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Our
Journey:
Journey:
Avalon's Army of Angels
| August 29, 30, 31, 2008 Family Camp! |
We're home from camp!! We're sunburned, sleep
deprived, and have a pile of laundry that could
bury a small country....but we had a BLAST!
I'll do this journal style, and separate the days into
the next couple of posts. I'll write the date and
what we did that day. Hopefully, I'll manage to keep
the pics organized, so you can follow along with
what I'm talking about. Hope you enjoy!
August 29, 2008
We arrived at camp, full of the dickens and rarin'
to go! First we went to check-in to pick up our
ducks, new Kids N Kamp t-shirts, and the kids'
kites. Then it was off to the cabin to unpack and
settle in.
Nearly all of the families that attend camp stay in
two large dorms: moms with girls, dads with boys.
Last year, we registered late in the game and had
a young baby, so we were placed in "special
housing" in a small cabin across the property. It
worked out beautifully for us, because we had
privacy to deal with a baby's all-night fussing.
This year, we begged for the separate placement
again. Avalon now has such panic
attacks/attachment problems, I honestly don't think
we'd be able to stay if we had to separate the
family. She truly panics if she can't see everyone.
Its part of the autistic nature of behaviors she
developed after the botched shunt operation in
May. Add those issues to her hearing damage
which makes her LOUD, and her wheelchair, not to
mention Anam's troublemaking...and I'm sure the
rest of camp is glad we're sequestered far, far
away...
Funny enough, most of the families think the
special needs cabin is awful - but we love it! Its a
tad inconveniant because its far away from
everything, but it allows us to get to go, and the
weekend is truly priceless. The cabin is a small
building with a common room in the middle, and
four bedrooms that attach to the common room.
Each bedroom has two bunk beds. For the last
two years, we've taken a mattress from one of the
other bedrooms, and Anam and I sleep on the
floor between the two beds, so we're all together.
(see Avalon's issues above paragraph) And if
you're wondering, yes, Avalon sleeps in our room
at home. She has a small bed in there. I'm really
not kidding about the panic stuff. :-(
After we unpacked, made beds, and settled in - it
was time to go to the big campfire. The first night
at camp, there is a giant campfire with hot
dogs/chips/baked beans for dinner. Of course you
get to roast your own dogs! And what camp
dinner would be complete without s-mores? Oh
yeah, ooey, gooey,
wonderfuly-fantastic-should-be-a-national-treasure
s'mores..... Yum........
Each year, the kids get glo-in-the-dark necklaces
to wear while they roast and eat. Sadly, this year's
necklaces were a bit glo-challenged. OK, more
than "a bit". They were plumb dead. Ah well, they
were still cute! And one thing certainly did glow at
the fire...Ambrosia's cast! She couldn't wait to see
if it really worked - so she went away from the fire,
back towards the woods to check it out. Sure
enough, you could clearly see it. Then, Aurora
had a remarkable idea, see if you could "charge"
the cast further by shining a flashlight on it. Holy
guacamole the thing glowed like it was plugged
in!! The girls had boatloads of fun going around
showing everyone the amazing cast.
Aurora also figured out, she needed to "charge"
her eyes to be able to show off her glo-in-the-dark
eyeliner. (We bought it long after Halloween last
year from a clearance table.) I'm here to report
the stuff is pretty cool, but only for about 5 minutes
after you stick a flashlight on your eye. Seems like
a bit of work to me. No matter though, the glowing
eyes were a great excuse to make another round
of the crowd, showing off a new glow.
After the campfire, we headed to one of the picnic
shelters on the property for a "dance". The dance
is some music and one little light in a picnic shelter
- but the kids LOVE it! Avalon shook her booty
like it was her job. She only lasted for about 1/2 of
the dance, but she thoroughly enjoyed every
minute she made it. Stupid energy beast. Its
irritating when he shows up and bankrupts her...
Anam thought the dancing was pretty neat too. He
made the girls nuts by insisting they dance with
him. He dragged them hither and yon to whatever
location he felt he needed to be in, no regard for
their preferences. Too funny.
There was a late night volleyball game after the
dance, but Aurora was too chicken to stay and
play - she didn't know the other teens well enough,
yet. So, we were headed back to the cabin and
bed by a reasonable hour.
deprived, and have a pile of laundry that could
bury a small country....but we had a BLAST!
I'll do this journal style, and separate the days into
the next couple of posts. I'll write the date and
what we did that day. Hopefully, I'll manage to keep
the pics organized, so you can follow along with
what I'm talking about. Hope you enjoy!
August 29, 2008
We arrived at camp, full of the dickens and rarin'
to go! First we went to check-in to pick up our
ducks, new Kids N Kamp t-shirts, and the kids'
kites. Then it was off to the cabin to unpack and
settle in.
Nearly all of the families that attend camp stay in
two large dorms: moms with girls, dads with boys.
Last year, we registered late in the game and had
a young baby, so we were placed in "special
housing" in a small cabin across the property. It
worked out beautifully for us, because we had
privacy to deal with a baby's all-night fussing.
This year, we begged for the separate placement
again. Avalon now has such panic
attacks/attachment problems, I honestly don't think
we'd be able to stay if we had to separate the
family. She truly panics if she can't see everyone.
Its part of the autistic nature of behaviors she
developed after the botched shunt operation in
May. Add those issues to her hearing damage
which makes her LOUD, and her wheelchair, not to
mention Anam's troublemaking...and I'm sure the
rest of camp is glad we're sequestered far, far
away...
Funny enough, most of the families think the
special needs cabin is awful - but we love it! Its a
tad inconveniant because its far away from
everything, but it allows us to get to go, and the
weekend is truly priceless. The cabin is a small
building with a common room in the middle, and
four bedrooms that attach to the common room.
Each bedroom has two bunk beds. For the last
two years, we've taken a mattress from one of the
other bedrooms, and Anam and I sleep on the
floor between the two beds, so we're all together.
(see Avalon's issues above paragraph) And if
you're wondering, yes, Avalon sleeps in our room
at home. She has a small bed in there. I'm really
not kidding about the panic stuff. :-(
After we unpacked, made beds, and settled in - it
was time to go to the big campfire. The first night
at camp, there is a giant campfire with hot
dogs/chips/baked beans for dinner. Of course you
get to roast your own dogs! And what camp
dinner would be complete without s-mores? Oh
yeah, ooey, gooey,
wonderfuly-fantastic-should-be-a-national-treasure
s'mores..... Yum........
Each year, the kids get glo-in-the-dark necklaces
to wear while they roast and eat. Sadly, this year's
necklaces were a bit glo-challenged. OK, more
than "a bit". They were plumb dead. Ah well, they
were still cute! And one thing certainly did glow at
the fire...Ambrosia's cast! She couldn't wait to see
if it really worked - so she went away from the fire,
back towards the woods to check it out. Sure
enough, you could clearly see it. Then, Aurora
had a remarkable idea, see if you could "charge"
the cast further by shining a flashlight on it. Holy
guacamole the thing glowed like it was plugged
in!! The girls had boatloads of fun going around
showing everyone the amazing cast.
Aurora also figured out, she needed to "charge"
her eyes to be able to show off her glo-in-the-dark
eyeliner. (We bought it long after Halloween last
year from a clearance table.) I'm here to report
the stuff is pretty cool, but only for about 5 minutes
after you stick a flashlight on your eye. Seems like
a bit of work to me. No matter though, the glowing
eyes were a great excuse to make another round
of the crowd, showing off a new glow.
After the campfire, we headed to one of the picnic
shelters on the property for a "dance". The dance
is some music and one little light in a picnic shelter
- but the kids LOVE it! Avalon shook her booty
like it was her job. She only lasted for about 1/2 of
the dance, but she thoroughly enjoyed every
minute she made it. Stupid energy beast. Its
irritating when he shows up and bankrupts her...
Anam thought the dancing was pretty neat too. He
made the girls nuts by insisting they dance with
him. He dragged them hither and yon to whatever
location he felt he needed to be in, no regard for
their preferences. Too funny.
There was a late night volleyball game after the
dance, but Aurora was too chicken to stay and
play - she didn't know the other teens well enough,
yet. So, we were headed back to the cabin and
bed by a reasonable hour.
| First night campfire |
| Marshmallows! |
| The family that roasts together, sticks together. |
| "YMCA!" |
| The following pics are the opening night dance. |
| I'll take mine raw, thank you. |
| Yes, we're dorky. We love to match! |