Ever since Emma became a Brownie she has been looking forward to going to camp. When I found an overnight camp that she and I could go to together I thought it would be a perfect introduction to camp for her. We signed up with 3 friends from our troop. Emma has been jumping out of her skin waiting for it to get here. On Friday night, the day finally came.

We got back from Idaho Falls just in time to dump out our suitcase and fill it back up with everything we needed for camp. Camping in Utah is almost always freezing at night. I packed jackets all kinds of warm clothes to sleep in. We loaded the car and Emma and I were off.

As soon as we got in the car, I felt so happy to be spending the night with Emma. She was so excited to be with me, she was just glowing. We don’t get to spend very much one-on-one time, so this was really special for both of us. She kept looking at me and grinning and saying “I love you, Mama”. It just melted my heart. I felt so lucky to be with her. I just felt this little glow about me too. I was really happy to be with her and I really savored every minute of it.

We got to the camp and found our cabin. We were at the end of a little steep path. Getting our bag down there was a bit of a challenge, but we made it. We unpacked and got things ready so that when we got back from dinner and the campfire program, we would be all ready for bed. I noticed that our cabin only had one tiny window and it was rather hot. But, I was sure that as soon as the sun went down it would cool right off.

We went up to the lodge for dinner and the campfire program. We sang a bunch of silly songs and did some crazy dances. We both laughed a lot, cuddled a lot, and held hands a lot. We just enjoyed our time together.

Bedtime was crazy. The four girls jumped from bed to bed giggling uncontrollably. Our cabin was incredibly hot and it was full of mosquitoes, but they didn’t seem to notice. We finally told them it was lights out about 10:00pm. They all went to sleep almost immediately. For the moms, it was a bit different. I don’t think any of us got much sleep. We were hot and getting eaten by bugs. The one tiny window didn’t make for much cross ventilation. Still, that didn’t dampen my enjoyment of being there with Emma.

The next day there were all kinds of camp activities planned. I let Emma be totally in charge. She chose to go canoeing–which we did 3 times, swim and do multiple art projects. I love the canoeing. It was so peaceful being out on the water, just her and I. She learned the proper way to get into the canoe and how to paddle. She took charge and did great. The whole day was perfect.

I couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky I was to be there with Emma. I truly didn’t think about anything else for 24 hours. She got every second of my attention, and she loved it. I was so proud of her. I saw so many of her good qualities while we were there. She was so kind to the other girls and so much fun to be around. She worked hard and was adventurous. She wasn’t scared to try new things. I just couldn’t stop smiling the whole trip.

We both came home exhausted, but it was one of the nicest things I have done in a long time. I know it will be something that Emma remembers for the rest of her life. I hope that we can do it again next year!

Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I don’t have a single photo Luckily one of the other moms took quite a few photos. As soon as I get them from her, I’ll get some put up.