This is my big boy Jesse... as he crosses the bridge to 6 days at camp.. All by himself!!
Camp Ukandu is sponsored by the American Cancer Society and is an amazing place for kids who have battled Cancer to come together and just be kids for a while. We took Jesse on Sunday and will pick him up on Saturday. He was so very excited to be going but when we finally got there the real excitement set in I think. The place is simply dreamlike. Where we live it is very wooded and the camp is nestled on a mountain under a forest of trees. I'm fairly sure that if you were to fly over, you would not even know it was there.
Jesse's Cabin
Jesse's Bunk (Of course on top!)
Things I didn't want to know about...Jesse will get 6 days of arts, crafts, science, horseback riding, canoeing, swimming, archery, games, campfires and more fun than I could pack into a whole summer. He will make new friends and be able to have something in common with every single kid at camp. I'm so happy for Jesse to have this opportunity, he deserves it.. I just hope he wants to come home when it's all done.
Yes, It's true I miss him like crazy, He's been gone one day and I have mailed him 2 letters.. There are also several hidden treats and messages in his bags I hope he finds and enjoys. I spend about every other second thinking about what he might be doing and if he's staying out of trouble... I wonder if he misses me, and if he's okay, and if he's getting his meds, and if people are being nice to him, and blah, blah, blah... more thought from a psycho mom than are probably normal.. but the packet of information they sent says that this is a huge exercise for both parent and child to help regain a more normal relationship after cancer. Normal? What is normal anyway.. I guess it's probably true, I think I can count on 1 hand how many nights I've spent away from Jesse since we brought him home in 2004... I'm thinking we weren't exactly normal before the cancer... =)
I have plans... I have made a list of things I'm going to do while he is at camp.. It goes like this..
1. Sit
2. Watch the news
3. Read a book
YUP... that's pretty much it.. those are the things always think I would do if I didn't have so much Jesse in my life, so those are the things I'm going to do this week.. I guess if those are the only things I can't do so much of because of my precious son, I'm really the winning-est one!!
Speaking of The American Cancer Society.. This past weekend was Relay For Life!!
I'll just go over the highlights because they were good ones...
First our little relay made over $61,000 to help fight the battle against the big "C". Yeah!!
They asked Jesse to speak at the opening ceremonies.. He was very excited and did a great job, but got really nervous and started whispering to himself.. "I forgot, I forgot, what, what, what".. but of course his mouth was on the microphone so everyone heard.. and he tried telling his story and got some of the facts mixed up and ended up saying he had a hole in his belly the size of a football... He totally cracked me up. If they ask him to speak next year, I hope they give us more than an hour notice so that we can actually put something together that makes sense. But he was brave and excited to do it, and it was perfect anyway he did it..
Yes, It's true I miss him like crazy, He's been gone one day and I have mailed him 2 letters.. There are also several hidden treats and messages in his bags I hope he finds and enjoys. I spend about every other second thinking about what he might be doing and if he's staying out of trouble... I wonder if he misses me, and if he's okay, and if he's getting his meds, and if people are being nice to him, and blah, blah, blah... more thought from a psycho mom than are probably normal.. but the packet of information they sent says that this is a huge exercise for both parent and child to help regain a more normal relationship after cancer. Normal? What is normal anyway.. I guess it's probably true, I think I can count on 1 hand how many nights I've spent away from Jesse since we brought him home in 2004... I'm thinking we weren't exactly normal before the cancer... =)
I have plans... I have made a list of things I'm going to do while he is at camp.. It goes like this..
1. Sit
2. Watch the news
3. Read a book
YUP... that's pretty much it.. those are the things always think I would do if I didn't have so much Jesse in my life, so those are the things I'm going to do this week.. I guess if those are the only things I can't do so much of because of my precious son, I'm really the winning-est one!!
Speaking of The American Cancer Society.. This past weekend was Relay For Life!!
I'll just go over the highlights because they were good ones...
First our little relay made over $61,000 to help fight the battle against the big "C". Yeah!!
They asked Jesse to speak at the opening ceremonies.. He was very excited and did a great job, but got really nervous and started whispering to himself.. "I forgot, I forgot, what, what, what".. but of course his mouth was on the microphone so everyone heard.. and he tried telling his story and got some of the facts mixed up and ended up saying he had a hole in his belly the size of a football... He totally cracked me up. If they ask him to speak next year, I hope they give us more than an hour notice so that we can actually put something together that makes sense. But he was brave and excited to do it, and it was perfect anyway he did it..
Our Survivors Lap!!
Zoe and Cloe, The twin "Mr. Relay" contestants who dressed up and marched around the track collecting money in their purse.. They raised $121.00 for ACS!! Go Cute Girls.. (I mean boys)p.s. This is really Jesse and Gage.. Weren't they simply beautiful??
It was a fun weekend and an honor to be part of the festivities again this year.
Well, school is out, we now have a big 3rd grader (shake head)... We have a great summer planned.. We started with a visit from some fabulous girls from Salt Lake!! Jamie, CJ and Ellie, we love you and had the most fun visiting with you!! Amy and Alex arrive this weekend and we are lucky enough to be keeping Alex for a couple of weeks, then we will get Adrienne for a couple of weeks after that!! We couldn't be more thrilled! I've missed my family and am OH, SO excited to spend some time this summer with them all...
Happy Fathers Day to all you dads, especially my cute one!!
We love you all!!
