Booty Camp Complete...on to Summer Camp!

Youngest girl is doing her job quite well this last week! She still occasionally needs to be reminded that a trip to the potty would be in everyone's best interest, but she has not had any accidents since I last posted. She's even dry through the night so we've gotten rid of the pull-ups as well. I'm still in awe of just how quickly it all happened. I think she was the easiest to train of all. And I'm thrilled that I can stop carrying a diaper bag and won't need swim diapers in the pool anymore.

In other exciting news, the two older girls started camp today. Middle girl seemed apprehensive last night about going but this morning all was well and she happily climbed aboard the bus. I was afraid I'd have one or both in tears this morning (since Eldest girl seems to have more anxiety issues at times) but it went very well. There was a slight snafu at the bus, however. The bus driver was a substitute and the camp counselor was a newbie - so neither of them knew exactly what was what. But, thankfully there was a veteran camp mom who knew the ropes. There should have been a bus monitor (possibly by the name of Chris) who was supposed to have clipboard in hand to check in the campers and get them loaded on the bus by 8:05am. By 8:15am it was obvious that something was amiss. The veteran mom said that they are usually right on schedule and yet there was no sign of the monitor. She called the YMCA to find out if they knew anything. We finally did get the kids signed in on a makeshift list (created on the back of a High School tardy slip provided by one of the dads) and sent the kids off on the bus with explicit instructions to the sub and the newbie not to let the kids get off the bus without a parent present at the end of the day. I would have been much more concerned about this lack of organization if it were not for the the fact that the veteran mom was there and reassured me that this was not a common occurrence. Let's hope tomorrow bus drop-off is a bit more routine.

While were waiting for the no-show bus monitor to possibly show up and get the show on the road we chatted with some of the other kids and parents. One 8-year-old girl was a familiar face to me, if not to Eldest girl. And her younger sister was familiar to both me and Middle girl. The 8-year-old (L) had gone to preschool with Eldest girl but they didn't remember each other and Middle girl just finished a year of preschool with her sister. I'm hoping that Eldest girl and L will get reacquainted at camp and have fun together. I was also able to introduce Eldest girl to another 8-year-old who was the daughter of the veteran mom. She seemed quite camp savvy, having gone to this camp for the last three years. Eldest girl often has a difficult time meeting new people so I was happy to be able to send her off with two girls who might be able to help her acclimate and learn the ropes. There were no 5-year-olds to introduce Middle girl to but I'm sure she'll make friends in no time.

The girls won't be back from camp until 5:25, which is when the bus arrives back here in town. I'm sure they will be tired but hopefully also happy from a long, fun day at camp! I'll keep you posted.

Lastly, I wanted to post a couple of pictures of the girls in their 4th of July parade costumes.

Last Monday I realized time was getting short and the girls still needed something to wear for the little parade we have every year around the town common. The kids are invited to wear costumes or decorate their bikes and sometimes a family might get ambitious and put together an actual float for the parade (show offs). Sometimes a small band leads the crowd playing patriotic songs and in years past we have also had some mounted police to join our little ragtag parade. After the parade someone reads a portion of the Declaration of Independence and the kids all get prizes for participation. Then folks gather on the common for foot races and other games, as well as free lemonade and watermelon.

For this year's parade the girls wanted to wear costume instead of decorating their bikes and wagon like they did last year. After a brief discussion Eldest girl decided on being an Indian girl (everyone at the parade asked if she was Pocahontas and she was so annoyed because she was just an indian! - the kid needs to lighten up a bit). Middle girl decided to be a 'nature fairy' and although her costume did not end up looking the way I imagined a nature fairy would look she was pleased which is really all that mattered. When we went on our shopping trip to get fabric and patterns we had been unable to decide just what to have Youngest girl wear. In the end we found some simple pieces to put together and made her a hula girl costume. She liked the grass skirt very much, however, it appeared that the concept of 'hula girl' was lost on her. She walked around picking up the grass pieces and letting them fall while chanting "snowing! snowing! snowing!" Ah well - she still looked pretty cute.

In fact they all looked cute, if I do say so myself.

Easter Eggstravaganza!

Just a few pics from Easter to share.

Saturday, we did our traditional egg dyeing project. E obviously needed a lot of help this year but the older two are getting more skilled in their egg handling. The day before we dyed the eggs A asked why we needed to bother boiling them first. I explained that it made it easier to handle them and that we would get to eat them later. She was less than thrilled with the prospect of eating eggs of any kind but agreed to help dye eggs for other people to eat.



One of the egg artisans at work.



E and her cheesy grin that appears whenever there is a camera nearby.



The glorious eggs.



On Easter morning the girls woke up at their regular time which surprised me. They rushed into our room and asked if they could see their baskets. I told them to go see if the bunny had filled them and I'd be along shortly to get a few photos.

They could not wait to get started on the candy...









I helped organize the Easter Egg Hunt Mad Dash this year. It usually takes about 6 people at least 20 minutes to get all the eggs thrown out on the lawn each year...and about 45 seconds for the kids to descend upon the common and make a clean sweep. This is one of the easiest events to sign up for because there is literally NOTHING to clean up! The kids do it all for you - and without a single complaint!

E needed much prodding this year to actually collect eggs. I had to keep pointing out eggs and prompting her to pick them up. She was far too interested in the sight of all the big kids running from one end of the common to the other. I think she wondered what the big rush was all about! After all, the little kids get their own little space full of eggs that is cordoned off by cones and orange string (which you can see in the top left corner of this picture)...



R and her bag of loot. She is now officially one of the "big kids" who can run far and fast and can get quite a lot of eggs along the way.



A also managed very well for herself. In fact, she did so well that she took the advice given by the Christian Ed. Director very much to heart and shared some of her bounty with a child who wasn't nearly as fortunate.



After the hunt we were off to grandma and grandad's house for a yummy ham dinner with all the fixin's. I offered to bring along dessert and decided to make a cake. Do you think I maybe had a bit too much fun with the frosting?