BRAVE at Discovery Grove!

There is a whole section of Mount Hermon that is dedicated to thrill seekers.  The camp offers things like the Redwood Canopy Tour and other various ropes courses for adventurers of different ages.  Last year they built this "mini" ropes course for those more around Ella's age.  It's still about 20 feet off the ground and traversing through its 7 obstacles still requires a safety harness and two caribeaner clip-in.  Ella and I tried it last year and made it through just the first 2 obstacles before the tears and utter freak-out occurred and we had to turn around and go back.  Because of last year's experience, I was quick to tell her "NO" this year when she asked to go again.  It was the reminder from Jeff and Amy, who were also at Family Camp this year and who I've called "parenting experts" in the past, that every kid on the course is scared and making it all the way across is not a requirement, the goal is to just try.  Their excellent advice pushed me to let Ella give it another try this year, our goal being to simply make it further than last year.

Ella breezed across the first two obstacles, tackled the log balance beam with smiles...and then got super scared on the tightrope with dangling logs to climb over.  I saw the fear in her eyes and the tremble in her body.  But though she whimpered about being super scared, she never cried or asked to turn around.  With encouragement from me behind her and all our friends on the ground, Ella powered through.

The next obstacle was definitely the hardest-- swinging logs and dangling ropes.  Even I was feeling a little shaky at this point.  But, once again, Ella took it one log swing at a time and made it across, scared but strong.

The cargo net was easy enough for her to stop and give me backwards smile.  After the adrenaline of the swinging logs, an easy obstacle was needed!

The grand finale to the Discovery Grove Ropes Course is a zip line down to the ground.  This was Ella's first zip line and she said it was the best part of the course and totally worth completing the thing for.

Conquering this ropes course with Ella was a highlight of my week.  I've never seen such strength or bravery from my girl.  She convinced me she could do it, and then proved me wrong when I was afraid she couldn't.  I've written before about how awesome it is when our kids exceed our expectations.  This week I learned that we parents have to give them opportunity to actually do that!

Train and Boardwalk Day

Another Mount Hermon tradition is to spend Wednesday's whole camp train ride down the mountain to the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk with our good buddies Beth, Allie, Nathan and their parents Phil and Teri.  It is when we get to spend longer stretches of time with these dear friends, seeing how much our kids have always clicked and loved each other, that we miss them the most!

The gentle rocking of the hour long train ride through the forest was as peaceful as ever.  This is pretty much the view for most of it, until you get into the bright sun, sand and surf of our destination.

The train goes through a pretty long tunnel at one point.  I don't know how long it is in terms of a mile, but we know it lasts about one whole song.  We know because in the past the girls have been terrified to just sit in total darkness for several minutes, so I'd hug and play "I Saw the Light" on my phone for them.  Being older and having some good friends and flashlights made the tunnel one of the most fun parts of the ride this time around, though!

Once at the Boardwalk, we've always opted for a shorter day and taken the early train back up to camp.  This gives us just enough time to check out a few rides and spend our food vouchers on a treat.

For her two rides, Ella chose the helicopters and this more wild, spinny ride with Beth.  Watching their screaming faces and unsuccessful attempts to keep their hands in the air was a highlight of the day!

Delia stuck to the kiddie rides, choosing the Shamu ride and the boats.  There was some drama when Ella was quick to spend her ride tickets and felt sad that she couldn't do the rides Delia picked too.  But, making thoughtful choices and being okay with your decisions is just part of this day, hard as that may be.

Can't leave the Boardwalk without enjoying a drippy ice cream cone!  And these were on Mount Hermon, thanks to their new Boardwalk food voucher program.  A quiet ride back up the mountain and some much-needed naps rounded out another great day at Family Camp!

Beach Bliss

Following tradition, we took all of Tuesday afternoon to leave camp and spend the afternoon at the Santa Cruz beach.  And once again, we got another window of time with Dave as he spends the same afternoon on the same beach with his high school students.

Maybe because it was just a little cooler this year, or maybe we were already especially worn out from Mount Hermon's vigorous schedule, but the first thing everyone did upon beach arrival was drop down into the warm sand to lie back and relax.  My girls were doing it too, but hopped up a second before I took the picture.  But, after a little rest and a little snack, the kids were ready to go...

 They hopped waves in the ocean (which we can now take off the Summer Bucket List).

Delia did not stop running the entire week-- across the beach and up and down Mount Hermon's hills, to and from Child Care, when she saw her friends, etc.  I understand completely why she was so hard to rouse from bed in the mornings!

Again, because it was a bit chilly, we started burying kids in the sand to keep them warm.  We dug giant holes and had their little heads all lined up on the beach.  And they were happy to hang out this way for a while!  We got lots of interesting comments from people! (My favorite: "What a good way to keep track of your kids!  Think I can do that to my 21 year old?")

A very nice beach neighbor let us play with his dog for a while.  

After several hours of relaxing in the sand, hopping in the surf, being buried alive, hugging Daddy, playing catch with a pup, and filling buckets with sand crabs and jelly fish, we left yet another Mount Hermon Beach Day with yet another satisfied feeling.

Knowing Jack

Mount Hermon has a funny sort of mascot in the form of this uniquely gifted musician named Jack.  He wears plaid shirts and brightly colored suspenders.  He plays the banjo, fiddle, harmonica, kazoo, jaw harp, nose flute and spoons.  He sings silly songs about hiccups and mosquito bites and Velcro.  For our first four years, we always enjoyed how his presence enhanced campfires and such.  But, last year after Mount Hermon, I discovered Jack's songs were on iTunes, so I created a playlist that we've been listening to all year.  In the same way that David Crowder or Lady Gaga have come out of our iPods and stereos, so has Jack-- raising him to rock star status in these girls' eyes.  One thing they were most looking forward to at Mount Hermon this summer was seeing Jack.

And it didn't take long!  On the first night, he opened the program.  When Delia spotted him taking the stage, she screamed, "MOM!  IT'S JACK!!!!" and proceeded to rush the stage.  She even dragged a chair over to get as close as possible.  She and Ella were two little groupies singing and dancing by themselves in the grass in front of him.

A sighting of Jack never went unnoticed and Delia informed me every single time he walked past her or even looked at her.  Once he called her by name (with the help of her name tag) and she's still talking about that.  We quickly had to make a new rule: "Jack is regular person and needs to eat just like the rest of us.  You may not harass him in the dining hall."  When we found him playing his fiddle up at Pancake Ridge, guess where we had to sit?

This year's campfire was the best one yet since we've been learning his songs all year and were able to sing along and have favorites.

I always let the girls pick a CD or book out of the Mount Hermon book store for their souvenir.  This year, they each chose something from the "Jack section"-- Delia a set of spoons to play and Ella this Limber Jack puppet that our new favorite folk star introduced us to.

On Friday, Jack offered a workshop where he gave short lessons on all the fun little instruments he plays.  The girls were thrilled to see him once again and learn the proper Limber Jack and spoon-playing techniques (did you even know there was such a thing? :).  Delia's actually gotten pretty good-- I think some sort of career in spoon playing may be in her future!  Jack's sidekick, perhaps?

Mount Hermon 2012

After being brought up by another family, a reoccurring theme this year was "Mount Hermon: Better Than Disneyland?"  I would call this a debate, but it wasn't.  One hundred percent of the people who've experienced both said Mount Hermon was indeed better than Disneyland.  This includes all kids.  Which means it includes my girls, who answered without even thinking about it, a second after they were asked.  We had a super time at Disneyland last year, so I really think it's saying something that everyone who's spent a week enjoying the glorious peace, loving fellowship and wacky fun that Mount Hermon offers knows its superiority!  Once again, we just feel so blessed to be a part of this Christian family camp ministry and are already counting down to Mount Hermon 2013!

Here are a few snapshots of our better-than-Disney adventures in Mount Hermon this year:

On our arrival day, we always look forward to the big party on the field house lawn.  Face painting, inflatables, games, a giant picnic and program get us all fired up for the fun week ahead.

Ella made more strides in the pool this summer.  She is now swimming totally without floaties and loves going underwater.  In this little pool, while I laid back relaxing on the steps and chatting with mom friends in the warm sun, she learned how to do handstands and somersaults.  It's so nice to be in this stage-- be assured, it's coming for you too, moms of real little ones! :) 

A favorite part of Mount Hermon for the kids is the time they get to spend in their own programs.  The above pic shows the tradition of all the counselors cheering and exploding out of the building at drop-off time.  At Day Camp/Child Care, the kids are engaged in Bible lessons, do fun activities like slip 'n slide or scavenger hunts, watch wacky skits and sing wacky songs.  Ella and Delia always danced out with huge smiles on their faces, singing the praises of their sweet and crazy counselors.

One of our favorite nights is always s'mores night!  After s'mores, we stayed for something new this year-- whole camp Dance Dance Revolution in the dark with glow sticks.  The girls jumped right into the crowd and busted out their sweet dance moves.  Yes, it was hilarious and awesome.

I always have to take this picture because at home, Delia is our alarm clock.  She needs the least amount of sleep and is always the first one awake.  Well, guess who is the last one out of bed at Mount Hermon?  She and her sister sleep deep, even through lights and noise as I get myself ready.  It's usually only information about all the fun things they'll be doing during the day that finally gets these girls up!

Another best part of Mount Hermon is the time we get to spend with friends.  The group we go with remains unchanged and as the kids get older, it gets better and more fun each year.  This year we ranged in age from kindergarten to middle school.  The older ones look out for the younger ones, with the lower elementary kids growing especially close. (Above: Ella, "K-Love", aka Caleb, Camryn and Michaela)

Something new for us this year was an early morning hike up to Pancake Ridge.  This is offered every year, but the 20 minute, straight-uphill climb never felt worth it in the past.  This year, our first being stroller-free, the kids assured me they could do it.  The reward at the top of the climb is an amazing pancake breakfast.  Fire-grilled pancakes as big as your head with all toppings, fiddle music and pancake-flipping contests are some features.  The best feature is that Pancake Ridge is located in Dave's camp, so he was able to sneak away from Hi Camp and see us!

We got to see Dave a total of 4 times this week.  Thursday is always a favorite day because we get tons of Daddy Time as he spends his day off at our camp.  This year he and I took a nice hike along the Sequoia Trail while the kids were in Day Camp.  Then, as a whole family, we checked out the boats.

Another favorite part of Mount Hermon (do I keep saying that? :) is my hour of quiet time when my morning worship service has ended and my kids are still in their programs.  I spread a blanket on my sunny cabin porch and get to dive into another fabulous book (Gary Schmidt's "Okay for Now" for me this year).  It's amazing what a good book, a good cup of coffee, a patch of warm sun and a view of thousand-year-old redwoods can do for your soul.  I highly recommend it!

Our last night, like our first, ends with a big camp party.  After an outdoor communion service, we all give our smiles a work out as the kids perform their end-of-the-week program.  I was teased this year for "sweeping the program" as both my girls were the ones picked from their classes to be interviewed in the microphone.  I was very proud! :)

  After the program comes the sugar shock!  These kids were cracking me up-- totally freezing, but unable to pass up a snow cone!

It was while we were singing The Revelation Song in a worship service that I thought about how this was supposed to be our last Mount Hermon and the finale to our years of service in California.  When we went through that interview process this winter, Dave and I planned a time line that would include a cross-country move the week following Mount Hermon.  The tears sprang to my eyes as I thanked God, once again, for his plan for our lives and for the clarity with which he revealed that to us this year.  (I think the possibility of this Mount Hermon being our last may have made me a little more long-winded than normal, so thanks for persevering, Reader!)  How blessed we are by this church family and this place!  In some ways, Mount Hermon is a week-long celebration of all our favorite things about our lives.  And yes, I'll take that over a princess or a thrill ride any day!

Good for the Lawn, Good for the Kids

Taking "Eat a popsicle while running through a sprinkler" off the Summer Bucket List...

I'm Gonna Gush (Consider Yourself Warned...)

Even though we've been counting down for a while now,  I can still hardly believe that our preschool years are officially over.  Today we all walked to preschool together and bid farewell to the classroom and all the landmarks on the walk we've made 4 times a week for 4 straight years now.  ("Goodbye speed bump", "Goodbye black widow spider living in the gas meter", "Goodbye cherry tree and birdies that eat all the cherries on the cherry tree", "Goodbye yappy dogs".)  It's bittersweet as we certainly celebrate good endings and new beginnings, but also mourn this special chapter coming to a close.

Tonight was the Preschool Graduation and Kids' Praise Program.  She told us very little, but we knew Delia had some part involving speaking and singing in the microphone.  We just learned today it was, in fact, the lead part!  She and two others served as the narrators for the familiar Psalty musical and Delia sang two solos-- one song was completely her alone while the whole class just did motions behind her!  We were proud, smiling ear-to-ear, almost crying and laughing with joy over the super cute job she did.  In her own words, Delia raced into our arms and said, "I was spectacular!"  Miss Debbie told me we have a future actress on our hands.

Each of the Star students donned a cap and gown, marched across the stage to get their diploma advancing them to kindergarten and then spoke their full name into the microphone. 

We just got the girls to bed and Dave asked me, "Did you ever think it was possible to be SO proud?"  I have always said that my favorite part of being a parent is when your child totally exceeds your expectations and does something so amazing, you can't help but just be in awe.  Proud parents, yes we are!

And a proud sister too!  Ella was also smiling so huge and was happy to have small roles tonight too.  She got to pick out the flower bouquet we surprised Delia with and when Dave went on stage to present the teachers with gifts from the class, Ella went along to help hold things.  When it comes to a love for attention on the stage, our family definitely plays the "One of these Things is not Like the Others" game! 

Over the course of 4 years, I know I've already said quite a bit about the blessing Miss Jenny and Miss Debbie have been to our girls and our family.  We just love their ministry and feel so thankful that our kids have gotten to be subject to their positive influence.

And of course, no preschool program or year is complete without a little ice cream to celebrate.  I guess it's officially summer now!