Hannah's Camp Trunk

Hannah is getting ready for a week of Girl Scout camp. She has decided to use a trunk this year instead of her usual duffel bag. We had an extra plastic trunk, so she cleaned that out.

Here's the empty/clean trunk before she decorated it.

Hannah LOVES duct tape crafts, so she used many of her beautiful duct tapes to decorate her trunk.

On the sides, she put random stripes of printed duct tape to show the many different types that she owns.

She is especially proud of the top of the trunk. She wanted it to look more finished as opposed to sides. She put her initials on the top.

Hannah with her finished masterpiece.

She is super excited about camp! I'm hoping she'll start packing soon.

Hannah Goes to Camp

We dropped Hannah off at Girl Scout camp this afternoon. She'll be there through Friday. This is her third year going away to camp and she LOVES it!


This is Hannah's home for the next several days. Her cot is the one in the back. The girls will put the sides down at night.

The forecast for the week looks very nice. No rain! Here is Hannah on her cot.

She was so excited for camp. Last summer she didn't go until late July, so she had a lot less wait time this year.

Hannah with her camp buddy. They've gone to camp together for the past three summers.

I'm going to blame this on the fact that camp was early this year, but I did not get anything mailed to Hannah this year. Instead, I put a padded envelope with a few teeny bopper magazines and a bunch of cards labeled for each day inside her duffel bag. I miss her already!

Back from Girl Scout Camp

On Thursday, I was in the basement at my computer. When I went upstairs, my cell phone chirped, notifying me that I had a voice mail message. I had my phone with me in the basement, but phone service is quirky unless I'm on the main level of the house. Anyway, I listened to my message and it was someone from camp telling me that "Hannah was alright, but she had fallen off a horse". I panicked a bit. I envisioned my baby girl with a broken leg or something. There was a second message which gave me a phone number to call back. I called back and spoke with someone at the horse barn and she said that Hannah was at the nurse's , but reiterated that Hannah was alright. She said that Hannah had wanted to get back on the horse again, but they had insisted that she go be checked out by the nurse.

The next 24 hours passed by slowly. I had missed Hannah, but now I wanted to see her even more. Finally, Friday late morning, it was time to drive up to Armuchee, GA to pick up our girl. The camp staggers checkout times so they are not rushed with all the parents at the same time, but luckily for us, Hannah was in the first group to be checked out.


All of the horse riders got to "demonstrate" their horse skills for the parents before they left camp.


Hannah is riding Cody. She said she had to change horses a lot. She was riding a horse named "Little Man" when she fell off. She had ridden him in previous years.

Here's Hannah's camp buddy, Callie, riding Velvet.

Hannah loved riding the horses! She would have her own horse is she could!

It was a 90 minute drive back home from Camp Misty Mountain. For the first 30 minutes or so, Hannah talked nonstop about camp. This is what she did for the rest of the drive home.

We are glad to have our baby girl home!

Band Camp

While Hannah has been away at Girl Scout camp, James has been attending the Cobb County Middle School Band Camp at McEachern High School this week. They had their end of camp performance on Thursday afternoon.


The first half of the concert was devoted to assorted group ensembles and solo performances. James participated in an mixed ensemble that performed "Don't Stop Believing". He's the lone tuba player on the far left. He also participated in the low brass ensemble.


Here's part of the brass section. James was second chair tuba for the week.

James with his fellow tuba players.


After the solo and ensemble portion of the concert, there was a break. We joined him outside.


Here's the whole group performance. They did a great job!


And here is James with his tuba. I am one proud mama!

A Care Package for Hannah

Hannah is at Girl Scout camp. She'll be gone through Friday. Last year she did a 3 night overnight camp, but this year she opted for the 5 night.

I looked into some different websites that put together camp care packages for kids, but they were all pretty high - $35 - $50. So I decided to make my own care package for her.

So here is what she has in her care package.

-spiral notebook
- Horse Fun Facts book ($1 spot at Target)
- 2 mini notebooks with matching pens ($1 spot at Target)
- Girly tattoos
- Dance tattoos
- Cat's Cradle Klutz book
- 2 "teeny bopper" magazines
- sparkly string for friendship bracelets
- Ask Away - ice breaker game
- Groove-alution - dance game


My care package totaled about $35 not including shipping, but it has nicer stuff than what I found in the pre-made care packages online. Plus, it's all stuff I know she'll like.

I mailed it on Saturday, so it should arrive on Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

Hannah's Turn at Camp

We just got back from dropping Hannah off at Girl Scout camp. She'll be there for the next 5 nights. She has been so excited about camp. She did 3 nights last year and has been ready for the longer camp experience ever since.




Hannah with her good friend and camp buddy.

The girls posing at their tent.


Home sweet home for the next 5 nights.

I know they are going to have a fabulous time! The girls signed up for a week of horse riding lessons among other fun activities. Even though we just dropped Hannah off, I miss her already! I will need to keep myself busy this week.

Glee Camp

While James was at Boy Scout camp last week, Hannah attended a "Glee" camp at Studio Dance, where she takes dance classes. Hannah is a big Glee fan, though I don't let her watch the show. I do save the episodes and let her watch most of the songs. There are several songs that she prefers the Glee version to the original!



The camp was a week long, two hours a day. They played games, did some crafts, and danced to Glee songs. On the last day, they preformed a dance to one of my favorite Glee mash-up songs, "Singing in the Rain/Umbrella".





Here is a cute picture frame she made during the week.



Here are all the girls - the older girls were in the Glee camp and the younger ones had a Princess camp.

Back from Boy Scout Camp

James returned from Boy Scout camp on Saturday. We got a call sometime on Saturday, early afternoon, telling us that the troop would arrive at the American Legion around 2:30 that afternoon. At 2 pm, Hannah decided to make some signs to hold up as the bus pulled into the parking lot.


Here she is with her signs.


And here is my tired and grimy boy!

It rained a lot while they were at camp. All of his belongings were damp and smelly. I had to throw out his pillow - I washed it a couple of times and it still smelled pretty bad. I bought him a nice, new down one to replace it. He said he showered once while at camp. He said that he thought he received the most letters in his troop. (Thanks to everyone who sent him one!) He had a great time, but missed his family. (and his x-box!)

Boy Scout Camp

My baby boy is at Boy Scout camp this week. He left early Sunday morning. It hasn't been as quiet around the house as I thought it might be. My 10 year old daughter has been more than making up for it.



Gathering the troop together.


Boarding the bus. Usually, the parents drive their own kids to camp, or they carpool together. But this year, the troop chose to go to summer camp in Tennessee. It's about a 3 hour drive, which would make for a long day just to drop off a kid at camp. The American Legion that sponsors James' troop, paid for the coach bus transportation, which was no small fee.


The boys getting ready for the comfortable 3 hour ride to camp.

My baby comes home tomorrow! I've missed him.