It's Her Turn

OUTDOOR SCHOOL!

It seems like it wasn't that long ago I was heading to Outdoor School. I cannot believe that it was now Kaelyn's turn. Some days it seems like the days drag on. Before I knew it, she is almost 11 and it was now her turn to go. It brought back so many memories about the counselors, my friends, the cabin, meals, cooking on a hobo stove, and all the activities that I got to do. As the excitement grew so did my memories and stories I was sharing with her. She couldn't wait to go. It was more than just missing a week of school.

Here are her memories. There were so many more pictures I wanted to add but not clear on the rules of posting pictures of others I chose to keep them closer up. We had a cabin of girls that were SO hilarious, yet respectful and fun. There was not one argument or disagreement among them. Yes, you read that right, NOT ONE! One mom told Ron a while back (before Kaelyn was at SA that this truly was a wonderful group of girls and parents.) She wasn't lying at all. :)

Friendship Bracelets

She made one for me but then cut the ends so short that it was impossible to tie them. We put it on my key chain. I LOVE it!

 Canoeing

With 2 of her friends. They took turns for an hour and a half.

Candle Making

 She shaped it and the circled and took turns as they watched the candles grow larger and thicker. (Hers turned out SO great only to be broken a few days later by her brother. It was a very rough day in the house when that happened).

"Walking by Faith, not by Sight" lesson

They did this walk for at least 30-40 minutes. They had a lot of fun, and so did we teasing them. Every little bit they would reiterate the walk with lessons of having faith although we are not able to always see. And we cannot see Christ without faith that he is here. This was a strong message throughout camp. It was awesome!!

Fishing

This was an activity that she chose on day 3. We didn't get any catches and had a not so great rod. But it was still fun. We got LOTS of sun this day too. 

SO lucky to have been able to go with Kaelyn. Here is us while she was fishing. The late nights, early mornings and long days were starting to show. (That is why I left my sunglasses on).  ;)

Cabin Time

This was my favorite time. I loved listening to the girls giggle, laugh and watch them paint nails. There were some really funny girls in our cabin (Jonna, your niece was one of them). They had such a great time. This particular photo was taken right before our 11 pm cookie raid on the kitchen that was planned by a mom/counselor and ok'd by the teachers and the kitchen camp staff. The kids were SO worried that they were doing something that was not ok that it didn't go over so smooth. We even had a few girls on the verge of tears as they really felt they were doing something wrong. One girl asked if we had been listening to the devotions while at camp and another quoted a verse regarding stealing. It was hilarious yet sweet to see the girls who had such a conscience about following God's Word.

Dodgeball 

Parents vs the kids. We started chanting "We're going to beat, the pip-squeaks" and they started chanting back "We're going to beat, the El-der-ly!"

Roasting

They were split in 3 groups. Each day was an activity. Day one they roasted Dough Boys over the fire. On the last night they also got to roast marshmallows as a bonus treat from one of the moms/counselors. (who was a super awesome person I was blessed to get to know and be in a cabin with).

Dough Boys followed by butter and jam.

Day two was a trust activity on trusting and working together to accomplish goals together. (I didn't get pictures that 2nd day).

Hiking

Day three activity that put my knee over the edge was hiking. It was absolutely stunning and as much as I DIDN'T want to go I am SOOOOOOO glad that I did. What a beautiful world God has created. The noise and view of the river as we climbed higher and higher was incredible. We learned a lot and had tons of fun. The kids were hilarious all worried about the "dangerous" plants.

Zip Line

Within hours of first arriving the kids did the zip line. Each and every kid went although there was some reservations.

 Kaelyn getting harnessed.

WAY up in the trees on a little platform

Here she was on the go. She came down from the platform past me (to the right of the photo was a river) across the river and back.

For some reason my video will not upload so here is her in motion. :)

I had such a wonderful time watching Kaelyn make her memories. I got to know parents better and see the teachers in a fun exciting environment. The kids were all so happy. Kaelyn was SO happy, the whole time. One thing that was very different from when I went was the faith based activities, devotions and seeing the kids and staff being able to talk about the Lord. What a blessing for Kaelyn to be where she is at.

*A huge huge THANK YOU to my parents for keeping TJ for 4 torturous days and even offering to help Ron more so by keeping him overnight 2 nights. Without the help of them this past week I would not have shared this week with Kaelyn. We were/are SO VERY blessed!!*