camp wasewagan... link to camp yallani

for years i have heard about camp wasewagan (at leader meetings), a place we would go to in 4th or 5h grade... but little did i know it was the sister camp to camp yallani. that long lost camp i attended for many summers, working in the kitchen and as a counselor, a life guard and an archery instructor. camp yallani was one of the most defining experiences of my life, something i think of so much it's crazy. i take parenting too seriously, thinking hard about it and wondering how i can make the most of the responsibility i have for my girls, wonder if camp yallani was a clue to my life. going to camp is such a gift, teaching kids to get along and work together on a really nitty gritty level, getting dirty, playing and being in the world of nature. really, it's easy. just send them off... but how many parents do it? not enough. so back to wasewagan... i was stunned when i realized it was the camp next to camp yallani. all these years wondering what happened to yallani and here i am going up to it's sister camp. the one we stole off to, visiting the staff on the sly. i remember there were tv's and record players to investigate, all the wonderful things a teenager loves. new boys, new faces... spending 12 weeks a summer at camp, new was good.

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the caretakers cabin in all its glory!! sooooo, wasewagan with the girls was an adventure
driving fast on curves with chris' truck, fun times!
redwoods
the same river i spent many summers splashing in
my girls hanging at my "mosaic" booth, the craft that will not die!!

food, fabulous food!
leading songs
so i got out my google maps and found out camp yallani was .4 miles away, yes we hiked through trees, brush, crossed ravines... and found it!
the camp that so many years ago changed my life in so many ways...
the old ropes course left from years past...
ahhhh camp yallani! and what a weekend it was!




so what an amazing trip... past and present mixed just right.

camp fire, what's up?

we had a halloween pumpkin carving meeting with rootbeer floats for snack:

an amazing halloween carnival (we did a fortune teller booth)









and a rockin' "potential lunatics" concert!!









october was PACKED to say the least.

osborne house

sooo the long lost post on the osborne house!






most of our photos were outside because photography was not allowed inside. i think what i really loved about this house was all the emphasis on kids. queen victoria had 9 kids and there was a large nursery upstairs where you sense a lot of fun happened. lots of toys and things kids would love to play with, of course the girls loved that. there was a house built toward the coast just for the kids, the style was danish. weird!

 

(my photos blow more than usual this day for some reason)



yes lizzie is drinking water coming off the roof gutter...


















so we REALLY liked the gardens



while i took this the tour guide lady came out and scolded me for letting lizzie climb up on this statue... bad mama! oh well, i try!

needles

the needles are a must see when visiting the isle of wight, but i will admit i was disappointed at how far away the viewing area was. there was a hike you could take but after a long day visiting several different places, we just had our look and moved on

emily took a picture of the chairlift that you could take out over the water (not working the day we went, repairmen were fixing it, another bummer) luckily there was a small carnival type thing nearby and the girls had fun on the merry-go-round and an ice-cream cone.

out and about: uk trip mishmash

(this was my FAVORITE place on the isle of white, the town is called "freshwater")





















every night in london, i had to go to this lounge area to use the wifi on my phone... elizabeth would come with her journal and draw pictures while i uploaded photos to facebook and checked emails. it was so nice to just relax with her busy working nearby. this trip really changed lizzie for the better, she was less whiney and became more of a team player. yay family team!!!