Did I tell you about camp?

I guess I haven't blogged in awhile have I? For those of you who have just joined the saga already in process, let's catch up shall we?

Last Wednesday I went with my two daughters' grade 4 and 5 classes to Circle Square Ranch in Armstrong for 2 nights and 3 days in the great outdoors. My oldest is in grade 5 and went last year to this camp with the classes. I did not go last year. My middle daughter is in grade 4 and because she is a type 1 diabetic I had to go with her. My middle daughter is also the one who is the most affected by FASD, has ADHD, and struggles the most socially. My older daughter is very capable in most areas, has friends and does well usually.

Wednesday morning started out pouring rain. This is the Okanagan. We don't get rain like Vancouver. Except of course when one is heading out to camp. Another mom and I had already decided we would drive up in my car, as we are smart savvy moms who know better than to get on a school bus with 45 hyped up kids. Plus, the bus driver refused to drive thru Starbucks, so we had no choice. We caught up to the bus as it made it's pit stop at the tourist info booth in Vernon. It was pouring, and I mean pouring rain. But, as luck would have it, by the time we wound our way through Armstrong and made it to the ranch the sky was starting to clear, and the rain was slowing down.

Now I supervised both my kids packing up their stuff the night before. My oldest had enough clothes with her to last 2 weeks because she had to bring all her favorite stuff, including the white Roxy hoodie. Theoretically, they should have had all the stuff that was on the list. Theoretically.

By the time the kids were assigned their cabins and the drama of who was sleeping in who's cabin was settled, and the fight over the top bunks were finished, we headed off to activities in the parent supervised but trained-leader-led groups such as archery, field games, horse care, swimming and BMX. My oldest daughter was in a group with several of her friends so she was pretty happy, and I was in the group with my younger daughter. We were lucky(?) that one of the kids in our group was allergic to horses, so when it was our turn for horse care, he got to play field games, which meant there was an extra horse that needed to be groomed. Lucky indeed.

One of the other mom's in our group had been brought up with horses, so she "generously" shared all her experiences with the rest of us. Lucky for us eh? And her horses were all show horses, and they won ribbons, and she knew the best way to braid a horse's tail and mane, and if we tried hard, we might be able to be as good at it as she was. I don't have that kind of ambition or drive. Never have, never will.

Watching my child at archery was an education for sure. I was worried that some of us that were standing in the "safe" area were not actually going to be all that safe. The bows were looking a little on the wonky side when she held them. I wanted to try it, but our group ran out of time and had to move on to the next activity which was field games. How do camp leaders come up with these dangerous games invoving parents and kids? Our activity group games were fine, but the wide games involving all the parents and the kids after dinner were absolutely insane. The poor first aid guy never had a chance to sit down! Some dads get just a litte carried away with the competition aspect.

I can't remember what dinner was that first night, but probably something like pizza which the kids liked. Campfire had to be cancelled due to the pouring rain, thunder and lightening, and somehow, singing campfire songs in the mess hall doesn't give one the same feeling as sitting around an open fire.

By the time we got all the kids back to the cabins and into bed, it was after 10 and we adults couldn't wait to jump into our cozy warm sleeping bags on those thin vinyl mattresses that a million other kids have slept on. Before we fell asleep, all us moms in our cabin prayed for good strong coffee to be ready in the morning.

So that was day one. I'll post more of the camp fun later, and maybe even a photo or two.