Camp = Finally Come to an End

The last few days of camp did fly by for us because we were preparing for a 16-day RV trip we would start when we picked Collin up from camp.  In addition, the work week was challenging causing me to spend at least 15 additional hours at work.  So, between packing and working, I was so busy that not having Collin there helped me not feel so guilty for not being available for him.  I still missed him a lot though.

Dad and I were happy to see more pictures of Collin from the Thursday activities.  He was smiling and looked like he continued to feel better from the weekend before.

 

He looks so old in this picture!

Playing dodgeball with the other cabin mates

Waiting with a friend to get medicine.  Collin was taking his nightly pills and this boy had to have cream rub all over him.  I am assuming he had eczema.

Thinkster, the counselor, and his crew for the week.  They look like they are ally getting along.

Collin, Thinkster and Foard

Love, love, love this little boy.  This really showed us that he was having fun and not to worry so much about him.  However, we got this picture Friday morning so it only helped a little for us to see him smiling so much at this point. 

Friday, I received this letter from Collin.  He must not have remembered he had some money on account at the camp store.  I felt TERRIBLE that he was watching the other kids buy candy and other things at the store when I read this letter...that was until I logged onto the camp website and found out that he had $0.73 left in his account.  He must have figured it out after he sent the letter.  I did feel a little better but was going to make sure that I showed up with some Airhead Extreme candy for him Saturday.

Saturday morning, we loaded the RV and headed to camp.  Instead of picking the kids up and leaving, there was a presentation from the camp director and then we met with Collin's counselor to hear about his observations of Collin from the week.  He said:

Collin is a peacemaker, resolving conflict between his friends.  His kindness reveals his desire to offer his best for others.  Collin is clever, having a sharp mind and ideas beyond the average.

Collin then finally acknowledged we were there and asked about Burke first before giving me a hug.  We took a few pictures including one with his counselor because Collin wanted it.  When asked if he wanted to sign up again, he said he did not want to.  I said, "I thought you had a good time" and he said he was worried he would not get the same counselor.  "Let's skip a year and come back when I am nine".  Not sure what this was about but knew we had time to talk about camp and see if he did have a good time and was just really tired from the week.

We loved seeing him in a hat because he never wears one

We loaded up in the RV and headed to our first stop, Carlsbad, New Mexico, which took us almost 10 hours to get there.  At the first gas stop, we found some Airhead Extremes.  This made for one happy boy.  He finally got the candy he had been waiting for all week. 

Our first stop 4 hours later

Happy boy with a few Airhead Extremes.  The challenge will be for him to not eat all of these in the next few days.

Getting ready for bed that night.  He loves his bed up front and showed me how they had to make their beds every day at camp.

Camp = Same Shirt and Other Observations

Study this picture from camp that was posted from yesterday for a moment.  It says a lot more than just a teenage boy (camp counselor) talking to a younger boy.  What I see when looking at this picture is:

• Collin is still in the shirt he put on Monday.  Either that, or he likes wearing it after swimming.
• Does he not like the new towel Dad bought him for camp?  It's turned over so you cannot see the Super Heroes on the other side
• He is wearing a different bathing suit than the other day
• Is the other one wet or lost? 
• Was he made fun of for wearing a swim team bathing suit?
• What is up with The Dude's hair?  Are those dreadlocks?
• At least he has not lost his favorite pair of Nike shoes....yet
• Good to see that he is drinking water
• The counselor is smiling so the conversation is probably positive
• He does not seem to be crying or be upset and does want to be part of the conversation
• I looks like he might be using the sunscreen I packed because his cheeks are not burnt
• He's alive....and safe!

Just two more nights until I see my baby.  I can do this, I can do this!

Sleep Away Camp = Yes, We are All Surviving

We made it to Thursday!  More than halfway through the week.  Dad and I are making it through the week without Collin so far.  Not that we like it AT ALL.  The house is too quiet without him.  Burke just looks at us like we did something wrong and he wants us to fix it.

It does help to see that he looks like he is having a great time while he is away.  He finally made it in the general pictures AND the video.  In the general picture, it looks like he was watching his or another counselor get whip cream smashed on his face.  The picture is of the counselor wiping the cream off.  I did notice that he is in the same shirt from the day before.  Not going to think about that stinky underwear....oh, I guess I just did.

Collin is the only blonde in the picture.  Hard to miss among the other boys.

What are they working on?

In another picture, him and his cabin mates are huddled talking or planning something.  Wonder what they are working on?  Plotting against the counselor?  At this age, I hope it's not talking about the girls other than to say they are gross.  :)

Sleep Away Camp = Too Hard on the Parents

We sure hope Collin is having a great time at camp this week because his Mom and Dad sure to miss him!  Oh, and Burke.  Burke looks at us with a sad look on his face as if to ask "What did you do with my friend Collin?"

Each day, the camp posts pictures from the day before, a quick video which includes activities throughout the day and a personal picture of each child.  These are not posted until mid-morning.  I was not patient Monday morning because I looked every 30 minutes to see if pictures had been posted not knowing when they would be.  I needed to see on Collin's face that he was having fun AND see if he was feeling OK.  When the pictures from Sunday finally posted, Collin was not in any of the pictures.  A personal picture of him was not posted yet.  I did see a few pictures of his friends but no Collin.  I could not help but cry a little.  "Where was my boy?  Is he feeling OK?  Was he having so much fun the photographer could not get a picture of him?" There were just a few questions I was asking myself as I looked through the pictures and the video.  Nope, I did not see him anywhere.  Finally later in the day, they posted this picture of him:

Each day has theme night in the late afternoon.  Sunday's theme was Holiday so I packed this fun hat for him.  He said he was not going to wear it.  I packed it anyway telling him that it was there in case he changed his mind or if Foard wanted to wear it.  I was excited to not only see that he had a OK-please-take-the-picture smile on his face but that he was participating in the activities by wearing the hat.  Not sure if he chose to or if his cabin counselor made him do it.  Also, I noticed he at least changed clothes!  Even though these are not the clothes he wore for a few hours that morning before we dropped him off, at least he did put on a clean shirt.  Let's not even think about the underwear.....

The picture from Monday was better because he had a genuine smile on his face and looked like he was having fun.  Yes, a little sweaty but I expect that this time of year and especially for him.  From the other pictures posted, I could tell this was a climbing wall that lead to a blue slide (you can see part of the slide in this picture).  He does like to climb around so I am sure he was having fun at this point of the day.

I try not to think about how he must feel at night going to bed by himself and not the usual routine he has at home.  He does still want someone (usually me) to lay with him for a few minutes...preferably until he falls asleep.  Also, he does like soft music playing and a night light.  I would think there was no music in the cabin at night.  There might be some light from the bathroom showing through to their room.  Also, are the pills working and helping him stay dry at night?  I did pack extra sheets for him to use in case he did wet his bed.  He knows where they are and is really good about changing the sheets by himself...well, he can pull them off.

Three more nights without my buddy and precious son.  I think I can make it.  Dad and I are keeping really busy with errands, eating out, watching movies and packing for our trip that starts this weekend.  All three of us are going to make it.  We can do this!

First Sleep Away Camp

After spending all day Saturday at home taking fever medicine every 4 hours, Collin felt much better to go to camp....not that he wanted to go to camp.  He had not said anything to me about it until Friday when he stayed home from soccer camp again. He hoped he did not get better because he knew he was going to camp.  He said he was scared and did not want to go to camp.  His reasons where:

I might fall into the lake where there are fish.

I won't know anyone there

I will be scared at night

I let him know these were all fine reasons for not wanting to go.  I told him that it was very normal to feel scared because he had not been were he is going AND he has not spent that many nights away from us.  We talked more about why he was scared and night even though I could guess why.  He did say he did not want to wet his bed and have the other boys find out.  I made sure he knew that I was sending medicine for him and the nurse would help him take it every night.  He seemed only slightly better when I said this. 

That night, he helped me go down the list of what to pack.  He picked out all of the clothes and bedding.  He then helped me figure out what he was going to wear each day so I could put it in a gallon zip bag for him.  That way, all he had to do was pull out the bag each morning and he would have his clothes for the day.  Yes, this would help him but I thought it would also help keep most of his clothes in his bag and not all over the floor.

The next morning, Mimi came over to visit because it was going to be a while before we saw her again.  While I labeled everything he was bringing to camp, he and Mimi watched and talked about what he was going to do....well, he wanted to play with Burke and not talk about camp at all.  At one point, I handed him his journal he was supposed to bring to camp and asked him to write on the first page how he was feeling about camp.  Was he now excited?  What was he looking forward to doing when he got there?  He wrote:

I don't want to go to camp!

Well, at least he is consistent.  I told him that I bet after a week of camp, he will read that statement and not agree with it.  He WILL have fun, meet new friends, learn at least one thing he did not know before, and have fun at night in the cabin with the other boys.

We meet four other families at lunch that were also going to the camp.  This gave the boys time to talk about camp and get excited about it.  Collin met up with his bunk mate, Foard, and were laughing and talking too much to think about eating.

We all left and got to camp early; before the gate opened.  While waiting, the boys got out of the car, sat on the rood like the other kids or hung out the window.  Thirty minutes later, it was time to drive up and check-in.

What is he thinking about up there?  Maybe, "I might like this camping thing"

Foard and Collin having fun hanging out the sunroof

What?  This is not like any camp I have been to.  No roughing it here.

Collin and Foard where staying in Rustler 1.  We walked in and the boys were already assigned to a bunk bed.  Collin was on the top.  We made the beds and the boys changed into swim suits to swim for an hour as the other kids arrived.  There is when the parents were supposed to leave and not linger so the kids would be distracted with swimming. Daddy did not know this and did not get a chance to say Bye to Collin before he took off and was already in line for the swimming pool. There is a gate around the pool and only kids are allowed inside.  There were several parents hanging around the outside of the gate.  We walked up so Daddy could tell Collin bye.  When he swam close to us, were were saying Bye when he said, "This swim shirt is making me swim slow".  At least he was not crying that we were not in there with him.

Have not even had a chance to make the beds and the boys are already playing around

Found out that there is room under the bed

Here is a list of the daily activities and the various activities for the week.  Going to bed by 9pm should not be a problem for these guys.

Before leaving, we went to the General Store at the camp and bought him a little present (finger lights) that we put on his pillow before we left.  I am sure will be excited to see these when he crawls in bed.  He also has credit at the store to buy treats, snacks and small items throughout the week.  Wonder if he will have any money left when we pick him up.

Love you Collin!  I know you will have fun this week.  Don't worry too much about us.

Happy knowing Collin will have fun this week...and knowing we will have some quiet time

Daddy is just a little sad that he won't have is buddy to hang out with this week.

Sick Dude

Collin rarely gets sick.  So, when he falls asleep at 5pm for the day and does not want to watch movies, there is something wrong with my little guy. It started Monday night with a dry cough. It was the kind of cough that was not just clearing his throat. He was not tired and had plenty of energy.  The next day, he stayed home from camp because of a tropical storm headed to the city. He seemed fine that day and plenty of energy but the cough lingered. The next afternoon, he fell asleep in the car on the way home from soccer camp and wanted to go to bed when he got home. What?!?  That's not Collin at all. He was warm now and probably had a slight fever. He woke up the next morning and did not want to go to soccer camp.  He did have a fever and a cough was more deep. We kept him home and made him rest all day giving him fever medicine every four hours to keep the fever away. He seemed to be better that night. However, the next morning was more of the same so he stayed home again. This time, his fever got worse and reached 103. He also had the chills and was really lethargic.  These were probably symptoms from the high fever but we did not want to take any chances so we made an appointment with his doctor and saw her within the hour.

At the doctor's office waiting to see her

His fever was down to around 101.  She listened and listened to his chest and could not hear any blockage.  However, she was still concerned and wanted us to get an X-Ray of his chest.  She gave him some Ibuprofen and we left to get an X-Ray at another office location,

Collin was really worried about the X-Ray and if it would hurt.  It did not help that the X-Ray place was at the children's hospital.  This guy has been to so many hospitals lately for his family members and the results were death.  So, I could understand his concern and hurting and having to stay the night.

When it was time to walk down the hall to the X-Ray room, Collin was feeling better about what was about to happen. He let the technician put on the lead vest and then he listened to the instructions without asking too many questions.  Two pictures were taken and he was finished. 

He said it did not hurt except when he was hugging the machine and it was COLD!  He was also feeling better by now.  The Ibruprophen was kicking in. 

Before we got home, the doctor called with the X-Ray results saying his chest was clear.  Yeah!  No bronchitis or pneumonia.  We were to keep giving him fever medicine every 4 hours, fluids and rest.  Collin was better the rest of the day but did still have slight fever and not as much energy.  Home again another day...but should be feeling better soon.

Mock Swim Meet

Instead of taking the night off, tonight was a Mock Meet where the swimmers were divided into the Blue and White team for some friendly competition.  Plus, the swimmers were still timed so the Coach could determine the Heats for the meet this Thursday.  Until 20 minutes before the Meet started, we were not sure if it was going to get canceled or not because of the tropical depression headed our way.  Here we go again. 

The skies cleared and it stopped raining so we rushed to the Meet.  Collin swam Freestyle (6th place in the 5th set), Breaststroke (5th place in the first set) and Backstroke (4th in the first set).  He was supposed to swim Fly but the Meet was canceled because is started to pour.  The kids had already swam for over 2 hours with just 5 Heats left so they were not missing out on too much.

I was excited to not be working this Meet so I could talk with Collin and take pictures.

Wearing a swim cap for the first time.  This way, we could tell the Blue team from the White team.  He was being funny in this picture.

Lining up for Freestyle

Not a bad dive at the start of freestyle

Collin in mid-breaststroke.  Not too far behind here.

 

Under water for breaststroke.  He is in the closest lane.

About the finish backstroke.  He is in the middle lane with his arm straight up.

Backstroke at the beginning

Pointing to the sky...maybe at the rain about to head our way

!st Grade Report Card

Cleaning the home office today, I found Collin's 1st Grade Report card I forgot to post.  Looks like he had a successful year.  Now, we need to make sure we keep up his reading and writing over the summer so he can start 2nd grade with a good foundation. 

Zoo Camp

Collin finished his first week of Zoo Camp.  He went with his buddy, Foard.  Dad drove and picked up the boys for camp.  He said it was really entertaining listening to the conversation on the way there.  On the way back, the boys were tired and did not talk as much.  One morning, they were listening to Time to Get Ill by the Beastie Boys (I know, hard to control what the Dad does when he is away) and the boys asked "Who's Phillis Dyler?"  He was not sure how to explain who she was and why her name was in the song.  Another morning, they argued:  "Who is faster:  Superman or Flash?"  Not sure what the conclusion was for that one.

The theme of zoo camp this week was Signing Safari.  I totally forgot about the theme until Collin came home the first day and showed me the signs for shark, turtle, eat, water and tree.  He also met some new friends which I liked hearing about.  He LOVED zoo camp last year and was really looking forward to it this week. Based on what he talked about from Day 1, seemed like he was having fun so far.  All week, he came home and showed us new signs they learned.  Here is a video of him showing a few of them.  At the end of the week, their "test" was to make a sentence using a few of the signs so this is what he is doing in the video.

He learned the following signs for the week:

• Shark
• Eat
• Water
• Shelter
• Turtle
• Gorilla
• Slither
• Chimpanzee
• Monkey
• Tree

Reluctantly, he wrote about his experience at camp and drew a few pictures.  The pictures on the first page are the friends he met:  Alic, Alex and Zachary.  The other page are of him doing a few of the signs he learned.  He wrote (I included some spelling corrections):

We sign language.  My moms favorite turtle.  My teachers were Ms. Nina, Mrs. Katie and Mrs. Elizabeth.  I meet Zachary and Alic and Alex.  Me and Zachary made paper airplanes.  Animals came into our room and one pooped.  We saw a porcupine and a snake that was not poisonous and a three banded armadillo.

I think he had a great time.  He has already asked when we can go to the zoo as a family.  He wants to show us the animals he saw during the week.

Soccer camp is this week. He might have to stay home Monday because of the Tropical Depression headed our way and expected to cause lots of rain for the next three days.  Here we go again!

Swim Meet #2

It was a great night for the Cuda's second swim meet.  It was cloudy so the sun stayed hidden which helped it not be as hot as it was earlier in the day.  We had to arrive by 5pm so the Cude Keepers (the volunteers for each age group) could make sure all of the swimmers where there and to mark them (see Meet #1 post).  Collin was assigned to swim in the Mixed Medley (backstroke), Freestyle Medley, Breast Stroke (yeah, I thought that was a misprint but it wasn't) and Backstroke.  As with all Meets, after a warm up, the boys sat in their area playing games until it was time for them to swim in a Heat.

Cuda Keeper, Eric, writing on Collin

Collin loved the way his name was written and the barracuda on his back

The boys playing games while waiting to swim

Nice evening out with the family

The team they were swimming against seemed to be faster than the team earlier this week.  Collin was oblivious to this until he swam in the medleys.  For the first one, they got 6th and then 3rd for the next one.  He did not run over and give me his ribbons and check in as before because he did not know were I was sitting keeping score for the Meet.  I told Dad to let him know where I was when he checked in and brought me a needed drink.

The 3rd place lane judge about to give him a ribbon

We did not tell him that he was swimming breast stroke until it was time for him to line up.  When he found out, he was nervous and said he did not how do do it.  "If I don't do it right, they will disqualify me".  Dad showed him how to kick and Collin practiced a little before it was time for him to line up.  He ended up getting 5th place which was really good.  At least he was not disqualified (DQ) and made it to the end of the pool.  He seemed to be really disappointed when he handed me his ribbon and then headed back to where his age group was.  He was even more disappointed when he got 5th for backstroke which is the one he excels at.  Dad asked him later if he swam his hardest and Collin said he didn't.  "Well, then how can you be disappointed if you did not do your best?"  He was probably tired from a full week of zoo camp and it being 8:45am by the time it was time to swim backstroke.

Starting his backstroke

Ribbons for Meet #2

After Collin swam his last Heat, he sat on my lap to watch me score a few more Heats before he and Dad went home to get to bed after a long day.  I was home an hour later and The Dude was asleep.....and probably dreaming about swimming.....or zoo camp.

Swim Meet #1

Collin started swim team practice a month ago.  Practice is every day after school for 30 minutes except Friday.  The weather had been so bad that some of those practices were canceled or moved to Friday.  Collin is still struggling with freestyle.  He is improving with his breathing but still uses too much energy with each stroke and his kicking.  He can still make it across in the pool fairly quickly.  His backstroke is about the same as last year except he does swim more crooked than before so he does have to make corrections as he is swimming to the other side.  However, he likes going to swim practice and is motivated to practice to get better.

Last night was our first Swim Meet against the biggest team we will swim against.  We had to be there by 5pm for the Meet that started at 6pm.  Getting the early allows for the volunteers to make sure all of the swimmers arrive, get something to eat, and mark up the swimmers for the Heats they will swim in (see below for a more detailed description about this).  Dad stayed with the boys while I volunteered as the Meet score keeper.  Great spot because I can see the finish of every race.  However, I am not sitting with Collin and his group in between races so I don't get to visit with him....what am I saying?  He is not visiting with his parents anyway.  Between heats (each race during a Meet), he is playing with the other boys in is age group or on the iPad....just as the other boys are doing.  I would be staring at his back most of the time. Here is an example of that:

 

Before the Heats start, the volunteer in charge of the group marks the swimmer's back with their name and possibly draws a picture of a barracuda (the name of our team) or something the boy is interested in. Also, the swimmer's arm is marked with each of the heats they will be swimming in and information about which lane they are to swim in.  Here is Collin's arm for last night:

What this means is Collin swam four times last night:  Heats 7, 17, 21 and 43.  The "1" for each Heat means he swam in the fastest group and the only group that gets scored for the team.  So, swimming in the first Heat means the swimmer is really good.  The next number really tells how good the swimmer is.  The number indicates the lane the swimmer will be swimming in.  There are six lanes for this Meet.  If the number is a 3 or 4, that means the Coach expects the swimmer to win a 1st Place ribbon.  Lanes 2 and 4 or the next best swimmer.  Lane 6 is expected to get 6th, or last place.  So, looking at Collin's arm, the Coach put him in the first Heat for Mixed Relay (7), Freestyle Relay (17), and Backstroke (43).  Notice that he expected the Freestyle Relay team to be the best because they were swimming in Lane 4.  The results for Collin last night were:

Heat 7 - Mixed Relay - he swam backstroke for the relay - 2nd Place
Heat 17 - Freestyle Relay - 3rd Place
Heat 21 - Freestyle - 3rd Place - He swam in Lane 6 and got 3rd which means he swam better than expected.  He might move up for the next Meet. 
Heat 43 - Backstroke - it was really close - 2nd Place

After Collin swam and got his ribbon, he would come over to my table, give me the ribbon and make a few comments about the swim.  Then he ran off to his group to way for his next Heat.  By the time he finished backstroke, it was 8:40pm.  He gave me his ribbon as he did before all night and then sat next to me to watch me score the Meet.  He wanted to help me so he watched the next four Heats and helped me score (not really but I was not about to tell him that).  By then, it was 9pm.  The Meet was expected to last another 30 minutes.  I nice volunteer told me to go home because she could take over the scoring for me.

On the way home, Collin wanted to know about the ribbons and the colors.  As last year, he did not know what the colors indicated.  He had no idea how well he swam.  I told him I had the ribbons from last year's first Meet and I know he improved.  He wanted to see these when we got home and talk about them.  I pulled the ribbons down and showed that he got 6th, 5th, 3rd and 2nd and then compared the same races to the ones he did that night.  I could tell he was getting tired.  I left the room to put on my PJs and then come back.  This is how I found my little swimmer:

It was 9:20pm so I was glad to see that he was asleep....but knew it would not last long.  The Turkey was faking it!  He was too excited to sleep.  We sat up and talked for another 20 minutes before I explained that I had not had dinner and that it was time for him to go to bed.  He has zoo camp in the morning...which started more conversation about bee hives at the zoo and if we could go this weekend to look at them.  :)