Science Camp

Last week we went to science camp for the first time up at Alliance Redwoods in Occidental. If you don't know where that it is, it's near Sebastopol. If you don't know where that is, it's near Napa, well kind of. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that we went. I have been meaning to go to science camp for a long time. At least 5 years now. I finally got my act together, packed our bags, piled us in the car, set the GPS and headed up to science camp. My wonderful in-laws graciously agreed to pay for the camp which helped immensely. The forecast said rain so I tried to be prepared. Have you ever packed three kids and a mom for four days taking into account that it may rain all four days and you will have no washer and dryer? We also had to bring all of our own linens-sleeping bags, pillows, towels, etc. When we arrived it was raining so hard it seemed like it was night even though it was only 1:30 in the afternoon. I was not impressed. After checking in we walked back to our cars in the rain to lug all of our stuff to our cabin which luckily was very close to the lodge. The cabin was adorable and had recently been updated. New floors, new paneling on the walls, new sleeping mats, a wall heater. Very nice and cozy. The bathroom was very close too. I wore my cute Ug boots up there but quickly changed out of my wet socks and put on my trusty rain boots to keep my feet nice and dry. Well, come to find out my not-s0-trusty rain boots had a hole in them and in a matter of minutes my second pair of socks were soaked. I only had two dry pairs left. Uh-oh. Then I put on my tennis shoes thinking surely my feet would quickly get wet in those. Surprisingly they kept my feet relatively dry. It's amazing how uncomfortable you are when your feet are wet and cold. Okay, dry, happy feet. I can do this. That's what I kept telling myself. We all headed up to the meeting room for our orientation. Since it was raining so hard we were all completely soaked by the time we reached the room. We all shed our soggy jackets and tried to dry out before the meeting started. Then the councelors announced that we would be doing an acitivity-outside!!! Get on your wet raincoats and get out there!I quickly found a faster way to complete the project without running all over in the rain. Justin was my runner and I wrote down all the information needed. Mission accomplished. We then had a nice dinner in the newly renovated dining hall, had a short devotional time and then headed to bed. I got the kids settled and nestled all cozy in their beds. Then I went to the lodge to check my email while they fell asleep so quietly in the cabin. Not! When I returned an hour later they were all wide awake making flashlight puppets. I should have known better. I then settled them down again and after a while we all went to sleep. Luckily the next day we woke up and it wasn't raining! Yay!!! I'm not sure I could have done four days in the rain. For the next two days we had beautiful weather. The kids were able to do so many fun things, almost all of them involved a harness and a helmet-a boy's dream. Both boys did great. Breanna was able to hold her own on the hikes and in the afternoon she went into a class for her age group called Puggles. I believe a puggle is a baby platypus. They did some of the same things as the older kids but on a different level. She loved it. I was able to have some free time in the afteroon when all the kids were in their classes. The lodge had free wi-fi so I brought my laptop and checked email, played on Facebook and followed my blogs. The kids all loved the classes, the counselors and the food was actually good. I know, camp food good? Yep. It was very yummy and I actually went for seconds a few times. I'm so thankful that it stopped raining on those two days. By Friday the rain had started up again so we opted to head home instead of to the beach. We made the right choice. We love going on trips but we also love coming home.