summer camp!

this makes the third year that Greta has attended the sweetest Christian camp about an hour and a half north of Pittsburgh. I have never seen it advertised and it never comes up in the ubiquitous summer camp suggestion posts on various local Facebook groups. the only way I know about it is from a friend who attended as a camper herself as a child, then worked there as a counselor, and has been sending her own daughter for the past several years. she said it was absolutely wonderful, so two years ago, Greta and her daughter shared a cabin for primary camp, which lasts just over 48 hours (drop off is at 5 p.m. Sunday and pickup is at 9 a.m. Tuesday). then last year they moved up to the junior camp bracket, which encompasses 6 nights! that's a long time to be away from home for a 9-year-old, but Greta absolutely loved it and couldn't wait to go back this summer for another full week of camp. 

she picked a bed far away from the door for less disruption due to night-time bathroom trips

camp photo (they have a password protected album for each camp session -- I loved seeing new photos pop up at the end of each day!)

fun in the art barn

chapel time (she is second from the left in the front row)

when I picked her up on Saturday morning, she was bursting with energy and inside jokes about various hilarious things that had happened at camp. then she gave us the grand tour of the girls' bathroom and cabins to prepare Cece for her first week of primary camp that would happen just a few weeks later. she even taught Cece all the camp songs so she'd be extra ready!

leading the way up Girls Hill (where the girls' cabins are). there was a heated debate about who had the more strenuous climb to their cabins: the girls up a hill to the right, or the boys up a series of steps to the left. 

Elizabeth was so excited to see her, and to snuggle with her new camp stuffie!

Cecilia had all the usual mixed emotions about going to camp -- excitement, trepidation, confidence and nervousness. she has heard Greta rave about the food (high praise from my most selective eater!) and all the fun activities, but she didn't have a built-in buddy in her cabin like Greta has always had. when I dropped her off, her sweet counselors chatted with her right away. she noticed some of the other girls talking together and whispered to me, "see, Mommy? they already know each other!!" so, much to her embarrassment, I asked the girls their names and if they had been to camp before. lo and behold, most of them were coming to camp for the first time and didn't know any of their cabinmates, so I had Cece introduce herself and then left her to it. 

Elizabeth wanted to be in the picture too

Greta donated her decorative pillow, Stitch stuffie, and Pacman lamp to help make Cece's bed homey. she was thrilled to get a top bunk!

the camp doesn't allow kids to contact home unless there is a true emergency, and I kept waiting for a phone call to say that she was miserable and wanted to come home -- except that I really had no doubt that she would make five new best friends within the first few hours. and sure enough, when I picked her up, she was absolutely beaming with joy. "I wish it was next summer already so I can go again!" she said. 

making boats to float in the creek

Cece mournfully explained that the glue wasn't completely dry on the boats when they tried to float them, so it didn't work so well. "but it was still fun splashing," she assured me.

I'm not sure what this game was, but suffice it to say, she slept well both nights!!

all packed up and ready to come home -- except she wanted to stay a few more days!

God bless the counselor who gave her such a cute hairstyle each day! I'm told these are called "dragon braids"

now she has her own camp stuffie, just like Greta's!