Camp Aunt Rachel: Session 2 (Visiting the Sandy Beach)

Cousin Nathaniel was one joyful, flexible, and energetic camper at Camp Aunt Rachel. He was ready for anything, and did it all with gusto. To close out celebrating Mr. Trouble on Feet’s birthday, we went to the sandy beach. I actually don’t have any pictures of Mr. Trouble on Feet at the beach, because he was hard core swimming the whole time. However, Nathaniel would bebop from the water to the sand to warm up and back to the water.

There were so many great little moments of having this kid at our house for the week. One of my favorites was driving in the car with him to pick up the Devious Snail, who had been helping an elderly lady with some yard work. We pulled up next to her driveway to wait for the Devious Snail, and when he got in the car, Cousin Nathaniel asked, “What do you actually do here anyway?”

“Well, as a matter of fact,” said the Devious Snail, “I make plans to take over the tri-state area.” The next 30 minutes in the car (while I drove to pick up the CSA fruit box and then back home again) were a vivid and lively conversation between those two about effective ways to take over the tri-state area. They seriously had me in stitches. It was the most unpredictable, crazy conversation.

On the way home from this beach escapade, the big kids in the car were discussing college. Cousin Nathaniel said, “That’s enough talking about college. College. College. College. We’re closing the conversation. This is too boring.”

Sarah countered, “Well, if we don’t make plans about college, how will I be able to come and live close to you when I move into college in a few weeks?”

“In that case, Hooray for college!!!!” Cousin Nathaniel yelled.