Summer Jobs???

Did you have a Summer job when you were in high school?  Perhaps you had a regular job during school?  I did the Summer job thing when I turned sixteen and then found a job that would work with my school schedule and my cheer-leading schedule.  That job followed me all the way through college and thankfully it did. I had great bosses during my school job, they were hard on me but that taught me a lot about working for someone and dealing with people.  I want my kids to learn those same lessons, they cannot learn these things from the hubbs and I tough. 
Sprat, has tried to find a conventional Summer job with no luck. Thankfully he has offered himself up to be a handyman for anyone that needs him.  He has been doing yard work, mowing grass and spreading mulch,  for a couple of ladies in the area and has cleaned out a garage for one lady.  Yesterday he came home and said he had used a jackhammer to take down some bathroom tile.  The last few weeks he has been helping a gentleman gut a house and he has learned to take down dry wall and now to use a jackhammer.  I think that is really cool.   I am thankful for people that will take a chance on a young person and let them help out and do things and maybe even teach them a skill.  Sprat is learning  a lot this Summer. 
Stay tuned as we gear up to start another school year, one a sophomore in college 13+ hours away and one a junior in high school. 

Traditional Salsa Day. . . .

The salsa verde was so good, the hubbs decided to try his traditional salsa by roasting the tomatoes rather than boiling them.  I think it will give a good roasted flavor to the salsa.   The hubbs is roasting his tomatoes now along with his jalapenos, garlic, and onion.   This is going to give his salsa a different flavor from previous batches.  This is in process so I will have to share how this one turns out later. 
We are prepping to go to orientation later this month so, I am having to get paperwork all ready for physicals, immunization proof, and insurance proof.  This is an exhausting process!!!
Sprat is going to get to meet his new coach and see some of his teammates that he has not seen since May.  He had been hanging out with them before he came home for the Summer. 
The first day of orientation is a FULL day of meetings and information, I hope he is ready for this transition.  Stay tuned for this later in the month. . .

Finished Salsa Verde  

Roasting tomatoes, jalapenos, and garlic  

First batch of tomatoes roasted and cooling.

We have some cantaloupe and honey dew melon growing, no fruit just yet but the plants are big and beautiful. 

Stay tuned for more garden fun and a round up on what we learned from our garden this year. We have decided we will definitely have a Fall garden.

Updates and More. . .

Work has been a little hectic lately so sorry for the gap between posts.  We have been a little crazy these last many weeks with school finishing and lacrosse starting and my job going crazy.  You know what, it's Summer, what happened to Spring?  I just blinked and we were finishing lacrosse and now here we are hot and sweaty in the Summer.
Big T and I have been suffering majorly from some kind of crazy viral upper respiratory something or other and we both have been on three rounds of antibiotics.  We have been battling this super crazy infection since Easter but I think we have put it behind us now.  That was another reason for the huge gap in my posts, I have just felt like crap.
The boys have started a Summer Hott Lax program and they are really enjoying it.  Sprat has started his psychology class that he is taking this Summer at the community college.   It is online so when we go to the beach this Summer he can take his work with him.  LOl!!  I know he is thrilled about that one.  Sprat will have his work cut out for him his Senior year, he is only taking three classes at the high school and the rest of his classes (5) will be at the community college.  Oh yeah, did I mention that I now have a Senior and a Freshman in high school.  Shhhh, do not spread that around, surely I am not old enough to have kids that old.  I keep thinking of myself as a MOP (mother of a pre schooler).
Sprat will start those college applications soon and he still is not 100% sure where he wants to go, he is sure where he does not want to go.   Big T just got his schedule for his new school, he will be attending a STEM type school starting in August.  This is going to be very interesting because they have a little different schedule than the high school. The STEM school starts almost three weeks before the high school starts and of course that is going to drive both kids batty.   The great thing about this new school for Big T is that he will still be able to play lacrosse for the high school.
Yep, you guessed it my boys will be on the same team for lacrosse.
Stay tuned this is going to be an awesome Summer and a loaded school year to come.  I am going to try and do better with my posts.

Big T in action at D Pole

A New School Year Fast Approaching. . .

A little over a month left of Summer vacation and so much to cram in there.  Sprat has camp, a college tour, and lots more football practice.   Our Church is going to do some mini mission camps on Saturdays around our Church neighborhood.  A lot of our kids work and our youth leaders work too so we are going to fit our mission work in on the weekends.  How is that for teaching our kids to serve others?  I like it.  Maybe they will remember this when they get older and are on their own and not forget to serve.  I know I forgot as I got older, it took having my own children to remember that we should serve others just like Jesus did.
We have the best youth leaders at our Church, they really get our kids involved in the community and I think that is very important.   Our kids are going to host some date nights for the parents so that they can leave their children with our youth and be able to go and enjoy themselves.    They are going to offer these as we get closer to Christmas so that the parents can do their Christmas shopping.  We have done this in the past and it has been a huge hit.
We set up in our fellowship building and show age appropriate movies and have snacks and goodies.   They also do a craft and play games, the youth enjoy it and I think the kids that came did too.
We also have movie nights on the lawn with popcorn and slushies.   Those are a lot of fun for the whole family.
The picture below is when the youth built our Labyrinth beside our Church.  Big T taking his stroll.

Updates on a Few Things. . .

We tried the sauerkraut, it was a little salty for my taste but the hubbs liked it, we are going to let it perk just a day or so more and then call it done.  We did fix another jar since we have so much cabbage and we used less salt this time.
Potatoes are all up and the hubbs has planted field peas and some okra, our first okra did not produce so we are going to try it again.  We have put a few quarts of fresh peas in the freezer this year and of course I would say I have eaten at least a quart raw.  Shhhh, do not tell the hubbs, though.  I made my very first potato salad and boy was it good, my hubby is quite picky when it comes to potato salad so I was thrilled when he gave it a thumbs up.  This was a no frills potato salad, no onion or pickles.  It was just potatoes, egg, mayo, mustard, and vinegar.  I did use some onion and garlic powder.
Big T enjoyed a lacrosse camp at a local University this last week.  It was hot as blue blazes but he had a blast.  At the hottest part of the day they took them in the locker room and let them watch game films just like the University players would.  This is a beautiful facility and the kids had a blast.
Sprat is knee deep in Summer workouts for football and working with the youth at our Church doing different things.  He has Church camp coming up, a College tour, and Mission camp too.  We pack all we can into our Summer.

Big T at Camp

Sprat at Church serving for the youth Evening Under the Stars

Summer Break. . .

First week of Summer vacation.  We celebrated yesterday with lunch and a movie.   The hubbs and I only went to the movies maybe two times a year before we had kids.   Once we were blessed with the boys we started taking them to the movies more often.  Big T went to see Finding Nemo in an infant carrier, he was only a few months old but Sprat was three and totally enthralled by it all.   I do not remember my folks taking us to the movies as kids.  When I was in seventh grade we used to go to the movies as a group and then walk across the parking lot to Burger King where our moms would pick us up.
My husband is a big kid so he has always loved taking the boys to their movies.   The Marvel comics struck gold when they started making the super hero movies.   All the little boys that grew up reading those comics now have children and what better excuse to go to the movies than taking the kiddos.   I view this as daddy son bonding time.   I go sometimes but for the most part that is the boys time with their daddy.   They always invite me to go but, it has gotten so darn expensive to go to the movies that for most of them I take a pass.   I hope that my boys will pass this tradition of the movies on to their kids.
Yesterday, I did go because this is one that I had been wanting to see.  Now You See Me 2, was a great movie, we loved the first one and this one did not disappoint.  Sprat has always enjoyed a good magic trick and he loves card tricks.  He is actually pretty good at them, I told him he should perform for kids birthday parties to earn a little extra money.   He is constantly trying out new tricks on all of us and I will be honest some of them would blow your mind.   I think I have convinced him to do some of his card tricks at our Church picnic and lawn party when we have it.

Just Grill It !

I love grilling season and yes at our house it is a season.   We love to grill, my hubby will grill almost anything.   We love steak and chicken on the grill, but anybody can do that, my hubby grills stuffed peppers, zucchini, and potatoes too.   The hubbs picked up a little gadget at Bass Pro Shop so that he can grill stuffed peppers and the stuffing does not fall out.  It is a pretty neat trick.  You can use either ground beef or shredded chicken with cream cheese and taco seasoning and stuff your peppers then stand them in the grill gadget for peppers and load them on your grill.  These are awesome, I hope we have enough peppers this year to make these.   I posted last year about grilling whole onions with butter and a little garlic powder and fresh sage wrapped in tinfoil.  We will be doing those too.
Here is the garlic and wine marinade recipe, you must promise that you will not laugh when I tell you where it came from.  I always give credit when I use a recipe or anything else that is not my own.   Remember no laughing.  The Brazilian Bikini Body Program by Regina Joseph.   I have no intention of ever wearing a bikini again and that is not why I bought this book.   I have always been fascinated by the diets in other areas of the world, I have read quite a bit on the Mediterranean diet and the Brazilian diet is very similar.  They eat fresh fruits and vegetables and they do not deny themselves things like bread, they do not have negative thoughts about eating the occasional sweet.  They are active and outdoors a lot and I think we would all be better off if we were outdoors more and away from the idiot box (what my dad used to call the TV).  
Here is one of my favorite marinade recipes I found in the BBBP book.

Garlic and Wine Marinade
This is for a large batch that you can keep in a glass jar in the fridge for about a week.  I cut mine in half for 5 chicken breast.

4 cloves of garlic pressed
1 large onion chopped finely
2 cups dry white wine
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp cracked black pepper
2 dashes of Tobasco or Texas Pete
3 bay leaves
1 tsp salt

Marinate red meat for 3 hours in fridge, chicken and pork for 2 hours, and fish no more than half an hour.  I have not used this for red meat or fish, it is awesome on chicken.  My kids loved it.

Last Trip for the Week

Yesterday we went to check out the Bechtler House.  This is the home of the man that first minted the first gold dollar in the United States and it was right in my back yard.  Big T, grandma, Alli, and I are touring this time.  
We had a great time visiting with the family.  It really is amazing at how much history you can learn that is practically in your back yard.   I bet you think the gold rush started in California, nope.  It actually began in western North Carolina.  Christopher Bechtler began a mint to aid the gold miners of North Carolina.   He started in the early 1830's with a $5 gold coin and latter made a $2.50 and $1 gold coin.  Bechtler made the first gold dollar in the United States. 

I have hit the high points on all of our trips, please check out the websites I have mentioned for each trip to find out more or maybe even plan your own visit.  I think Big T has enjoyed his adventures this last two weeks, I know I have and I think we both have learned a lot.  Our trip would not be complete without a trip to see my sisters' house and to see her sweet goats.  Big T got some great pictures of them, he is quite the photographer.  We also went by one of our local high school agriculture barns to see their new piglets.   Check out Big T's pictures below.

Last Day of School. . . .

Whoot Whoot!!!!  Last day of school!!!!!  Yes, I am glad school is out for my kiddos.  In fact they are not going today.   Sprat did not have an exam today so he does not have to go and Big T will not have anything going on.  They are both sound asleep right now.  One of my friends referred to days like today as mental health days for the kids, it is more of a lazy day for me.   My dear hubby heads back to work on Monday so we are going to enjoy a nice day all together.  We are going to check out the new "Jurassic World" movie.  The hubbs and I went to see the first two at the movies when they came out.   We were not big movie goers before we had the kiddos, we would only go to a movie once or twice a year.  When the boys were old enough to go to the movies we went to most everything that came out for their age.  Big T saw "Finding Nemo," or slept through it in his little infant carrier.   Ahhhh, the good ole days.   They enjoy going to the movies and it is just one other thing we do as a family.  I do not remember my mom and dad taking us to the movies when I was little.  I do remember going when I was in 7th and 8th grade.  Mom would drop us off at the theater and then come back and pick us up at the Burger King across the parking lot.   That was our Friday night thing when I was younger, we all went as a group.
I remember the first 3D movie we took the boys to, it was "Journey to the Center of the Earth."  It was a great movie and great in 3D.   We had gotten a big tub of popcorn for us to share and about mid way through the movie and elbow deep in the popcorn Big T starts fussing about his eyes burning.  I am sure you can imagine, he said the 3D glasses were burning his eyes.  He had rubbed his eyes and had gotten the popcorn stuff in them making them burn and sting.  To this day he still blames those 3D glasses.
Here is my financial part of this post.  Since my hubby has been out of work for his knee we decided we would get a few things done with our finances.  Dave Ramsey has what he calls ELP's (endorsed local providers), these are financial consultants and real estate agents that are in your area that follow the Dave Ramsey system.    I decided I would look into an ELP to help us with a few things, this was several years before I actually took the Dave Ramsey class.  I told you I had read everything about him before I took the class.  At this time the hubbs company was going to give us control over his 401K and let us manage it rather than pay someone associated with the company to manage it.  I was not confident enough in my own knowledge about a 401K to take on that responsibility myself.   We found an ELP close to us and they were associated with the company that was handling our college fund for the kiddos.   That was just perfect.   I met with them originally and set everything up, they made recommendations with regard to the 401K and also made some recommendations with the college fund.  I took their suggestions and we made the necessary adjustments, this was almost nine years ago.   Flash forward to about a week ago.  The hubbs and I went to see our ELP to make a few more adjustments and to see if there was anything we needed to change with the 401K.   Dave Ramsey says, if you are getting a 12% return on your investment that you are doing good.   Our ELP said that we had made well over the 12% on our college fund and the 401K each year since we had been with them, that was a very pleasant surprise.  We had stopped funding the college fund while we were paying down our debt so now that we are debt free (except for the house) we started funding the college fund again.  We never stopped funding the 401K, you never turn down free money (aka company match).  
My tip for the day:  check out Dave Ramsey and his ELP for your area I would bet that most would offer a free consultation.  www.daveramsey.com  You will find the ELP section toward the bottom of the page.  Check them out and see what you think, it never hurts to talk and gather information.  I am all about gathering information before I make a major decision.  The more you know the better off you are.  If you have not read about Dave or his books I recommend checking him out, go to the Library.

School Time Getting Closer. . .

I cannot believe  we only have a month left of Summer vacation.   Sprat has been consumed by high school football work outs and I have had Big T consumed by math.  I hope I have done enough to keep their brains alive through the summer break.  I had such big plans for them and feel I have only completed half of what was on my wish list. 
I always try to make summer fun and educational.   I want them to have fond memories of our summers together.  I have great memories of my family vacations and summer time fun.  We always went to Florida for vacation.   We had a boat there so we went deep sea fishing  and snorkeling.   It was a lot of  fun.  I remember one day my dad and brother dropped my sister, mom, and I off and we rode the raft to the beach.  Dad and my brother went on to do some diving.  They got fussed at  for bringing the boat to close to shore.
I hope my kids will have fun times they can tell their kids about.

Summer work outs. . .

I have decided that if Big T is to survive in middle school he is going to have to be on top of things.  I have also decided that for my kids sake I am going to be teaching them a few things at home this summer.  Big T is all for it, Sprat is a little reluctant.  They both had good years in test scores and grades but I still feel there are some things they are not getting.   Big T and I have been working on Spanish and math.  Sprat is working on his honors English book that he has to read and  take notes on for a test the first day of school.   We are all looking into History from a Christian perspective.  So I guess we are all getting a little work out this summer to keep our brains sharp.  I would love to hear from those reading what they are doing with their kiddos this summer to keep them sharp for next school year.
I do have some field trips planned to some different places in the area also.

School's Out for Summer

School is out for us all and it would be a huge understatement to say I was happy.  They boys are both moving on, Jack to high school and Thomas to middle school.  They both ended with A/B honor roll.  Thomas had a really hard year.  He was sick with the flu and missed many days.  He had to do after school make up lab to take some days off of his absences.  Thomas struggled with anxiety that caused tummy issues.  All of the testing mess stressed him beyond a level a 5th grader should have to endure.  Jack has 0 stress over testing and some days I wish he did so I knew he cared.   At least two of the days Thomas had tests he either threw up before school or after he got there.  I want get on my soap box about the meaningless testing today. 
I am very proud of my boys for finishing strong this year.   Our summer will be centered on fun, some football,  and some learning so we stay ahead of the game.  
On another note, I ended my two classes with an A and B.  I was really hoping for two A's but my criminology final was a bear.  I am taking the summer off this time so I will be fresh in August to get back to work.  Stay tuned to see what the wild boys get in to this summer.

Approximately five weeks till school starts. . .

School starts in about five weeks.  How are you keeping your kids brains working this summer?  I have been a bit slack this year about encouraging them to read and making them do educational stuff.  They have been busy with camps and going to the pool so they have not been completely lazy.  I am afraid their brains may be turning to mush though.   We have been having good dinner conversation about world events and we are going to use our vacation as a learning experience.  We hope to check out a few lighthouses while we are at the beach and visit a few other historical spots along the way.  What are you doing to keep your kids brains from going to mush this summer?  I would love to hear your ideas.

Official Start of Summer. . .

My kiddos slept in and my house was nice and quiet up until about 10 minutes ago.  I heard the groaning and  pitter patter of little feet on the way down the hall.  It was Big T, of course, he hardly ever sleeps in.  Sprat is still sound asleep.  The boys had a big day yesterday.  Sprat had a pool party with youth fellowship and Big T had his baseball party.  They both got to play in the water though.  We had a big slide with water for Big T's team.  We had good food, fellowship with friends, and lots of laughs.  Sprat may sleep till noon.  
Summer vacation officially starts today, they didn't go for their last half day of school.  Jack starts All Stars tonight and has Church camp later this month.  Thomas has Church camp next month and somewhere in between we are going to try and go to the beach.  Stay tuned for the update.

Vacation? ? ? ? ?

My kids keep asking, are we going some where this summer?  I always reply, I am going crazy want to come along.  Our family is a little nutty.  We have not gone on a true "vacation" in two years so we are talking about trying to this year.  The kids have been busy with baseball and football camps the last two years,and it just has not worked out for us.  Jack played All Stars the last two years and of course that takes up a lot of time.  This year he said he didn't want to do All Stars so he could go to our Church camp.  We said that was fine.  The coach, however, talked him in to playing All Stars but told him it was ok if he missed practice or a game for Church camp.  We said that was fine too.  So I have to try and work in a trip somewhere in between camps and All Stars.  Big T informed me that he wants to go on the ghost tours around the beaches of North Carolina.  He has developed quite an interest in ghosts and the paranormal.  They have been studying North Carolina history in school this year and of course they have talked about pirates and the light houses also.  I have found several different places around that offer ghost tours and pirate tours.  If you guys know any interesting places to visit please post a comment.  We are going to have quite the adventure this summer.  Check back to see what all we find.

The Beach continuted . . .

Mark played in the water with the kids just about everyday.   We had some good waves a couple of days.  The kids played on their boogy boards that their aunt Robbie had gotten for them.  They loved to play on them and pretend they were surfing.   Mark had fun riding those waves too.
 I always got up before anyone else in the house.  That was good because I could go out on the beach for a walk before it got too terribly hot. It also gave me a good hour of quiet time in the house to read.  I enjoyed my walks in the quiet morning,  it was so peaceful.  One day when I came back from my walk Mark was up and said he wanted to go for a walk too.  So off we went.  It was really nice for us to be together for a quiet walk on the beach.  I felt like a teenager again on a first date.  I wanted to hold his hand and play in the water.   I don't know if he felt that way or not it is still hard to read him even after 17 years.   In my version of course he does feel the same.   HA  HA!!   We also took walks after supper a couple of nights.   On the after supper walks the kids usually would go with us, at least Jack would.  Thomas is so stubborn sometimes he does not know what he is missing.  Jack was of course on the shark tooth hunt.   They played cards or trippley most every night.  I don't think anyone went to bed before 10 or 11 most nights except maybe me.   I think I went to bed before everyone every night, but  of course I was also the one up at 6:30 most mornings too.  It was a great trip and we relaxed for most of it.

The Beach

Yeah, we are home from the beach.  We had not been in three years so it was nice to get away.  We rented a house on the beach for the whole family.  It was great!  I think a week may be too long for my kids though.  Thomas was ready to go home after a couple of days.  He said, "Mommy is it time to go home?  I have been in the water, I have played in the sand, we played put put, and we have eaten out.  Isn't it time to go?"  I told him no, that we still had several days left to play in the sand and the ocean.  That child has his check list and once he has done everything on his list he is done.   Any suggestions on how to get over that?
The kids went to the Aquarium and I got to go shopping.   That is a definite advantage to staying with family you have to do what they want to do.  Since they insisted on going shopping I had to go.  Ho hummm.  Poor me all the outlets in the world and I had to go through them all.  HA HA!!  Shhhhhhh, don't tell Mark. 
The men got to go deep sea fishing though so don't feel sorry for them at all.   They went out on a head boat for most of the day deep sea fishing the day before we hit all the outlets.   
Mark and the kids have started a family tradition of collecting sharks teeth.  Mark and his dad collected them over the years and Mark has a jar full of them.  So he started that tradition with our kids.  They now have a good start to their own jar of sharks teeth.  Mark and Jack walked the beach looking for these tiny treasures and they both were very excited each time they found one.  Maybe that will be something Jack and Thomas will pass to their kids as well. 

Anyone need an Electrician? ?

Well, I have the number for you.  With the storms that came through the other day the lightning blew out one of our circuits in our basement.  Of course it would be the one that our freezer runs on.  Now we don't keep a lot of stuff in our freezer but enough that with no power it would be a mess.   So off I go to find an electrician.  Now I always look for those that are associated with the BBB and I check their ratings.  I do however, depend on others opinions too.  I also called our insurance agent to get his recommendation.  He gave me the name and number of a local small business.  I like small business folks too.  They are the ones that are still concerned about customer service and satisfaction.  I like that. 
I went with the gentleman that my insurance agent recommended.  The poor guy did not get here until 9:00 last night.  He was working several urgent calls and worked us in.  I appreciate that so very much.  Here is the sigh of relief,  it did not cost me an arm and a leg and it was a simple fix.  Thank goodness.   My freezer is still working and no loss of food.  Yeah.   This nice fellow was not associated with the BBB but if he was I am sure he would have an A+ rating.  If anyone needs his number shoot me an email.  And no I do not get kick backs.   I just think we have to look out for each other and if we know someone that is reliable then we should let others know about them. 

Yahoo!!! School is about to begin. . .

Yes, I love my kids but, it is time for them to go back to school.  Ya hooooooo!!!  Ok I will try to maintain some dignity.  Sorry for the yelling.  It has been a hard summer.  We did not get to the pool like we wanted to this year.  Both of my heat pumps went out within a week of each other.  So if anyone needs to know a good reliable company to work on your heat pump call me.  I had two different companies work on mine and I prefer the later of the two.  I will not go in to detail but email me and I can give you the number of the good one.  The Lord was watching out for us though because they did not go out on the hottest days this summer.  So it was not as bad as it could have been.  Then my toilets all started acting funny and the boys toilet flooded their bathroom.  So if you need a plumber I have that number too.  Life is funny.   I have planned a date with my neighbor when the kids go back to school.  I told her if she perked the coffee I would bring the pound cake and we could have a nice quiet chat.  Things have been so crazy we have not talked much this summer.  It will be nice when things get back on schedule again.  My kids need their sleep and this going to bed at 9:30 and 10:00 is not good.  Starting next week we get back on school schedule.  I know that will be a hard one. 

Back from Camp. . .

The boys made it back from camp finally.  Jack stayed a week and Thomas stayed one night.  Thomas was only supposed to stay for two nights but on that second night he called and was "homesick."  They took him to the nurse and so now he thinks that "homesick" is a real sickness.  Any advice on this one?   Mark was surprised that he stayed the one night.  I really thought he would be able to make it for two.  Our preachers son was his counselor and they get along really well.  I guess I thought because he was there that Thomas would be ok.  I guess sometimes only Mom and Dad will do.  I felt rather sorry for his counselor having to deal with all this.  I am sure he learned a lot about dealing with kids this trip.   Thomas is a master when it comes to getting what he wants.  Not in a bad way but he has those dark brown eyes and he knows how to use them.  I can only imagine the show he put on up there.    Mark and I got almost 24 hours kids free this time.  I have to admit it was very quiet at my house and I kinda missed the little buggers.  Shhhh, don't let them know that though.  It is kinda strange not being able to talk with your kids every day.  They were not allowed cell phones or video games or anything like that.  I mailed Jack a couple of letters and I think he liked getting some mail.  So he got to hear from me but I did not get to hear back from him.  It was strange.
We got the call to pick Thomas up late so by the time we reached camp it was almost 10pm.  I felt like a thief in the night stealing my child away.  I thought I would get there and he would be cowering in the corner crying and really upset.  Well, to my surprise, he was laying in the floor playing with his cabin mates.  Not crying or upset.  I guess he knew we were on our way up there.   He told the lady that was over the camp he would come back next year and maybe he would stay for three days.  HA HA HA!!  She was really nice and said they had, had a few kids that left early this time.  I guess he is still young to be staying away from home like that.  Jack didn't go the first time he could have because we did not know about it in time to get him signed up so I guess Jack was a year older the first time he went.   Jack can make friends with anyone so being alone with a bunch of other kids does not phase him one bit.  He is my little social butterfly. 
Now we are preparing for Football camp.  Mark asked Thomas if he wanted to go to Football camp and Thomas said, "No."   I think he may think it is another sleep away camp.  It is not.  It is only a day camp.  Oh well, I may have traumatized him without knowing it.