She did return!!

Proof!

Hattie was returned to us on July 8th with a great tan and a great big smile! We were so excited to see her after her week at camp. As you can see from the picture it was a happy reunion! Hattie had so much to tell us that I had to wait a while to write the update......(ok...I just haven't had time to actually write the update. She really hasn't taken this long to tell me everything)

Camp was a hit! Hattie loved being able to go swimming each day. She spent about 2 hours each day in the pool. I am guessing this is where she got the great tan that she has now. She also loved the Cantina (snack bar) that was offered. There were some great snacks brought from the states, so all the kids would be lining up each day hours before it opened. Hattie was able to enjoy her snacks each day, and she even brought us a few snacks. She brought us gummy aligators and gechos.

At camp, the children were divided into teams. Hattie was on the green team. This meant that she needed to have green things to wear each day (shirt, pants, hair thingies, bandana, etc). No problem! Hattie was prepared for each day. The teams would collect spirit points for these things that show team spirit. Each team would also compete against each other in contests each day. Hattie told us about many of the contests, but the one she seemed to like the best was called "The Amazing Race". This race was all about team work. There were different parts to the race, and the team members had to work together to survive to the end. Hattie was the youngest on her team. This meant that the oldest kids on the team needed to help her along. One race used a cake for an "obstacle". A few team members had to hold the cake in one hand while walking around a chair without touching it. Other team members then took the cake, and they had to put on a t-shirt while holding the cake. The rest of the team members had to hold the cake in one hand while walking around a chair with one hand on the chair. This is what Hattie did. After this part of the race, the team had to eat the cake completely. The green team won this race!! YEA!! The green team did not win the overall team competition for the week, but it sounds like they had a great time trying.

Hattie talked about the shaving cream fight that occurred. It sounds like it was a girls against boys fight, but nonetheless it sounds like it was alot of fun. You can just imagine what it was like with a bunch of kids with shaving cream. I did hear that they all were "hosed" off before returning to their room that evening. Hmmmmm....I wonder why??

There is truly no way for me to describe all the things she told me at this time, so if I think of other stories she has told me I will share them with you at that time.

Hattie did make some great friends during the week. She was able to see these friends for another week past camp while we were at a meeting. She really enjoyed being with other children she could talk with, and she loved being able to play.

I was really proud of Hattie. Since this was her first time away from family for a week, I was nervous that she would get homesick. She did great! She said that she did get a bit homesick, but she knew that she wanted to stay there. She was able to figure out how to make things work. I love to see how she is developing her own way of doing things.

Ok...enough for now. I will post more soon...