This year was the inaugural year of Osguthorpe Cousin's Camp. It was so fantastic. This is quite an experience for all these cousins. They sleep in tents outside at Grandma and Grandpa O's house. The days are filled with "family history obstacle courses", Ukulele with Grandma and Lisa(and I know Grandma Sedgwick was playing up above as well), frame making(with the camp scripture to be put inside), Aunt's Devotionals, Uncle's fireside, great food, awards named after their great grandparents(more on that later), marshmallow roasting, Rock Canyon Hiking, Bean Museum fun(thanks Katy...the Bowling alley did not consult us about their carpet replacement...rude...you saved us), tons of cousin fun...etc...Molly was in heaven the whole time. She loved sleeping outside even after Logan and Juliette put the idea into Molly's mind that deer might chew through the tent and come in after them. :-) To show how intense 17 grandkids are for my kids I post the following pic after the first day when I ran home for a bit to give the boys naps...we didn't make it.(It takes under ten minutes to get to my house) :-)
They received awards from their great grandparents. The Lola award(my mom's mom) had to do with enthusiasm and building others up. Well, a few weeks after camp Molly had her "back to school night." I was putting her to bed and she told me she was nervous about not knowing anyone on her first day of Kindergarten. I agreed that it can be scary but suggested that she just be nice to everyone around her and she would make friends soon enough. Me-"Maybe if someone is looking for the pink crayon(cause Molly always has the pink crayon) you could share it with someone...or you could tell them that you like their picture and that they are doing a great job." Molly jumps in and says, "Yea, just like Grandma Lola!" Wow! She listened to all those stories about her great grandparents. It was a bit emotional for me thinking how she would never meet any of them in this life, but that she was able to feel of their spirit for at least a few days. It was a priceless experience. I was so grateful to my sister who put in so much effort to bring about what I think was a miracle. And to my sister-in-laws...and of course Rich who kind of carried us all through the last few hours. Everything was "the best" for our kiddos. I never feel more fulfilled as a mother, than when I can give my kids opportunities like these. On our way home, we got to see a double rainbow(we could actually see the whole thing but my camera phone couldn't get it all in, I have never seen a whole rainbow before.)
Sidenote: One of the funniest stories of the camp for me I want to remember, so I am going to chronicle it, even though it was my nephew Logan. The first night in the tents, Uncle Rich was graciously sleeping outside with all of them. The 5-6 year old crowd was having a rough go. They were all rustling around. Logan looked petrified, Juliette kept asking questions(can the deer chew right through the tent?)...etc...So Rich offers to sing them to sleep. Before he starts Logan asks another "I'm scared to death" type question. Rich calms them all and sings his repertoire of hymns and lullabies. Sarah's dozing, Molly's dozing, Lola's asleep, Juliette is comfy ready to go, and then Logan whispers to Rich, "How long will you sing Uncle Rich?" Rich, thinking he is having a pretty special moment with his nephew(who has just finished his death grip on his mom he is so scared) says, "Well, Logan, I can sing all night if you need me too." Logan whispers back, "Well, I can't fall asleep if you are singing." :-) Love that kid. He is so funny.
I got adventurous and decided to hike Timp cave with some friends that were in town from Encinitas. It was a lot steeper than I remembered. :-) It is a pretty steep hike. You gain about 1000 ft in elevation in less than an hour. Garrett hiked ALL the way up without any help. Molly hiked ALL the way up and down with no help. They were great little hikers. Hansen did pretty well. He had to eat twice but he made it through the cave without screaming...which is good. :-) I had forgotten how much I love the mountains. The air was so crisp and fresh. The view was incredible. A little too incredible at some points. The cliff edges stressed me a out a bit(seriously HUGE drop offs) Keeping the kids on the right side of me was a little stressful. But it really was beautiful. The cave was incredible. The pic is of the "heart" in the cave. Weighs about 2 tons and is 5-7 stalactites "grown" together...(it did not ever form a column because in this part of the cave the water evaporated so it didn't form a stalacmite on the the bottom...for all you scientists out there). Molly and Garrett only got scared during the part where they turn off all of the lights and you can't see your hand in front of you. But then the ranger did a light show on the ceiling...so it ended happy. :-)
This is a pic of Garrett at the end when the ranger said that the little hole above the exit is probably a bat cave. That perked up Garrett's attention and he proceeded to tell the ranger about his batman shirt and how bats hang upside down. :-) Molly loved the room with the unicorn and Garrett kept trying to figure out why the ranger told them to look for treasures and that they were on a treasure hunt. :-) "What a tweasure hunt!?" 
