Sunday, July 18: We started camp about a
week early this year so instead of starting out with Julia and Will’s birthday
party, we ended camp on that day. We had two other birthday celebrations to
begin camp. We were celebrating Tammy’s birthday but she was kind enough to
share her birthday dinner and party with Scott, whose birthday is
August 10th. He doesn’t get a birthday dinner because it always
falls around our family golfing weekend. We decided to surprise him so when
they arrived, Brent told them they had to go around the back where we were all
gathered. We yelled ‘Surprise’ and sang to both of them. Dinner consisted of Chicken
Fried Chicken that the boys fixed at camp a few years ago, barbequed chicken,
baked potatoes, macaroni and cheese (Jill made), corn on the cob, steamed
veggies, tossed salad, fruit salad, rolls, and for dessert, cherry cheesecake
and chocolate cupcakes. Scott and Tammy then opened their presents. The last of
the guests left by 8:45 and camp began! Joe had to work Sunday so he was not
able to join us this day.
We
brought down the goody bags, the snacks, and a bag of items for camp. I told
them we would also be playing “Minute To
Win It” games. (http://www.nbc.com/minute-to-win-it/how-to)
I told them I hadn’t found
Monday, July 19: We didn’t get going until
around 10:00. They all weighed themselves this morning and again Sunday morning
to see if they gained weight during camp. (Check Sunday’s entry to see their
beginning and ending weights). Wes was going to have to leave in the late
afternoon for work so we let him pick the activities for the day. So after a
breakfast of Toaster Streusels and cereal, we headed for Woodland Mound Park.
They tackled the Fitness Course with zesto and most of them did every
challenge. Julia scraped up her knee when she jumped off a board and fell on
the gravel. She is a trooper! After that, we visited the
After
a lunch of peanut butter and whatever else they wanted with it, we began our Minute To Win It games (hereafter
referred to as MTWI) on the deck. In these games, each person gets three times
to finish the task. The first one was Face The Cookie: Contestants, using only their faces, must
move three Oreo cookies individually from their forehead to their mouth.
I changed it to one cookie as it was very difficult. It was quite hysterical!
There were dropped cookies everywhere. Wes was the only one to accomplish this
feat. Then we went down to the basement and did Hangover: From a curtain rod,
contestant must hang five hangers one on top of the other so that no hook is
resting in the corner of another hanger. Wes, Daniel, and Will were successful in this
contest.
They
were game for one more contest! The next one was Caddy Stack: Contestant is given
three golf balls. The balls must be stacked vertically and they must stay
upright for three seconds without falling. When I practiced this the
previous week, I could only stack two so I told the kids this. Well, leave it
to Wes to be the only one to stack three golf balls. He was awesome!
Scott,
Tammy, and Joe arrived around 2:45 as their entire family had dental
appointments. While they were gone, Wes, Daniel, and I played Euchre. I do
believe I won two games but they were fierce players.
Once
the dental appointments were over, Scott, Tammy, and Joe headed home. Wes left
around 4:30 as he had to go to work. We enjoyed a dinner of Polish Kielbasa,
leftover chicken-fried-chicken, fried potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and Jill’s
leftover macaroni and cheese. They spent the evening painting their shirts and
messing around outside.
Tuesday, July 20: I cooked up a batch of
French toast which they seemed to enjoy. No one was in a hurry to anything but
just be together. This is what I observed most during this year’s camp.
Everyone needs downtime and we all got some. But as the kids spent time playing
together on the computer, watching TV, etc., they were very much bonding and
enjoying each others’ company. It was a beautiful thing to watch.
Lunch
consisted of peanut butter sandwiches or Skyline chili. Then they packed my
purse with candy and sodas and we headed for Milford
Theater to see “Toy Story 3 in 3-D.” Daniel had already seen it but was
gracious enough to sit through it again. We loved it!
After
the movie, we went to the batting
cages. Daniel, Will, and Julia each had two turns in the cages and did
well. We headed home and played three more MTWI games. The first one was Penny
Hose: Two pennies are placed in the ends of the legs of a pair of pantyhose.
Using only their hands, the contestants must inch their way down the legs to
retrieve the pennies and pull them out. Each arm must work independently and
the player cannot use one hand to stretch or hold the hose for the other.
Daniel and Will accomplished this and I think Julia’s arms were too short.
The
second game was Nose Dive: Contestant must transfer five cotton balls, one at a time,
from one serving bowl to another 12' away using only the nose. Vaseline on the
tip of the contestant's nose is used as a transfer agent. All three did
well with this one. As I was typing up this journal, I noticed that the two
bowls were supposed to be 12 feet apart but I put them only twelve inches
apart. No wonder it was so easy!
The
final game of the day was Noodling Around: Pick up six penne noodles
placed around the perimeter of a table using only a piece of uncooked spaghetti
in your mouth. Will had a funny during this contest. On Daniel’s first
try, his spaghetti was a bit wobbly so Will stated, “I haven’t seen that much
shaking since Michael J. Fox!” Daniel and Will again got the job done.
We
attempted to have a cookout. I was able to grill the burgers and had all the
food in the kitchen, buffet-style. As they filled their plates and headed
outside, the rains came down. Oh well, we tried. We were able to roast some
marshmallows after dinner.
Wes
came back to camp in the evening around 9:00 after working and playing hockey.
In the end, Wes drove to camp three times. They chilled and watched TV.
Wednesday, July 21: We had a late breakfast of cereal, pop tarts,
toaster strudels, etc. I conducted interviews with each of them (Joe later).
See the questions and their answers at the end of the journal.
Around
11:00, we first went to Eastgate Adventures
where Wes, Daniel, and Will drove the Go-Karts. They spent some time in the
arcade where they graciously gave all their tickets to Julia. She shared what
she got with the tickets. Then they played their traditional putt-putt game where
Wes was victorious! Scores were: Wes-50 which included a hole-in-one;
Daniel-54; Will-71; Julia-75. We then headed to one of their favorite
restaurants, Cici’s Pizza where it’s all-you-can-it! After that refreshing
stop, we headed to Cherry Grove Bowling Lanes
where they bowled two games with these scores: Daniel (129+111=240); Wes
(85+152=237); Will (92+102=194); and Julia (73+70=143). Before we headed home,
Will wanted to make his run to Cappels, his favorite store. I actually found
prize ribbons there! We stopped at the butcher’s on the way home so we could
get some lunchmeat plus the chicken pretzels they love.
I
fixed the chicken pretzels plus chicken strips, French fries, corn, etc., for
dinner and then the boys vegged while Julia and I went to Kroger’s for donuts
and other miscellaneous camp food! When we got home, they wanted to do more
MTWI contests. The first one was Sticky Balls: A strip of double-sided tape
is placed at the end of an eight-foot table. From the opposite end of the
table, the contestant must roll five marbles so that they stop on the tape
without rolling off the table. All four kids were successful!
Next
we did Loner: Contestant must knock over one pencil with marbles. The
contestant is given 20 marbles to knock over one standing pencil. The
contestant will roll one marble at a time while lying on their stomach. To
complete the game, the pencil must be knocked over within 60 seconds.
Again, all were successful. I need to make the games harder next year!
Another
game the four of them were successful in was Movin’ on up: Contestant is given
a stack of 36 large plastic cups and races to move their one marked cup through
the entire stack. Contestant does so by holding the stack in their hands and
one-by-one continuously moving a cup from the top to the bottom. All
did well!
Joe
finally made it to
Thursday, July 22: I had to set the alarm for
8:00 to get Wes up so he could go to work, which he did once he had his fill of
donuts. Daniel and Will got up and ate breakfast but Joe and Julia were still
sleeping so I went out and cut the grass. After everyone got their showers, I
did all the laundry so they wouldn’t run out of clothes. Since this was Joe’s
only day at camp, he got to pick the activity and he picked Scallywag Tag for the afternoon.
They
quickly devoured sandwiches for lunch and off we went to play laser tag. There
was a special that day—pay for two games and get the third one free. Awesome!
The boys took Julia under their wings for her first laser tag adventure. Even
though she stuck it out for all three games, it was not her cup of tea. Maybe next
year!
We
stopped at
The
boys entertained themselves while Julia and I baked Chocolate Chunk Cookies. I
need to be honest and confess it was a box mix but they were delicious!
We went
to Skyline for dinner as that is one restaurant they all agree on. We got some
movies at Blockbusters and headed home. They spent the evening playing
Playstation, watching TV and movies, and playing together on the computer. Wes
came back around 11:00 pm.
Friday, July 23: Since all five kids were
together, they had decided earlier in the week that they would have their
favorite breakfast today. It, of course, consists of blueberry pancakes (or as
Will used to call them, mancakes), bacon, sausage, and eggs. Once their
stomachs settled, they had some wild games of balloon volleyball in the living
room. They used our dining room chairs covered with throws for the net. It’s a
picture to behold. We then had two more MTWI games: Separation Anxiety: Contestant
must separate a pile of 50 multicolored M&M'S Brand Chocolate Candies into
five separate containers in a set color order. All five got this done
in a minute. Then they did Matchmaker: Contestant must pick up one of
18 plastic cups on a center table and place the small candy from under that cup
into 1 of 3 glasses placed around the outer rim of the stage. Object is to get
6 of each designated color into the 3 glasses. And the wonderful campers
were successful again.
Joe
left (his stay was way too short). After a lunch of grilled cheese and vegging,
we went to Pierce
Point Theater in Amelia. Julia and I saw Despicable Me (wonderful movie)
and the three boys saw Grown Ups (very funny movie, they said).
I
fixed some pizzas for dinner. Then the boys stayed home while Julia and I
ventured out. We got a movie for Julia (Chestnut) at Red Box then got
Saturday, July 24: We grabbed something quick
for breakfast and headed for Coney Island
to swim. Will was in his glory. He lost count of how many times he dove off the
boards or went down the Twister. LaRosa’s Pizza was lunch and later we all had
creamy whips (yummy). We all went down the Twister as Daniel talked Julia into
doing it. She did not like it but the rest of us sure did. We stayed until 2:00
then headed home for showers and laundry.
After
chilling for a while, we ate ham, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, and
mixed fruit for dinner. None of the boys were interested in going to the Greater Anderson
Township Festival but Julia sure wanted to go! I mentioned earlier that
they painted shirts but I forgot to mention that I had purchased glitter and
glitter paint. I realized that her parents would not be happy if she brought
home a glittered shirt. Our basement floor looked like a disco ball! So I put
her shirt in a bag and took it with us. When we arrived at
Sunday, July 25: Julia’s 8th Birthday!!! After everyone took their showers, we took
everyone to Frisch’s (her favorite) for breakfast for her birthday. She and
Will actually ate lunch while the rest of us enjoyed breakfast. When we got
home, they weighed themselves.
Here
are their beginning and ending weights:
Wes 148.5 151
Daniel 154.5 160.5
Will 131 131.5
Julia
57 58.5
Joe 135.5
(he only got weighed once)
There
was a tie for the Minute To Win It contest between Daniel and Will so we had
one playoff game. I knew they would both accomplish it so I told them whoever
did it the fastest would be the winner. We played Wheel of a Deal: Contestant must
place 20 playing cards (four kings, four queens, four jacks, four 10's and four
aces) on five tables set in a circular pattern on the stage. The contestant
will grab one card at a time from a central table. Once they determine what the
card is, they will run and place that card on one of five tables. Each of the
five tables must have four-of-a-kind to complete the game. Daniel came
out the winner!
The
kids packed up all their belongings and we had our closing ceremony. Daniel received
the first place ribbon and Will the second place. And then I awarded the 3rd
place ribbon to Julia who beat Wes! He did say he would have done better if he
had been here during all the games. I told them about Julia’s idea of creating
their own MTWI games and asked them to try to come up with some of their own
games for next year.
It
was time to pack up and head out. Jill came over to ride with us to Julia’s 8th
and Will’s 14th birthday party at 2:00. Daniel rode with Wes. Camp was
officially over when we arrived at Scott and Tammy’s. It was a wonderful week.
Interviews: All five kids answered the
questions about each other as did grandpa and I. Only they answered what they
thought about their parents and their one thing that wanted to do during their
life.
What
they liked about Joe:
He
is sweet and kind. He lets me stay in his room to hang out.
He
is athletic, good kid, fun to hang around with.
He
is mature and responsible. He takes good care of his siblings.
He
is cool to hang out with. He gives me rides. He does stuff with me.
He
is fun to hang out with and is hard working.
He
is a swell kid. He works hard. Loves his grandpa!
What
they liked about Wes:
He works hard. He studies hard and loves his
grandpa!
He
is an individual. He cracks me up!
He
is my buddy at camp. He makes me laugh. He picks me up at weird times.
He
is very thoughtful and caring. He agrees to go along with whatever everyone
else wants to do.
He
is goofy, fun, and he’s cool.
Best
older brother ever! He drives me places and he’s funny.
What
they liked about Daniel:
He
takes me to my pool. He makes up funny jokes. Everything he sees he says is his
and he’s good at Frisbee golf.
He
studies hard. He does whatever grandpa asks and he loves his grandpa!
He
shares, he cooperates, he is somewhat goofy.
He
never forgets to say thank you. He is always helpful. He is fun to be with.
He
is mature for his age.
He
is very athletic and tall. Big Man On Campus!
What
they liked about Will:
He
does his own thing. He is very much an individual.
He
thinks outside the box. He is very creative and entertaining.
He
is still goofy, creative, and artistic.
He
is a funny boy. He always sees the funny part of life. And he loves his
grandpa!
He
makes me laugh. He lets me spend the night in his room. He shares everything.
He
has got his own cool imagination. He is a nice kid.
What they liked about Julia:
She
shares and is considerate.
She
is helpful and likes to do stuff with me, like swimming and special effects.
She
is very helpful. She is fun to be with. She has a terrific memory. She shares
and is very caring.
She
is caring and affectionate.
She
is a leader. She is cute.
She
is a smart girl. She works hard in school and loves her grandpa!!!
What
they thought about their Moms:
She
is helpful, well-rounded, and considerate.
She
cheers me up all the time and takes care of me when I’m sick. I just love her.
She
is protective and a great cook.
I
can go to her with any problem and she will listen. She is a good cook.
She
is fun to exercise with. She puts up with us. She is pretty and fun.
What
they thought about their Dads:
He
is cool. He’s a tall kid. He helps me with my projects and is artistically
creative.
He
always wants to play. He wants to teach me life lessons.
I
can talk baseball with him any time of the day.
He
makes funny noises. He is funny and I love him.
He
is competitive. He is hard working and financially responsible. He drives like
an old personJ.
What
is the one thing you would like to do before you die?
Joe: I
want to travel and visit all the continents.
Wes: I
want to get my own dog.
Daniel: I
want to go into space.
Will: I
want to make at least one successful movie.
Julia: I want to see a
4th of July parade and get married and have two kids, one boy and
one girl.
Thank you for being such wonderful
grandchildren and making me proud to be your grandma!