Happy Camper

We picked up Ella on Friday after two weeks at sleep-away camp!

She wasn't allowed to call while she was there but luckily the camp posted photos each day of the campers and I was able to see Ella's smile throughout the long two weeks.

 

I was so proud of her.  When we first pulled up the camp's website in the spring to choose a camp, she quickly picked the more strenuous backpacking camp rather than the traditional YMCA camp.  She spent the first week learning all about being in the outdoors: how to make a fire, read a map, pitch a tent; how to respect nature and the wilderness; how to pack your backpack.  They did a lot of group bonding activities such as ropes course, day hikes, games.

 

The second week they set off on their backpacking trip.  As you can see, her backpack probably weighed as much as she does.  The first day it rained all day as they hiked, so instead of stopping at the four mile mark where they had planned to string up a tarp for shelter to sleep under, they continued another four miles for a total of EIGHT miles to reach the covered pavilion.  And that was just their first day.

 

They visited a farm, climbed to the top of a fire tower, cooked their own food, and played a lot of cards.  She said she was exhausted at the end of each day's hike but was really proud of herself for making it.  She was the youngest on the trip and I'm sure at 53 pounds, the smallest.

 

The difference between the one week camp last year and two weeks this year was huge.  She said she really got to bond with the other campers.  Last year when she went to camp with her cousin, she didn't try very hard to make other friends.  But this year since she went alone and for a longer time, she really made some great friends.  I think she also matured a lot.  She returned to us with a bigger appetite, more patience with her brother, and using longer words.  As we walked hand in hand across the field back to our car, she called out goodbye to an older boy she had befriended with a confidence I have never seen in her before.

All of this on the eve of her starting middle school, starting to take the subway alone, starting her independence from me.  And as I looked at this new version of her, instead of feeling sad for the little girl I was losing, I felt so proud of the young woman I was about to meet.

Getting Her Hippie On

 

My mom joined us on our flight home from San Francisco last Sunday.  Rather than drag her all around the city at warp speed, the kids, Bob the hamster, and I brought her up to Woodstock for a relaxing week.

 

We showed her our favorite swimming holes, took her on walks at the lake, and explored the town a bit.

We got our creative juices flowing - painting, sewing, cooking, reading.

Holden made delicious watermelon, mint, cucumber popsicles

I made this cardamom, orange, almond loaf - YUM!

Bob supervised

Miniature oil paintings

Lots of BBQ and dining al fresco

We even visited a Tibetan Center and learned how to ring song bowls.

Kevin joined us on the weekend.  On the drive back to the city on Sunday we stopped off at Franklin Roosevelt's birthplace and lifelong home in Hyde Park.  We all really enjoyed the tour and museum and library.

The kids working on getting their Junior Ranger badges

I think we sent mom back to California yesterday a bit less exhausted than we normally do.

The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent...

We had another amazing week in the Bay Area jam-packed with friends, family, and fun. I'm going to try to do a post from my phone because I'm away from any computers for the next week (more on that in the next post!). So please excuse the brevity and any formatting wonkiness that may ensue. 

It started with an emergency landing on the way out for a minor repair to the aircraft that Holden completely slept through.

We had a great day picnicking in the Presidio with our close friends Nate, Naomi, Sloane, and Jack.

We couldn't miss the annual fireworks show in our old 'hood in San Mateo, even if the fog and wind made it feel more like New Year's Eve than the 4th of July. Catching up with all of our old friends and neighbors made braving the cold worth it.

Kevin's parents continued their decades-long tradition of a huge 4th of July celebration in Millbrae. We had a fantastic day visiting with cousins, friends, swimming, playing ping pong and corn hole and eating way too much.

On July 5th we celebrated Holden turning 9. We spent the whole day with Auntie Maxine, Uncle Sean, Rowan and Piper wandering through Golden Gate Park (parkas and all), exploring the San Francisco Botanical Gardens and the Japanese Tea Garden.

At the end of the day we met up with Kevin's parents for Holden's birthday dinner at Joe's of Westlake. I grew up eating there 2-3 times a month and there were reminders of my Dad everywhere. It felt like he was with us for Holden's birthday.

The next day Kevin and I took all four kids to the gorgeous new SFMoMA.

The next day we made our way to Berkeley and took a beautiful, long hike in Tilden Park with my BFF Alyssa and her kids Shauna and Grant.

I ended the week with my annual girls weekend in Calistoga with some of my besties. Those two days of sharing and laughing, counseling and consoling, fill me up with enough peace and strength to last me a year.  There are few things more valuable to me than my female friendships.

Our first night back at home in New York Holden cried himself to sleep. He said he wants to keep that feeling he had in California all the time.

We all do.