I Love the 80s

We were fortunate to spend another fun family weekend at Camp Victory Junction last weekend.

The theme was "I love the 80s!" How fun for me since I grew up in the 80s :) We were originally on a wait list to attend. A week before camp we found out another family couldn't attend so I didn't have much time to figure out our 80s outfits, but I think we managed ok with what we had.

Joe and I pegged our jeans and I scrunched up some big socks. An off-the-shoulder shirt with a big black belt and a side ponytail completed my look. It was easy to throw together Kayla's outfit- bright colors, denim jacket, big belt. Lucas was a little harder, but athletic/track pants seemed to be big for boys and he wore a shirt with ADIDAS since that was a popular brand.

I was disappointed with my hair though and that I no longer have the type of hair (ie no bangs!) to curl and tease and make big - haha!

We had a nice weekend away and I enjoyed not having to figure out meals for a couple of days and also not having to worry about what Kayla can eat. They accommodate for dietary needs.

Victory Junction Family Weekend

One of the nice things about living in SC is being close enough to attend Victory Junction!

Kayla has attend camp the past few summers and Lucas attended once for the sibling session. (Unfortunately for Lucas that was the last year they had sibling camps - he really liked it there!) The past couple of years while Kayla has been at camp, Lucas and I have stayed in NC for our own little vacation together exploring museums, the zoo, and geocaching.

They also have Family Weekends in the Spring and Fall for the whole family to attend. We've been fortunate to have attended a few of those as well!

We just went last month, and a bonus was that friends from our area were also selected to attend that same weekend. It was fun for the kids to be able to hang out.

One of the things I like about this camp is their ability to accommodate special diets; ie gluten free since Kayla has Celiac Disease. It's so nice not to have to worry about packing gluten-free food for her since it's all provided.

We had a fun family weekend getaway with activities like bowling, fishing, boating, horseback riding, archery, dance parties, and the ever-popular Stage Night.

I think the highlight of this trip was the archery experience. We all got a bull's eye by popping the balloon ... that was pretty exciting! Speaking of archery - Kayla is on the archery club at school this year; I'm happy for her and can't wait to see how she does.

The theme was An Evening In Paris; wear something black and white with a splash of pink!

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His Turn For Camp

I've blogged here and here (about our family weekend) about camp Victory Junction.  We went to another Family Weekend back in April (how have I not blogged about that?!) and Kayla just went for the first time by herself this summer. 

Among many great things about VJ is the fact that they have a summer camp just for the siblings of someone with special needs. A time for the siblings to get to experience the fun of being away at camp, without your parents, for a few days.

Lucas is only 6, so I was a little hesitant about sending him for his first sleep-away camp this summer, but he's not the only 6 yr old there, so I was in good company! He was so excited at the opportunityy to go back to VJ by himself.

Sometimes it's hard having a sibling with a disability, and sometimes it's hard just being the younger sibling, period! We hear a lot of, "How come Kayla gets to do x,y,z? Why is x,y,z just for Kayla? Why is that only for kids who have a disability?"

We try to find the balance of teaching those life lessons: life isn't fair, everything isn't always equal, you won't always get to do the same things as Kayla just like she won't always get to do the same things as you, there are some things you'll be able to do that Kayla won't be able to do. Kayla is older, she wasn't doing those things at age 6.

We don't want either of our kids to have a sense of entitlement that they deserve everything and anything.

But some things are simply harder for a 6 yr old to understand, as much as we try to explain it.

Kayla didn't get to go to to a sleep-away camp at age 6. I don't know if I would have been ready/comfortable to send her to one at that age! Maybe it's because Lucas is my second child and I'm a little more relaxed with him, and it probably helps that we've been to VJ twice as a family and I really feel comfortable with their program and how things are run at the camp.

Whatever it is - Kayla had the opportunity to attend 4 camps this summer, so I went ahead and applied for the sibling camp for Lucas. To give him an opportunity that was just for him (although the irony isn't lost on me that the only reason he has this opportunity is because of having a sibling with a disability!)

So he's off at camp and he had no problem making friends as soon as we got there - he was almost too busy to even stop and tell me bye!

Back From Camp

Kayla recently returned home from her second sleep-away camp and both were a big success. Almost too much of a success!

On my way to pick her up from her first camp I imagined that she wouldn't be happy to see me at all. What with her reaction upon my returning with her sneakers the day I dropped her off? I thought for sure she would say that she didn't want to go home.

Instead I was pleasantly surprised when I received this greeting:

"MOM! MOM! MOM!" screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran all the way to me with arms opened wide and then gave me a big, tight, lingering hug. I guess she missed me after all.

And then that was short-lived.

She fell asleep on the way home. Just over an hour later she woke up, disoriented, and said, "Where we going now?" Me, "Home." K, "No!" Then she fell back to sleep for about 5 more minutes.

Woke up and said, "Mom?" Me, "What Kayla?" "I want to go back to camp." she managed to get out before the tears. "I want to go back to camp now." And then she sobbed. And sobbed.

She refused to get out of the truck when we got home. Wouldn't give Joe or Lucas a hug after I finally managed to carry her inside.

Lucas tried to cheer her up to no avail. She was despondent. She kept saying she wanted to go back to camp now.

I thought a good night sleep would help and she would be back to her usual perky self in the morning.

Not so much. 

When she woke up she stayed in her bed crying about wanting to go to camp and see all her friends. 

I told her we had to get up, get dressed, eat breakfast and take Lucas to VBS and then she had to help me get some things at the store.

When we returned home I sent her upstairs to get her glasses that she left on her dresser. She never came back downstairs. She stayed in her crying off and on for about 2 hrs. I could hear dresser drawers open and close. I could hear her talking to herself. I knew I had to let her work it out for herself, because up until then she didn't want any comforting. 

When it was time to get Lucas I went upstairs to find Kayla back in her pjs and in bed. She had also repacked her suitcase - she put all the contents of her pajama/socks/underwear drawers in her suitcase.

It took about 1/2 a day before she finally was more like herself and she went outside to play with Lucas. 

I'm glad she had such a great, fun, amazing time at camp, but wow! Emotional overload!

She did better coming home from her second camp though. Maybe she was resigned to the fact that she was going to come home whether she wanted to or not! Or maybe it was because this camp was only 3 nights away. Joe said she was a little sad and quiet on the way home, but it was nothing like when she came home the first time.

I'm so glad she had the opportunity to attend both of these camps and have a little bit of 'amazing' built in to her summer!

 

Last Day of School

Last day of 4th grade!

 

 Last day of Kindergarten!

 

 Ready for Summer!

Bittersweet. That's what the last day of school is. No more comfort zone of the same teacher and classmates and routine all school year long ... now summer break and then on to a new grade (5th! 1st!), new teachers, new classmates.

It's also bittersweet because while it'll be nice to take a break from school and the mad rushes in the morning, and preparing lunches and outfits the night before ... I will also miss having my house quiet and all to myself! I will miss being able to run errands in half the time it takes me than when I have kids tagging along!

We will have one week of somewhat quiet, lazy, downtime days before the craziness of summer schedules begin.

VBS, ESY, camps, camps, and more camps, and a trip to IN for the NDSC convention in July.

Kayla is going to her first 2 sleep-away camps this summer. To say I'm nervous would be an understatement. But I keep telling myself it'll be good for her - the independence away from home - right? Right?!

She is going to the first sleep-away camp with her best friend so that will be nice to have a familiar face. The second camp is to Victory Junction - she is at least familiar with it since we just went there for a family weekend, but I keep reminding her that this time we're dropping her off and Lucas won't be with her either.

Speaking of sleep-away camps, Lucas is actually going to his first one too. How can that be?! He is going to the sibling week at Victory Junction. I kept asking him if he was sure he wanted to go without us and spend 4 nights there and he insists that he wants to and is ready. He had such a blast during the family weekend and can't wait to go back.

Summer adventure awaits us!

Kyle Petty's Charity Ride for Victory Junction

This year marks the 19th year of the Kyle Petty Annual Charity Ride. Former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, along with Hershel Walker and 175 others, will ride their motorcycles 2100 miles from Couer d'Alene, ID to Tempe, AZ.

The Victory Junction Gang Camp is the main recipient of this annual charity ride. Victory Junction provides week-long camps during the summer, and weekend family camps during the Spring and Fall, to families who have children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses.

The estimated cost of sending a child to camp is $2,500, yet families incur no cost (except transportation to get there) thanks to generous donors. Since the charity ride started in 1995 more than $15 million has been donated to Victory Junction and other charities that support children with chronic illnesses.

Our family experienced this wonderful camp a couple of years ago for one of the Fall family weekends. I was so impressed with everything that was provided for the families throughout the weekend.

I was seriously considering sending Kayla there this summer for the Neurological and Genetic Disorders camp; but the summer application deadline was April 1st. Bummer! Just when I worked up the courage to let her go without me for a week!

You can keep up with the Kyle Petty Charity Ride through FB.

 

Victory Junction Gang Camp

Back in Oct I blogged about Victory Junction - the NASCAR-themed camp for kids with special needs. Besides the one week camps they have for kids they also host weekend camps for the whole family to attend. The weekend camps are grouped by diagnosis and back in Nov there was a weekend camp for families who have a child with Down syndrome.

When I found out we were about 4 hrs away from the North Carolina town where Victory Junction is located, I submitted our application to attend ... and we went!

I can not say enough good things about Victory Junction and all the employees and volunteers who make these camps happen.They are wonderful, caring, enthusiastic people and their one goal is to make sure the kids/families have a blast.

The only thing we paid for was our gas money to get there. Everything else is completely free to the families. The cabins, activities, entertainment, and meals. They even provided gluten-free substitutions for those who couldn't/didn't eat gluten. Kayla was able to eat everything we were eating; spaghetti, garlic bread, French toast, sloppy joe's, pizza, and brownies. At every meal there was a covered plate for Kayla with her substitution item already on the table. And Kayla hardly ate any of it. That was the only frustrating thing about the whole weekend. But I'm so thankful the gluten-free foods were provided and I didn't have to worry about bringing anything for Kayla.

We arrived on Fri evening and went to our cabin to meet our 2 counselors (each family is assigned 2 counselors to take you around the whole weekend.) We also roomed with another family (she doesn't have a blog) but whom I've 'known' online for a few years now. Sydney and Kayla are the same age so it was fun finally meeting in person and having our girls get together! We had dinner followed by a dance party.

The cabins are large. There is a common area with a small kitchenette and doors to the sleeping rooms are on the left and right. Each room has 8 beds and a bathroom. The bathrooms each had 3 stalls, sinks, and showers. So each family had one side of the cabin to themselves.

Saturday was full of activities: mini golf, bowling, arts and crafts, fishing, horseback riding. We also had a 70s themed costume party for lunch and some quiet time back at our cabin thrown in there. After dinner was a dessert party with frozen yogurt, cotton candy, and popcorn; followed by the talent show.

There were a few more activities to try on Sun and then they sent us on our way with a bagged lunch and a back pack (with some goodies) for Kayla.

It truly was a memorable weekend and I'm so thankful we had an opportunity to go! I took so many pictures and had a hard time narrowing them down to post on the blog. Here are a few of my favorites, and then several more in the slideshow below.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Victory Junction

Victory Junction is a camp for kids with special needs, chronic medical conditions, and serious health issues. It was built in honor of Adam Petty - late son of NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and grandson of racing legend Richard Petty. It was Adam's dream to build this camp but he died tragically in a racing accident. His parents continued his dream and his grandparents donated the land to make it a reality.

They serve children with autism, Down syndrome, arthritis, cancer, epilepsy, heart disease, spina bifida, as well as many more conditions.

Their mission is to provide "life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically-sound environment. The program offers a week of exhilarating, challenging and nurturing fun under comprehensive, but unobtrusive, 24-hour medical supervision. Activities include arts and crafts, woodshop, an adventure course, archery, swimming, boating, fishing, horseback riding, music and theater, and a special NASCAR-themed program area complete with race cars, racing simulators, and racing gear."

Check out the video - looks like kids have a blast at this camp! You also can't help but tear up watching the video about how the camp came to be, how much it means to the kids, and watching the camp volunteers/counselors - you can see the love and enthusiasm they have for the kids they are serving.

Since it opened in 2004 more than 11,000 kids and families have attended free of charge, thanks to generous sponsor donations.

Besides the regular week-long camps that are held they also provide weekend family camps for the whole family to attend. The weekend camps are specialty camps based on a specific diagnosis.

The weekend of Nov 12-14 is for Down syndrome. Victory Junction is located in NC, so I'm really hoping our family gets to go to this camp next month!

They are building another Victory Junction camp in Kansas.


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