The life of a camp wife.

Earlier today I was talking on the phone with a good friend and fellow camp wife. We were laughing and just catching up and started talking about the life that we have as "camp wives".  For those of you that are wondering what in the world I am talking about, let me explain. My husband works for a baptist camp out in south Texas. In the summer we have churches and different groups that bring their kids out here for summer camp. It's not like the "Parent Trap" camp, that always comes to mind for me. It's different because kids/children are not dropped off here and then picked up a week later. Sponsors and adults from whatever group it is will come with the kids and stay. Summer is a crazy, hectic time for the camp and our busiest time of year. In the off season, September through May, we are a retreat type of camp. People come here for the weekends for different events or activities. I'm sure someone else could of explained this a lot better but you get the idea, hopefully :)

So, they're a few families that live at the the camp year round. Everyone else comes to work for the summer and then they sometimes come back throughout the year to work on weekends. So we live where we work. Now, with this comes many pros and cons. We live in a camp home, we eat MANY meals at camp, we get to see our husbands at every meal if we choose to and so many other wonderful things. It really feels like you're living in a different world sometimes. It's hard to explain or understand unless you're in or have lived it. It's been an incredible experience for my little girls to live here. They will be playing in the backyard and see their dad ride by on a gator. They get to see him ALL the time. Their backyard is the whole camp! They can swim in the lake, the pond, go to the pool. In the summer we can go to worship in the evenings, hang out the snack shack and have snow cones. The camp has an amazing fire works show on the 4th of July every summer and we have front row seats! I hardly have to cook in the summer since we eat almost every meal at the camp. We have the opportunity to have great friendships with so many different people each summer as new and old staff come to work. It really is a good life.

This afternoon though, my friend and I were laughing about the OTHER side to living at a camp. The part that people don't see or realize. Usually when I tell people about the camp and how it works they say how lucky we are and that we have it made! Don't get me wrong, we do in many ways and I'm extremely grateful to live here. There is another side to this life though. During the summer you can pretty much "predict" what will be served that day depending on the day of the week. If you leave your house for the day, everyone knows it because your car is gone. We all share a mailbox so you better not have any dirty mail :) During the summer we "get" to share our husbands AND our home with hundreds of people. The husbands are so busy during those 3 summer months that sometimes it feels like you're a single parent! It can be hard but we get to see him throughout the day around the camp. Today we were on a walk and an irritated woman holding a birthday cake waved me down hoping to get into the cafeteria. I always feel so helpless when people ask me where this or that is or why can't we do this or go in there? I don't work for the camp so I can't help them. I just try to point them in the direction of the office or someone that does. Sometimes I won't leave camp for a few days for whatever reason and I feel like I've missed out on so much! I tend to forget that world keeps going outside the camp. I think for the men it's hard to get away from work. Most men leave their jobs and go home and don't have to look or mess with work related stuff till the next day. Here, you never really leave work behind. It's right out our back door. We live towards the back of camp sort of out of the way so people really don't come up to our front door or bother us. Some of the other homes have had visitors from time to time looking for the office...that's always fun :)

This will be our 4th summer here at camp and I'm not going to lie, those first couple years were difficult for me. I was either pregnant or just had a baby and it was a difficult transition for me. Moving from a busy city to a secluded, country SMALL town was hard at first. It's taken me some time and a lot of growing and patience but I really do love this place. I have had my girls here and this is our home. It may be different and have its good and bad sides but this has been such a special time in our lives and I wouldn't trade it!

You pay for what you get.

B.J. always gives me a hard time because I tend to spend less on certain things hoping to save money but really end up buying cheap junk! A couple weeks ago my glasses broke and I haven't been able to replace them yet. They were a "cheap" purchase. I went for a simple frame that I was never in love with so I could save a little money. Well...that was a great idea! Now I wake up to blurry little bodies running around demanding food. It's too early sometimes to put my contacts on and by the end of the day my eyes ares too tired and all I want to do is take my contacts out. I miss having glasses. My next pair will be top of the line! I have learned that cheaper is not always better, especially when it comes to food. I try to buy generic brands if I can but some generic brands are awful!! And I've learned my lesson when it comes to buying generic diapers. I won't even go there...

So, for some reason I stopped writing in my blog. Lately I find less and less time to sit down and write, uninterrupted anyway. I want to make more of an effort to keep blogging though. It seems to help me appreciate the little things that drive me crazy through out the day. I suppose I will just pick up where I left off...

Today I realized how sneaky and smart Beau really is. Today felt like an extra LONG day. I heard Beaus raspy little voice on the baby monitor at 6 a.m. yelling Bellas name. "Bewwa! Bewwwwwwaaaaaaa!!!!" Bella of course did not answer since she was still asleep, as we all were! Beau never went back to sleep and managed to wake both her sisters up by 6:15. I was thrilled as you can imagine. So, our morning began. I decided today was going to be a day FULL of cleaning and organizing and started washing all the sheets. By lunch I had done way too many loads of laundry, swept, vacuumed and mopped the entire house. I made the girls lunch while they jumped on the trampoline in their suits while spraying each other with the hose.  I made thier favorite buttered "white" noodles with cheese, as Bella calls them. I split a fruit cup between them and told them both to eat ALL their fruit. I left them at the table eating while I quickly put clean sheets on the bunk beds, my least favorite thing to do. When I walked back into the kitchen I was pleasantly surprised to see that Beau had eaten all her fruit so I told her I was so proud of her and she gave me a big grin and was very pleased with herself. Bella then told me that Beau did NOT eat her fruit but dumped all of it on Judes high chair tray as soon as I walked away. Sure enough Judes tray, face and hair is full of peaches, pears and pineapple. I should of known. It was at that moment that I had a quick glimpse of what Beaus next few years may be like. Sneaky little thing! Beau is notorious for trying to slip one by you. At some point this morning she discovered my diaper bag and decided to rummage through it. She came across some gum and told me she "needed" it. I of course said no so she walked off and I thought had moved on. About 15 minutes later I walked in her room to put clothes away and found her hiding in a corner opening each piece of gum. That was fun for everyone...

My littles are not so little anymore. Jude will be one in three weeks. I know people always say this but it really has gone by too fast. She's so close to walking and changing everyday it seems. She now dances and has rhythm! When does that happen?! She can crawl faster than any of the other girls at this age. She is quick! If she seems something she wants then shes going to get it, sometimes with the help of her older sisters. They're always a little too eager to pick her up and walk her around. I found Beau rocking her the other day and Bella trying to carry her on her hip!! Jude loves it of course. She will do whatever she can for a laugh, much like her parents I suppose.

Bella will be 6 in July and reminds me daily! She is a couple weeks away from completing kindergarten. That has also flown by as well. Bella is still a song writer and expert card maker. Today she asked her dad what his most favorite thing in the whole wide world would be. He said something but I guess it was the wrong answer because she said, "Is it getting a special card?" She then pulled a card out from behind her back and said, "Today is your lucky day Dad!" She takes it pretty seriously.