Camp. More Camp.

We picked up Carolyn and her friend Elise from their week away at Camp Cloud Rim. They were covered with a thin layer of dirt, had a lot of tangles in their hair, and had lost all table manners, but they had made plenty of friends and hold lots of memories of their week away.  ucky girls.

Lizzie says she wants to go to girl scout camp someday, too!

The Girls Scouts post a bunch of photos throughout the week so we can see the girls and what they are doing.  All week I anxiously looked at the photos, hoping that I would see Carolyn having fun.  I did not see Carolyn until late Friday night, just a few hours before we got to pick her up on Saturday morning.  Here is the ONE photo we found of her, out of the 300 photos posted for the week.  We recognized her shoes  (she is the one wrapped up like a mummy).

  

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Carolyn was back for a few days, and then she and I returned to camp - to Trefoil Ranch (the other girl scout camp in our area) with some girls from her troop. This time, I was the lucky one.  I got to chaperone the girls for a three-day camping adventure. While there, we got to do campfire cookouts, ride horses, did a ropes course, and learned how to do archery. The girls completed a badge and had plenty of fun doing their kapers (chores) and other camp antics. It was a nice time to get to know some of the girls in her troop and to experience girl scout camp myself. It was pretty awesome!

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After the two rounds of Girl Scout camps, we tacked on another few days of camping when Carolyn and I met Steve, Lizzie, and a bunch of our friends for our annual Albion Basin camping trip. It is only 30-ish minutes from home, but feels so much further away. What a treat it is to be in the cool mountain air and to get a break from the heat at this time of the year.

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We have a final camping adventure planned for the end of summer to Yellowstone National Park with a couple of family friends.  We will also visit Zion and Bryce National Parks in early fall, but opted for cabins on that trip.

Camp drop off

It is strange to drop off a child to sleep-away summer camp.  It is even stranger for me to think that she has done this for three years already.  Carolyn and her friend elise went to the "big sis, lil sis" camp at Camp Cloud Rim this summer.  This is there third summer going together to girl scout camp.

For a week, carolyn is on her own.  She has to make her own decisions about clothes and what to pack in her daypack.  She is responsible for herself.   I do so much for her everyday, that it feels a little scary for me to let go. For a week, i just have to trust that she will make the beat decisions for herself ..... i think this separation is probably as good for her as it is for me.

And for a week, lizzie is an only child.  She also gets a special week.  She gets to choose whatever she wants to do, what we eat, and where to sleep.

I am excited for carolyn and all that she will learn (mostly about herself) this week. I am excited to let-go for a few days, and to spend a lot of devoted time with just elizabeth.  But, i will be even more excited when we get to pick her up on saturday, and we are back to our family of 4.

Oh, and the girl scouts in utah have some prime real estate.  This place is a beautiful camp on an alpine lake, at about 9500 feet.  I wish i could spend a week there.  I am sure i would love it as much as carolyn does.  I look forward to the day when carolyn and lizzie can go together.  And, elise and carolyn said in the car ride up there that they wanted to be counselors for their summer jobs some day.  I hope they do.

An evening with friends in the mountains

Headed for the canyon to a friend's cabin ....took a short family hike .... cooked some delicious food ... fun time with some frienda....... all around, an enjoyable evening.