RITE OF SUMMER II: CAMP

Riley enjoyed herself immensely at Camp Cedarbrook last week. She was understandably anxious and nervous the night before we left as she and I made final preparations. However, when we picked her up at the end of the week I asked her if she had missed us. She laughed a guilty kind of laugh, at which point I asked, "You weren't having too much fun to miss us, were you?" She responded with a huge smile and a vigorous nod. Stupendous.

CABIN:

BUNK:

BUNGANUT LAKE (she was very pleased that she passed the swimming test for the second of the three sections in the lake.)

She brought home gifts for us all--mostly items she weaved. She's eager for me to buy ingredients for some special camp treat to make at home. She loved, loved, loved the swamp walk, for which they duct-taped their shoes to their feet so they didn't lose their shoes in the mud...now we have a lovely, sticky residue on her crocks. She's been singing camp songs NON-STOP!!!--and trying to convince me that we need to have song books for meals like they do at camp (separate lunch songs and dinner songs, no less). Ummmm, no. As much as I like to sing, I'm not seeing that one happening. And, like any good child who is given money to spend, she spent all but $1 of the money we sent with her. Here she sports her new camp shirt:

Beach Bums

The AF has a beach recreation area south of Boston. We booked months in advance, and this weekend was finally the big beach event. The area is called Fourth Cliff. Originally it was an Army coastal artillery station, and part of the WWII Boston Harbor Coastal Defenses. Today it's a sleepy beach cottage/recreation area. As you would guess - the kids loved it.

The Cliff is really a point where a river dumps into the Bay. The real beach area is more on the river side of the camp. It was nothing like the white sandy beaches of Destin, Florida, but it had something else. The rocky shore and tidal pools offered some wildlife adventures for the whole family. We stayed for a couple of nights and surprisingly only got a little bit of sunburn. Most of the kids have my complexion. Cory on the other hand has his mom's skin and turns a rich brown when out in the sun.

Here are some of the highlights:

Swimming in the surf

The tidal pools offered critters up close and personal.

Crabs

Sea Stars

We saw lots of aquatic hermit crabs and sand dollars galore...but no pictures - oops.

Of course we had to help the kids build a sand castle. (bonus points if you can name the vessel used to create the front gates of our castle)

There are many many more pics, but we'll save some for later posts.

King Arthur's Quest

Riley and Mary had a blast participating in Missoula Children's Theater's production of King Arthur's Quest, in which they were cast as Knights.

After a Monday morning audition, the girls spent the next 4 days in 4 hour rehearsals learning lines, songs and dance routines. They did amazingly at 2 separate performances on Saturday at 10 and 2 (and this is after a night sleeping in tents!),

and now we're humming all the songs to ourselves as well!

We're looking forward to MCT coming back next year--maybe Cory will be brave enough to audition.

Rednecks Everywhere

While we were working in the 2 and 3 year old class during last Sunday's church service, one of the precious children announced to us,

"We're rednecks because we eat rabbits and reindeer."

Allrighty, then. I guess that pretty much sums it up.

Camp Freedom

It's impossible to coordinate all the schedules of our neighbors for a camping weekend...so I did the next best thing. I just declared a FRI night as Camp Freedom night and told everyone I was setting up a tent and would be out with the kids. Of course these things start innocently, but as usual our circle is "all in" and we soon had 4 families with tents ranging from single person to a multiple room bungalow.

We pitched tents...

We cooked raw meat over an open fire...

We roasted marshmallows and made smores...(for those of you who know about Cory's puking on parents issues...he added another notch in his belt for yaking on or around Daddy).

We sang songs...

We generally had an amazing night.

Until the rains came.

Cory and Mary slept soundly while I endured multiple thunderstorm cells passing directly overhead. I was then wide awake. Eventually our tent leaked, but the kids did not seem to notice. Mom slept inside (she is smart!). After the kids finally woke up, I went inside for a few hours nap while they watched cartoons. I was so excited for Saturday night so I could get some decent sleep. Maybe real tent camping for the family is not so far off.

When questioned about the night and if he had fun, Cory said, "Can we camp in the tent again, but without all the fun?" I guess that is a yes!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Ted and I were lucky enough to be invited by my Uncle Russ and Aunt Melody (who, btw, make a great bbq sauce and rub, click here to see their website) to join him and his family at a Red Sox game.

They were vacationing in Boston and New York for a week and had tickets to a game against the Royals. We agreed to meet at about 6:30, my uncle suggesting that we be able to identify them because they'd be the ones wearing Red Sox shirts...ha ha ha, he's such a funny guy. (Ted and I, on the other hand, do not have Red Sox attire--probably issued at birth in Massachusetts. ;)

We decided to arrive to the game in style, taking Boston's subway, the 'T'. (my uncle, on the other hand, arranged for Limo service for them--I bet his grandkids LOVED it!) We knew we were going on the right train because we were squeezed with a thousand other people, all wearing Red Sox t's and jerseys, and we were a little perplexed/nervous when they all got off at a stop earlier than we were planning to, but in end it just required us to backtrack a wee bit. While the trip saved us in headache and hassle of driving in to the city and locating parking, it certainly added time. We spent probably 3 hours in the round trip.

Once there we found our seats (an entire row for the Nikkel crew), and grabbed some traditional baseball food--hot dogs! Fenway Franks, actually.

My uncle, bless his heart, was purchasing for the grandkids as each vendor came by --popcorn, cotton candy, lemonade, the works. Because that's what grandparents do.

It was a perfect night for baseball, and we had a great evening. It was fun for me to go to this game with them because as a kid we used to meet Russ and his family and my grandparents in Dallas to watch the Rangers play the Royals.

Thanks Russ and Melody!

On This Day In History

According to brainyhistory.com, on July 15 in 1916 Boeing Co (Pacific Aero) was formed by William Boeing in Seattle, WA, in 1933 Wiley Post began first solo flight around the world, in 1965 Mariner IV sends back first pictures of Mars and in 1975 Apollo 18 launched.

But, more interesting and important to all of us, on this date in history Ted was born. Happy Birthday!


I've said it before--God has truly blessed us with a man of incredible integrity. Ted is remarkable, and we are thankful for a man who leads our family with both strength and tenderness.

The kids adore him.

and I do too.

Hope your birthday is the best! We love you.