You know it's bad when even the soap needs to be washed...

After 2 weeks away, Zachary and Joey are home from Camp Kennolyn! Yesterday, less than 24 hours before picking them up, we finally received a letter from Joey. (excuse the hideous penmenship. Joey's writing is as bad as Zach's!)

My heart sank when I read the last sentence. He's been crying??!! I felt terrible and actually cried myself. This was the only letter he sent us, but we did get one from his counselor early on saying how great Joey was doing. I had images of him quietly crying to himself in his pillow at night. I was heartbroken.
Also, how were Pete and I ever going to get time away from the kids if they get homesick at camp?!! We have been counting down to the day when they will all 4 go away for 2 weeks. (3 more years!)




Needless to say, I wasn't sure what we were going to see at pick up. Thankfully Joey was all smiles and said he had a great time and definitely wants to go back next year (phew!). Not sure what to make of the letter, but I think he was a bit homesick in the evenings.


Pick up day started with all the cabins introducing themselves. The dark haired boy to the right of Zach is Keaton, the boy he met last year and really hit it off with. Zach is already looking forward to seeing him next summer. I love that about this camp--the same kids come back each year, giving the boys friends to come back to.

We spent the morning getting a glimpse of the boys doing the activities they had chosen. Zachary had riflery, swimming, tennis, archery, outdoor cooking, and hand built pottery.

Joey had archery, swimming, carpentry, outdoor cooking, riflery, and junior ropes.

I was happy to see that Zach and Joey had swimming together. I was also happy that they both chose swimming since they tend not to shower frequently at camp (2 or 3 times the entire 2 weeks. Blech!)
It was fun to see how they have improved in some of the activities compared to last year. They both did so well in archery!



Joey was so much more confident on the ropes course this year!

There was no hesitation as he climbed up the tree, then rode the zip line down

We then enjoyed a nice lunch together, before heading home.

As expected, the state and smell of their footlockers were beyond bad. All socks went straight in the trash. A few pants and shorts were also sacrificed. The rest went through the steam cycle.

Even the soap needed to be washed!