More Camp Pictures

Still hamming it up for the camera :)

Made It!

Too Much to Do!

This has been such a busy week, so much to do to get ready for our trip! Tomorrow morning I am heading to the grocery store for a last-minute shop for Caroline, then hopefully taking the afternoon off work so I can pack Ben for his trip to Philly and Joel and I for our trip to Aruba! We are leaving bright and early Saturday morning, as close to 6:30 as we can, since Ben's flight is at 9 and we have to get him checked in and the two of us checked in as well since our flight is at 11:30. Aruba here we come!!!

Lots of Becca Pictures!

I am not sure who her new friend is but they sure are together a lot! I got four letters from her this week, the first two said she was homesick and the third said she was having a great time. (The fourth was just a drawing). She does look like she is having fun from all these pictures! Also she got her care package because she is holding the stuffed kitty I sent her in one of the pics from last night :)

12 Year Old Well Checkup

Ben had his 12 year old well checkup today. I think it is very safe to say that my days of being taller than him are severely limited. He checked in at 5'5 even (I am 5'5 1/2), and 100.4 pounds. He has grown 3 inches and gained 12 pounds since last summer, which the doctor thought was great considering he has not entered puberty yet. I did explain to the doctor that 10 of the 12 pounds he has gained this year have literally been in the last 6 weeks since school ended and he came off his medication for the summer. We discussed our options with regards to that and decided we will do a 6 week trial when school starts without medication, and then check in with the doctor to see how things seem to be going. If we think he should go back on ADHD meds, we will try something different since the appetite suppressant effect of the Concerta was just awful. Not only was he not eating lunch, he was barely eating dinner too. And let me tell you, 5'5 and 90 pounds DOES NOT LOOK GOOD. Finally he is looking healthy and I want to keep him that way! He got his first of 3 Gardasil doses, which he was mad at me for because it made his arm very sore.

There was a little bribery involved in coaxing Ben to get to the 100 pound mark, and now that he has had 2 separate weigh-ins verifying that he has hit the mark, he was allowed to download a video game for himself ;) This week he is home with me doing summer reading, and on Saturday he heads to Philly for a much anticipated week with Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Mike!

Do My Eyes Deceive Me?

Or did the girl we traumatized at age 2 with a "family friendly" rafting trip actually get in a kayak???

A few More Camp Pictures

A pool party and a carnival rounded out Becca's first week at camp, as well as Saturday morning Shabbat service.

First Week at Camp

Here are a few pictures from Becca's first week at camp! She looks like she is having a good time!

Lazy Saturday

Mid-Week Update

Okay slightly past mid-week! It's been a very busy week! Lots to do, ramping up for Ben's week in Philly / our week in Aruba so I have been starting to get ready for that - working out details with our babysitter, confirming Ben's flight (turns out they had his name spelled wrong on the ticket) and things like that. We don't leave till the 23rd but I didn't want to leave everything to the last minute! Well, except for the packing, I usually do leave that for the last minute :-)

From the pictures I have seen on the Blue Star web site, Becca is having a fun first week of camp! I will post some pictures from her first week at the end of the week. I have mailed her three cards and sent her several emails so far and I am going to head out in a few minutes to work on her care package, which I will mail Monday to her. It's pretty quiet around here without her!

Caroline and Ben are having a good week, Ben is at Carowinds with teen camp this week and Caroline got to be the magician's assistant at a magic show at preschool camp yesterday. She was so excited to tell us about it!

Lucy is doing great, very playful, snuggly and adorable! Chamberlain and Clara seem fine with her, and Sheridan is slowly thawing. Maybe ;)

Blue Star Drop-Off

Becca began her first three week stint at Blue Star today! She was so excited. Joel couldn't come with us since he was working this weekend and not allowed to be out of pager range. So Abby and Amelia came with Becca and Caroline and I which was a great help! The kids kept each other entertained during the 2 hour car ride and Abby helped me get Beca unpacked. Becca was excited to show Amelia around camp -- we stopped at Nature and Farm & Barn where the kids handled more than a few unsuspecting furry and feathered creatures :)

After we said goodbye to Becca - who was all smiles and totally fine to see us go - we had lunch in downtown Hendersonville and stopped at Kilwin's and the Mast General Store for some treats before heading home. 

Two Cuties

Our new addition has gotten lots of snuggles this week! She is so sweet!

Smoke & Fire

We teamed up with the neighbors across the street to put on quite the fireworks extravaganza for the kids :)

4th of July BBQ & S'mores

Fireworks

We had an awesome view of the fireworks at Providence country club last night. We drove with some friends to a cul de sac that abuts the golf course and set up chairs and a picnic blanket on the edge of the golf course. The kids played frisbee and football until it got dark and we were so close to the fireworks that we could see the guys setting them up and lighting them off. When the show was done Ben yelled to the guys "that was awesome!" And one of them yelled back "Thank you!" It was definitely the best view we have had and the most hassle free! A tradition from now on!

Our New Addition

Lucy, a 10 week old ragdoll kitten!