FAMILY CAMP

Carl began vacation with a fever/sore throat general malaise (not really on that last one, but I always loved charting that word, malaise, as a nurse so I thought I'd throw it in for dramatic effect here). I forced him to quickly man up and deal though, because we were due to head off to family camp just a few days later.




And we did.

We found a really nice deal too. Our cabin slept 10 (5 bunks) so the kids were elated to learn they would each have their own top bunk. Camp included 7 meals, a swimming pool, archery, rifle range, repelling and rock climbing, river walks (as in, *in* the river, chest deep, the 55ºF river, brrrr!), canoeing, fishing (poles and tackle included), team games like Capture the Flag and Ultimate Frisbee, parachute and other low key games for younger children, a science center (snakes, turtles, rabbits, chickens, pot belly pig, plants, etc.), crafts like tie dye, candle making and friendship bracelets, horseback riding and grooming lessons, S'mores by the camp fire, ice cream sundaes, and of course everyone's favorite activity, swinging from the zip line and climbing the Alpine Tower. The cost for a family of 6? Just over $300. A steal, I tell you. And we all absolutely LOVED it.



The kids were sooo thrilled to discover they could take a trail ride, as we weren't sure the horses would be there yet (they use them for various summer camps, but not necessarily for family camp).










And they were equally thrilled to learn that it would be warm enough to swim.
And they did.
In water that again had a hypothermic setpoint.



























Brandon and I didn't brave it, but the rest did.
And it's a good thing we didn't because Carl passed his germs on to Brandon, who came down with a fever and was somewhat cranky during our stay. But he was pretty manageable, except for the second night when Reece threw up all through his bunk.
Oh, how lightly it sounds. I mean, all. flippin'. through. And then?

He went back to sleep (swell).
Yep, my Reece has always been a heavy sleeper. Wet dipes and throw up didn't phase the boy. Clearly, throw up still doesn't. But alas, it bothered the rest of us (I know, prissy). So a mid-night clean up on bunk #5 was definitely in order.
Which would have been fine, 'cept that it took the edge off of crabby, feverish Brandon's sleep. Uh huh (sigh).

He cried (okay, wailed) for the next two hours.
Which naturally meant *I* couldn't sleep (not pretty at all). Eventually though, Brandon passed out drifted off, and my bags and I made our way back to sleep. Only,...

Wha'sat???
Who is knocking on our unlocked cabin door at 2am??? (no, we're not foolish enough to leave the door unlocked. They just didn't. Lock, that is.)
I was too groggy to be able to process what I was hearing. In fact, I didn't even fully wake up. But,...
Then Carl woke me up completely when he got up to use the bathroom.
As he returned to bed, he stated in frustration, "Someone's been rattling the handle on our cabin door all night."

Whoa, Nellie. Now that bolted me up.

"What? Are you serious? Did you hear the knocks? This isn't good. What if someone's still out there?"

I mean, who the heck would be trying to wake us at this time of night, out in the middle of nowhere?

"You need to rig one of the chairs under the door handle and make sure all the windows are locked." (did I mention it was 80º outside?)

So Carl rigged the door handle and the next thing I knew, he was snoring.

SNORING!

At a time like that.

I, on the other hand, was now fully awake and completely terrified, not to mention very concerned for my family.

Weapons.
Must have weapons.

Grab flashlight. Dig feverishly through purse.
Phew, armed!
With a pair of safety scissors and a ball point pen.
Not much, I realize.
But as I came unprepared for camp violence, having left my Oozie at home and all, it was all I had to work with. Femoral and/or aortic injuries can be serious though, and safety scissors and ballpoint pens can go for them.

So armed, yes. But terrified. And I thus decided it would be best to sleep in Carl's bed with him, so we could "two against one" the creep if necessary. Afraid to move but yet motivated by mama bear instinct, I grabbed my pillow, pen, scissors and flashlight and headed over to his bunk.

Nudge. Nudge. Nudge a bit harder. WHOP!
(grumble and slight roll) "What???"
"Honey, move over. I'm getting in bed with you. And you did put that chair under the door handle, yes?"
"What?" (a bit more awake now). No. What are you talking about?"
The knocks on the door. And the rattling handle. And the chair. You did put it,...I mean (brain fog),...did you say someone was rattling the door handle all night, right?"
(complete exhaustion and frustration) "NooOOo!"

Gulp. I looked over at the door and,....no chair. I thought deliberately and carefully. Had I heard a knock? Hmmm. Not sure.

"So,..um,...you didn't say someone was rattling the door handle?"

(half asleep again) "No. Go back to bed."

And off I went.
Deflated.
With my pillow, scissors, pen and flashlight.
Back to my own bunk.
In my own little fog.
Toni's World.

It had all been a sleep deprived dream. Honestly, I've never EVER been so disoriented due to lack of sleep. It was scary and surreal. And okay, I had to laugh too. Especially at my arsenal.

Well, this post is bordering on chapter two and I didn't even get to tell you about the lady who tipped her kids out of their canoe at the dock. Or the old man who rolled his kayak. Or Carl's brush-burned arm from his archery experience. Or how, when he climbed the tower, some 110 pound girl told him to just sit down and push off the edge ('bout a hundred feet, I might add) and she would lower him down with the cable attached to her (or the 250 lb guy who told Carl he had similar trust issues with her the year before, asking for and fully expecting the helicopter to rescue him from the top of the tower at any moment).






















If you get a chance to go to family camp this summer, RUN! Do it. Ohio, you have Beulah Beach. Michigan, you have Bair Lake Bible Camp. PA, I know you have several (all states do, I'm sure). Indiana, you have Camp Lakeview and more. And even if you're not the camp type, I say bite the bullet.

For your kids.






















They'll remember it for a lifetime.
Even the "big kids" like Dad.
(and speaking of biting the bullet, you might want to bring one. Just in case. Preparedness. I'm just sayin').

Toni