Cousin Camp 2007

Tuesday Morning: Until Next Time

2007-08-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning, 8:30 a.m. "Parting is such sweet sorrow," but there's always next year.

Monday Night: Last Evening At the Pool

2007-08-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

One last night at the pool. Even I went down the slide -- the BLUE slide! Of course, there could be no one sitting on the bleachers and nobody could go ahead of me in case I made a really big splash like Bruce did. After some serious slide time, Bruce and the cousins explored the rest of the pool.

Monday Afternoon: Badminton Tournament

2007-08-06T19:29:00.000-07:00

Because of a wonderfully appropriate gift (THANKS, BRYAN & LAURA!) we had a great time playing badminton. OK, so Bruce won all five of his games and was easily the champion -- remember, Ben was still semi-sedated and in pain -- but it was a pretty close contest amongst the rest of us.

Monday Morning: Lego Lands

2007-08-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

So can you tell which one was built by the females of the species and which was built by the male of the species?

Sunday Night: Bowl-O-Rama

2007-08-05T20:17:00.001-07:00

Sunday night we headed up to the bowling lanes in Gaithersburg. No weenie duckpins for us tonight -- we were all about the real deal.

Sunday Afternoon: Pre-Tourney Badminton Practice

2007-08-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Some of us spent Sunday afternoon getting ready for the big tournament tomorrow . . .

Sunday Morning: Scarves & Hats

2007-08-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning we decided to lay low and rest up, as Grandma and Ben were still not 100%. The girls watched a movie and finished their knitting projects.

Zach sequestered himself in order to control the trauma of Harry Potter's grand finale.

And in the tradition of uncles everywhere, Bruce took a nap.

Saturday Evening: Chuck E. Cheese

2007-08-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

A big finish on Saturday night! Grandma was not feeling well so she stayed home, but Ben made his first venture out after oral surgery. Not only did I apparently buy too many tokens (good thing Uncle Bruce had downloaded coupons), but the cousins were big winners, earning miles of tickets. I believe the final count was 1,112.

Zach and Bruce, rockin' the blue screen:

Saturday Afternoon: Tomb Of the Unknown Soldier & JFK Gravesite

2007-08-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon, after cooling off in the Library Of Congress, we paid our respects at Arlington Cemetery. Very, very moving.

Saturday Afternoon: Library Of Congress

2007-08-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon, in spite of mad crazy heat (100 degrees F outside!), we made it downtown in time to catch the 2:30 tour. Without a doubt, this is *the* most beautiful building in Washington. Note to 'rents -- Zach wants to apply for the Congressional Page program when he is a sophomore in high school. He would spend his junior year taking classes in this building every morning and executing his page duties in the afternoon; weekends he could crash at Uncle Bruce & Aunt Pat's.

Friday Evening: Gaithersburg Aquatic Center

2007-08-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

Friday night was too hot to go to Wolf Trap, and "who is Bugs Bunny, anyway?" :-) So it was agreed that the pool was a far superior thing to do. I wish I had worn my bathing suit, seeing how much fun everybody had on the slide, but instead I got to take some good pictures.

Emily in the car on the way there:

The slide:

Zach was the first one to go down:
Katie was next:

Emily and Katie trying to avoid the big splash made by Uncle Bruce (see his hairy legs sticking up?!):

And some lovely parting gifts!:

Friday Mid-Morning: Cabin John Park & Potomac Community Center

2007-08-05T08:42:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, while Ben was getting his teeth extracted, Bruce and Grandma and the cousins checked out the local park and the local community center.

Cleo made a new best friend!

Friday Morning: Free Time

2007-08-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

Ben had to get his three remaining wisdom teeth pulled today, so Uncle Bruce & Grandma took the cousins to the park and to the recreation center. Then we had a delicious lunch of hotdogs and strawberry milk and had some free time.

And please note the score in this last picture -- when I took it, it was Katie 7 and Uncle Bruce 3 -- did not get any better -- Uncle Bruce ended up in Time Out for having a temper tantrum.

We did see the pandas yesterday @ the zoo

2007-08-03T05:49:00.000-07:00

We did see the panda bears ... in case anybody is wondering ...

Friday Morning: Breakfast Waffles? Uncle Bruce's Are the BEST!

2007-08-03T05:43:00.000-07:00

This was a HUGE plate of waffles -- at least 6 layers. They hoovered them, gulping them down between words of praise and some sheepish defense of their dad's waffles -- some mention of an old rusty waffle maker that makes the waffles taste "nasty"?

I am the waffle champion!
I am the waffle champion!
I am the waffle champion!

Thursday Night: Outdoor Activities -- Push Sister On Swing and Into Tree?

2007-08-03T05:41:00.000-07:00

This was an interesting game. It started out innocently enough ... but then things turned ugly ...

Thursday Evening: Camp Cook Does Good!

2007-08-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

Delicious! She's 1 for 1!

Thursday Afternoon: Smithsonian National Zoo

2007-08-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, the Zoo is so much better than it used to be! I like that there were so many zookeepers and volunteers wandering around the exhibits, ready to answer any question that you might have. In this picture, the zookeepers were throwing lunch bags to the low-land gorillas -- filled with a carrot or two, lettuce, spinach, and ice cubes. When they were done, they ate the paper bags.

We all agreed that one of our favorite places was Amazonia, which featured some great underwater creatures.

We had lunch, and then we hit all of Zach's "must sees": komodo dragon, elephant, panda.

And one more stop at a misting station before going home to see what the Camp Cook had whipped up for us.

Thursday Morning: KP

2007-08-02T06:41:00.001-07:00

For you youngsters, who did not grow up on a steady diet of black-and-white WWII movies, that's "kitchen patrol." They insist they do this all the time and that they even have a rotating schedule -- who are we to disabuse them of that notion?

Wednesday Night: Moving In

2007-08-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

5:34 p.m.: Beds are selected, bags unpacked, rooms explored -- the cousins have moved in. Yay!

Wednesday Afternoon: Vince Lombardi Rest Stop

2007-08-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

Laura gets there early, we get there late . . . but who cares now that we're together!

Tuesday Night: Just In Time . . . The Health Department Will Not Be Closing Down Cousin Camp!

2007-08-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Two pictures that say it all.

Accommodations

2007-06-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

OK, so we're doing pretty well in the Activities Planning Department, and the Arts & Crafts Department, but I think we need to start making some headway in the Accommodations Department. We may have to rig up an outside shower and dig a trench in the backyard if we don't get cracking on the hall bathroom . . .

Day At the Pool

2007-06-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

This was our favorite pool to visit when Tim, Meg, and Ben were growing up. We would come in the late afternoon (to avoid being in the sun), bring a picnic dinner, and Bruce would come directly from work to join us. It's way cooler now with the expanded concessions stand, and this picture of the water slide looks bigger than I remember it being. So bring your suits -- we have plenty of pool towels.

Music Under the Stars

2007-05-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

Hey, how about a picnic dinner out at Wolftrap with the National Symphony playing in the background and that wasically wabbit up on the screen?! Heck, I would even let the camp cook have the night off for this. What do you think?

Bureau of Engraving And Printing

2007-05-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

Looks like it will be tricky to get in to The Bureau of Engraving & Printing, but I think we can swing it. We might have to send a scout down early in the morning to get in line for the free tickets -- any volunteers? They renovated the tour a few years ago and I bet it's pretty impressive. Here's a nice link to a site at the Treasury Department about the new design of the paper currency.

The National Zoo

2007-05-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

OK, I think this is a must-see stop for us. Maybe we can even give the cooks the day off so they can join us? Search the Web site for the Smithsonian's National Zoo and then use the comment button to let me know the two or three exhibits that you absolutely must see, as well as the three or four that you'd like to see.

Menu Planning

2007-05-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

OK, let's work on some dinner and lunch ideas. Please use the comment button to alert the new Camp Cook (see Pat's posting on May 5) about what items you'd like to see on the menu at Counsin Camp. Note that we can also indulge in an occasional meal out (see Emily's comment on May 1).

Favorite Uncle Election

2007-05-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

Of course at the end of the week we will be voting for which of the three uncles should receive the 2007 Favorite Uncle Award.

Billy-Bob Semple

2007-05-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry to report that Cousin Billy will not be able to join us for Cousin Camp. However, it sounds like Uncle Bill really really really wants to come himself . . . should we make an exception? Do we have an upper age limit? Or maybe next year we should have an Aunts & Uncles Camp . . .

Camp Cook

2007-05-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce the hiring of our camp cook for the summer. She and her faithful companion will keep an eye on things while we are out and about during the day. Welcome, Ada & Cleo!

Hold the Date: August 1-7 [corrected on 5/26]

2007-05-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

OK, it looks like Cousin Camp 2007 is a GO for the beginning of August -- I can hardly wait! (As you can see, I've pushed my fast-forward button to get this picture of Emily, Zach, and Katie in front of the Capitol.)