Fun in Katy

While Kaitlynn was at Carolina Creek summer camp, Connor and I had other exciting plans. Connor was thrilled to be able to spend the week with two of his best friends, Felipe and Jayden, back in Katy. His favorite memories for the week included the incredible cooking and baking by Felipe's mom, Teresa, as well as the "epic" ping pong battles with Jayden's family. What a blessing that he could enjoy all the extra time together during one of our final weeks in Texas.

 

Meanwhile, with Kaitlynn at camp and Connor in Katy, I had the ultimate privilege of traveling to White Oak and staying with my parents for a whole week - kid free! Woohoo!! It was the vacation I never knew that I needed. My mom and I enjoyed several shopping days and lots of yummy lunches together. I never managed any photos, but it was some much-needed girl time for my sweet mother and me. :-)

Another fun outing during my week with my parents was a visit to my dad's new golf course in Gladewater. He had been so excited about the development and construction of this course, so I asked him to show me in person. What a beautiful golf course!

 

 

Back in White Oak, I couldn't resist saying hello to Kaitlynn's favorite dog in the world, Boo. Sweet Boo was all grown up from the little puppy that had visited Katy last fall.

 

 



When I picked Kaitlynn up from her week of camp, we drove straight to pick up Connor from Jayden's house. They may have actually been excited to see each other for once, ha!

 

 

While driving to pick up Connor, I reached out to Kevin to see if he could join us for one last lunch in Katy. We would be returning to Dubai soon and were glad he could get away to enjoy some Mexican food with us. When we arrived at Lupe Tortilla, I was shocked when I saw not just Kevin but also Collin walking into the restaurant. What a fun surprise! I hadn't realized that Collin was in town, and it was awesome to have the four siblings reunited for a short time. During lunch, we managed to surprise Jeff with a phone call from all four of his kids. So neat!

 



 

Kaitlynn's Week at Carolina Creek

Out of her entire summer in Texas, Kaitlynn had been the most excited about a very special week in late July. It would be her very first overnight camp, with her longest and best friend Anais. These two were all smiles when it was finally time for their week of camp at Carolina Creek.

Connor had attended the same camp earlier in the month and raved about it, so Kaitlynn couldn't wait to get there and check it out. When we arrived, we were all blown away by how cool it looked. The entire camp was decorated in a Noah's Ark theme with animals on the cabins and a big Noah's Ark for the recreation room. The pool area was a huge waterpark called The Ocean where the campers would be swimming and playing during the week. It was awesome!

Kaitlynn and Anais were assigned to the Giraffe cabin on the upstairs floor. The cabins were so nice inside, with each floor containing about 12 bunkbeds and an attached bath/shower room. The cabin even had a fireman pole to slide down from the top floor.

Kaitlynn and Anais found their bunks and loved their assigned areas. Kaitlynn began immediately decorating her corner with her things, while the other campers began to arrive and get settled in.

Before we knew it, the time had come to say goodbye. Kaitlynn had been hugging me over and over as she was getting settled in the cabin, so I knew she was starting to feel some nerves about being away for the week. It was her very first overnight camp, after all, and we had talked about how she might feel homesick along with some ideas for how to handle it. After our final hugs and kisses, we said goodbye and wished the girls an awesome week of camp.

I was so excited for Kaitlynn's amazing week ahead, and I was already prepared to stalk the camp's website for the daily photos they would be posting. Throughout the week, it was such a treat to see the pictures of all the fun they were having. It warmed my heart to see the huge smiles and all of the cool activities. Here are some of the photos of the girls from their camp adventures.

Oh my goodness, what FUN! When it was finally time to pick Kaitlynn up from camp, I couldn't wait to see her and hear about her week. As I drove up and pulled in front of her cabin to load her things, I suddenly saw Kaitlynn's group emerging from the cafeteria building. She saw me and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Mommy! Mommy!" She ran full speed over to me and leapt into my arms, immediately bursting into tears of joy. Oh, my mommy heart! It was the sweetest reunion and I was so happy to see her again.

After our long hug, I loaded the car and parked. All of the campers were reuniting with their families and excitedly telling stories from their amazing week of camp. When I asked Kaitlynn how she enjoyed it, she replied simply, "Awesome!!" Same exact reaction that Connor had the previous month.

The counselors gathered the girls and presented them with their character certificates, declaring a character quality each camper exhibited during their week of camp.

We took some photos of the girls and their cabin group before saying goodbye for the summer. Both Kaitlynn and Anais were already making plans to attend camp again next year. Love these sweet friends!