There and back again: an epic family road trip

Family reunion in Iowa!

Nine days road-tripping with two small kids. What were we thinking?

Family reunion picnic!

Apparently, good things: we had a great time on our marathon journey through Iowa to Minnesota and home again. We spent time with dozens of friends and family members, tracked down a few long-lost sites and even, very uncharacteristically, slept in a few times. The kids loved it. Mommy and Daddy did too. Here are the highlights:

More family!

We began on a Saturday morning, with Grandpa following us. Spirits were high, and we needed no more than the occasional switching of carseasts into Grandpa's car to keep us happy. Elise was even too happy to nap! We arrived safely at the hotel and immediately set to racing around the hallways and jumping on the beds. Better theirs than mine, I suppose. I tried half-heartedly to calm them down but couldn't help smiling at their energy. I wondered how bedtime would work out.

Elise tolerating being held by
someone who's not Mommy
(Aunt Debbie)

Elise and Uncle Tom!

Our first activity was a kickoff for something like a family reunion. We met my aunts, uncles, cousins and more at a local restaurant. Then it was bedtime for my girls, and fireworks for everyone else (Uncle Tom + anytime close to Independence Day + an audience = fireworks, which I sorely missed!).

Catching up with family friend,
Prisiclla!

My strategy for getting Elise to be okay sleeping in a pack-and-play (and three different ones throughout the trip!) was to pretend it was the greatest thing ever. "Look, Elise, a NEW pack-and-play!" (she loves anything new). It worked, but maybe a little too well. So enchanted by her surroundings, Elise happily jabbered about them for a good 45 minutes, interspersed with the annoyed pleadings of her big sister to, "Be quiet and go to sleep, Elise!"

Matt runs a tight ship (feet on, hands
on, or you walk), but a fun
one as he entertains the kids!

Matt jumped at the excuse to hit the hay early--he headed to bed in hopes of being a calming presence. Now, the chorus I heard from my hideout in the bathroom (the only place I could have any light to read by), was, "Bibbity doh!" "Quiet, Elise!" "Shh, Kalina!" All were sleeping by 9 p.m.

Science Center in Des Moines, building
an arch! The blocks make great toddler
seats, but that doesn't get us very far!

The next day, after seeing a family friend, Priscilla, and two of her grandkids (who Matt graciously wheeled around in a luggage cart to keep them entertained in the hotel), we visited my college friend, Pat, and his wife, who were expecting a baby any day (still are, as far as I know). I'd intended on this trip to catch up with several old friends, some that I virtually have only seen on Facebook in the past 10 years--and so far, we were off to a great start. The girls cowered in fear from their over-excited beagle for an hour while the adults chatted--so, it worked well. Eventually, the dog calmed down, and so did the kiddos.

Bubbles! But when the wands started
to resemble weapons, we had to stop.

Afterward, scared off from doing naptime at my cousin's house because of a fever (and who wants to get sick on day two of a nine-day trip?) we returned to the hotel, where Matt and the kids napped and I relaxed with a good book. I wouldn't have requisitioned Matt to a dark, quiet room for two hours, but he again delighted at the opportunity for a little extra sleep.

Dominoes take serious concentration.

Then we headed out to a local park for an amazing, if humid, family picnic. The vast majority of my near relatives on my mom's side attended, and more than half engaged in a dripping game of ultimate Frisbee. Kalina and Elise both joined right in the general activities--although they'd barely met some of these extended family members, they seemed to feel right at home.

If you look closely, you can see them
on TV!

The next morning found us at the local science center, goofing off with Uncle David, Aunt Debbie, Grandpa, Uncle Tom and Angela. The highlight: when Kalina found a mini tornado exhibit and ushered us all to the safety of a cave exhibit in the vicinity. Uncle David kept wandering out, but the 4-year-old pulled him back in for his own good. No one got blown away.

Conveying food on the food
conveyor with Angela!

 Afterward, Matt happily volunteered for nap duty while I spent more time with family. And once everyone was awake, we visited an elementary school friend of mine and her two kids. By this time, Kalina and Elise, who had been enduring the, "Ew, don't lay down on the floor, it's dirty!" of public places far too long already, thoroughly enjoyed being able to stretch out at a real, nice house. Shy Kalina and shy Logan, my friend's 3 1/2-year-old daughter, hit it off and managed to construct a Duplo structure in complete silence, while Elise got hold of a pretend camera and couldn't seem to stop saying, "Cheese!"

At Jess's house.

Elise will be your friend if you offer
her a Dorito. During a picnic by
Clear Lake.

Then, another dinner with family and bedtime. On our way out of town Tuesday morning, north to Minnesota, the next day, we stopped by my friend Debbi's house to see her and meet her new baby. We further punctuated our 4 1/2-hour-journey, and in fact turned it into an 8-hour one, by stopping to see Candy, my mom's cousin; Matt's dad's family farm; and Matt's Uncle Eric. We also enjoyed the scenery--windmills, cows and corn get us all excited. The drive was a breeze.

At Matt's family's farm!
Barely pictured: bees.

Add caption

We finally arrived and Grandpa Les' and Grandma Jan's house in time for supper--and not a moment too late. The paint was still drying from their recent kitchen renovation. The girls could hardly contain their excitement, nor could Mommy at being in a clean, nice house well stocked with produce, as opposed to a hotel and restaurants. We played inside and out before putting the kids down for bed in their own rooms.

Kalina learned how to break
eggs all by herself for this
birthday cake project!

We took it easy all day Wednesday--making a birthday cake for Kalina and opening some grandparent gifts, playing outside with bubbles, a sprinkler and sidewalk chalk, reading stories and such. In the evening, we braved the heat for a campfire and smores. Crazy-delicious.

"Planting" paper flowers in her
birthday cake garden.

On Thursday, we headed to a local park, where Kalina made a new friend and Elise glued herself to a bouncy motorcycle. Vrooom! That evening, we were in for a special treat: Daddy rented a pontoon! He and Grandpa Les took a spin on it first--and spent a couple hours catching no fish whatsoever.

Happy birthday, Kalina! Again!

The rest of us picked up sandwiches and boarded as the day was beginning to cool off a bit. Initially a bit wary, Kalina got her "sea legs" with some practice. Elise preferred the driver's seat. We kept it slow, at Kalina's request, and tried to avoid any and all waves left by other boats.

Elise kept the marshmallows very safe
for us.

Soon, we'd found a nice little cove for dinner--and it wasn't long before Kalina was asking to fish. Matt agreed (a bit reluctantly only because he'd been left empty-handed). Soon, her rod was in the water--and shortly thereafter, enthusiastic Elise's new rod was, too.

Look how far back we had to sit from
this nice little fire after a 100-degree day.

And then...a bite! Elise had caught a nice, little sunfish! How big is the fish, Elise? "Biiiiiggg!" said the little girl, arms spread wide. Everyone admired and Elise carefully petted the fish before helping Daddy send it back to its home. Re-baited, the hook when back in. And then...another bite! Another sunfish! We were starting to feel bad for Kalina when...a bite! She'd caught a smallmouth bass! She proudly showed off her fish and let Elise pet it, too.

Vroom! No doubt Elise will be asking
for a motorcycle as soon as she can
say the word. We'll pretend not to
understand her as long as we can.

Boating with Grandma!

On the way back, we saw an osprey feeding a sunfish to her nest of young. Not a coincidence.

Boating with Grandma 2!

We gave Elise the wheel for a while.

Two drowsy little fishergirls hopped off the boat just as the sun was beginning to think about setting (so, around 8:00 p.m.). They slept quite well.

Elise's first fish on her new pole!

Friday morning we headed to Como Zoo, as the weather was supposed to be a bit cooler. It was not. We all melted outside, but not until we'd seen a few hardy animals and one poor seal that looked like it could use a cool drink and possibly a refrigerator to hang out in. We also checked out the amusement park so that Kalina could see what one looks like. But that was enough.

Kalina graciously letting Elise pet
her fish.

Indoors at the zoo, we took a look at some live-animal exhibits (Daddy got dragged back and forth between the snakes, as both girls have caught on that he likes them) and panted our way through some heated, humid greenhouse areas that are just lovely in the cold, snowy winter. The biggest hit was the children's play area, where Elise could play with water to her heart's content, and Kalina could feed pretend zoo animals pretend food (there is no exhibit anywhere that is more up her alley). They also planted and watered a garden with Grandma, and Elise rode on a zebra.

We weren't really supposed to be on
these giraffes, so we only had a
quick ride.

Gardening with Grandma!

Back home, we enjoyed stories, games and playtime and...frozen yogurt! We decided Kalina needed a Mommy-Grandma-Kalina outing and we headed to a new shop. It was an instant hit (not that any of us harbored much doubt).

These zoo animals were very well fed.

On Saturday morning, we packed up and faced the terrible task of wresting Kalina away from her grandparents' house. There were tears inside the car and out, and Kalina decided that life would never be happy again. However, equal amounts of granola bar and planning about when we might see Grandma and Grandpa again cheered her right up.

Not supposed to ride this,
either, but that possibly
only made it more fun.

The final leg of our trip looked back at our college days! We met Jess and Curtis, friends who we'd known from Iowa State, and their kids on campus. With five children between the two families and pretty intense heat, we took it slow: a short lap that included the famous campanile and Lake Laverne--and the swans even showed up to greet us. Soon, we were on our way to our favorite old restaurant, Hickory Park. The menu, prices and food had barely changed in the near-decade since we'd last eaten there. We celebrated with ice cream.

We will be back to this yogurt place!

That night, we stayed at our friends' house--enjoying seeing all our kids play together and, once they'd fallen asleep, playing games like we used to do on occasion a lifetime ago. It was possibly a little too much fun, however, as we stayed up a little too late since we hadn't planned for Elise waking for the next day at 4:50 a.m. But we couldn't complain: both girls had slept great the whole trip. We sleepily left for home and pulled out all the special toys we'd saved for this most wearisome leg of the journey.

Elise picked me a flower!

Kalina has been wanting to
climb a tree, and we found
the perfect one in the 

At home, we were met by Grandpa Tom, who played with the giddy children while Matt and I scurried around unpacking.







Truly a wonderful trip, and truly wonderful to be back home!

Jess, Curtis, Isaac, Lily, Cora, and our
family on the ISU campus!

Yum! Hickory Park. Elise loved sitting
next to the baby.

P.S., please forgive the awful formatting! I did my best!

Kalina at 4

Let's begin by saying that I love 3. The kitten escapades, the endless curiosity and the penchant for stories all come to mind. Learning how to do "big girl" things, showing true depth of thought and empathy, and making up songs about anything and everything. And the cute things Kalina says, and thinks, and how wonderfully little she still is. Can't she be 3 forever?

But she can't, and 4 has pleasantly surprised me by being 3, but even more so. So far, we enjoy even more complex kitten escapades, Kalina artwork that sometimes makes sense (but it's okay if it doesn't, too), invented words, silly jokes, and truly original thinking. Logic, a sense of order, and patience are all lovely traits, too.

Uncle Alan and Autn Diane visited!

During her threes, Kalina went from purely shy to jubilantly friendly, and from often frustrated to an increasingly able problem solver. She's attuned to herself--her feelings and needs--beyond her years and  openly apologizes for wrongs better than many adults. She can now actively play with other kids--and actively play without anyone. Animal caretaking is still a top priority, yet she recently left the house without an animal friend and survived--even thrived--for about the first time since she could walk.

Still sugar-sweet, Kalina cheers me up, and Elise, and Daddy, and random strangers in the grocery store, I'm quite confident. She makes me think about things I've never thought about before (and not just, "Is God allowed to run through traffic?") She's ever-loyal, and honest.

What's a cat party without matching
cat outfits?

The girl who never wanted to bother with numbers can count past 100, frequently cites a trillion, and adds a little bit. She writes her name (albeit never left to right), draws balloons, houseboats and mouse kennels, and holds rhythm better than many elementary-schoolers according to a music teacher friend of mine. She dances her own, lovely version of ballet to classical music, and teaches Elise how to do cool things like that, too. Kalina can find and name all states where friends and family members live. And she can read (a little) and spell (inventively, but well). She knows how to raise plants and baby kittens, almost always asks permission, and never runs into the street. She recently learned how to pump herself pretty high in the swing, which also required overcoming her fear of swinging high.

No, she's not the perfect person. But Kalina is nothing short of amazing.

The party table!

As you would probably guess, Kalina decided to have a kitten party to celebrate her new age. Actually, it was going to be a kitten/lamb/bunny party, but we simplified lest I have to track down party paraphernalia representing three different species. Would she rather do something special with her family? No. Would she rather go someplace fun? No. A kitten party we would have. I couldn't have been more excited.

In years past, our house has been too small for parties of almost any kind--especially with kids around. Not the case, this year. I excitedly typed, "cat party" into Google. After seeing too many pictures of cats in party hats, I changed my search to, "cat birthday party." Even worse. But...by adding "kids," I soon accessed a wealth of ideas--even improved upon since our previous cat party when Kalina turned 2.

What's not to love about
chocolate kittens?

It took only a nanosecond for me to decide we'd be providing each guest with a small (cheap) stuffed kitten at the party. After all, Kalina, who's very fond of her friends, would like nothing more than to play "kittens" with them--and offering them a free cat might be the only way to convince them to even come close to sharing her enthusiasm. After all, four-year-olds ask far too many questions to simply humor someone.

After much deliberating, I involved Kalina in almost all of the planning and preparations. She made the final decisions on which stuffed kittens to buy, she helped bake the cupcakes, and she went to the store with me to pick up balloons. After all, that's half the fun. She was pleasantly surprised, however, to see her cupcakes decorated like kittens when she awoke on birthday party morning.

I'll admit that poor Kalina was a bit confused as to when, exactly, she'd be turning 4. "Now am I 4?" she'd ask throughout the day. In truth, Matt and I hadn't quite decided--should we officially celebrate over the weekend, when he's around, or on her real birthday, two days before we were heading out of town on a giant trip? In the end, I couldn't lie to my child. So we'll end up celebrating "birthday week," hopefully to culminate in frozen yogurt at exactly 3:45 on Thursday, followed by one or two presents and any cards she receives in the mail.

But nothing could be more festive than a kitten party, in Kalina's opinion, anyway, so Saturday morning was the highest of highs. She and Elise wandered around with armfuls of balloons while Matt and I frantically put the finishing touches on the decorations, food and craft activities.

Molly, Madeline, Elise, Kalina
playing at the vet's office.

Kalina could hardly wait to welcome her guests. Soon, six small girls (including Kalina and Elise; it ended up being a small party--and we don't actually know any boys Kalina's age, by the way) were darting around the family room. That's when I brought in the kittens, in a basket.

Both of my girls had known for at least a week or two that they would be getting a kitten at Kalina's party (which Elise thought was her party, too, for her birthday, too, but no one really minded). They dove in, and the other girls followed.

Then we made beaded collars for them, complete with name tags (Kalina named her kitten Emily, and Elise named hers Meow). And kitten carriers, with stickers. The kittens all visited the vet (Kalina's had a broken leg that veterinarian Madeline mended) and the bathtub. Soon, they were in tip-top shape, and it was all pretty adorable. Elise, by the way, was an active participant in everything--from directing Grandpa in the exact specifications of her sticker-adorned cat carrier to scrubbing her kitten in the tub. I think she thinks she's 4, too.

Molly, Kalina, Madeline, Juliette.

 The kitten cupcakes were a hit, Elise sang along, in her own little way, to "Happy Birthday," and each candle was extinguished with minimal spittle. The party was perhaps quieter than some, but fun nonetheless. Kalina loved it.

The next day, after a visit from Uncle Alan and Aunt Diane, we opened family birthday presents with Kalina. We hadn't accounted for how zonked the child would be from all the activity, nor how quickly she would dive in. What resulted was that all the presents were unwrapped at record speed, and that she was really too tired to play with most of them.

However, that didn't stop her from wanting to have Daddy set up her brand new BIKE!

It was with great confidence that Kalina informed us she was ready for a big girl bike--after months of trike practice. After all, the neighbor girl, age 4, has one. And it was with a healthy measure of doubt that we actually decided to give her one for her birthday. This was followed up by extreme terror on my part as we took her for her first ride, later in the day. 

Kalina saddled up (she calls her seat the saddle--and please don't anyone tell her differently) and pushed off, apparently not knowing that she might tip over, and if she did, there would be blood. And then, with only a little help from Daddy going up a hill, she rode! A bike! All by herself! And liked it! (With training wheels, of course.)

Elise and I followed on the toddler's "new" big-girl trike as Matt walked along beside Kalina--hanging on nearly tight enough for my taste. I was glad Kalina couldn't see my face and only heard, "Wow, Kalina, all that trike practice really paid off!" rather than my silent shrieks as she pedaled too close to the curb or went a bit faster than was comfortable for me.

We worked on braking, with Matt carefully letting her approach parked vehicles while patiently (too patiently?) reminding her to brake, helping her figure out how to steer a little but not a lot, and catching her when she would've fallen over otherwise (yikes!). He cautioned her against coasting down a large hill all by herself. 

Presents!

Kalina made it all the way around the block and would've gone further if she hadn't been hot and tired. Her kitten had fun, too, in the handlebar bag.

Elise has started to insist I not push her on the trike--but before she gets anywhere with that, will have to learn to pedal. Little Meow also had fun.

Continuing on with birthday week, Kalina tried her bike again Wednesday night. We made it a couple hundred feet in tiny increments before we all walked home. Whew, for a second, I barely recognized Kalina--glad she's back!

Guess what's in the big box!

Birthday morning dawned sunny and sweet. It took Kalina a little prompting to remember the occasion, but that didn't stop her from milking it the rest of the day ("I can flush twice, Mommy, it's my birthday!" "We should have three stories, it's my birthday!"). But it was all said with a smile, and that's pretty much all I ask on a birthday. Within limits, of course.

What did Kalina want to do for her big day? Stay home and craft. With temps of 108 degree anticipated, that was fine by me. While the birthday probably wasn't the most exciting ever, that's exactly what we needed. Vacation was two days away, and we'd already had our fill of busy-ness for the week/month/season.

Elise made sure the Hello Kitty
plates were in the picture.

So we crafted. We mixed clay, and we made a pom-pom caterpillar. We also did a puzzle, ate a picnic snack in the yard, took Kalina's new umbrella for a run in the sprinkler, pretended to be squirrels gathering nuts, and whatnot, interspersed with some cleaning and other chores that needed doing before the trip. We had fish sticks for lunch, and I let Kalina get up from her "downtime" early and watch a little TV.

Then Grandpa arrived, and the true festivities began. We headed out for frozen yogurt (and to get keys made for our upcoming trip), and then back home for more low-key playtime. When Daddy got home, we opened cards and the two remaining presents.

Me, my birthday girl, and her fawn.

I'm not sure for how many birthdays I'll be getting Kalina stuffed animals, but it's become clear that a new "friend" is a sure way to light up the girl's day. We already have a million, and she plays with them all, so what's one more? At 4, she's the proud owner of a new little fawn that she named Lilac. She's in love, and this little deer, which she's essentially been asking for for a year or so, rivals the bike as the favorite present.

We had hot dogs for dinner, of course, followed by leftover kitten cupcakes (they went over as well the second time as the first).

And then we did read two stories for bedtime, and the second one twice. After all, you only turn 4 once--we have to make it special.

Happy birthday Kalina! We love you and thank God for you every day!

Camp and Mommy Camp

My big girl won't be wearing
that shirt much longer!

Kalina loved her year of preschool! Yay! And now she gets to attend a week of summer camp at the same place with the same teacher and some of the same kids! Double yay!

Kalina was excited, too, until the first morning arrived. "I don't want to go to camp," she moaned into her Grape Nuts. Yet I coaxed her into the car, promising preschool-like adventures (by which I meant quiet crafting and stories) and awesome snacks (like a cookie).

But when we walked into her old preschool classroom, it all looked different. And to my sensitive child, different, at this point, was not okay. She burst into tears when I suggested I'd leave, ramping up her reaction until she was the hysterical child her teacher had never guessed was behind that sweet smile, and I was the unprepared parent, virtually powerless to stop the storm short of giving up and lugging her home (or following her home, as she was pretty much already on her way).

At Grant's Farm with my
friend Allison, who came
for a visit, much to my
girls' delight!

Elise, by the way, was delighted to be heading to camp (although not so much when she thought I was going to leave). She dug into the first-day activities with gusto, oblivious to the fact that she was the littlest "camper" in the room. And so "Mommy Camp" was born.


My original plan was to grocery shop, clean and spend quality time with my littlest while my oldest crafted, sang and explored to her heart's content. Instead, Elise and I played for three solid hours in the busy kids' museum (we were both really over-stimulated afterwards) while checking in with our emotional roller coaster whenever it seemed like it would help. A mom friend of mine, whose child, also at camp and super-attached but not nearly so loud, helped spy on my girl so I wouldn't upset the apple cart by sticking my nose into the classroom at the wrong time. Despite the fact that my nerves were shot by the end, Kalina managed to complete Day 1 of camp and Elise and I got the quality time we'd been hoping for. However, Kalina let me know she was done with camp and would just stay home tomorrow.

Allison, Julie (and her baby) and I,
all friends from high school.

So, what to do about days 2-5? Should I force it? Isn't camp supposed to be fun? Wouldn't we all be happier if we wrote it off as a loss and hoped for better days ahead with preschool this fall? Everything from, "It's good for her," to, "But we already paid for it!" ran through my head. Still, I have to admit that Matt was the main motivation for me to keep going, and as he has a desk job, it became my job to be Kalina's motivation. At which I failed, miserably.

However, Daddy did rescue Monday night in a stroke of sheer brilliance by reminding Kalina she only had four days left of camp. "But I will miss camp!" wailed the reverse psychology victim herself. And she resolved to march herself right in the door the next morning and push me out. Thanks, Daddy!

On Tuesday, Kalina darted off for camp and I, hardly able to believe my eyes, carted Elise out the door for our second day of Mommy Camp. We began at a shady park that wasn't too hot yet, and split a peach waffle to make it festive (yes, the park was selling waffles). After all, she was at camp. Back at home, I hauled some old favorite toys up from the basement and Elise happily strew them across the family room as I accomplished a sizable amount of housework.

Orange, purple and blue popsicle
tongues, respectively.

It was a good day for Kalina at camp: despite some self-proclaimed ups and downs, she got to play in the vet clinic, and she made a pumpkin from an orange and named it Leaf. Nevertheless, she wouldn't be returning the next day. Or so she told me. We ignored the issue in favor of having a pleasant afternoon: continuing on the summer fun theme, we devoured some popsicles and ran through the sprinkler.

Day 3 of camp, Wednesday, was our all-time low. Fueled by an indecisive mommy, Kalina's anxiety reached an all-time high. As did mine. Once the eyebrow-raising  kicking and screaming were over, Kalina managed to have a blast "growing" snow, pretend ice-skating and making a marshmallow snowman. After delightedly growing her own snow at home, she informed me she wouldn't go to camp any more.

My cousin and his family came for
a visit, at Grandpa's house!

Mommy camp was tainted by my pounding heart (camp is not for the weak), but Elise and I managed to have a nice enough time at another park, the farmer's market and cleaning the bathrooms (which she enjoyed so much that she even refused to go play in the "forbidden" realm of her sister's room). By this point, while Elise had gotten used to the routine of dropping Kalina off at camp every morning, she missed her sister and asked for her all the time: "This would be much more fun if Kalina were here!" Usually I agreed--but not while cleaning bathrooms.

On Day 4 eve, after some discussion, Matt and I decided to keep going with camp. Clearly Kalina was having some fun, and clearly she had some anxiety issues to overcome.

And on Day 4 morning, I used my best assertive voice to put the kabosh on any thought of skipping camp, or whining about it, for that matter.

Enjoying watermelon with
cousin Anna
(matching shoes!)

And do you know what? It worked! Kalina readied herself for camp in record time, and held off the tears until we had arrived. Once she'd been pulled away in a hug by her teacher, she thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Elise and I did too! We vacuumed the upstairs in time for a trip to "Tot Time" at the local pool. Elise loves everything to do with water: pouring it, drinking it, bathing in it, wading in it--you name it. Plus, it'd been hot all week. And after 15 minutes of sunscreening, we were ready. We arrived at the kids' pool about when the clouds did, and shivered through 20-ish minutes of playtime before warming up the blueish toddler in a towel and diving in for a little more. Elise splashed with her hands and feet, practiced swimming until Mommy was too tired of being stooped over holding her to continue, and waded up to her chest. She wasn't thrilled to leave, but quieted on the promise that we'd bring Kalina with us sometime soon.

Elise's new friend, cousin Mary.

We dashed home to change and then picked up our cheerful Kalina. Who insisted that she would definitely not go back to camp the next day.

On Day 5, Kalina's anxiety again got the better of her, but she cheered up quickly after we dropped her off (according to her teacher). Meanwhile, Elise and I headed out to a park playdate with a few girls roughly her age, and then to pick up gift cards for Kalina's camp teachers for all their extra effort this week on my daughter's behalf. The teachers really appreciated them.

After it was all over, Kalina greatly missed camp. But would she go back again if given the choice? She'd much rather attend Mommy Camp with Elise--and Elise was thrilled to hear it!