He's Back!!!

We have our Collin back!  He's a little smelly, needs to brush his teeth and change his shirt to a clean one, but he is all smiles and back with us!

After the group ceremony, the campers split up into their small groups to hear from their counselor about the week. Blast, Collin's counselor, discussed 3 traits of each camper. He was right on when it came to talk about Collin: supportive, curious and transparent.  Here is what he said about him and the medallion to remember these traits. I am sure the first two are the same traits the prior year counselors mentioned about Collin. I will have to check. 

On the way home, I sat in the back with Collin so he could tell me about the week. He said he wants to be a camp counselor at Pine Cove when he is old enough. He said that he talked to Blast about it and asked Lora of questions...of course he did!  He said that the counselors make $1,000 a summer and was all smiles when he said that because he thought that was a lot of money for all those weeks. Too cute!  We said his counselor name could be Vet because he wants to be a vet when he is older.  I showed him the pictures we were sent during the week and he talked about each of them. He really liked his bunk mate, Jack. That was the other boy in a few of the pictures later in the week.  

Later when we got home, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of his things came back home and that he did wear most of his clothes....and they sure where stinky!

Good to have our kiddo back. Burke thinks so too!

When the Kid's Away, the Parents Play

While Collin was at camp, we had a great time in Angel Fire for 3 days (in the car there and back the other days). 

The first day, we took the Jeep on an 8 mile trail in Red River to Goose Lake. The trail was narrow and a little butt puckering at times, but we made it to the top. The lake was so clear and serine. So beautiful!  We hiked around the lake for about 2 hours stopping to have lunch. There were some friendly goats in the parking lot that walked up to people to get any handout they could get. We meet some nice people there too. One lady, Shelia, hiked with is for about 45 minutes because her fi nfs did not want to. We headed back down the mountain before the afternoon monsoons hit.  These can be bad and I did not want to get caught on the mountain during one of these. 

The next day, we stayed at the house and rested all day. It was such a gorgeous day to do so. Plus, it was supposed to rain later but never did. No matter...it was nice to stay at the house to get a few things done and then read a book the rest of the day.  I did sneak out that morning for a 3 mile hike near the house. While sitting outside, we got to see a herd of elk. They were so beautiful. The moms were teaching their babies how to jump the fence behind the house. So amazing!  I had no idea they made a chirping sound. 

Here are the animals and the view I saw during the hike:

We knew there were some friends from home visiting Angle Fire at the same time as us. They came over to the house for a hour to visit. During that time, we made plans to go rafting the next morning with the and their 3 kids....which we did. We did cat. 2 and 3 rapids for 6 miles which took about 1 1/2 hours.  The kids did great!  Wish I could have taken some pictures but they had us leave our phones and keys with the van.  Here are some blurry ones but you have an idea of the raft size and at least one of the rapids. 

All Smiles Still at Camp

Collin continues to be in the pictures they post from camp daily. In addition to being in pictures with his friends, Jake and Foard, it looks like he is made a new friend because they are in at least two pictures together on different days. We cannot wait to hear about his new friendships. 

Here are some pictures from the last two days. I really love the one by himself in the orange shirt. Red cheeks, his sweaty hair, and that huge smile! 














During the week, I did have two different care packages delivered to him,  One on Tuesday and another on Thursday. The first note below was after the first care package was delivered. 

... and here is the other letter he sent us. He is thoughtful at least but it looks like he forgot punctuation during the summer. Ha!

 We cannot wait to pick him up Saturday morning and hear about his adventures during the week, what he learned, what his favorite part was, and most importantly, if he had fun. 

Pictures from Camp!

Collin is doing fantastic so far with getting in front of the camera so we can see his smiling face and if he is enjoying camp or not. We look forward to seeing these pictures because this is our only way of "talking" to Collin and see how he's doing. Several people have dubbed these these as proof of life pictures. I choose to think that he is definitely alive, but want to know if he is having fun or not. We find ourselves throughout the day wondering what he is doing at that moment: is he swimming, is he horseback riding, is it archery time, is he even eating, is he changing underwear (that's a big one!) or is he actually having quiet time. 

Here are the pictures he has been in so far. Don't you just love that smile?

Sleep Away Camp

We just dropped Collin off at camp for the week and we are continuing to he mountain house. We decided last year, that we did not like being at home without Collin.  Too many reminders all over the place of the kiddo so last year we said we would take a vacation this year...so here we go!

Just as with most things in his life, Collin seemed indifferent about going to camp. He helped me pack his stuff and showed no excitement about going but he said he wanted to go. Not until we met with the families of the other campers at a local BBQ place did he finally get excited. His buddies Foard and Jake, were going to be in the cabin with him. They were in the same cabin last year too. After dinner, we caravaned to the camp ground. We arrived a little early, so Collin got in the car with Jake and stood up through the sun roof which is a tradition. 

 We did not have to wait too long until they started to let the cars in. The boys quickly found out were there cabin was and started walking to the cabin together, yapping together the entire time. Now, that's excitement!

Collin wanted to hurry so he could get the top bunk. He was disappointed when he found out his counselor, Gotta Blast, assigned the bunks. All 3 boys were on bottom bunks. He started complaining so I distracted him and told him to get his swimsuit on so he could get ready to swim. He came back ready to help make his bunk and put his trunk aside so his bunk mate, Jack, could unpack when he arrived. 

Once the boys made their bed, they did not wait to hard to the pool with the rest of the cabin. We said our good-byes in the way to the pool. Collin gave me a great hug. squeezed my hand and ran off with his buddies. I know he his going to have a great week.