Camp MamiePapaWana Year 1
Hello from camp! I know I haven’t written in ages, but you know how time zooms by. The Helman clan has been busy this season with Maddie’s life…she was the lead in her senior musical…”Belle” in Beauty and the Beast, accepted to her mama and sisters’ alma mater, Saint Mary’s College, and just last night graduated with honors from Penn High School…It has been an enormous whirlwind of a season of blessings.
On top of that Kaley has been working on a hatch of her own! She is due with baby #2 the beginning of August! Avalon has almost hit the “2′s” stage of life an Kaley and Rob won’t know what hit them when a newborn enters the picture. We are so excited, knowing they will need extra hands and sanity in order to endure all of this love….Gosh! being Mamie is good!!!
So surprise, surprise!!! On Easter Sunday Courtney and Stockton announced that they also were expecting a little bundle this year! OMWOW!!! We will have three grandbabies under foot by Christmas of 2011. We can’t (and won’t) ask for more than that! THAT MEANS YOU MADDIE!!!! Please go to college, enjoy, learn, find yourself, explore, but please….you know:)
Anyway, the point of this post…sorry to be doing the 50 something thing where I can’t maintain a single thought past my nose. WE ARE AT CAMP!!!! Today was a big day of travel and we are all basically toasted, but I thought documentation was necessary…. so here are the basics:
We left our home to drive to Midway for departure…of course this required two cars..next year possible three:) yikes….no major mishaps on the way (thank God no speeding tickets, Rob and Dad.)
I forgot to mention that Corby has also been a camper.
Service Dog Extraordinairre!!!
We actually got here fine, two cars and drivers to get us to our camp base WATERSIDE FORT MYERS BEACH, of course. We ate dinner at our favorite greasy bar “Fish House” where Avalon went kind of into a sleep deprived “bonkers mode ” talking to strangers, rearranging the restaurant, and basically flexing her two year old muscles (much to her mother’s dismay).
Kaley loves to cook and loves to eat healthy so she really wanted to be in charge of the grocery shopping for this trip. Unfortunately for her, after a few cocktails and having sent her home to put Avalon to bed, the”five forces”, Papa, Mamie, Maddie, Courtney and Stockton decided to do the shopping avec Kaley. We each grabbed a cart and I designated the partners a category of food….Court and Maddie were in charge of carbs, snacks, etc…. Jeff and Stockton, beverages and lunch meat, and I made my way to the dairy aisle and fresh fruit and vegetables. I know we all felt Kaley’s spirit with us as we passed Ho Ho’s, Frosted Flakes and Cinnamon Rolls.
FOOD!!!
It took all seven of us to put the food away before we retired to the “girls” room for post feeding/fooding conversation “a la the Kardashians”. Thanks Rob for the pot of coffee…you might be a little too Keurig-ed.
Courtney and Stockton presented beautiful new beach towels… now we have lots!!! Then came the official presentation of Camp shirts. Now, if you don’t have kids who attended camp, then you certainly can’t relate to this, but if you have, then you know this was a sacred event. THE CAMP SHIRT 2011!!! and the inaugural shirt, yet to boot!
More girl talk as the boys vegged out on some lame comedy TV, then the greasy food hit Kaley and she spent time with Courtney’s porcelain god. No doubt Courtney will be there in the morning as usual.. Oh this preggo thing!!!! I feel for these girls but there isn’t a thing I can do for them Their bodies are their own and doing they’re doing their own thing. I guess that is why I am Mamie and am done with that part of life…hard to believe and I miss it so much….but new opportunities arise with each day and I am so thankful!!!
All is quiet, all is well. Day one is done and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us!!!
Camp, Day 2…stay tuned….
