introduced us to redwood sorrel, which supposedly tasted like sour apples. I tried it. It tasted like sour apples. I don't like sour apples.
Redwood sorrel looks better than it tastes.
These are new-growth redwoods, not old growth, but they are still majestic
And I thought these teeny flowers were pretty, too.
Snuggle time
This little nook was a huge blessing for us! As I mentioned, our first night was horrible. Our room was like a hotel room. (My sister-in-law told me before we left that she hoped family camp was heavy on the "family" and light on the "camp." It was! Our room was carpeted and had its own bathroom, fresh linens daily, etc.) If you can imagine the little spot some rooms have for hanging clothes and storing a suitcase, you can imagine where we put Grace's bed on day 2. It worked great! There was a little half-wall that prevented her from seeing the rest of us, and the bathroom was right next to her so that the exhaust fan made great white noise. I am so thankful that sleep was not a problem after we moved her. Our nights were short because of late evening activities, but we all slept hard!
One afternoon that Jonathan and I got to hang out during the little ones' naptime. He's pretty cute, huh? We decided to do something crafty. He painted a pinewood derby car and I painted a picture frame. It was more about the time spent together than anything else!
Jonathan didn't want to be in the all-camp pinewood derby race, but he wanted to test and play with his car. Here he is trying it out.
One night, dinner was just for adults. We enjoyed a little more conversation and a little less chaos.
I am pretty sure this is when Jonathan and Jeff were about to do the zip line on the high ropes course. I can't believe that Jonathan didn't get the faulty "afraid of heights" gene, but I am very happy that he didn't! He and Jeff had some great bonding over ropes this week. I didn't get to see it in person because I was giving Grace and Benjamin some naptime. But, I've seen the video clips, so I know it happened!
Jonathan...pondering the high ropes course. Jonathan tells me that he and Jeff went across the suspension bridges to get hooked up to the zip line.
Brave six-year-old doing the high ropes. Can you believe I birthed this child? Neither can I. I'm really proud of him.
My proud hubby and son.
My little buddy and me during campfire on our final evening. This was just for the adults (well, except for Benjamin,) and I really enjoyed hearing the adults share their hearts with the whole group.
Grace on the run with Jeff close behind.
Here are Jeff and Gracie enjoying the children's program on the last night. All the kids that were older than Grace got up in front of the parents and shared a song, chant, etc., and told what they had enjoyed and learned. Very cute. I'm not positive that Jonathan actually sang, but I did see him mouthing some of the words. Jonathan is not big on singing. At all. When he saw me trying to take his picture, he hid behind another kid. That's my son. (Edit: Jonathan is reading this as I prepare to post, and he says, "It's because I didn't exactly want you to see me. That's why I hid.")
There were lots of ordinary moments that involved lots of managing and not a lot of pictures, and we decided to take a picture of one of them. This is breakfast in the dining hall on our last morning. Yes, Benjamin is strapped to me...again. Meals were a bit chaotic, but I really loved not cooking and not doing dishes. We were sad to see the week come to an end. Jonathan was especially sad, so we tried not to dwell on the end but instead talk about our plans to return in 2012.
A good time was had by all. And, we are still catching up on sleep!
1 comment:
Sounds like a super fun week!
(Nathan cannot stand singing either... he's super glad that Sunday school in the summer does not involve preparing to sing at the Christmas or spring musical)
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