We spent this past weekend at the First! Annual! Family Camp! put on by our church. It was held at a camp about a half an hour from our house. It’s a camp that is quite popular due to its sweet location on the lake and all of the activities available to attendees. I have actually attended camp there twice before in my early twenties. Once was with the Junior High group that I was a youth sponsor for and once was with the College and Career group that I attended (and where I met Matthew)(At College and Career, not the camp).
The idea of a family camp was a good one. I can’t argue that. The kids have been talking about it for weeks. (Remember when Graham filled out the “phone” line with “Uniden”?) If you’ve read any of my posts over the past little while, then you know that weekends are when I have the bulk of my work to do. I have to work every day, but Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my “weekends.” Needless to say, the thought of going away for a weekend in the midst of my chaos gave me a bit of anxiety. Matthew suggested that I stay at home to get my work done but that just wasn’t right. It’s FAMILY camp. Last I checked, I was part of this family.
In my perfect world, the camp would have been held in a few weeks when I have a break between contracts. It turns out that the plans of a hundred other people do not revolve around what works best for me. Shocking, I know.
We decided that we would take two vehicles up to the camp and that I would drive home first thing Sunday morning to work. I also spent the bulk of Saturday morning in our cabin working, as well as a small part of the afternoon. At least the view was nice.
(That was taken Friday night after we checked in.)
I spent the rest of my time there hanging out with the family and our friends. All of our “besties” were along with their kids, which was awesome. We didn’t get a lot of time to hang out without kids climbing all over us, but at least we had people to commiserate with about the crappy sleep we were all getting and the TOO MUCH FUN AND FRESH AIR meltdowns we were being subjected to.
The kids couldn’t believe that we were finally there. They were beyond excited, not that you can tell from Emily’s expression.
We had paid extra for a separate room with our own bathroom and shower, which was nice. The beds were…camp beds. Not quite the pillow top mattress that we have at home.
(Side note: I’m not quite sure when I became such a Princess. Growing up, we went camping every weekend. I dug in the dirt, swam in the lake, gutted fish. Yes, really. Now my idea of “camping” involves a nicely furnished cabin on the lake, complete with electricity and running water. The idea of sleeping in a canvas dome has lost its lure.)
Nathan slept with me the first night, and Emily slept with her Daddy. The next night, they switched parental bed partners. Graham slept solo both nights (Lucky duck). I know that some people love to co-sleep and whatnot but it is SO NOT MY THING. If it works for you, awesome. I, on the other hand, do not appreciate the feet in my ribs or arms across my face. “Rested” is not a word you could use to describe me this weekend. Stressed? Yes. Grumpy? Yes. Refreshed? Not so much.
But, eh. Apart from the lack of sleep and the food that my kids weren’t used to eating, the weekend was a smashing success. The weather was phenomenal and the kids split their time between the playground and the lake.
We went for a walk out on the dock before breakfast on Saturday morning.
My stomach did somersaults any time the kids got withing two feet of the dock’s edge. I wasn’t annoyingly overprotective AT ALL.
Miss Emily loved the swings (per usual).
The dudes were all about the water slide.
Nathan:
Graham:
You could not PAY ME to go down that slide. I got toe tingles if I went anywhere near the edge of the dock.
We built a rocket.
(And launched it!)(Well, they did, after I went home.)(Sigh.)
We sang songs by a camp fire, we played relay races. Nathan decided to play along after the shaving cream game was over.
He did that to himself.
(Full story on Flickr, along with more photos.)(I’m still working through the two hundred or so that I took.)
As much fun as all of the activities were, I have to say that it was the Saturday night talent show that made all of the stress and lack of sleep worth the trip. I had alluded to a skit that Matthew was putting on (And had Twittered about the songs I was downloading for him), but had not seen any of the rehearsals. He had shown me some YouTube skits that had inspired him, but had warned me that his would not be as funny. He was SO WRONG. It’s long but I am not kidding when I say that you need to watch this video:
Five Minutes Of Fame from Angella on Vimeo.
At the very least, watch the first and last song (and the grand finale). How I managed to keep the video camera steady while I was laughing that hard is pretty amazing. My husbands cracks me up on a regular basis, but it is a rare event when I get to see this side of him. It is beyond awesome.
Enjoy his five minutes of fame. I know that I (and more than a hundred others) sure did.
It’s so cool to think that you guys enjoy the same kind of Church Camps all the way over there in Canada as we do down here in NZ!! Sounds like a great weekend (apart from the sleeping part … camp beds are never great).
LOVE LOVE LOVE the video, I was almost crying with laughter! It’s neat to see a side of Matthew that we (blog readers) don’t usually hear about. He did GOOD!
.-= Hannah´s last blog ..Recipes =-.
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Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for sharing that video. It was awesome!
I nearly cried during the last song.
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SO FUNNY!
I laughed so hard…the string on the guitar, I couldn’t stop! That one event would have made the weekend great. Hope you can get caught up after the weekend.
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I used to camp, the “real” way, all the time when I was a kid as well. But now? Now I’m all about the cabin and running water and stuff like that.
I’m glad you guys got away for the weekend, even though you had to work. Was it at G.B.?
I’m going to watch that video of Matthew’s right after I drop Kaylie off at school – looking forward to it!
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Kent Hearted =-.
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You are married to one funny dude! The ballet? Killed me.
.-= hillary´s last blog ..You’re Falling Out Something Ain’t Here =-.
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I can see why you two are married.
So fun! The hip hop part was likely my favorite but when the guitar got stuck on his hat, that was pretty hilarious.
I used to camp as a kid and liked it but I somehow turned into a princess too when it comes to an actual bed.
.-= Sizzle´s last blog ..Searching Backwards =-.
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Kung Fu Fighting – AWESOME. That just made my day!
.-= Jennifer W.´s last blog ..Here’s to fall. It’s like summer but with a little less sweat. =-.
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That is WAY TOO FUNNY. Oh my word.
I spent the whole time (while laughing so hard my belly now hurts) trying to figure out whose appendages were whose. No idea. So awesome.
.-= Jen´s last blog ..Kent Hearted =-.
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angella Reply:
September 15th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Matthew’s hands were the “feet” and pastor Mikal was the arms. It was way better than I had imagined it would be.
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Too funny. Glad you had a great time, Family Camp holds many great memories for us. Beth thought that video was sweet! She kept trying to copy his moves on KungFu fighting, haha. If she does it again I may have to video her and run the two videos side by side.
.-= Ashley´s last blog ..Brigade Parade =-.
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That was a scream and I almost peed my pants over the guitar strap! They did great! I assume Matthew had help anyway?!
And I am all about NOT camping. I am a princess and proud of it! I did my time as a kid….
.-= Kami’s Khlopchyk´s last blog ..Things I have learned or Stewing or Meh – your choice =-.
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WHAT A RIOT!
.-= Elizabeth´s last blog ..Ten-Minute Tutu: A Timely Tutorial =-.
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That was the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages!! My co-workers all think I’m nuts because I was laughing so hard I was crying (especially at the end). Thanks for sharing – it totally brightened my day!
.-= Sharon´s last blog ..Tuesday Tidbits =-.
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I was having a pretty craptastic day until now. Thank you to you and Matthew!
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Wah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaa.
I’ve never been to camp. Camping? yup. To camp, no. That looks like fun.
.-= Danica´s last blog .. =-.
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That video is too funny, the kids watched with me and they loved it too.
.-= Kristin´s last blog ..Some fun from the last few days. =-.
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That was brilliant! I especially appreciated the slow-mo Chariots of Fire enactment!!!
Thanks for the laugh!
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Remembering =-.
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It was priceless, that performance. I had to miss most of it because Avelyn was too creeped out by Matt’s “teeny legs” but she watched the video this morning and laughed from a safe distance.
.-= Amanda Brown´s last blog ..Year One =-.
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Oh my goodness, I had to take a break from watching so I didn’t wake up Hubby (and I was covering my face in my robe to stifle the laughter). You really needed to put a warning on that…do not watch while loved ones are sleeping.
You are one lucky person!
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..Waiting on The Frost =-.
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Great Video!! it was a great weekend..as stressfull as it kinda was with Riley i am glad i went..im glad you posted the video of Mat..i had to put Riley to bed at 7 so i wasnt able to watch the talent show..it sounded like i missed a lot of good ones..tell him good job!
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Fun to finally hear Matthew live and in person!
.-= slynnro´s last blog ..Latisse Update! =-.
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SO much fun! I was sold pretty much from the get go, but when the guitar got stuck on the hat…oh man…classic.
Thanks to Matthew for letting you post that and allowing us a glimpse into who he is!
.-= Karmyn´s last blog ..Dear Internet, this is where you come in. =-.
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funny. and it all seemed like fun.
glad you were able to enjoy. (some of it)
.-= mpotter´s last blog ..96 & 97 explained =-.
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Dude could take that show on the road…gutsy!
.-= Jeremy´s last blog ..EllaStyle =-.
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I’m so glad you got that on video! Seriously one for the family archives – the kids are gonna love watching that later in life! HA!
That camp sounds and looks like a great time. Love the slide!
.-= Elaine´s last blog ..I Gotta Get This Off My Chest =-.
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Awesome – absolutely awesome!!
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