A Couple More Firsts and A Whole Lot of Fun!

As I stated previously on here, this has been a season of firsts for Seth.  He is loving the fact that he now gets to participate in pretty much everything he has been watching his big brother do for the last couple of years.  He has just been waiting patiently for his turn.  Well, wait no more, Buddy!

Seth's turn came for two more firsts recently, when he got to attend Camp Rise and Sign in mid-May and then Camp Sign Me Up the first week of June.  Camp Rise and Sign is an annual weekend sleepaway camp for Deaf and Hard of Hearing kids and their siblings (and in our case, for kids of camp counselors).  Camp Sign Me Up is a week long day camp held every summer at Bridges for hearing kids, where they learn sign language in the morning and take fun field trips in the afternoon to practice their signing.  Both are a blast and Caleb has participated in them for the past two years.

Well, this year, it was finally Seth's turn to get in the game.  And was he ever ready!

Eric has been volunteering with Camp Rise and Sign for a number of years.  He volunteers as a counselor with the elementary aged boys...his current area of expertise. The camp is a weekend of non-stop activity.  The kiddos got to swim, hike, play lots of fun outdoor games, play dodgeball (Caleb's favorite), cook Smores, tell ghost stories, and watch a magic show.

This year, a crew from the fire department visited the camp and the kiddos got to explore and climb on the fire engine, learn about the tools the firefighters use, and try on their gear. 

The boys also got to particpate in their very first potato sack race.

It took a couple of tries for Seth, but he quickly got the hang of it.

They also participated in a cake decorating contest.  The boys' group ended up winning "Best Cake Appearance."  Check out their snazzy ocean scene cake. 

Yeah, it is no wonder they came home wiped out!

The boys made new friends, and they could not wait to tell me all about them as soon as they walked in the door...and at the very same time.   It is a good thing that I have VERY quick ears.

Camp Sign Me Up was a lot of fun, too.  Five of their friends from small group also joined them at camp this year, so that was an added bonus for them.  It was quite a crew.  They learned a lot of signs, made some fun crafts, and visited the zoo, Centennial park, toured Kroger, and explored the treehouses at Cheekwood.

I had never been to Cheekwood, and since the director, Julie, gave me my choice, I decided to volunteer on that day. It was a really fun and busy day!  I had so much fun getting to know all of the kids.  They were a really good group. The treehouses were so neat and definitely worth the trip to the botanical park, if you haven't seen them yet.  My camera was not cooperating at the beginning of our tour, so I did not get a picture of all seven.  Plus, trying to keep up with eighteen kids limited my ability to play photographer.

The Jolly Roger tree house seemed to be the favorite of this active group.

The Conch Treehouse, complete with its own sandbox (on the other side).

This super cool Rainbow Fish treehouse was made out of CDs.  The lips were pool noodles and although you can't really tell from the picture, there is a tree spouting out of the top.

The Oceans of Notions treehouse was completely suspended over the water, by what looked like many strings of colorful yarn.

The week of camp ended with a program where the kids got to showcase what they had learned during the week.  They signed songs together, and Julie recognized each camper with a certificate and a chance to sign solo.  We got video, but no photos of the program.  You would think that after nearly four years of blogging, I would know how to post video by now.  But, alas, no.

Great firsts!  Great fun!