Picking up Shelly and Jason from Camp

Last week was the first camp that either Shelly or Jason have been to.  I was never really worried about Shelly.  She is incredibly adaptable and goes along with almost anything and she loves to do the type of things that go on at camp.  Jason, however, is not that type.  He gave me cause to worry about how he would handle camp.  He's been away from home before, I wasn't too worried about that.  His adventures would come in other forms.

So, it's no surprise that I was a little bit nervous to hear from the counselors how he handled camp.  Once we were parked and heading in (with the two little ones in tow), word got out that we were Chomper's family and there was rather a bit of a reaction.  This was not reassuring.  We had told one of the counselors (Nike) that we were looking for Pillow and Chomper, but somehow Chomper's name was the one that she mentioned to others - I was unsure if this was a good sign or a bad sign...

We headed into the mess hall to meet the kids and Shelly ran up and grabbed Mark to give him a hug.  She spent most of the rest of the time showing us the stuff she made and playing with Emily and Annie.  Jason was going through his camp stuff at the table when we came in and didn't see us immediately.  Once he saw us he excitedly told us all about how much fun he had, the things he got to do and the people he met - at least I think that's what he was telling us.  He was talking so fast (and there was a lot of other noise in the room) that it was hard to understand everything he was saying...

Their unit counselor, Bubbles, was nearby, so once I got a break I asked her how the kids did (but I must confess to mostly being curious about Jason - I didn't think Shelly's experience was really in question).

Her response - about Jason: "He was definitely the most rewarding camper."  I was pretty sure this was code for challenging.  Great reward really only comes with great effort after all...

So, Shelly had changed her name just a few minutes after we left.  She went from Pillow to Butterfly (which would explain why only Chomper's name was memorable to Nike when she announcing our arrival - that was reassuring).  Jason also changed his name, but he changed his mid-week.  Apparently, when a camper or counselor calls someone the wrong name, they have to kiss a tree.  Jason somehow figured out a way to take advantage of this and decided that it would be fun to make everyone kiss trees, so in an effort to confuse people and trick them into calling him the wrong name, he changed his name from Chomper to Zombie ... on Wednesday ... and then proceeded to have a great day making everyone kiss a tree...

So, we left a Pillow and a Chomper at camp and came back with a Butterfly and a Zombie...

Shelly did all of the crafts and had a large collection of stuff to show us when we got there.  It was fun to watch her show off all of the stuff she made.

Jason only did some of the crafts - but to tell you the truth, I'm impressed they got him to do any at all (one or two of the more 'special' ones someone else did for him, just so he would have one to bring home).  He was awesome at the running around games; tag, capture the flag, the treasure hunt, and things like that.  He refused to go swimming and spent swim time playing in the nearby playground instead.  He also won a huge jar of jelly beans at the carnival.  He guessed how many were in the jar (he guessed 1,000) and won!

Showers were also not his thing.  (He's still doing baths at home - it's easier to throw him in with the younger girls still - that was our fault)  He told Bubbles that he was excited to come back next year, but only if he didn't have to take a shower.  Bubbles laughed good and hard about that comment!

Turns out his cabin counselor's name was not Master Po.  His name was Mumble.  I got the face right but the name mixed up.  Mumble was good with Jason too.  Both he and Bubbles were so excited with Jason on the last night there.  They had finally convinced Jason to participate and he got up on stage during the talent program!  They were both way excited by that accomplishment.  Turns out Jason was the youngest camper there, which I'm sure added a bit of drama to the personality that is Jason...  :)

One of the things Jason told me right at the beginning, while he was still talking in his 'excited about camp' voice, was that he now has a Dream Castle.  It's supposed to hold all of the nightmares so they can't get out (at least, I think that's how it went, it was loud and he was talking quickly and his speech issues are at their worst in those situations - and I was distracted).  I meant to ask him where he got that from, but I completely forgot until right now, and Mark is getting them dinner while I type, so it will have to wait until later.

Shelly had fun on the way home telling us everything they did at camp.  She sang some songs for us, told us about an empowerment circle they did (they all took turns talking and then they got a balloon they could write their worries and fears on and then let the balloons go), she told us how much fun swimming was and that the pool there was only 5 feet deep and she jumped in and touched the bottom of the pool (with her feet) before swimming to the ladder.  Somewhere in there she asked if she could stop talking, so we let her take a break.

I believe that's about everything I know about how camp went...

And now you know too (if you actually read that whole thing...)


UPDATE:  So, while I was putting the kidlets to bed, Jason mentioned his Dream Castle again.  Just as I was about to ask him about it, he showed it to me.  It was a dream catcher... (from native american culture - tell me you know what I'm talking about...)  Turns out it was a hearing problem on my part and not a nightmare problem on his part requiring therapeutic intervention.  That's good news! :)