Back in January we signed Staley up to go to Miracle Camp with a few of her friends from church. When COVID hit and things began getting cancelled, we were sure that sleep-away camp would be one of those things. It wasn't! Although they had to make some changes to how they operated, camp was still on. Miracle Camp is in Michigan, and I had reservations about dropping off Staley and then being 4 hours away from her during her first camp experience. Since Zach is still working from home, we decided to just take Staley to camp and then spend a few days as a family at the beach so we could be near to camp...and enjoy a few more beach days this summer.
All 4 girls were so excited about heading off to camp. These are some of Staley's closest friends and they are the 4 girls in Sunday School together at church.
Since we were going to be staying in Michigan, we offered to drive the girls up and back from camp. They were an easy, agreeable group and the ride went by quickly.
We got them dropped off and settled in with their sweet counselors before driving the 40 minutes away to our Airbnb.
The 4 girls got to be in a cabin with 3 other girls and 2 counselors. They got one room of the cabin while the 3 other girls were in another room. Due to social distancing, they just spent all their days and did all their activities as a cabin without interacting with the other cabins. Staley loved that she got to do everything with her friends, and she loved her counselors.
While Staley was staying in a cabin enjoying time we friends, we were staying in this cute little Airbnb and enjoying time as a family (minus one).
Our house had a big backyard with this little decorative pond. Adelie and Briggs spent literally hours watching the little frogs that lived in the pond. It was their favorite past time.
While Staley was having fun playing games and going rock climbing and going into the woods for team building adventures...
...we were chasing sea gulls and playing in a (shockingly pleasant) Lake Michigan...
...and watching Michigan sunsets.
While Staley was going to chapel and growing in her relationship with God...
...we were enjoying God's creation...
...and taking advantage of some beautiful beach days that He gave us.
While Staley was swimming and eating and having fun with friends...
...we were working...
...and eating...
...and having fun with each other.
We had a wonderful little get-away with some relaxation, some beach time, and a chance to spend some much-needed time away from home.
Hooray for camp! Hooray for a new summer experience where Staley could meet new people, try new things, and grow in her independence and her faith. And hooray for camp giving us an excuse to escape for awhile too.
