Labor Day

It was a long night last night, for both Jeremy and me, who spent lots of time 'incapacitated' during the wee hours.... gr

But we both were anxious to get out of town, so we decided to go ahead up to Camp Christian Echoes in spite of the pain and inconvenience. Pepto Bismol to the rescue....

We are very glad we went. First of all, the scenery is absolutely GORGEOUS. Ohmygoodness, Arizona is AMAZING at scenery!!!! We were only 30 minutes out of town and had compeltely different surroundings to look at; then, another 30 minutes down the road it was even different from that!! [Did I remember to take the camera? NO, of course not. ... Come ON! This is a VERY bad habit.] Even before we got to camp the temperature was cool enough to turn the A/C off and roll down the windows. There wasn't a big turn-out. A few reasons for this are 1.) Palo Verde didn't start advertising it soon eough; 2.) There was a Work Day at the church camp at Mount Graham (where Jeremy was head counselor for the 'teen camp'); 3.) The churches here in Tucson are so distant and detached from one another ... from too many years of practicing disunity. :( So we were happy to be there to support the event. Another reason we were happy to be there is because it really is easier to get to know people in a smaller crowd.

I can tell you right now, Jeremy and I will take advantage of every future opportunity to go there. Why? It is WAY off the beaten track ... like, the end of a dead end dirt road ... and there is not a fence in sight. I dispair at the small amount of 'safe space' our children have in which to try to live and grow and experiment and experience. Camp Christian Echoes, I hope - I expect - will be a big blessing in that area....

There were about 45 people there for lunch, and about 15 of them left shortly after the meal. The rest of us continued to hang around and talk and play with the kids. There were some other chidren there, so N & J enjoyed playing with them a little bit (the other children weren't very social with ours -- the ages were off), but mostly the two youngest Foldings enjoyed the ssssssswings. There are AWESOME swings at that camp!! HUGE, TALL, swings. Natasha, herself, spent at least 2 1/2 hours of total time on the swings!! lol There were also a stick swing and a tire swing! But the traditional swings were the biggest hit.

One mom a little older than me was talking to her daughter. Another lady said, "This young lady is the best baker in the west!" I said, "You're kidding!" and then, to the girl, "What is your favorite thing to bake?" The girl, Braelyn, got shy, and didn't answer. I said to her mom, "Okay then, what is your favorite thing for her to bake?" "Apple pie," was the answer. When the conversation was over the young lady walked away and I asked her mom, "How old is Braelyn?" "She's 11." Immediately I thought, "I bet these guys are homeschoolers." I hear all the time of young homeschoolers accomplishing amazing cooking feats for their ages; that's why I thought that. Anyway, I gradually steered the conversation that way and ... sure enough, I was right!! So now I have a local, Christian, homeschooling friend. Brason & Braelyn are 12 and 11.... They live where Valencia ends on the EAST side of town. We live where it ends on the WEST side of town. About a 40 minute drive.... gr