CentriKid Camp 2016

So our entire family just got back from CentriKid Camp. We were excited when we found out about a year ago that this year for camp they would be taking the completed 2nd graders with them. We knew we would want Colby to go. We talked throughout the year and had decided that Austin would go along with him. This was our plans until about 2 weeks ago. I had looked forward to a girl's weekend with Lindsay. 
Well about 2 weeks ago while at church I was asked to be a girl chaperone. They said we could even bring Lindsay and go along as a family. We thought about it and said YES! We talked to Lindsay and gave her the option and she was super excited to go to big kid camp! 
So on Friday off we went! We were to meet at the church at 12. We got there a few minutes before. Most of the children were already there. We hung out for a little bit while everyone arrived and the kids got settled. We then took a picture and prayed and we were off! Since our whole family was going we took our van. In our van we also carried: Ella, Makyrin, and Raymond. There were 5 other children in the other van. The kids were super excited and it was quite a noisy ride. We drove to Slidell to stop at Chickfila. We arrived a little after 1. It was super crazy and busy there and a little overwhelming! We finally got all the kids settled and their food. I sat at a table with Colby, Ella, and Lindsay. We left there about 2 and drove the rest of the way to camp. We arrived about 4:30. We got there and immediately the CentriKid staff took the kids from the car. I am not sure where they went or what all they did while we parked the car. We finally were able to park the car then we went down to the worship center and met up with them. From there they played a few games and then had our picture made. After that we made our way back to the vans and unloaded them so we could get settled in the cabin. When we got in our cabin we were a little surprised to already see another church group had settled in. We had a moment of panic that there wouldn't be enough beds but we got it figured out. The 2 sisters took a bottom bunk together, Ella slept on a top bunk alone, and Lindsay and I shared the bottom under Ella. After settling in it was time to go to dinner. At dinner we had chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, and peas. They also had a selection of cakes and such. It was so hot though I wasn't very hungry. After dinner we had a little time before worship so the kids wanted to try canoeing. That was their FAV thing of the weekend. Worship was fun! I liked the high energy worship service. After that the kids were dismissed to their "teams". The adults hung around for a meeting after that. Once the meeting was over the kids came back to the worship center and we joined up and headed to our church time. This was basically a time for us to spend together as a group and Stephen gave us a few pointers for the weekend. After that we had "hang time" and it was our night for the pool. We rushed back to the cabin and the kids got on their swimsuits. The only problem was it was about a mile walk to the pool. It felt like it took us forever to get there! by the time we got there they really didn't even have long to swim. Lindsay only swam for about 10 min b/c she got out saying she had to go potty. She and walked back to the cabin but the rest of the group wasn't far behind. We got the girls all showered and ready for bed. We were all in bed I think by 11. We were all quite exhausted. I didn't sleep well though...I guess just first night in a new place. 
That morning we were all up bright and early on Saturday! The other two adults in the room got up at 6 and jumped in the shower! I had to wait around until like 6:20 to get mine. I felt very rushed the whole morning since I not only had to get myself ready I also had to get Lindsay dressed as well. We finally made it out the cabin shortly after 7 and everyone was waiting on us. We went to breakfast. At breakfast they served bacon, grits, and eggs. After breakfast we went to Morning worship. Again another great time and a great way to wake up and start the morning. After morning worship the kids went to Bible Study. During this time we had another Adult Meeting. During the Meeting Lindsay started to get very restless. I mean 2 hrs in one place will do that to a 4 year old? I decided to step out and walk her around. We ended up finding a bench in the shade. During that time the kids came out for rec. We wanted to watch Colby participate some in this but it was so hot and there was no where really to sit in the shade. We ended up telling Stephen that we were going to take Lindsay to walk some of the trails. So we took about a 25 minute walk through the woods then went and sat on the cabin porch. It was nice to just have that quiet time with her. Around 10:45 we went to where they were having rec. We waited and played a bit with Lindsay. At 11 it was time for lunch. I think we were all hungry and ready to be in the AC for a bit. They had pizza for lunch...which ofcourse my 2 hardly touched. Thank goodness for the chocolate frozen bar they also served :). After lunch the kids had to get ready for their Track times. Some of them had swimming so we all walked back to the cabin so they could change. Then they went to their tracks. After this we decided we needed a change of scenery with Lindsay. She was getting antsy and didn't understand why she couldn't participate in the big games. So we bribed her with a trip to Walmart. It was nice to just have a little break. We got L a small toy which helped her being sad about not being able to play with the big kids. We also got some orange shirts for the OMC competition. Once we finished we got back to camp and Lindsay and I went to the cabin to cool off. I laid down and actually dosed off a bit while she played. The other two adults were in there during that time too. After about an hour she and I got up and found Austin and we walked over to where Colby was participating in outdoor games. We could tell by that point that he was very HOT and TIRED b/c he just wasn't really even participating. Once we walked back they went to their Bible study and we had another Adult meeting to prepare for OMC. 
B/c of bad weather in the area OMC got moved indoors. It was a little disappointing that we didn't get to see an outdoor one but the kids had fun. The only thing was during this Lindsay was VERY tired. She finally gave up the ghost when I sat down in a chair with her. I was glad she could get some sleep in. She slept for probably 30 min in my arms. After that we walked back to our cabins. The kids needed just a little bit of down time. We let them cool off for a bit before heading out to dinner. That night they had spaghetti. We ate dinner then had a little more free time before evening worship. I felt like by that point the kids were SO tired! Many were falling asleep during the service. Afterwards we went to our church group time again. We had a little time together and our church host girl presented her testimony. After prayers we were allowed to have free time. Ella, Lindsay, and I went back to the cabin. We were absolutely exhausted. They got their showers and I even got a quick one as well before the other girls in our cabin arrived. We all settled down early that night and I slept really well. 
We were up bright and early though on Sunday. Alarms went off at 5:30 so I went ahead and got up and got myself ready. Ella was up as well and got completely dressed. Soon the others were up and dressed and packed their stuff. We had a little time to just sit outside while we waited to have our stuff together. We loaded up the vans then went to have breakfast. After breakfast the kids went to one last Bible Study and we had an adult meeting. The guys had decided during this time to move the Vans closer so that when we got out of worship it would be a quick exit. I took Lindsay into the church b/c it was getting hot and she was wanting to sit down. The meeting was hilarious as they showed all the lost and found stuff from the weekend. Well I found out during this time that the other van we brought had a flat tire and Austin and Millard were going to Walmart to fix it. It made me a little nervous about if they would get back in time and also it was pretty much just me left to watch for the kids to return. The kids got back at 9:45 for the the Closing Worship service. It was cute b/c Lindsay really warmed up during this time. She was singing, dancing and clapping her hands! After the worship service we packed up the kids and headed out. Oh and it was such a God thing b/c the guys made it back like 5 min before it was over with the fixed tire! 
So the trip home was loud and boisterous. I think Makyrin was the only one that fell asleep. We let the kids watch Zootopia so that helped to keep them semi-calm. There was a little more attitude and whining on the ride home. You could tell they were all just tired. We stopped in Hattiesburg at McDonalds which was a nice break. After that we had 2 hours for the ride home. The last hour they didn't have a movie to watch so there was a lot of talking during that time. We got back to the church about 2:30. They were having Laekan's reception. We hated not to stay but we felt gross and were so tired and knew we had so much to do when we got home! 
I am thankful for this trip to camp. It was tiring and a lot of work but it was so fun! i think I would definitely sign up again to go next year. I am glad Colby got this experience as well. He seemed so grown up on the trip and loved every minute. I was also thankful we were able to bring Lindsay too. There were times it was more tiring and challenging but I think she had a great time too! She will be a camp expert by 2nd grade!