It's Camp Time!

Well, not quite but the registration for summer camps are in full swing and my kids are all talking about the camps they want to do (and don't want to do). At least Peyton and Hailey are - Austen has a bit more freedom now that he's older so he has a lot less scheduled than in previous summers.

Austen will take on some lacrosse this summer once his baseball season ends and then move into golf lessons and a golf league with some friends. He's decided too that he will be attending Indiana University's boys soccer camp. To say I am excited is an understatement! It's a premier camp so I'm hoping he learns a lot and a bonus is that I get to visit IU!

Peyton is trying some new things this year and I am very proud of her. She's agreed to do swim team at our local pool which will only enhance her confidence in the water as she's tested out of all of her lessons but still needs to convince herself that she's a strong swimmer. Her stroke is beautiful though. I'm hoping too that swim team gives her the confidence to pass her swim test at her very first sleep over camp this summer. As a lover of sleep away camps with my friends, I'm so excited for her and this experience. She'll be gone for a week this year (although she asked to go for two weeks and I said let's start with one week and see how it goes!) My only fear is that she'll want to go for weeks on end next summer! (I used to beg my parents to let me go again and even paid for it myself so I could attend.)

Now, Hailey knows exactly what she wants to do this summer and has told me in no uncertain terms what to sign her up for. "First, I want to to do the same (park district ) camp I did last summer. You know, mom, the one that has Mickey Mouse?"

"Please sign me up for the super hero camp too," she says. She means the vacation bible school camp that Peyton has attended the last few years and she's finally old enough to go. They do a theme complete with a CD each year that we all get to listen to in the car. It won't be super hero this year but it will have some catchy theme that all the kids will be excited about.

"And, I want to do the zoo camp!" Peyton did the zoo camp last year with a friend. It's not exactly close to our house (a good 20-25 minutes away) and for a half day, I'm not sure it's worth it for a 4 year old. "Let me see if your friend Conor wants to go," I say. I tell her later that Conor is not going to zoo camp. "I don't care," she says, "I'll go by myself." Okay, I think as I drop the subject thinking she will too. But just this morning she reminds me that she wants to go to zoo camp and that she will go by herself. But can I please give her Austen's watch (it's a phone watch so he can call me). That way she can call me when it's time to go home and I'll know where to pick her up! This kid! I love that she's not afraid to try new things even if her friends aren't! I'm still not convinced that I'm going to sign her up this year for zoo camp but definitely when she's a bit older for sure.

Summer is shaping up quite nicely. Definitely some fun things to look forward to for the kiddos before entering their next school year.