Maccabiah Games

Yesterday was a camp-wide competition day where the campers were divided into 4 teams based on the four elements (earth, air, fire and water). It looks like Ben was on the earth team judging by his shirt color ;) No word on how his team fared yet, though. I also got a letter from him where he detailed the different types/numbers of fish he has caught, and said that he was stung by a wasp (but appeared to be in good spirits nonetheless). 

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a great and busy weekend, including a hair cut for Caroline, new bikes for Caroline and Ben, a gluten free birthday cake baked entirely from scratch by Joel and an awesome birthday dinner at Basil Thai restaurant, and two trips to the pool! Becca also got a last-minute invitation to accompany a friend to her sister's birthday party, and we completed the walk-through at our rental property and turned the keys over to Abby and Mike so they can get busy painting, carpeting and getting ready to move! Joel booked a cabin in the mountains for this Friday and Saturday night near Lake Lure, so we can have a little mini-vacation with the girls before picking Ben up from camp on Sunday morning! I can't wait to see my boy!!

Poolside

Birthday Dinner

More Random Ben Sightings

Yes I have not much better to do than to continually look for pictures of Ben, read the daily news/ dining hall menu , etc... I miss my boy!!!!

He Caught One!

Who said Kaplans don't fish? ;)

Fishing

The only picture we have seen of Ben in recent days, although we did get a letter from him yesterday in which he professed to having had another "awesome" day. Upon seeing this picture I said to Joel, "Is he happy? He is not smiling." To which Joel replied, "He's fine. Kaplans don't fish. He's thinking, 'Why the f*** am I fishing?'"

Reunited!

A long day of driving today! 4 hours to Blue Star to pick up Becca, and then another 2 hours home to Charlotte. We got warm welcomes from both daughters; Becca started running when she saw us, and Caroline started screaming with delight :) Caroline has been attached to me like a barnacle all afternoon, which has made unpacking difficult :) I did manage to get it done though , and Joel is doing a giant grocery shop as we speak. Back to reality!!

They Cleaned up for Shabbat!

Love how in all the pictures of the boys I saw it looked like they had all JUST gotten out of the shower and barely bothered to towel off before getting dressed for services ;) Note Ben's "thumbs up" -- I sent him an email the first day of camp telling him to give me a "thumbs up" to let me know he is having a good time. Thanks for remembering, Ben!

Marsh Sunset

Took this while bike riding yesterday evening!

I Sense a Theme...

Becca: animals; Ben: sports. Almost all the pictures I have seen of Becca involve her manhandling some animal or another (though apparently the horse was too big to manhandle, and the goat, well I guess she is taking it for a walk?) Almost all the pictures I have seen of Ben so far are of him playing sports. Camp called today and said Becca has been asking if she can stay another week! We told them no - ha! Hope she is not too pissed at us when we arrive to get her on Sunday!

Ben Sighting

A wedgie by the lake? I am not sure exactly what is going on here ;) But it's my boy and he is smiling! That's good enough for me :)

Vacation is Half Over

Another bike ride to another tower , shopping at the outlets (got new sunglasses!), a letter from Becca, and dinner at Husk in Charleston.

Ceramics!

Ben, on the other hand, seems to be purposefully avoiding the camera :P I caught one glimpse of him playing flag football today, and that's it. Grrrr ;)

Bike Ride

Joel and I took a two hour bike ride this morning (okay part of it was spent at Starbucks and not on our bikes). After the coffee stop we biked to one of the marsh observation towers and climbed to the top and took a selfie :) I also started (and finished) reading The Fault in our Stars.

More Becca Sightings

Numerous Becca sightings in the camp photos today. Here are just a couple. I haven't seen any photo albums of Pioneer Boys today (Ben's group). Maybe they were off-site and are late uploading the photographs? I'll keep checking back obsessively, of course!

Pictures from Camp

It looks like the kids discovered the nature center, at least, and Ben found his way to the basketball court (surprise, surprise). Looks like they are having a good time so far! I will post more camp pictures as I come across them! Caroline also seems to be doing great (thanks Aunt Abby and Uncle Mike!!!) As for Joel and I, we spent THE ENTIRE DAY reading on the beach and I read all of Eleanor & Park in one sitting. Next up, The Fault in our Stars.

From the Mountains to the Beach...

... In one afternoon! After dropping the kids off Joel and I drove the 4 hours to Kiawah. We checked in, ate dinner, and went grocery shopping and made it out to walk on the beach just in time to catch the sunset! Looking forward to a relaxing week!

Camp Drop-Off

Drop-off at camp Blue Star went more smoothly than expected. Both kids seemed more than ready to say goodbye to us! Becca practically shooed us out the door and Ben barely looked up from talking to Jared to say goodbye. Caroline also apparently took about six hours to notice that we were gone, according to Abby's report, and didn't seem to care much once she did realize it ;)

Here are the kids at drop-off:

My Campers 2014

Photo proofs from day camp! I think I will be ordering some this time. These kids are so cute.

Dinner

I guess Abby was getting a little tired of the menu rotation so when we were putting together the July menu she suggested we do a mango steak salad. I found a recipe and gave it a try today. It was delicious! Definitely a keeper. The homemade dressing was a little time consuming but definitely worth it -- so yummy. 

Packing

I know I have been a little delinquent with the blogging. It's been busy this week getting everything ready for camp / vacation! 

Here is the packing so far :

Not much in the way of actual clothes have gone into the duffle bags yet -- hope I have room!

Getting Ready for a Busy Week!

It is going to be a busy week ahead, getting Ben and Becca ready for Camp Blue Star, Joel and I ready to go to Kiawah for a week, and Abby and Mike prepped to take care of the rambunctious and always-getting-into-trouble Miss Caroline :) I started packing the kids' duffle bags over the weekend, which included a couple-hundred-dollar trip to Target for supplies like sun block , extra socks / underwear , toiletries , mosquito repellent , etc. Everything must be individually labeled so I spent about two hours yesterday labeling and packing the clothes like long pants/sweatshirts that they won't need to use this week , as well as labeling and packing all their toiletries and other supplies. Most of their clothes I won't pack until Saturday, and I still have some shopping to do to round out their supplies.More updates on the camp / vacation preparedness to follow, I'm sure!

Poor Clara :)

Clara got a makeover this morning from the youngest Kaplan :)

4th of July Parade

Make Your Own Pizza

Uncle Mike showed us how it's really done :) YUM!