She Is Home!

I have some time while William and Zac are out painting the front porch. I loved it black, but William wants to try it the trim color. Whatever, as long as it looks good! Doesn't Zac look thrilled! He hates primer. Well, it has been a long week for me. Last Sunday, on Father's Day, we took Camille to camp. It was in Ashland, about 45 minutes south of us, at Southern Oregon University. The camp, Academy, is the same camp that Megan has attended for the previous two years, and the camp I went to as a middle schooler. I have nicknamed the camp "nerd camp", lovingly of course! It is a camp where talented kids spend a week with like minded peers and living in the dorms while living the college life. The kids receive course descriptions and then put in a schedule request. That was fun for Camille. Each camper is nominated by a teacher and must receive 3 letters of recommendation along with current test scores, report cards and 1 page essay stating why they should be considered for acceptance. It is a lot of work for a 10 year old. But she was in! William and I were so nervous sending Camille. We had never been nervous sending Megan. Meg had several friends that all went together. Camille went solo. We didn't know any other girls there. A couple of boys from her school were there, but no one she is really friends with. Let me set the scene. We arrived a little early for drop-off. We were standing around on the lawn in front of the dorm waiting. Camille heard the bushes moving and ran to see what was there. Well, she found a huge snake. Then some other kids from across the lawn said that they had found a rat over near them. I was freaked out. Then, as I am pleading my case to William why Camille should not stay, out of the corner of my eye, on the steps up to the dorms, I notice something grey. Another huge rat running on the stairs! How could I send my baby there for a week. Now, Camille was so excited at the "wildlife" around her. She begged me and said she would be fine. So we left her. I was sure she was going to need a rabies shot or something when she returned. In the car on the way home, Megan and I were talking about Camille's room. A couple of years ago, she was fed-up with sharing a room with Megan and decided she would like her own. After much discussion, we chose to give her the guest room. We pulled out the queen bed and took her bunk and put it in the room. The room was boring. We had not put much thought into it. We had spent time on the other room. She didn't care. Anyway, when William and I got new furniture in our room last year, Megan got our old stuff. Her room is huge, as it was designed for two kids. Camille then got Megan's bunk too. Well, then Zac grew and needed a new bed. He got a queen sized bed. So, we sold the bunks at the garage sale and gave her Zac's twin bed. Her bedding was Megan's old Hawaiian theme. Anyway, nothing in her room was anything she had chosen, all hand me downs. So, Megan and I decided to re-do her room. We kept the furniture, but rearranged it. I painted the room. Yes, you read correctly, I painted. We bought her new bedding and accessories. Megan and her friend, Kylee painted the mats for some picture frames that contained photos of our family and Camille's friends. We placed them all over her room! We finished the last details last night about 11 pm. Zac put together a new stand for her TV all by himself. He also repainted her old pot for her dead plant and bought her a new plant for her room. Megan worked hard all week in that room, on top of her regular chores and Camille's that needed to be done in her absence. We left early this morning to go and retrieve Camille. When she got home, I told her to take her things right upstairs and into her room. She opened her door and screamed, "What the....." She turned to look at me with the most confused look. She was so shocked it took a couple of minutes for her to realize that this was really her room. She loved it! It was all worth it! She is an amazing little girl who always gives to everyone else without ever complaining. This was her turn to receive! She deserves it!