The Faces of Camp

Both girls attended YMCA's Camp Kici Yapi this year. It was Jia's third year and Willa's first year. Willa had spent the first two years trying to get on the bus to go to camp with Jia, so we knew she was ready.

We love this camp because not only do the kids have non-stop fun, they also learn about values such as responsibility, honesty, respect and caring. One day, for example, the camp had a contest to see which group could pick up the most trash. Another contest involved each group bringing in pennies and other coins to see which group could send the most disadvantaged kids to camp. (Jia told me she believed all kids should be able to attend camp, and raided her piggy bank to donate money to it.) At the end of the week, Willa told us all about each value and how important they are.

Added to this are exciting activities like canoeing, swimming, archery, horseback riding, tie-dying, cook-outs, games, arts and crafts and more. The girls also each went to camp with a bunch of friends this year, including cousin Han, which was very fun.

The camp even makes the bus ride a good time by singing and preparing cheers for when they arrive at Singing Hill. Or "Singing Hell" as Willa thought it was called. We informed her it wasn't. :-)

The girls' faces of camp were alternately eager, exhausted, dirty and excited!

Here they are on the first day, ready to get on the bus:

At the climbing tree at the bus stop:

Willa, a full-body paint cheetah:

Willa with her group:

 

Jia with her group (love her huge smile!):

Ready for Nautical Nonsense Day! Jia dressed as a pirate:

Willa as a mermaid:

Willa with good buddy McKenna - and more face-painting!

They're already excited for next year!

Riding the rails and trails

This weekend was all about transportation. We decided to check out the Minnesota Transportation Museum. The main focus there is trains. I'm not really into trains and neither are the girls, so I wasn't sure how it would all play out. I pictured dull old train displays and toddlers playing with toy trains. Yes, both of those were there, but thankfully, there was so much more. We all loved it! What a pleasant surprise.

We rode the rails a while.

 

  

 

We examined the roundhouse turntable (one of the last operating ones). Joe, a train enthusiast as a child, explained how it operates.

We inspected cool old train cars. The girls loved the multi-functionality of it all, and enjoyed peering into the various compartments.

 

 

 Engineer Willa.

Jia making a lot of noise.

 

And making even more noise.

Vintage bus.

The following day, we went on a bike adventure. The weather finally cooled off and it was the perfect day for biking. Our city really does biking right and we have trails around lakes, though prairie and to downtown.

We passed Target Field on the way.

We biked along the Mississippi River for a while.

Our journey ended downtown at the Stone Arch Bridge. What a great ride!

Dinosaurs!

There was much fun and screaming at our zoo's dinosaur exhibit.

This one sprayed everyone with water when it roared!

Learning how they're made.

Cavegirl Jia!

Pesto, Pickles and Parties

We've been having fun in the kitchen lately. We bought a bunch of produce at our favorite farmer's market, along with other pretty items:

Willa and I made four batches of pesto.

We also had a pickle contest! We used two different recipes and made two huge batches. The girls did ALL the slicing. It was Willa's first experience with a sharp knife and she did great.

 The contest resulted in a clear winner! It was unanimous (although both batches were quite tasty).

We also recently attended a surprise party for sweet Molly at the American Girl bistro.

 

I met Molly's mom through the blog world. They live in Florida and it has been such fun getting to see them when they visit and have the girls get to know each other!

Fashion and Flowers

We've been having fun with theme weeks again this summer. The girls particularly liked Fashion Week, where they designed clothes for their animals (alive and stuffed), tie-dyed clothes with the neighbors, and Jia discovered a new role model in Vera Wang. There are some great books out there about her.

We also liked Flowers week, which involved visiting pretty places, and lots of sniffing.

We are all looking forward to Magic week! I did a magic trick for Willa the other day (disappearing coin). She became very excited and ran over to me, hugged my leg and exclaimed, "Oh Mama, you're magical!" Love her.

Summer

It's flying by! It has been incredibly hot, but we've managed to have fun nonetheless. Here are some of the things we've been up to this summer:

Hitting the beach:

 

Going to nature play areas:

 

Dressing up friend Katie as a creepy woodland bride (actually, they didn't think it was creepy, but I did):

 

Fort building:

  

 

Hitting the zoo:

Enjoying the butterfly garden:

 

 

Having art class with the neighbors:

Dressing up:

Doing watermelon nails! I saw this great idea here.

 

 

The girls also spent four days rehearsing a play with the neighbors. They had it in front of our neighbor's garage, and set up curtains, chairs and a sound system. It was about a group of three girls who misbehave at school and cause all sorts of trouble for their teacher and principal.

 

It was raucous and slapsticky.

 

 

The girls won in the end, and the teacher and principal retired.

 Let's hope it all remains fictional!