Summer catch-up

I know, it’s been way too long since I’ve posted and I’m very overdue in my updates. Let’s talk summer! Wow. Where to even start? The nutshell version would be that camp was absolutely wonderful, but that doesn’t quite cover it. There were a lot of challenges at our respective jobs this summer, and the camp itself dealt with some unusual situations that I can’t go into detail on. A lot of our friends from previous years returned and it was wonderful to see them. H3 didn’t remember camp from her first year obviously a little too young), so everything was brand new for her. She absolutely adored her bedroom. I put little foam squares down to cover the old linoleum.


We had a larger cabin this year, so that was nice too! It was located right next to the Health Lodge, where I worked, so I could leave H3 in the cabin for her naps and just have the baby monitor in the lodge with me.



The Sports field is a fantastic place for running around!


A couple of the waterfront guys found a huge blow-up dragon for H3 to play with in the lake…it took them a while to get it puffed up.


One afternoon, H1 and I took H3 out in the kayaks. She sat in front of H1 and just lounged. It looked like she wanted to take a nap! She seemed to enjoy the view from the water and kept babbling about the trees and clouds.



I climbed the climbing wall and took a picture of our archery range from the top.


H3 got to eat her first powdered sugar donut while up at camp. Her shirt started out green, and was pretty much completely white by the end.


H3 sat and watched while Daddy and Mommy went cliff jumping one afternoon. I was swimming the mile (across the lake and back) while H1 rowed alongside me, H3 and another friend, Christie, in the boat. A couple other guys swam with me, and others who were in boats all joined us at the far side of the lake to jump off the rocks before we headed back.



H3 loved all the mud puddles! This particular afternoon I just let her run through them for about an hour. She giggled the whole time, running from puddle to puddle and stomping in the middle of each one.



She liked to try and help me sweep the Health Lodge floor. I’ll give her an A for effort, but she missed quite a bit of dirt.


One of the hardest parts of the summer was when I got a call from my dad that my grandfather passed away. Grandpa was a very good friend, not just family. I really enjoyed talking with him and hearing all his stories. This fall I will be 25, so I have been very blessed to have him as part of my growing up years. He will be missed. I flew to SC to help pack up the house and be present at the memorial service. My dad, and my uncle and aunt from WA also came. It was quite the packing process, and it was a good time getting to know my WA family better.


I flew back into PA, where my father-in-law picked me up and drove me to meet H1 and H3 in NY, a few hours from camp. H1 took us to a mall in Syracuse so H3 could ride the carousel—a nice break after hours in the car for her. The carousel there is hand carved, hand painted, and really old. Beautiful though!



H3 loved to ride around camp on the golf carts with Mommy and Daddy!


She was really excited when Pop-pop came to visit.


On the way home from camp, I looked in the backseat and H3 had grabbed my sweatshirt from the other side of the seat and wrapped it around her! So funny.




Camp is always a good family time for us. H1 gets to spend a lot of time with H3 and I that normally doesn’t happen during the year because of his busy work schedule. The Adirondacks are exceptionally beautiful, I think, and I revel in the peace that I find there. We have jobs there, true, but it’s the most relaxing time of the year for me. The temperatures are ideal (in the mid 70’s – mid 80’s during the day, 40’s at night on average) so we get to spend a lot more time outside than back here in VA, where heat stroke is a frequent problem. Our boss at camp is an awesome guy—the best I’ve ever worked for, and he makes camp a good place to be for all of us. I’m so thankful God has left that door open for us to be there these last 3 years. H1 and I are looking forward to going back next year and so is H3, judging by how frequently she asks about her friends at camp!

Our arrival back in VA has been a busy one, so I’ll probably save that for this weekend. Suffice it to say I’m mostly caught up with everything, or will be as soon as this weekend is done!
~H2