So I am not such a great blogger...

I realize that it has been almost a month since I have posted anything here. This does not mean that it has been slow in our world - it just means that I have had very few free minutes at camp. We are leaving for Atlanta in just over 3 days and I have very mixed emotions! My thoughts tonight are in no particular order.



After the excitement from the swine flu settled down we experienced a more calm portion of camp (I will get to the lice breakout later). The girls continued to be in love with Camille, their babysitter who among other people spoiled them ROTTEN! Sophie has had a few hard days over the past few months, but overall the girls have been great.

Right after my last posting, we left to spend a weekend at the Hampton Inn just down the road from camp. After arriving at camp we learned that it is a pretty religious place, so we would be unable to come and go on Shabbat (from Friday evening through Saturday night). Unfortunately (or fortunately however you see it) we had to spend 3 weekends out of camp to accomodate family and friends visiting. Here are accounts of our trips outside of the camp world or should i say "into the real world."

Trip #1 - Dan had to have dinner with the Camp Committee (read: the people that hired him). He asked me and the girls to join them for this dinner. It meant 2 nights in a hotel with a clean bathtub and two nice comfy beds. Lily's favorite part was the "alligator" otherwise known as an elevator. We were able to spend Friday night and all day Saturday hanging out in Hendersonville as a family window shopping and eating. The special dinner with 2 cranky children was all that I expected it to be. Sophie had to be coerced into being friendly to people at dinner. She ended up friending the only couple in this fancy restaurant that were NOT a part of our party. She danced for this elderly couple - the man looked ready to leave, but the woman was very encouraging - everyone was entertained. The next morning we ran into them at the hotel - and the girls earned their first money for dancing. I just appreciated that there were no poles or laps involved! While Dan and the committee were busy meeting on Saturday night, the girls and I went with a few other people to a Harley Davidson Rally for Autism. The girls had a blast and enjoyed looking at the motorcycles. It was a great evening. Oh did I mention that we all got to stay in the same room - again?!?! What great family bonding!

Trip #2
Dan's parents came to Hendersonville to visit for the 4th of July. Sophie was going to stay with my in-laws in their room at this little inn. Needless to say she was afraid that we were not spending enough night time hours together - so she ended up with us! HOORAY! Luckily on Saturday night I had to come back for a camp staff meeting and ended up with a wonderful night alone in our room at camp (this meant an incredible night's sleep)! Dan and the girls stayed with his parents.

Trip #3
Our wonderful friends Lyn and George (the girls "adopted grandparents" who I know are reading this) came up to visit us during the intersession. This was especially wonderful since the day before we had to say goodbye to Taylor who was on her way home to enjoy a great rest of her summer. The girls were not happy to have her go home - but were distracted by the arrival of Lyn and George. We ate wonderful food, wandered around Asheville, and enjoyed spending time with them. They invited BOTH kids to spend the night with them in their hotel room across the hall... but guess what - you are right - they really love that quality time! George happily delivered them back about 15 minutes into the bedtime ritual! So much for Dan and I in a room together - alone!

We just enjoyed a surprise 4th visit when Lisa came up to visit for 2 nights! She just left this afternoon. We stayed in camp and she was able to sleep at camp with us - but not in our already crowded room. She arrived on my staff Tie-Dye night and got to hang out with me in the art shed for hours (what fun). I guess I should mention that the entire camp looks like it is at a Grateful Dead concert - I have started a tie-dye craze that just won't end. Those of you that see my fingernails in the next month will see evidence of this! Back to my story. Lisa enjoyed hanging out with my girls and I enjoyed getting time with my great friend! Today we wandered around Hendersonville (a fun thing to do here), ate a wonderful breakfast at Fireside - where my girls are obsessed with Chocolate chip- blueberry pancakes. We also drove down to a small town - Chimney Rock - and to see Lake Lure (where parts of Dirty Dancing were filmed). It was a great visit!

In other news...
-My second session staff has been incredible - I can't say the same for the staff they gave me 1st session!
-The girls are loved by many at camp. They have been out on many dates with staff members. One couple took them to dinner, ice cream and then watched a movie with them in their room. It was my first night of staying up to wait for them to come home (not looking forward to the teenage years). A few nights later 3 friends took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese - because they wanted to (obviously they must love my kids). I rarely eat meals with Sophie anymore - she makes the rounds of her fans. Lily is attached to a few certain people... it is very cute.

I am excited to come home for the following reasons: want my bed, in my own room, with a lock on the door. miss my friends and my family.

I am dreading coming home for the following reasons: grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, reality, not having 300 playmates for my girls!

Ok if tonight's posting is incoherent I apologize... we had a rough night last night with the girls waking up for about 3 hours... have I mentioned that we are all sleeping in one room!?!

Will try to post one more time this summer! Off to bed. My friend Greg wanted a shout out so here it is! Good night!

What a nine days it has been...

I would have written sooner, but here are my excuses:
1. The day before camp started I found out that Taylor couldn't go to her camp because they postponed opening because of swine flu in their staff. I suggested Meg try to send her to camp with me and after multiple texts and phone calls (late into the night) we were able to get her up here with less than 24 hours notice!
2. I had to help do a lice check on the entire staff - being a teacher and mom (unfortunately with past experience with the little critters) qualified me to help!
3. The night before camp opened we had a flood in 2 of the staff rooms and I had the wet-dry vac at the art shed
4. On opening day we had crazy parents coming to tour the camp, eat a spread and argue over the counselors and bunk-mates chosen for their precious children.
5. On the first full day of camp we had a tornado warning and had to keep the campers safe which included cramming an entire unit into the art shed!
6. On the 3rd day of camp we found out that some of our staff members had swine flu and had to be quarantined and we had to help cover their positions. We also learned that everyone in camp would have to take 10 days of tamiflu to help keep the flu from spreading - what a fun experience!
7. On the 4th day of camp (coincidentally 10 minutes before Nana and Papa arrived at the entrance) we found out that the entire camp was being quarantined in order to protect the community from catching anything from us... this meant that Nana and Papa brought gifts to the front gate and went away empty handed - no grandkids! It also prevented Dan and I from getting out for a much needed night on the town.
8. I know there are many other reasons - but these seem to be at the forefront of my mind - and make a good story! Other reasons include the fun we are having, my hands are too busy tie-dyeing, I am scared of the black snakes I have seen so far, sophie and lily are too busy making friends with campers and staff... I will have to get back to you all with more!
Good night!

Week 2 summary...

So I haven't had as much time to blog, write letters, make phone calls, relax and read books, and other things I thought I would get to do during the first 2 weeks at camp. Instead I have been running to wal-mart, the dollar store, scrubbing the floor of the art shed with bleach, moving 400 lbs. of clay and attending meetings about how to deal with campers. We learned about different diagnoses, health issues, even STDs. I even got to help check for lice in the staff! On a more fun note, I did partake in a staff teambuilding activity with the age group to which I was assigned - and we made graham cracker cabins, tie-dyed shirts, ate marshmallows and caramel apples and told embarrassing stories about ourselves. I stayed past my bedtime, but did not "bunk in" for the entire night! What a start to summer vacation! But the campers - 250 of them - will be arriving on Monday. And then the adventure of being an art director should be off and running!

In other news:

- Sophie and Lily have watched more than their share of movies during the rainy afternoons that seem to be daily here in North Carolina. Napping by either of the girls has only happened on a few occasions - despite the sheer exhaustion that hits in the afternoon hours! This leads to some tense and cranky moments during dinner time!

- Dan travelled to Charleston for business from Tuesday to Wednesday and during that time both girls managed to fall and scrape their knees. Sophie carried on like crazy and got the kitchen to give her sympathy ice cream to stop crying when she tripped! Everyone is healing now, although Lily's took a visit to the health care center to make sure it was ok!

- Services are held daily here... my girls don't care for them too much, although we have made several attempts to attend. Lily proclaimed "Mommy, I don't like this show" and then proceeded to yell loudly until I removed her from the chapel. Sophie enjoys sitting with various groups of people and then jumping from bench to bench rather than paying attention to what is going on!

I know that a lot more has happened this week, but my tiredness from our time here so far has caught up with me... I hope to get on to update again soon! Good night!

The end of our first full week!

Our first week at camp has been an incredible adventure. With all of the friends (and laundry) we have made it is hard to believe it has only been 7 days since we left Atlanta for the mountains of North Carolina.

Animals we have seen include a frog, black snake, rabbit (all 3 wild), chickens and horses. Unfortunately the animals we have seen evidence of but not actually laid eyes on are the mice/rats/or some rodents that have been hanging out in the "Art Shed." For those of you who listened to me complain about my year of teaching in a trailer... this part of the experience has been at least 50 times worse. Without getting into too much detail, let me suffice it to say it was so disturbing that it took Dan and I 7 hours to clean, and it took me 5 days to feel that I am finally able to write about it without crying! I went on my 3rd wal-mart run today (never before in my life have I been to a wal-mart even twice in a single month) to pick up rubbermaid storage containers and the art room has been scrubbed from top to bottom! Ok - I must move on...

Shabbat at camp was amazing. We started at the Chapel near the lake (reminds me of my camp days at Barney) with everyone dressed up and clean to start the Sabbath. Sophie and Lily were almost as happy to see everyone as they were to see the girls. After a nice service we all had Shabbat dinner together and had an early night. Saturday is very relaxing at camp (although this week Dan and I spent the time together cleaning (see above paragraph)). Sophie and Lily spent time with Camille and even helped our friend Danny walk his dog (big deal for our Sophie). Saturday night after dinner, Sophie and I got dressed up to go to Havdalah and Rikkud. Dan stayed behind to tuck Lily in for the night. After singing songs and Havdalah, everyone in camp has an Israeli dance party on the basketball court. Sophie was in heaven! It was a wonderful end to Shabbat! We came home late and collapsed in bed!

Today was the first day that we ventured out on a short family trip into downtown Hendersonville. We went to a Thai/Sushi restaurant where we realized that after a week of eating in the dining hall, the girls have forgotten about inside voices during meals! This is going to encourage us to go out more. Passing an ice cream store we decided to stop in for a family cup of ice cream (Vanilla-Cinnamon and Double Dark Chocolate) that was worth every calorie. We had to rush home after Wal-mart so I could go to a CPR training class. Dan was free and able to take the girls on a walk around camp and to the stables! Dinner with about 50 new staff members who arrived in camp today (most of whom already know the girls names) rounded out our week! Tomorrow begins staff training week - and a new part of our adventure.

Sophie exclaimed today "I love camp" and I think I can say that the whole family agrees!

The ups and the downs -emotionally and literally!

The past few days have been crazy busy but I will try to capture the highlights (as well as some low lights) for you all!

Dan: struggling with computer and phone issues for work as well as sharing a room with all 3 of his girls. There are shoes everywhere. Sophie and I have decided to paint flowers on the wall (mommy/daughter bonding). He is doing bedtime duty (and monitoring solitary confinement (more on that later)) as I am working 10-12 hours a day!

Lily: Making a great impression on the senior staff! She took her first nap here today (thank g-d) and is sleeping right now! Camille has not yet realized that Lily has 2 legs and 2 feet - she carries her everywhere which seems to work fine for both of them! We will work on that later! She had to come with me to a meeting last night (see Sophie's section below) and kept herself quiet by turning her body into a work of art with washable markers (see photo). On the scary side she is smitten with the boys, and by boys I mean guys in their 20s... and they are smitten with her as well!

Sophie: 80% of our time here has been AMAZING!!! For a couple of VERY LONG hours Sophie forgot who she was and decided to test out the teen years a decade too early! After yelling at Mommy, threatening to kick me in the nose and a bunch of other attitude-y actions and temper tantrums, Sophie was put in solitary confinement. This consisted of not being allowed to go to the dining hall to eat with all of her new, big friends. So Dan and I took turns for 3 meals sitting in our room and had food brought back afterwards. Today my Sophie was back! She was wonderful and enjoyed her freedom to go to dinner with everyone! The entire staff is also enamoured with her!

Me: As for me - I am having a wonderful time pretending I am young and carefree! I spent yesterday on a teambuilding hike to Triple Falls (see photo). What a tiring uphill hike - but well worth it! I am playing games and putting together puzzles and doing scavenger hunts all while getting to know both camp and the staff. Right now I am drinking a pot of coffee before going somewhere unknown with the group... we are leaving at 11 pm - and I am supposed to stay awake and lucid for who knows how long?!?! I am taking tomorrow morning off to spend time with my girls!!! And I know that this schedule will ease up once camp is up and running! I absolutely love not cooking and not having to answer the "what are we having for dinner" question (Thanks to Chef Danny for that)! I am sure I have more to share... will have to wait for next time!

A whole new world...

So we are partially settled in to our apartment... we have been here 26 hours. We arrived shortly before lunch yesterday. Dan drove his car, and the girls rode with me. Through all of Georgia they fought over dolls, backpacks and had trouble sharing a queen size blanket! Luckily after a bathroom and grape eating stop at the South Carolina border things improved. We listened to the Mamma Mia soundtrack (mommy's choice) and then Elmopalooza and Gregg Russell (obviously NOT mommy's choice). Sophie and Lily cheered when we entered North Carolina - happy to be "almost there." After enjoying a gorgeous view of the mountains and eating several dozen grapes doled out one-by-one from the front seat we found our camp! I stumbled out of the car in front of the main office and the girls scrambled to find their shoes. We were greeted by several head staff members who immediately took the girls under their wings. A group tour led us to our apartment and about 7 different people were highly entertained, but helped us unload our stuffed cars anyways!

Within 20 minutes of arriving, Camille (also known as Babysitter extraordinaire) came to meet us. She took one look at the girls and they were off and running. Dan and I had most of the day to rearrange furniture and set up our "home." I am currently making a list of the things that we have forgotten (a Wal-Mart trip is in our near future) and putting in the trunk of the car things that we really don't need and just don't have room to keep! While we were busy with this, Sophie and Lily were making art, putting on makeup, riding in a golf cart to go visit chickens, and making friends with everyone!

Bedtime last night was a nightmare... just envision a 2 year old and 4 year old that are overtired, in a new place and sharing a room - enough said! Sophie (a.k.a. the princess from the princess and the pea) couldn't sleep because "this bed is lower than the one I have at home." Lily only wanted to sleep "in the big girl bed" but refused to stay in it so had to be put in the pack and play. After a mere 2 hours and lots of screaming the girls were finally out - Dan and I were not far behind.

This morning we opened our door to find a baby pool and mini water slide on the grass in front of our housing - purchased last night just for our girls! Sophie has had an incredible time playing today and Lily is having a bit of a time adjusting. Dan is working as best he can with makeshift desks and a laptop! As for me, I feel like a college-age impostor - playing team building activities with the head staff - most of whom I am at least a decade older than! Speaking of which - I am expected back in the dining hall shortly!

How did I ever travel to Europe with one small suitcase for 12 weeks?

Having packed one car so full that Dan will have to squeeze himself in to drive - with no visibility, I find myself wondering what in the world I am packing to take with us for 9 weeks at summer camp. All of it is stuff that at one time or another I felt was "essential." Here is a very incomplete list (notice how much of it is for a certain 2 or 4 year old): a box of outdoor toys, kid clothes, a box of indoor toys, kid clothes, art supplies, kid clothes, tons of sunblock and toiletries, kid clothes, alarm clock with CD player, kid clothes, towels, kid clothes, sheets, kid clothes, pillows, kid clothes, blankets, kid clothes, swim suits, kid clothes, towels, kid clothes, stroller, kid clothes, clothes, kid clothes, pajamas, kid clothes, diapers, kid clothes, swim diapers, kid clothes, wipes, kid clothes, diaper bag, kid clothes, tons of snacks, sippy cups, water bottles, shoes, music, writing supplies, computers, fan, flashlights, children's books, mommy books, art books, recycle-able art supplies (baby food jars, cereal boxes and more), a coffee maker (with coffee of course), camera, and kid clothes. Have I mentioned how much clothes I need for the girls? Laundry will be done for us (I know Hallelujah), but here's the catch - about every 2 weeks! Yes I said 2 weeks. Hot summer + little divas who like to put on fashion shows + messy eaters + dirt = tons and tons of laundry! I am sure that I am overpacking - I can bet money on it, but since I don't have to pay for extra baggage this seems like the right way to go. At this point I am just hoping that when we go to leave tomorrow I have room for the kids! More to come - must return to packing!