Boy's Camp, Encampment, and Summer Days

 We had company over last Sunday, so I didn't get to write.

So, here we are with another week having passed . . . and so many things have happened!

My own kids were coming and going all of the days.

At first, Mister Man and Brother left for Boys' Camp.  I have no pictures of that adventure (the men leaders are not as adept at taking and sharing pictures as are the women leaders), but the list I've heard so far includes cliff jumping, tubing, kneeboarding, wakeboarding, shooting (with shotguns, pistols, and potato cannons), hiking, and lots of eating.

They came home happily rosy, rumpled, and stinky!

We sent them to the showers immediately. :)

But they came home to no power in the house, so it was just as hot inside as it was outside.  We'd had a gigantic storm the day before that knocked out the power of well over 100K people in the general area.  We'd already gone 24 hours without power--which means we'd already hit the laundromat,

I loved watching them watch the machines! 

 . . . played at the spray park, and spent a couple of hours at the library--all in an effort to stay cool.

Sir Walter Scott was at work, so he was ok.  

Nature Angel and I kept our phones charged with the car adaptor and at the library.

Since my phone was charged, I offered to let the younger kids use it to watch a movie in the basement, which was much cooler than anywhere else in the house.  We got settled in, and then the power came back on!!

(I cried, I was so grateful.)

Little Princess missed this drama because she had already left for Civil Air Patrol encampment.

We are super grateful she was able to attend because after being sick for days and days, she was finally diagnosed with strep A, and the antibiotics had her finally feeling well enough to attend this incredible event.  We scrambled to file the correct paperwork to allow her to bring her meds to encampment, and it all worked out in the end.

After the obstacle course--her favorite event

(Except that she accidentally unpacked her shower shoes before leaving!)

However, just as she recovered, Nature Angel began to feel sick, but it took several days to recognize the strep symptoms in her.  We finally got her antibiotics going a few days ago, so we're hoping she'll be feeling better soon.

There are many pictures documenting life at home for the rest of us missing from my phone as well as from my cloud backup.  I remember taking them, but I can't find them anywhere.

It's just as well.  My hands were very full managing the babies with a smaller group of helpful kids both weeks.

We played outside when we could, but a combination of storms and heat kept us hiding indoors a lot.

My bigger kids can never resist the little kids' activities.

Fine motor work

They've been working on throwing and catching a football.

So. Much. Pokemon.

" I makin' a big patterwn!"

3-part puzzles

Tea party

Cloud dough

She was drawing custom ice cream cones, which turned into playing ice cream shop, which turned into drawing beautiful storefronts for each child, which turned into hours of darling creative play.

There was always someone missing, so our reading activities were almost non-existent.  When the boys got home, and I had all 6 of the younger kids home, we made a lot of progress on our Julia Morgan biography.

Now that all 8 kids are home, and all camps are finished, we will return to In Search of the Castaways.

Our Teaching Textbooks trial is still in effect, and the kids are thriving on it.  Even a few weeks in, they ask me if they can "do math," and they're learning, so I'm satisfied.

I haven't mentioned it much this summer, but Mister Man and Brother are enthusiastically still working at their gardening apprenticeship.

In the middle of the week, Uncle S-- came with Cousin J-- and Cousin C--.  Their visit with us was part of a 30-day baseball park tour that had been 2 years in the making.  They were full of energy and plans, so the younger 6 kids went to Liberty Jail, hit a Royals game, and went to church activities that night.

Then, in the wee hours, Sir Walter Scott and Mister Man joined the relatives on a 24-hour sprint to Field of Dreams and a Minnesota Twins game before coming home to take all of the temple-attending kids to do temple baptisms first thing Saturday morning.

Little Princess was still at encampment, and Nature Angel was too sick to attend.

As soon as they returned from the temple, we said goodbye to the relatives (who were headed home), and then we followed them out the door to drive out to the encampment location for Little Princess' graduation.

Delta Flight--which won "Flight of the Week" for their efforts, accomplishments, unity, and leadership qualities.

On the way home, in hour 5 of our 6-hour round-trip, Beowulf had a complete break-down which facilitated Brother joining him, and I took over driving while Sir Walter Scott and Nature Angel did everything in their power to keep them from jumping out of the van while barreling down the highway at 70 mph.  

We couldn't pull over because they wanted to run away, and if they did that along the highway, into the highway, or in a strange community, we didn't know what the local police would do (we've had bad experiences with law enforcement outside of our home area).

I drove with one hand on the automatic locks, pressing them at intervals to keep them locked as the boys tried to manually unlock them.  

I won't go into any more detail.

Suffice it to say, it was a horrid evening.

I managed decompression and a family therapy session for the kids at home.  

Sir Walter Scott managed finding our missing boys and having a long therapy session with them.

Our messages?

Mine to the scared other kids:  Your feelings are valid--no matter what they are.  You have experienced trauma.  I love you.  I am here.  You can share even ugly, scary feelings, and you will be loved.

Sir Walter Scott's to the boys:  We always love you.  No matter what you do.  One bad day does not undo all of the progress of your good days.  Look forward to what you want to become instead of backward at what you were.  We always love you.

We had a family prayer and collapsed into bed.

I believe we are ready to be done with the coming-and-going and routine interruptions of summer.  

It's been great!

But we're done.

The camps are over, and we are going to be as boring and predictable as we possibly can be for as long as we need to.