Wild 5

Last Wildside camp of the summer! We decided for this last week that Q and I would stay at camp for the whole week. So we got there on Sunday and settled in for the week! She really settled in, making herself cozy in my bed!

 I finally convinced her to get out of bed and get dressed after her nap (she loves to nap without her shirt on. She gets hot I guess!) and go out to wait for the campers! She is so stinkin cute in her staff shirt with the rolled up sleeves, waving and calling to the campers on the canoe beach as they wait to get in the skiff and come over!

 You can't see her book, but its there in front of her, and she was laying on her belly reading, just like I was. Except that she reads out loud, and chatters like crazy. Its very distracting! haha!

 Her Auntie Lisa gave her her birthday present on Sunday - beach toys and huge chalk! She was very excited to get on the deck on Monday and draw up a storm.

 She is so sweet when she sleeps. I can ever get enough of looking at her. But I took this because it made me laugh how she has THREE Frozen dolls in her arms as she is napping. Crazy girl!

 On canoe day she wanted to go out with her dad again. So we put her bathing suit on, and told her she had to quietly listen to Alicia teaching the campers. She said "okay Mama" and grabbed herself a paddle and stood there quietly the entire time Alicia was teaching strokes, mimicking what the strokes were as the campers practiced them. At one point, Jon leans over and says to me " I am so proud right now", which made me laugh out loud. He has such high hopes for her loving the outdoor stuff just as he does! (but don't worry Quinny, if you end up not loving it, that is okay! We love you just as you are)

 She went out for 2 1/2 hours with Jon and Dave in the canoe and did awesome. I guess she wanted to actually paddle though, and kept dropping her paddle in the water, and then Jon or Dave would have to grab it, which was a bit annoying. Thankfully Dave is so patient with her and Jon said it was fun! She came in with a huge smile and yelling "MOM! MAMA! I IN A BOAT! A BOAT MAMA!" Which made me laugh. She's too funny.

 Nap time again, and once again sleeping with all 3 Frozen dolls, all wrapped up in her arms. She is such a mother hen!

 You can't watch the video on here, but the picture shows you whats happening, kind of. We are singing "Johnny Appleseed" before eating, and she is clapping and singing along. She LOVES this song and sings it a hundred times a day. "OOOOH! Appleseed! Lord, appleseed!" in her little singsong voice. She claps as she sings too. I love this stage SO MUCH. I can't understand how people get annoyed by toddlers. They are so hilarious, and such little sponges. The things she soaks in, and the things she says sometimes totally make me laugh. (even thought she is also a lot of work at times!) I love that this summer, she is so into camp and the games and songs and really does like being there. That makes me happy.

 Squishing Auntie Mimi in the hammock - she was being so crazy here. She would screech in a crazy way and then flop down onto her, and try to lick her. Aimee was laughing so hard and saying 'NOOOOO Quinny!" but since she was laughing Quinnlyn did not take her seriously and just kept doing it

 I was in the next hammock killing myself laughing as I watched. I was just happy it was happening to someone else! This kid licks me all the time, or does other crazy things. What goes on in her mind, I can never figure out. She is just SUCH a goofball ALL the time!!

 It wasn't a super nice day outside, and the campers were gone, so I let her watch her movie for a little bit. She cuddled right into our bed and got herself comfy and laid like that for a while. She also still hasn't been sleeping super awesome, so she was tired and a bit grumpy. The quiet time and a little time to herself was a good thing I think for her.

 Then I boiled hot water and gave her a bath in the little bathtub and did her hair. The water was so dirty when she got out! She REALLY needed a bath! Yikes. Baby Elsa's hair had come undone, and she wanted me to get it "out of baby's eyes", so I french braided the babys straw-like hair. After I was done and feeling pretty pleased with myself, she says to me "mommy, me hair?" I asked how she wanted me to do her hair and she says "babys hair. Match" I didn't even know she knew what the word match meant!! So I got her to sit still long enough to french braid her hair all around her head and end in a side pony. NOT AN EASY TASK! This kid does NOT sit still! But we did it! Next time it will be better hopefully! It is fun having a girl who wants me to do her hair

 Matching hair. She was so excited that she matched her baby, she kept showing everyone

 Chris built a huge, really cool slip n slide on the main site, so I went over on Thursday when our campers were rappelling and sat with Sharon for a while and watched it in action. Campers seemed to love it! It looked so fun. Quinny went up and watched them go down and would clap for them. She happily played in the sand and followed Lisa ("Le-Ha"  as she calls her) around. Lisa is so kind to Quinny and always pays her attention - no wonder Q goes to main site and instantly tries to seek her out!

 I was struck that morning by a comment that a friend had made to me a few weeks ago - she said that you can't visit when toddlers were around because they were constantly bugging you. I didn't agree with her, but in the moment I didn't say anything. Yet, I was able to sit with my dear friend for over an hour nd a half and Quinny didn't once "bug" me. She would come over and say something or ask for help, but then she would happily go back to playing/walking around. Sure, she needs me to watch her, and to give her some attention, but I don't see that as "bugging". I know people with kids much bigger who would pester their parents the whole time in the same situation!! Of course, its not always like that, and at times she is bored or desperate for my attention, but aren't all kids? I just really think we need to allow toddlers to act age appropriately, but not to underestimate them. Just as we shouldn't overestimate big kids! I pray that I am always attentive to the stage that Q is in, and never wish it away, eager for a time when she is bigger/different/more independent. I am also thankful that my first baby is a happy, easy-going little girl who can play very happily! I used to think much differently about babies/toddlers, seeing them as so needy and "life suckers" and it makes me sad that I ever thought that way, and never paid babies/toddlers much attention. They are beautiful, and curious and I am SO thankful that my own baby has opened my eyes to the wonder of little people.

Thursday evening was Hunger Games!! (as I write this post, I realize I didn't really take many pictures of camp happening this week - I guess as the weeks go on, the pictures become few?). Hunger Games is my baby when it comes to games! I have tweaked it and added things and I am very proud of this game! There are many different parts that I have added since the first time we have played, and the campers always love how intense it is! SO AWESOME AND HARDCORE! Can you see the little person sitting nicely and listening quietly as I explain the rules?! This is a great game to end the week on, because it takes quite a long time, and theres always awesome stories that come out of it. So fun. We also this year played an Wildside Amazing Adventure Race each week that was a big hit. We will be adding new challenges and making it better for next year!

 Thursday night the weather turned and it became windy and stormy! So Friday morning when everyone was cleaning/packing up, I let her watch a bit more of her movie as I packed up the trailer. I loved staying in the trailer this year. It really was so cozy - we just need to deal with the mold/floor problems!

 It cleared up by late morning a bit, and our campers went to play on the inflatables. These two girls on the right were SO great! Two of my favourites this week. The blonde in the middle had quite the week - on Wednesday during the Amazing Race, she was with her team of 4 and running through the back forest, and she was leading the way and all of a sudden started screaming because a black bear was less than three feet away from her. Apparently she turned, screaming, and just started running. Her teammates tried to tell her not to run, because they remembered us telling them to make noise and back away slowly. It didn't matter, because the bear was also freaked out and took off back up the mountain. Talk about excitement! And then later that night during Human Clue, she stepped on a wasps nest and got stung 14 times!!!! Most kids at this point would be done, and a little traumatized. Not Hannah. She wanted to call her mom to tell her about the "big" day, but still had the biggest grin on her face, and by Friday was saying how much she loves Wildside and was sad to leave and could barely wait until next year. That is what we call a trooper!! The best kind of camper!!

 The kitchen helper with her gloves on, ready to do some baking with her Auntie!

Ive been feeling ready for summer to be over, and to be back home in our own house, getting into our fall routine. So once Friday hit, I packed up and didn't really feel too sad. We took our staff our to Jake's on the Lake and debriefed summer and just shared stories and laughed lots. It was a good summer with a good staff. Lisa watched Q while we went - my first meal all summer long without her! Very weird, and very quiet. It was nice to not have to share my plate! (haha). We had to drive back over to Wildside to grab Jon's car after we were done, and as we were driving passed the Mess Hall, Q started yelling from the back seat "Mimi! Mimi! I want Mimi! Me out!" She thought Aimee was in the kitchen, where she spent so much of her summer. I had to tell her that Mimi wasn't there, she went home. She started crying and calling for "My Mimi" and that was when it hit me that this season is over, and what a good one it was. The time that Q and Aims got to spend together this summer was special, and it bonded them tightly, and they share such special memories. And Quinny has such a little crush on Dave - she gets so bashful when he is around, after talking about him non-stop when he's not around, she will miss him! And watching her bond each week with the campers was pretty awesome. She has a pretty special life, and gets to do some awesome things and its fun to watch that. It does feel good to end camp on a good note, not a totally exhausted one, and to feel ready for the next phase of life to hit. It was a good summer.