Our Latest Adventure....

was hosting ten and eleven-year-old girls from New York City through the Fresh Air Fund. What an adventure! Here are some photos from our week and for more of our fun adventures see here and here and here. The girls made friends with two of our little granddaughters and two of my grand-nieces who are their age. Everyone agreed we should do it again next year!

A visit to the Rte 11 potato chip factory -- They weren't cooking, but nobody complained -- too busy munching!

Wading in the Shenandoah and skipping & throwing rocks - big splashes!

Not as many restaurants as the big city, but country pizza got good ratings!

Bet you didn't know there are dinosaurs in Shenandoah County!

Making some new friends. (Actually, these geese were less than friendly!)

Swim Lessons

This week is swim lesson time for the youngest two grandkids at Camp Kreitzer. For more about the swim method go here.

Waiting for class to start.

Teacher explains that it's "One, two, three...under, bubbles, kick."

 Now try it. Swim to the wall and reach up and hold on.

Next it's time to go down and get rings. "Good job! You got two rings."

 In the deep end practice kicking to the wall, holding on, and then climbing out. 

You can do it too, girl!

And off the diving board!

Popsicle rewards for a job well done.

Junior Cousins Camp

Camp Kreitzer hosted its first "Cousins Camp" of the season with three little munchkins who were out of preschool before big brothers and sisters. It was a spontaneous event when we decided to bring two siblings home from my brother's fundraising event last Sunday. Their cousin asked if he could come too and there you have it -- Cousins Camp. It was just the right length for young ones to be away from Mom -- three nights and two days. That gave us time to swim, jump on the trampoline, play on the swing and teeter-totter, throw rocks in the river, walk across the "scary bridge," ride bikes (and trikes), have a "movie night" with Rikki Tikki Tavi and popcorn, eat popsicles, get a little local cousin to come join in the fun, take tractor rides, and have a campfire with hot dogs and s'mores. We went to Mass one morning followed by a visit to a local nursing home (and a trip to 7-11 for slurpies). We ended each day with a decade of the rosary and night prayers by candlelight and a bedside song with Gramma, a Camp Kreitzer tradition. Unfortunately, I didn't think about pictures at the campfire and some of the other fun events until they were over, so you'll just have to take it from me that everything was a big hit. The staff at Camp Kreitzer is looking forward to the next cousins camp of which we expect there will be plenty this summer!