Days with the Dorans

And just like that another one of my kids is old enough to go to 5th Grade Camp! My how time is flying. I have to say I didn't stress as much as I did with the other two. Packing was easy. My dad took him to school and it was POURING. The label I made for his bedding was wet and runny. Thank goodness Z had his yellow rain jacket (which he seemed to wear a lot) and his umbrella hat (he was wearing in the first picture) that he got from Easter.  He said the weather was the best though and he LOVED hiking in it. We even found Joe's waterproof hiking boots he took when he went and they were a perfect fit! Scott Mac was helping to chaperone overnight so he took some pics of Z for me! I was so thankful as I feel like I don't know as many of the parents and kids in Z's grade (to get more pictures). He's such an easy going kid he kind of just goes on his bike and finds things to do. Nothing wrong with that! Alex's mom did send me a pic of the boys which a...

"The Odd Couple" Al's bunk below and Sarah's on top. This made me laugh!  Al was so excited and happy to go to camp. I was just thinking how far she's come with her anxiety. I don't know if I wrote about it here but she had some pretty sever anxiety and is a bit of a perfectionist (to put it mildly). She's done SO well though and I'm so proud of her. Even packing for camp the night before, Al was cool as a cucumber! The morning was great too! Al and twin Sarah were bunk mates and I took them to the school to drop them off. It was then that Al's anxiety hit and she didn't want me to leave (it was bad). Much like when they were younger I assured her she was safe and loved and would have a great time and just like then... I was right!  I was blessed that Sarah's folks were keeping me updated through texts and pictures.  Sarah's dad was a chaperone there and her mom went up regularly to be with them so I had my spies up there ...

 It's hard to believe that Joey went to 5th Grade Camp!  It feels like yesterday that he was going off to kindergarten.  I remember 6th grade camp like it was yesterday (We went to the same place but 6th grade was still in elementary school and I think we went for the week... Joey went for 3 days). Joe was all packed up and my dad took him to school with all his gear since Jeff and I had to work.  I'm so glad my dad got an iPhone because he snapped this pic of Joe with some of his friends.  I gave Joey a camera to use, so these  (below) are some of the pics he took.  I LOVE the ones he took outside!  He also had a journal that I snuck in his bag for him.  Each day we talk about our highs and lows from the day.  I was excited when he came back that he wrote about all the highs each day that he had and each day he wrote, "No Lows."  I seriously thought of him so much while he was gone and missed him like ...