Sweetie had her first introduction lesson to Tae Kwon Do last night. I am impressed with the school, and have high hopes. They are big on respect and showing “black belt behavior” while having fun and doing it with a smile. Already, I see less arguing.

Me: Sweetie, please put on your shoes now.
Sweetie: Yes, Mommy. (and did it without hesitation)
Me: Sweetie, can you please pick up your toys now.
Sweetie: Yes, Mommy. (and did it without hesitation)

Oh, yeah. Tae Kwon Do is going to be good for her in terms of discipline and confidence. I can’t wait to see her become more confident in herself.

Maybe I should take it as well.

We left off with a canoe sinking, a kid covered in stinging nettle, and us paddling like the wind bouncing bank to bank attempting to get downstream.

There we were, kids still having trouble paddling, the canoe getting lower in the water.  The bailout child tried to help paddle by using his arms instead of bailing out the canoe.  He was having a blast, the kids paddling…. not so much.   We approached riffles.  I told the kids to aim for the v’s.  I held my breath.  My jr counselor went first.  Then came the sinking canoe.  It bottomed out, and got wedged .  I held the other canoe back, while my Jr. counselor attempted to free the canoe.  She pushed, the canoe gave way, she lunged forward, slamming her shin into a rock.

Blood poured from the gash in her leg.  We banked all the canoes yet again, and I cleaned up her leg, thinking that she might need stitches.  Butterfly bandages would have to do.

Finally, we caught up to our other campers, wading in the stream, waiting for us.  We were able to contact the canoe company and have another canoe sent out.  The Junior counselor contacted her parents about her leg.  Everyone agreed that she was alright with the butterfly bandages (her father a doctor) and she decided to stick it through to the bitter end.

We continued.  This time sticking together.  Soon we approached a stone dam (just built to create a small reservoir)  that was being topped from the recent rains.  We were to bring our canoes to shore, carry them down a slight hill, and stick them back in the water.

The slight current began to take their canoe.  They could not back paddle fast enough, and they were having trouble guiding their boat to the shore.  They were getting closer and closer to the dam. They gave up…. frustrated, and stopped trying to steer.  My junior counselor was in my canoe, holding back another that was having trouble.  The director was on the shore, telling us to “stop fooling around out there”.  She just didn’t get it.  Closer and closer to the dam.  I could come up along side the canoe, but then the other would be left floundering as well.  I had no choice.  I tied off my waist to the canoe, told my jr. counselor to block the other canoe with our own while back paddling, and I made my way to the canoe, swimming as hard as I could.  I grabbed the boat and had my Jr. counselor back paddle.  They were about 10 feet from the dam when I caught them and pushed as hard as I could swimming, guiding them to the shore.

The rest of the trip went without incident.  We reached our campsite, pitched our tents and had a good evening by a campfire.  It certainly was a trip to remember.

Noon.  On the creek bank.  Fifteen 10-12 year olds.  Adventure Survial Camp.  Overnight canoe trip. 

There I stood, on the bank, camp director, 1 Jr. Counselor, myself, and 15 preteens.  We all had our gear.  We were all gung ho, ready to take on the creek. Ready to canoe to the campsite.  

I grabbed a paddle and started my speech on how to properly hold a paddle, the parts of the canoe,  and where to tie off their gear in their waterproof bags.  I explained the role of the person in the bow and the person in the stern.  Then each of them grabbed a paddle, and we walked through strokes.  I taught them to “aim for the v’s”,  to “lean into an obstacle, not away”, and how to use the paddle as a rudder.   Everyone was doing so well.  Everyone was smiling.  Everyone was ready for the water, ready for adventure.

Once in the water, the camp director took up the front with all the kids who had canoed before.  The jr. counselor and  I followed in the rear and took on all the kids who were new to canoeing . 

To say we hit problems early would be an understatement.  But it was an adventure.  We were all taking it in stride.  Kids were canoeing from one bank of the stream to another, bouncing like ping pong balls.  It was slowing us down (we were about a half hour behind), but they were getting it. 

UNTIL.

UNTIL we hit mini rapids.  I am not talking about whitewater here.  I am talking about a current that picks up the speed a bit.  Some more rocks to avoid.  A shallow point bar.  A deeper, faster moving  current along the cut bank. 

One canoe group was starting to get annoyed at the fact that they couldn’t steer.  They saw the faster current and panicked.  They let the current take them… right into a boulder.  I was yelling to them, “LEAN IN, LEAN IN”.  They let go of their paddles.  The current took the paddles down stream and stuck in some detritus against a bank.  They leaned away from the rock, and over they went, capsizing the canoe. 

They climbed up on the bank, wet sneakers slipping against the rocks.  They looked petrified.  Their canoe, filled with water, was wedged on its side between a rock and the bank.  I freed it, then stood along side it and tilted it as much as I could before I got under it.  I  lifted it up over my head to flip it over. With the canoe above my head, I looked up at the bank and  noticed one of the kids on the bank beginning to scream and swat at himself.  I flipped the canoe over, just in time to see him start running back and forth screaming, “BEES!!!! BEES!!!!” 

There he was, running back and forth through a patch of waist high stinging nettle, screaming, “BEES!!” 

People, I couldn’t make this stuff up. 

I finally got him to run towards me (after much yelling over his hysteria) to get him out of the patch of nettle and onto the bank.  In the mean time, my junior counselor reigned in the 2 other canoes that were with us  (for a total of 4 canoes and 7 kids … one canoe with three kids) and had them on the point bank.  She went down stream to get the paddles. 

I treated the  boy  with the stinging nettle. Whimpering, he agreed to move on.  We were now an hour behind.

We hit calm water, which took the stress off the kids who were now a little shaken up.  As we were paddling, I noticed a Great Blue Heron ahead, standing in the creek.  The quiet  was pierced with a yell, “WE’RE SINKING!” 

The Blue Heron took flight, wings slapping the water. 

I paddled quickly over to the canoe.  The canoe was taking on water from a crack that must have formed when pushed up on the point bar.  It had not gone noticed at first because the gear was covering the hole.  We stopped.  We were not near any homes.  There were no cell phones.  We had to deal with this now. 

I tried medical tape to try to seal the crack. I was desperate.  It helped only slightly.  We moved the heavy gear from the canoe and traded it for a kid.  It added more weight,  but his job was to bail out the bottom as the others paddled.  We had to catch up. 

We had to get to a phone. 

We had to get a new canoe. 

Return here tomorrow for Part 2 of the Adventure Camp saga. 

Here are my best shots this week (actually a few of them might have been from last week…. but who’s counting?)  If you would like to see more Weekly Winners and some really talented photographers, visit Sarcastic Mom for a complete listing.

Thinking Girl

Having a Blast

Having a Drink

I See the Light

Like Moths to a Flame

First Frost

Chilly Seat

Mushrooms

Frosty Edges

Frosty Grass

“How I roll?”.  First, everything was WICKED AWESOME.  Now its all “how I roll”.  I blame Daddy Joe.  He always like ” DUDE”  and “SHUT UP!”  and for sure this has rubbed off on me.  For sure.

LAME!

So, this morning Ben let me sleep in until 10, bless him.  When I came down, he was making pancakes for the kids and we all had breakfast together.  Then…. off to grocery shop for me.  I had been putting it off for way too long.  Couldn’t make myself do it.  Hate doing it with the kids.  So off I go….into the mayhem that is Saturday shopping…. on a warm day.  FUN! Spent about an and a half in Costco….. oh yeah… I rocked that joint.  Swung by the butcher…. (Down to Earth Mama was in the house)  then over to the normal grocery store for tortillas (which, as luck would have it were not at the other two places).  So, 3 hours after I had left, I returned $265 poorer, but may have enough food to last a month (minus milk etc.),  Which is good, because did I tell you how much I HATE grocery shopping?

Spent the rest of the day cleaning the house.  Oh my, how did it ever get so bad?  I would like to say, “now that it is done, it will be so much easier.”  but no.  Not living with the DESTROYER.  It is like he is a toddler ‘zilla, knocking over all in his path.  Throwing cups behind the couch with abandon.  Couch pillows moved to become a jungle gym.  And, on a whim, deciding the best place to keep his toothbrush is under the bathroom scale.

The original preschooler ‘zilla isn’t much better.  Her new thing is to keep trash.  I kid you not.  If we finish something and there is an empty cereal box (for example), she wants to keep it.  I don’t give into this, but still, she says that she wants to keep it.  Weird.  So, occasionally, I find her picking picking out the scraps of coupons I have cut and putting them on the fridge with a magnet.

So, again.  Hopefully I will be able to keep up, and employ their help, but I am not holding my breath.

Finally got it clean before the neighbors arrived for a dinner.  We had a nice dinner and got to talk quite a bit.  It is nice talking to other adults for a change.  Sometimes I forget what that is like for any extended period of time.  It is nice to get to know them a bit better.

Cleaning and grocerying.  That is how I spend my Saturday’s!  I know you are jealous.  But we can’t all be the Down to Earth Mama.