Camp Schaefer

No writing this week. Instead, my husband and I offered Camp Schaefer again to our niece and nephew.

It was a wonderful week of activities, energy and giggles. The new attraction this year was the hammock. When I was young and traveled to Pittsfield, MA to visit my grandmother and Uncle Louis, I read books for hours in their hammock. What could be better than swaying back and forth under a shady tree and reading one chapter book after another?

So, you can imagine my joy when Leah, age 7, came to me on the second day and asked if she could go outside and read in our hammock. Three beginning chapter books and 100 Duke (our 80 pound dog) kisses later, she returned.

This year the kids had "secret" projects. Every afternoon Spencer ran down to my husband's woodworking shop where they constructed a birdhouse with power tools. Yep, power tools. Even though Spencer never spoiled his surprise by telling us what he was making, he always shared his excitement for the "tool of the day."

Leah wanted to learn to sew. She decided to make a permanent pillow for the . . . hammock. She chose the fabric, sewed the two large squares together on the sewing machine. She turned the pillowcase inside out and pressed it with the iron (another new adventure which she handled beautifully). Then she stuffed her case and hand sewed the opening closed. Her hand stitches were meticulous - small, close and even. I was quite impressed!

The unveiling took place on Friday night. Both children were in awe of what the other had created. (I can't believe that a whole week passed without one of them spilling the beans!)

The rest of the days were spent picking vegetables, cooking, cleaning-up, horseback riding and tubing down a river. One morning we packed up our equipment and went to the National Forest close to our home. Even though it was 92 degrees outside, we weren't hot at all. We stood in a stream (maybe the water was 50 degrees, maybe) and screened for gems. Yep! Each child had a screen mounted on a wooden frame and a trowel. Both kids scooped gravel, sand and small stones on top of their screens, then swished the screen in the water, rinsed and examined. They found mica, quartz, many minerals, and perhaps some fools gold. Two hours passed quickly and we were home for lunch, although our feet were chilly until much later in the day.

On the last night we had the quintessential campfire with hot dogs and smores and two hours later enjoyed one of summer's truly great thunderstorms.

Of course, there was lots of reading all week long. And every night we cuddled on the couch and read 3-5 chapters of a semi-scary novel that Spencer had selected. And then bed. Ahhhhh, bed.

As I said earlier, I didn't write a word this week. I simply enjoyed. For five days I was ten years old again and I saw summer as only a child can. Ted and I try to make Camp Schaefer a great experience for the kids, but in the end, it's a blast for us, too!