Kanakuk 2016

So this week has been spent missing Jackson and Ellie and trying to get some stuff accomplished around the house including spending time on the computer sending them emails and scouring through the kamp pictures trying to find them. It looked like they were having a lot of fun and I was so excited for them.

I haven’t been able to do my riding and running outside since my sitter is at kamp, so I’ve been trying to get back on the trainer and treadmill. Plus, we have had a couple rainy mornings where I wouldn’t have been able to get out anyways.  I also spent time packing up the kitchen little by little every day. Then I started selling stuff on swap shop. I was able to sell all of our curtains, bar stools and rugs. Plus, Sharon’s daughter, Brett, had already agreed to buy our couch and black table and chairs. I’m hoping to have it all out of here by next Tuesday when they start the remodel. I started taking down some pictures and curtain rods also.  Then I started working on hemming and lining the new curtains I got from Ikea. Not a project I was real excited about, but it needs to be done. I finally decided that with doing five sets of curtains and lining two sets, I would probably mess up somewhere, so I checked with Leah’s mom to see if she could do it. Thankfully she said she could.

My parents picked up the Sedlak kids, minus Annie, to bring home and give Sara a bit of a break. So we have been spending time with them. The kids went swimming Monday after the rain cleared out and then they got to have a last-minute sleep over. Then I brought all the boys over to our house Tuesday after lunch and they spent the afternoon playing on the Wii, with the Legos and chasing each other around the house-I think it may have been cops and robbers. Then we went back over to my parents’ for dinner. Andrew took the boys home afterwards while I went grocery shopping. I also got school supplies for the three oldest, which always takes a while. I make a spreadsheet though that has it all lumped together so I know how many glue sticks, pencils, crayons, markers, I need total, and that helps. I also went to Dollar Tree and snatched up some of the last bit of their beach/luau themed items. Ellie has talked about having a pool party for her birthday this year and I thought a beachy Hang 10 theme would be fun. I knew that stuff would be hard to come by later, so I wanted to get some of it now. On Wednesday we ended up going to see the new Ice Age movie with my mom, Bella and Brady and then went swimming for a little bit. That evening we went out to Matthew and Kristin’s and had dinner. Annie and her kids were in town so we got to see them too. The kids went swimming for a little bit out there too and play all around the house. And while we were out there, Annie helped the kids catch a grasshopper that had gotten into the house. They put it in a cup and we brought it home so Lincoln could try it in his bug car he got for his birthday. They were pretty excited when the car would start moving around. They also kept busy with a variety of things from the Magformers to Nerf guns to wrestling each other and discovering that Lincoln could give the twins piggyback rides.

I think Buddy has been trying to figure out where Jackson and Ellie are. He would go up to their rooms every now and then. I imagine they were missing him too. On Friday, we left him in the care of Zach and headed down to Branson for closing ceremonies. We stopped at Hobby Lobby in Columbia for a very quick trip. I was looking for a canister for our sugar to sit on the counter when our kitchen is done and I finally found one. We were actually cutting kind of close on time so we just stopped at a McDonalds that was connected to a gas station and Andrew filled up and got the boys to the bathroom while I ran in and got our food. But then we had to stop again as Bennett had to go to the bathroom. We made it to K7 about 2:50 and the gates opened at 3. It worked out pretty well though. Andrew loaded up the luggage while the boys and I were lucky enough to catch a ride in a minivan down the hill and we went straight to the store and exchanged a shirt. I ended up with a Cherokee shirt for Jackson instead of a Choctaw, so I had to change it out. Andrew got down there just as they opened the gates and we got to go to Jackson’s teepee and give him a hug. He hid from the twins in his teepee and tried to jump out and scare them. It was great to see him again. He let the boys give him hugs even though he isn’t the affectionate type (although he still gives me a hug before bed every night and when he tells me thank you for things, like making his favorite dinner). We got to visit with him a bit and talk about his week. He really liked it and I think he was ready to make the change to an older camp. I think K7 has many more activities than K-Kountry. I think partly because they are able to keep them moving a little more since they are older and also because they don’t do sport-specific clinics and instead just do different activities all day which do include a variety of sports along with other fun things. He loved the new Tribal Warrior gym that was set up like American Ninja Warrior. He got to do the Faith Pole and the ropes course with the trapeze at the end. He said he really liked his counselors and had some good kids in his teepee. Up first were the teepee awards where each kid is recognized, the counselors talk a bit about them and give them a ribbon based on character qualities they feel they have seen during the week. Jackson got the Pace Setter/ Spark award and his character qualities were content and discerning. This is what they had to say about him, “Jackson has a satisfaction with what he has and doesn’t complain if he encounters trials. He sees the best in each situation and tries to view the world in a positive light. Jackson is great at discrimination between good and evil and is extremely perceptive, seeking wisdom from elders when necessary. He seeks to understand before being understood.” We were so happy for him.

Up next were the all kamp awards and while we were waiting for those, I signed Jackson, Ellie and Lincoln up for kamp next year. I also talked to Jackson more about kamp and I mentioned that it sounded like one of his best years. He agreed and said, “It was my best year for counselors, my best year for fun activities and my best year for growing closer to God.” Made my heart happy! Although the closing ceremonies were pretty toasted I enjoyed seeing all of it, from watching the kids and counselors get excited and do all their chants, to the great talk given by the director, Keith Chancey, to all the great awards given out. Jackson received his cross for being a four year kamper.

We rushed out of there pretty quickly though to get back to Branson for Ellie’s closing ceremonies. And we made it there in good time and just waited in the car until it was time to open the gates. It was a toasty day and we were enjoying the air conditioning after the three hours at Jackson’s kamp. We met up with Andy, Autumn and their crew and were able to go in together. They had us walk all the way down by the courts and then you started to see kids lining up trying to find their parents. We saw our little friend, Noah, anxiously looking for his parents. And then we got big hugs from Miss Ellie. She said she was so excited that the twins smiled at her and wanted to give her hugs J. She looked so cute in the braids she did herself. She seems so much at home at kamp. She said she had a lot of fun. She did the slaunch again (a slip-n-slide that goes up at the end and “launches” you into the water) even though she said she wouldn’t and she liked it. She loved canoe trip and hit the bullseye at archery. She talked about doing another slide at K-Kauai that was fun but she hit her bottom on it and ended up with bruises. She did mention a couple things that weren’t as great. She wasn’t too sure about one of her counselors. She started to say something but then decided she didn’t want to say anything bad about her. I asked if she was mean and she said she wasn’t but that she was just odd. She also said that gymnastics clinic wasn’t as fun which I was bummed about. She was excited to do it again. But overall she had a fantastic time and still wants to go for two weeks.

After our hugs, we grabbed some food and sat down by the LaBeths to eat our picnic. Then we walked over by Taneycomo where it was about 15 degrees cooler. The water from Taneycomo comes from the bottom of Table Rock through the dam and it is always freezing. There was a fog settling over the lake which looked cool. But then a wind blew through and blew the fog away which was really cool to see. There was a storm coming so they started things up a little earlier than planned. We joined up for Ellie’s barn awards. While we were waiting, there was another mom there who looked so familiar, so I said something to her. She ended up being from Truman and she was one of my friend, Kim’s, roommates. And she had a daughter in Ellie’s barn-small world. She said that one of my other sorority sisters also had kid at kamp. Ellie’s counselors had wonderful things to say about her. They talked about how her faith is evident and how mature and knowledgeable she is in her faith which made me a happy mom. The award Ellie got was the Faith on Fire ribbon and her character qualities were assured and generous. This is what they had to say about Ellie, “Ellie knows who she is in the Lord and that conviction makes her reliable and steadfast. At the same time, Ellie is always serving others unselfishly and without restraint. Ellie’s giving and dependable nature serves as a rock for other believers and spurs them on to seek Christ.”

After the barn awards, we went up to the church for the all kamp awards. They had some music playing and the kids were all dancing and doing actions to the songs. I was able to catch a glimpse of Ellie every now and then and I loved seeing her have fun with all of that. As they started the awards, they said they were going to move through them quickly as the storm was getting closer. Ellie was in the group of kids who were recognized for the Spike Award for displaying Christ-like characters Paul describes in Galatians 2:20 that says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” They did end up just announcing the final awards and not having the kids come up so they could get everyone moving since the lightning was getting worse. 

So we quickly made our way back to the car and it started raining as we were getting in. As we were driving to the hotel, it started pouring. Ellie enjoyed soaking in a bath that night and we watched some of the Olympic opening ceremonies as we went to bed. Then we enjoyed sleeping in the next morning without having to rush anywhere. We got ready, ate some breakfast and then headed to Cassville for the Farwell family reunion. Ellie was excited to see that Lauren was there too. We visited, ate lunch, the kids played, took a picture and then loaded up to head back to Kirksville. We made it back to town around 7 and Andrew immediately put the kids to work picking up everything around the yard so he and Jackson could mow while I started unloading the car, unpacking trunks and started the loads of laundry. I was glad I got to it right away because a lot of their stuff was damp. I spent the rest of the evening unpacking, sorting through and repacking trunks. The kids and I got to talk a little more about kamp and also the character qualities their counselors used for them. Lincoln and Alex reconnected and play for part of the evening until it was time to head in for baths and bedtime. As we quieted down for the night, I was able to play back some streaming of some of the swimming events at the Olympics-my favorites.