Camp OBX Day 21, August 16 2009

It's final packing and goodbye day for all campers!

Wow, camp certainly has flown by. How did that happen?

C discovers that she and Henry are kindred spirits. We print a picture for her of them together even though the printer refuses to print cyan. Thus it looks very artsy.

Suitcases are loaded into the car. Ben & Heidi head out before Em. They are all meeting in *New Jersey* for a week of sun and fun with the D gang.

Em & the kips load their needs for the week leaving other things to be picked up on camp bonus day next Sunday.

Soon it is wave good bye time.

Camp OBX 2009 signing off!

Camp OBX Day 20, August 15 2009

Ben & Heidi, Camille and Brendan have arrived from Northern Virginia in the dark of night. It's their first visit to Camp OBX and we're excited they are here.

In the morning, M & L show cousins C & B all the high features of Camp OBX and then after a relaxing start to an OBX day the group preps for lunch at Kill Devil's and a trip to the aquarium.

The aquarium always provides just the right amount of entertainment.
M gets to touch a skate and take some pictures of the sharks. He finds some great shots!

Home again Donny & I leave the parents in charge. Drew & Lisa are having a good bye party for Ian. He is headed to Army basic training. Drew & Lisa always throw a comfortable party and this is no exception. We get in some long overdue visiting with folks. We make plans with George & Lynda for dinner and a movie Monday evening.

Approaching the last day of Camp OBX!

Camp OBX Day 19, August 14 2009

Emily has arrived in the night! Yipee, we love Parent's Days at camp.

Shopping for school clothes is on the schedule. M is less than enthused but chooses to go. While L & Em empty Gymboree, M & I explore shark's teeth at Michael's Gems and Glass. Some are $500+ and are thousands of years old. M picks two much more reasonably priced and we negotiate getting them and paying. We have to attract the one saleslady's attention to unlock the case (the store is packed) and then wait while she checks out other customers in line to pay back at the counter before we can escape with our treasures, a Great White tooth and a Mako.

Of course, L wants a shark's tooth too when she sees M's so it's back to Michael's to repeat the whole thing.

When we get home we mix up kid in a bubble solution and find that it works pretty well despite having to make do without glycerin which is the key factor to a sturdy bubble.

It's early supper and to bed for campers. More cousins arrive tomorrow!

Camp OBX Day 18, August 13 2009

We have a few days before the last hooray at Camp OBX. It is time to do some grocery shopping. Everyone gets to go. Small person sized carts always make for a good grocery time.

Camp administrator, Donny has gotten the spiffy new, more pixels and definitely water proof, camera he ordered today and is very pleased that it is just as perfect as he intended.

I have fixed an old Transformers tape that had come off its reel and the kids are truly impressed. I have done this many times before but not for awhile. We were always having to fix broken videos when the guys were younger. Not too complicated but it has taken me a few days to discern exactly how this particular one fit back together, always a challenge. The retaping to the reel is the easy part. Keeping up with a tab, a gear and a spring and where each goes can be smooth or frustrating. Two days of frustration and finally success with a snap back together.

Good Night from Miss Fix-It at Camp OBX.

Camp OBX Day 17, August 12 2009

It's last day for the cousins from Richmond. We all go to the beach save Jake & Donny. It is another good bogey board day and Martin makes yet another personal discovery. Bogey boarding is easy and fun.

After dips in Lake Atlantic and much sand digging it is time for eats. M & L and I need to make a quick stop at K-Mart. M needs Megatron to do battle with his Optimus Prime Transformer he got yesterday. L gets one more FurReal, another but different little kitty.

We go to Kill Devil's for our usual fare, plain grilled chicken wrap for L, hot dog for M and of course ice cream sundaes.

At home the Richmond gang is packing up and prepping for an evening ride home when traffic is more manageable. We bid adieu and truck off to Slice, just the four of us.

Just a few more days before Camp OBX 2009 is officially over!

Camp OBX Day 16, August 11 2009

Stacy & Pete have taken their troops to the aquarium and a romp on Jockey's Ridge. Jake stays home but decides to join M & L & myself in a game of mini-golf. Everyone gets a hole in one! Can't ask for much better than that.

After our game hunger sets in and we decide to head off to Kill Devil's for some summer time fun food. But first we want to stop at the K-Mart to shop, another camp regular attraction that has yet to be checked off of the list. M gets General Grievous and L a FurReal pet parrot. Jake finds a cd for his dad. And a huge reading book. He says it is a gift to his mom, she will be very excited that he is reading a tome.

Donny is on his way to the Y to see Lewis' basketball game and will meet us at the fun pool to bring bathing suits so we can take a dip in the fun pool. When we get there it has closed for thunder but will reopen in 30 minutes. Time enough for us to slip back to the K-Mart, Jake has bought the wrong decade cd set. It's an okay set but not his dads' favorite decade. Jake gets the new cd, I tell him to keep the other and now he has gifts for both folks. M gets a Transformer that he has been eying. L gets another FurReal pet, this time a little kitty.

Back at the fun pool, it has reopened and we are practically the only ones there. Donny comes by, the game was good. Lewis played well.

Soon it is home time.

Another daily report from Camp OBX

Camp OBX Day 15, August 10 2009

Cousins, cousins everywhere. Stacy & Pete take their gang off to the beach and L and I decide to play tourist and join them in the heat of the day. The boys beg off. It's a great day for a kid to play in the surf and learn some bogey boarding skills. We're at Ocean Bay, favored tourist headquarters with young kids as there are bathrooms, plus it is just across the highway from our neck of the woods. T-Mike, esteemed leader of all the KDH lifeguards, stops by to say hi and points out Dave, second in command, in the Banana Boat giving rides to the guards to stave off their boredom.

An evening swim in the bay for everyone wraps up a very typical Camp OBX summer day; go to the beach, play in the sound with recovery breaks in between.