Summer Camp

We decided last summer on the spur of the moment that the kids were ready for summer camp.  At that time, we had been planning to move back to the States after this school year ended and we figured the timing would be perfect - we would take a cruise thru the Baltics (which we did) as a goodbye Europe trip and then the kids would go to camp for 3 weeks while we got the house back into working order to move back in before school started in September.

Well the best laid plans... you know how it ends.  The Baltic Cruise ended up not being a "goodbye Europe" tour but instead was an "introduction to Northern Europe where you will be spending the next several years" tour.  And so camp instead became the "I need to pack the rest of our stuff and move it to Amsterdam" part of the summer.

I will admit I was a little nervous about sending the boys to 3 weeks of overnight summer camp.  As I kid, this is not something I could have ever done.  But these guys are so much stronger than I ever was. And both expressed a desire to go.  Though as the time grew closer I could tell they were ambivalent - I don't blame them!

If anything, we figured this would give them a chance to be closer to nature (after almost 5 years of city living, there was very little country boy in either of them - in fact, Aidan freaked out when he saw an ant at my parents' the day after we arrived in the US), gain some independence, meet some new kids and get to enjoy the freedom that goes with no one constantly saying "don't do that", "don't touch that", "stop hitting your brother", etc etc.

We did some research on camps but in the end we decided to send them to Camp Wekeela in Hartford, Maine.  Why?  Because it's the same camp Josh went to as a kid and to this day, he still tells stories about his times spent there.  And while it would cost us an arm and a leg, to hopefully give the kids those kinds of memories would be worth it.

My in laws came with me to drop the boys off and I'm glad they did as the expected 3 1/2 hour drive ended up taking 5 1/2 hours.  Yes, an extra 2 hours.  I was stressed because it was a one hour window drop off.  Turns out that the one hour window was really just a "guide", kind of like the mandatory must ship your bags up to camp to the tune of $200 so we can unpack your kids before you get here, kind of thing.  And no, their bags weren't unpacked, in fact, we couldn't even find Aidan's for a good half hour.

We got to camp and I just have to say wow... this place is amazing.  It was all we saw in the pictures and more.  I felt really good about leaving them here and knowing they would be in good hands.  And while I thought the drop off process could be a little better organized, I knew they would be having the time of their lives for the next 3 weeks.

Gymnastics building

A few of the cabins

Dining hall

Part of Little Bear Pond in the distance

Totem pole - it was there when Josh went here too!

Yes, I have made it!!!!

But despite the long drive and the bag issue, the moment the kids got to Camp Wekeela, they were so excited. We found Liam's cabin first and he immediately claimed his bunk.  Liam was the one I was most worried about - he still isn't the best at wiping his butt (he's going to love reading this years from now), he struggles getting dressed and he tends to be a bit of a wanderer.  He also embraces his inner baby and isn't the most independent.  Yes, I was worried about what this would be like for him.  But at the same time, I knew he needed this opportunity to see what he was capable of and to let him shine.

Liam's cabin - Navajo

Liam on his top bunk

Liam's bunkmates

We found Aidan's bunk which was on the other side of camp from Liam's.  He had fewer kids which I think worked for him.  Within moments of us finding his camp bag, he was ready for us to leave.  My little boy is all grown up.  I am so proud of how independent and confident he was as we left him there.

Aidan's cabin - Abnaki

Me and my big kid

Aidan's cabin crew

Thankfully I had signed up for a service that allowed us to download pictures that the camp posted on their secure site as well as send unlimited emails to the kids.  That didn't mean that they got to email us back.  The emails were printed out and put in their bunks and then they could handwrite a message back which was then scanned and emailed back to us.  It was NO technology for them for 3 weeks. It was good for them and they survived!

And so Josh and I looked daily at the pictures - the ones with Aidan were full of smiles.  The ones of Liam were iffy - some smiles and some moments where he looked... lost.  But overall,  he looked like he was having a good time.  We sent them messages but not too many.  Maybe 2 per week.  And they each sent a few back, short but sweet.  Aidan did send one that made me feel a little unsure about if he was having a good time or not, but in the end, he said he had a blast.  And while Liam looked lost in a few pictures, Aidan said he was actually quite popular, though he did often fall asleep in random places.  I'm sure that with all the constant stimulation, sports and late nights, the poor kid was just exhausted!!

As far as favorite things from camp - Aidan said his favorite sport was building fires.  I reminded him that building fires is not actually a sport.  Liam's was soccer.  They both loved the color wars which was made up of the green team (their team) and the white team and there were challenges over the course of several days.  Their team won!

Beautiful shot of Little Bear Pond from camp - how can you not want to spend 3 weeks here?

Final nights at Camp Wekeela

2014 season comes to a close

The kids loved camp so much that more than a week later, they are still talking about it, still singing the chants and still excited about the experience.  And so we've decided that they will go back again next year to which they are thrilled!  So while our flights are yet booked, it looks like we will be spending the boys' entire summer vacation at home (they only get 6 weeks of vacation) again.  And we can't wait - already something to look forward to!!

Besos,

Julie

Whirlwind Trip Home to the USA

Every year we come home to the US and every year I say that I won't over schedule.  Every year I totally fail in this capacity and as a result, by the time we leave I can barely keep my eyes open from exhaustion.  It's always worth it though.  It always feels so good to be back home.  And this year feels even better. For some reason, despite my inability to under-schedule myself, I'm not feeling so manic or overwhelmed with all that needs to be done and people to see.  I think I just finally know, it will all get done.  And if it doesn't... well, it doesn't.  Perhaps life in Barcelona rubbed off on me after all.

We made it home directly from our cruise vacation which made for an incredibly long day when you added in getting off the boat by 7 (which meant up around 5:30AM), then a 2 hour bus ride to the airport, 3 hours wait in the airport before our flight and then the 2 flights themselves.  But the cruise was yet another distraction to the disarray of our lives right now.  It was so nice being away for 2 weeks that it made us forget about the sadness of leaving Barcelona.  And now, being home in the US, it just reinforces those feelings of distraction and right now, distraction is good.  We're going to have so much going on in August and September that we might as well enjoy some good times while we can.

Since we were home for 5 weeks which is a lot of stuff to cover, I'll keep this short but sweet - a snapshot of our time.

• I made 3 trips to NY - two of them were to Brooklyn for the boys, one to Albany for me to visit my two best college friends.  Unfortunately I wasn't so great about taking pictures of the three trips.

Liam and his friend, Henry... picked up right where they left off!

• We spent some time in our neighborhood with our friends, though never enough time and we still missed a bunch of people.  There are times when it feels like we never left and other times when I feel like we are on the outside looking in.

Liam has become quite the swimmer (and jumper) this year!

Aidan and his BFF Nate

Double cannonball

All the boys - Aidan, Nate, Aaron and Liam

Liam, Aidan, Nate, Aaron

Aidan and Lindsey - this is what happens every single year - they won't even stand next to each other til the very end of the trip - this was day 1.  I think they are secretly in love ;)

The gang...

• I got to visit with some of my Barcelona peeps that live stateside again (though sadly did not get to visit everyone).
• I went through our storage unit with the help of my mom and dad and packed up things that were going to storage and those that were coming to Amsterdam (now I question where all of that is going to go!).

Josh's fishy pants... sadly they did not make it on the trip to the Netherlands

The shipping container - brought right to the house (last time it was a moving truck and they made the change over to the container).

Only a little bit of what I had to go through...

My 16' POD that had to be sorted through... good times.

• We met up with various members of family for dinners, bbqs and to just hang out.

BBQ at Kyle and Kelly's which included a visit from the ice cream truck!!!

Some of the crew at Kyle an Kelly's

Liam and his new buddy Mike at Uncle Richard and Aunt Janice's house

All American treat - s'mores

Liam about to go on the slide for the first time - take a good look at his face (he loved it in the end).

Will he end up in the pool??  

Liam and his buddy Duke

Aunt Janice, me, Liam, Aidan, Meghan, Sarah and Uncle Richard

• I had brunch with a bunch of my sorority sisters thanks to Tonia's coordination - many of them I hadn't seen in years!

After brunch trip back to Babson for a picture in front of our tower.

Tonia, Kate and myself

• The kids went to summer camp in Maine for 3 weeks - more on that in another entry.

The boys as they arrived at Camp Wekeela - the same camp Josh went to as a kid.

• The kids each spent time with Josh's parents on the Cape (while the other was in NY) plus our time driving to and from Maine (you can tell when you don't get enough time in with those you want when you have to count driving time together as quality time).

Aidan and Granny

Aidan and Papa - I didn't get any pictures of them with Liam :(

• We spent time with my parents - more than we usually get (though as with my in-laws, it's never enough) and just enjoyed our mellow time with them.  

Nana, Aidan, Papa and Liam

• We spent a lot of time at Target, much to Aidan's delight (he asked to go at 4:15AM the first morning and I had to explain to him that even in the US, regular stores are not open that early.)
• Spent an ungodly amount of time at the Apple store trying to get my computer fixed.  I think if I hadn't spent so much time there I could have seen every single person on my list.  
• I got to spend a bunch of time with my BFF - including going to the Red Sox / Yankees game (admittedly we left in the 5th inning out of boredom but since the tix were free we felt ok about doing that.  

As with each year, I find myself fine tuning my list - trying to spend more time with those I "want" to and less with those that I "have" to spend time with.  But even with that fine tuning, I still find that I don't get nearly enough time as I'd like with those people and then there are people I'm not able to see at all which means at least 2 years between visits.  Thank goodness for Skype (I'm terrible with it though), Facebook and VOIP for me to be able to stay in touch.

However, after 5 weeks of being on the go constantly, exhaustion has caught up and the desire for us to be back together as a cohesive family unit and so it's time for us to head back to Europe.  We're ready but can't wait to come back again next year!!

Besos,
Julie