Side-by-side Wednesday

Along with the Zoo, one of the surprises that we knew nothing about was a massive carnival that was brought to us.  This is where we had more than the 147 original volunteers come to give us an unforgettable day.  It was SO fun to walk around, trying to locate each kid as they ran from activity to activity, hoping that I got at least one picture of each as the morning quickly raced by.  We had SUCH A FUN TIME at this carnival set up just for us!

 Tyson

Brennon

Shelby

Some of these were clearly disregarded, like No Jewelry (Caden wears his watch everywhere), No Unevenly Matched Players (each of our kids went at least once with their Buddy-- including BRENNON!), and some of the kids were shorter than the minimum height requirement.  But the one that made us laugh the most was: No Medical Conditions.  You mean like CANCER?!  May not be the best place to have this ride, this cancer camp.

 It was fun seeing Sue dunk both of her boys.  Jonah (Senior in HS) is the one standing, Sam (15 or 16) is the one sitting down.

And, of course, there is bound to be need for bandaids-- Sue to the rescue!

 Sue

Kristin-- the woman that made me pass out last year.  Still kind of blush thinking about that!

Keilie dunked Pedro

"Hay Rides"

And then, as if the carnival wasn't enough for one morning, they brought horses for us to ride!  The girls were the first ones out, so this is the only reason I can figure for not having pictures of them on their horses.  Super sad we didn't get any!

 Brennon made me proud today.  Not only did he brave the two-story slide, he also got in the dunk tank and then immediately decided that he would ride the horse after telling us he wouldn't.  He conquered his fears today-- BIG TIME!!

 We tried to get Caden's horse closer to us, but it was having none of it.  It was really cool to hear his horse "talking" quite loudly with another horse.  Apparently, these two horses became friends when owned by the same owner.  However, they had been separated for a couple years and were quite happy to be reunited at this camp.  Caden said it was very vocal the entire time he rode it.  SO COOL!

I almost didn't post these pictures, actually.  I do not like that Caden is not next to us.  It's almost like this was a reminder of what our family is going to look like in who knows how long-- the six of us close, while Caden is away.  But they took the time to take it, so I'll use it.  But it is a hard picture to look at.

 We got to have a NICE Parent's Dinner tonight.  Many months ago they asked if we wanted Salmon or Steak for dinner, and how we wanted it cooked.  We both chose Steak, since we don't have many opportunities to have it here at home.  Randy had had steak at the Dad's event the night before, so he wished he had chosen the Salmon for this meal.  I had told them Well Done, so when it came out with red in the center, I wished I would have told them "nothing for me, thanks" so that they could have saved the money.  I wish we could have either zapped it in the microwave (I am such a diva!  People are going hungry while I complain about red in my expensive, under-cooked-for-my-taste steak) or saved it for later! 

It was a gorgeous night.  In fact, when they told us that dinner was concluded, but that we could stay and chat or join our kids, we were all surprised to see that an hour and a half had passed.  It was a night of living dreams.  Not only did we forget our worries for the week, but we forgot where we were that night.  We could have been at a Ruth's Chris-- it was that fancy and wonderful!

 When we joined our kids, we got to see Brennon called on stage to join in on the skit action.  My sweet Brennon became a "valued employee" of Bits and PCS.

After they dismissed our Buddies for their 9:00pm time off, they told the teenagers that they were welcome to come to a late night teen party.  They roasted s'mores ( Caden was the only one that got them perfectly toasted every time, not once lighting it on fire-- remember, this is a skill for him!) and did the zip line until 10:00pm.  It was great seeing Caden join them!

This was the first day that Caden did not need a single break all day.  He participated in every single activity, only needing to sit down to rest a few times.  Many times it was regular sitting times only-- meals or Club.  This was the turning point for him-- he's had plenty of energy and stamina since this day!!!

Honestly, I don't know how they plan to top today!  If the first few days felt like a week of play, today alone felt like a month of fun.  Caden felt well, so it added fuel to our fun fire!

Side-by-side Tuesday

Our first activity of the day was Knight Training.  They told the kids that if they had their armor complete, they should suit up.  Regardless, we were all invited to train to become Knights.

 Brennon's armor was not quite complete, but Tyson's was, so he decked himself out.  For about 10 minutes, until it got too hot for him to breathe.

 You'd think that Tyson would feel limitless in his armor, that he'd be the one to challenge Shelby, but she was the one to begin and end this battle!

 In the above picture, you can see the scared Dragon running from the training Knights.  As of Tuesday morning, Dragons were still not considered friends of our fair Kingdom.  D.A.G.S (Dragons Activist Group, Silly) still had some work to do educating us about Dragons, it seems.

And, because Side-by-side understands that sometimes kids can't always go to the zoo when they don't feel well, they brought the zoo to us!

 The kids got to learn about skunks, snakes, falcons, and opossums.  The other animals the kids were not able to touch, but they were able to touch the opossum at the end. 

Caden said the tail felt like there were bubbles under the skin, and that if you grabbed it hard enough you could pop the bubbles.  I had no desire to touch it in the first place, but after that description I practically threw up thinking about touching it.  No thank you, miss!  I'll sit on the back row.  Or up the road in my cabin.

While the rest of the family was playing during their Free Hours...

 (Can you see how beautifully the Women's Spa was set up and decorated?!)

 Randy was off-campus with the other men (seven teams of 3), representing our family at the Go-Kart Track, winning FIRST place!

(1st place: Randy Dirks, Dave Hall, Timothy Ehling)

Dave told Randy that his forearms hurt the next day.  Randy said he wasn't too sore, to which Dave said, "Yeah, you left me in there for a long time!"  It was a relay, where each pit stop required you to switch drivers.  Towards the end of the race, it became apparent that if they had Dave pit stop, they wouldn't win first.  "I wasn't about to lose!"  Sue's husband, Tim, has tried for ten years to win first-- this was his year!

And, because it was very apparent that Randy was the one that wanted that win the most, sacrificing his own drive time to win, Dave and Tim sent the trophy home with Randy after they showcased it to their own kids.  It is now showcased in our room, in a place he can see it every day.

As we went to bed that night, the kids said they couldn't believe that we were half-way through our camp week.  Honestly, it felt like we had barely gotten there, but with every single thing that we had shoved into our day, it felt like we'd been there for a week already.  I cannot even begin to tell you how jam-packed each and every day was.  I wasn't able to get each of my kids doing each of their chosen activities.  I'm telling you, we did it all!  And we still have two and a half more days to go...