I survived camp....with #2!

I don't write "survive" as I laugh....I truly mean that #2 and I survived camp together.  See....#2 and I are identical...almost like looking in the mirror.  So I knew that this was an experience that either I would enjoy....or I would beg not to go back with him next year.  As #3 would say "Good luck that we had a good time"....and we'll be going back to camp together next year.

It all started last week with me sick to my stomach that I had to drive a van.  Not a mini-van, but a van that is the size of a semi-truck....Okay, it's not that big, but it shakes and it hard to control and I was sick that I even had to drive a bunch of kiddos in this thing.  When I tell you that we prayed each and every time we got in that van in so exaggeration.  We got to camp in one piece.....my white knuckles and sore muscles are a different story. 

If you don't know, #2 is allergic to latex.  He doesn't really care about his allergy....that is also not an exaggeration.  This is a kid that picked up a balloon one time and thought that just because it doesn't have air in it, then it must not be latex.  Nice.  We have to watch him all the time....in every sport, in every place he enters....he just doesn't get it. 

So we enter McDonald's for lunch with all these camp kiddos.  Happy meals are going everywhere and in the middle of me passing out food, #2 comes up to me and says "I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to eat this".....HOLY COW IT'S STRAWBERRY/BANANA YOGURT!!!!!!  Wait....did #2 just realize that he wasn't supposed to eat bananas because he's allergic to them!?!?!?!?  Time stood still as I hug him and tell him how proud I am that he caught this before he ate it.  And then time began when kiddos got louder for more happy meals. 

We really had a fabulous week at camp.  #2 was in heaven when he found out that he could eat whatever he wanted and as much as he could handle.  One of the meals for lunch was grilled cheese, chips, veggies and dip.  This is what #2 got....

....yes, that's chips, carrots and cocoa puffs....with a fork.  I truly don't know how this kid is gonna survive when he gets older.  He also was very excited that cotton candy was given at one of our lunches....and he got it before he ate his lunch....cuz I mean, what if thousands of pounds of cotton candy went away in 45 minutes?!?!!?!??

At one point, I did ask #2 where his drawstring bag was....
#2:  It's in the room.
Me:  Don't you need it?
#2:  No, my Bible cover came off?
Me:  Wait, how did your Bible cover come off?
#2:  When you use the Bible a lot, it gets worn.
(sounds fishy)
Me:  Don't you need your bag for your epi-pen?
#2:  Oh, I didn't get my epi-pen....so I haven't been carrying it around with me.
Me:  If you don't get your epi-pen, don't come crying to me if you die.
#2:  I won't....if I die, I won't necessarily need it, right?

UGH!!!  This kid just comes up with this from the top of his head....no waiting....no pausing....just as smart alleck as his mother. 


The coolest part of our camp is how accommodating the staff was to #2's latex allergy.  I know that they do the same thing around the USA with the CentriKid camps, but I was always bummed that #1 couldn't participate in the big OMC (organized mass chaos) event that they promote all week long.  So I did a lot of calling and e-mailing and when I got to camp, they did tell me that balloons would be present, but that they totally went away from latex gloves in the kitchen.  So I was bummed that #2 couldn't do OMC, but I did let #2 know that before we went to camp.  Well, on OMC day, the director came to me and handed me a stack full of paper and told me that #2 would have his own bucket of items and he could participate.  I was elated and so was #2!!!!  The part that made my heart melt is that two of his little friends wanted to do #2's OMC with him.  Talk about having to keep it together!  This is showing the love of Christ friends....and I was so honored to witness it!  So in the end, this is what #2 and I looked like.....

We came home Thursday and it was great to see Hubby and #1 and #3.  Lots of hugs were given, stories were told and naps were taken.  This picture makes me happy.....cuz it shows us back to our life by numbers.....