Well I wonder if anyone has been checking this blog, I haven't update in so long!
We have been busy, as usual. I spent a weekend in DC with many other March of Dimes moms, and that was amazing as it is every year. Then for Halloween weekend, Chris, Tucker, and I packed up and made the 7+ hour ride to Camp for All in Burton, TX for a weekend at Mito Camp. Camp for All is an all accessible camping facility that is open all year; during the summer there are week long camps for organizations like MDA, juvenile diabetes, etc. Well, the waiting list for a whole week camp is long, but Mito Camp got a whole weekend last year. Tucker was too young last year, as the rule is you have to be 5. So this year he got to go, and it's a family camp, so Chris and I went, too.
It was an absolute blast. Tucker was the youngest kid there, but it was okay because each camper had their own counselor. Chris slept in a cabin with the dads, I slept in a cabin with the moms, and Tucker slept in a cabin with 3 other boys and their counselors. We got there pretty late on Friday night, as we hit serious traffic in Houston, and could not find a way onto the HOV lane. We were pretty aggravated, and we thought we'd have to get a hotel room for the night, as the camp gate was only open until 8pm. We got there right at 8pm, and the camp director took Tucker right over to the karaoke night going on outside. Chris and I unpacked all of Tucker's meds and instructed the camp nurses on everything. Tucker went happily with the camp director, and he tried to be the star of the karaoke show several times. While Chris and I set up Tucker's bunk and unpacked our stuff, we heard a lot of Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift being sung over the loudspeaker, lol.
I am a bit of a control freak (I know, hard to believe, right? ;) ) so I was not happy to be letting the nurse do all of Tucker's meds and feeds. But it was ok, the parents were still in charge of that type of thing, the nurses were just there for support and for emergencies. Tucker's counselor was Mrs. Ruth, a mother and grandmother of many, and also the founder of a great nonprofit organization in Houston. She thought she would have her hands full with Tucker, as he danced and ran around all Friday night. We assured her that Tucker had melatonin to help him sleep, and after we gave him his meds, he was so happy to go to bed with the other kids.
After the kids went to bed, Chris and I went to the adults meet and greet. Chris was nervous, of course, because he thought we'd all be sitting around talking about our feelings and singing kum ba yah, lol. Well, we walked in and got a snack, and Chris started talking football with the other dads, while I started talking supplements and therapy with other moms. Being in Texas, we were among many A&M fans, but there were several LSU families as well. LSU had a bye week, but Chris has the college football app, so he kept everyone updated on all of the other games that weekend (we didn't have any TV or laptops as we were at camp, but you know we can't make it two whole days without our phones).
It was really nice meeting all of the other families and hearing about the weekend's activities, as most of the parents had been to camp last year. We headed to bed around 10pm, and then we were up at 7. We all ate breakfast together (the food was delicious all weekend), and then the kids and adults split up for different activities. There was 15 minutes of loud music and stretching for energizers, and of course Tucker loved that part! For the first activity, adults had free time and the little kids (I think 9 years old and under) headed to the Tower. The Tower is a big rock climbing wall, and when you get to the top, you take a zipline to get down. So of course all of the adults spent their free time with their kids at the Tower. This was at 9am, and by this point, Tucker was very sleepy. He was crying "take a map" which translates to nap. On the weekends, Tucker usually takes two naps a day....I assume it's a mito issue, that he is just so tired by the weekday's activities, so he needs to rest on the weekends. He wouldn't even walk two feet, so Chris carried him to the Tower, then he went back to our car to get the stroller. (I think a medical stroller/wheelchair is in our near future, as Tucker just can't handle walking too long, and he is getting way too big for his stroller and/or Chris carrying him.)
Tucker watched the first few kids climb the rocks and then zipline, and he said "want to ride da ride." So we told him he would ride first, then take a map. Poor kid, he feel asleep in line! Since we were the last people to get to the Tower, he was last in line. Remember, the camp is completely accessible, so for people who don't really have the strength to climb the rocks, there is a lot of help for you. The easiest route is to simply be pulled straight up, bypassing the rocks altogether. We asked Tucker "do you want to climb the rocks or go straight up?" He said "straight up peez". So that's what he did. He slept for a good 30 minutes, but when I said "Tucker its your turn" he woke right up. He loved every second of being pulled up, and then ziplining down. He had the biggest grin, it was adorable. Then when he got down, he said "ride again peez." By this point, time was up for the kids, and it was time for them to go canoeing. We asked Tucker what he wanted to do, and he said "take a map", so Mrs. Ruth took him to the cabin, where he slept for two hours.
While Tucker slept, the adults went to the Giant Swing. It was like the swings at amusement parks, where you get pulled up very high, and then you get let go and swing very high. But at this swing, you get to control how high you go. Almost everyone took a turn, including me. I did not realize how high I was going until they let me go! It was awful :( I screamed "I don't like this at all!" The other people told me I went very high, so why did I do that? It didn't look that high, it just made me nauseated when I went down, lol. After the swing, it was lunchtime, so we saw Tucker again. Mrs. Ruth said he slept for two hours, so she was worried that he wouldn't rest for the required one hour rest time. Well, that was no problem because after lunch Tucker took another two hour nap! Chris and I both went to our cabins for 45 minute naps, then we grabbed coffee in the kitchen before meeting the other adults at the Tower. By this time, all of the adults were tired, but we all enjoyed climbing the rock wall and ziplining. Riding the zipline was much more fun than the Giant Swing, and Chris rode it twice.
Next was a cooking class, which was taught by an award winning BBQ cooking couple. The class was really very informative, and it was a nice break. We also got to sample BBQ brisket and fried oreos, which were delicious. After this, Chris and I met Tucker to give him his afternoon feed. Thankfully, he woke up in time to go horse back riding while we were in cooking class, and he LOVED it. Mrs. Ruth said he was so happy to be on the horse. They also went to the nature station, which has many caged pets. Tucker loved the big turtle, but hated the snake, lol. We fed Tucker, then we dropped him off at Arts and Crafts to paint pumpkins. Then Chris and I went to the corral to ride horses. Chris had only rode a horse once in his life before this, while I am a semi-pro ;) after spending a week at horse camp when I was 10. We both enjoyed the relaxing horse ride, although my horse stopped every few feet to eat grass, so I ended up at the very back of the line.
We rode the hayride back to the big gathering hall, and we met Tucker and everyone else for dinner. It was BBQ brisket, and it was yummy (you know I love food, lol). Then we all had an hour to get dressed for the Halloween carnival. After weeks of debating and online shopping, the three of us all bought cowboy costumes. So we all went back to our rooms to get dressed, and for the first time ever, I was the first one ready. The carnival was at the outdoor basketball court, and it was great. There were several games, where the kids would win tickets and redeem them for prizes. There was also cotton candy and drinks, along with great Halloween dance music. Tucker didn't care about the games or the food, all he wanted to do was dance! He was the absolute cutest cowboy I've ever seen, and he had the biggest grin on his face all night. The poor other little kids were exhausted by this point :( One of the other kids burst into tears at dinner because he was so tired, and he went to bed early. But Tucker took two naps, so he danced all night (well, until 9pm, lol).
We all went to bed around 10 again that night, and the next morning we were up early and packed by 730. We made it to the flag raising ceremony, and Tucker got to help raise the flag. He was so excited, and it was so cute. We all ate breakfast, then we went back outside to take camp pictures. That took about 30 minutes, then we went inside so that all of the kids could sign eachother's memory books. After that, it was a surprise, which ended up being trick or treating around the camp. Tucker enjoyed that, but by this point he was pretty tired. We went back to the big hall for lunch, then it was time to pack up our car and leave. We went around and said good bye to everyone then got in the car. The ride home was at least an hour shorter as there was no traffic.
We were exhausted, but we had so much fun that weekend. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with other families, and with eachother....with no worries or responsibilities, no cooking or cleaning, or errands to run. It was so nice! We are so thankful to the donors to Camp for All and Mito Camp who made it possible.
Also, on a side note-Tucker is truly and 100% potty trained, even on a 7 hour car ride. He is such a great car traveler, we are so lucky about that. On another note, you think mito camp would have more rest time, lol. I was not at all sure what to expect, but I thought there would be a longer nap time ;)
