Like most of the pictures on the blog, I found this picture among Tommy’s archives – I think it is from June or so, based on the length of Maggie’s hair and her hospital bracelet. This is our new swing set, which is perfect for her. She can now climb up the ramp and go down the slide all by herself. And I am secretly looking forward to the first frost so she can do so without getting 16 bug bites every time she wants to play.

Kaya went to dance camp this week, where she had entire days filled with lip syncing and dancing. I unfortunately had to miss the show at the end, but I got some video which was insanely cute. Her song was “Timber” which we now play on repeat in our house. “You better move, you better dance.”

Laney can’t quite read yet, but I am predicting she might be quickly addicted when she learns. And her math skills are pretty phenomenal – her favorite activity currently is “doing minus,” which means getting quizzed on subtraction problems. This one’s going to be a real thinker.

I was out of town to give a talk this weekend, but Tommy and the girls went to pick up Kaya from her very first week away from family. She had a FABULOUS time and can’t wait to go back next year. I didn’t know it was possible for a 7 year old to learn 146 songs/chants in one week, but it is.

I’m not sure if the Camp Kanata counselors are coaching the kids on how to write letters home, but I am very impressed with Kaya’s communications. We all got individual letters to brighten our week without Kaya. Here’s Laney with hers.

Tommy had a bit of a moment dropping Kaya off at sleep away camp – our baby is seriously growing up. She is going to Camp Kanata for one week and it looks awesome – kind of like the North Carolina version of Dirty Dancing. There’s a lake, horses, cabins, a mess hall, canoes, mosquitoes, and “gaga pits” which I haven’t figured out yet. Have a great time Kaya!

A big congratulations to Kaya for passing the swim test. She has been working very hard the last two summers to get her skills up to be allowed down the slide at the Farm pool and in the deep end by herself. The big hurdle was treading water for 60 seconds. She finally got up the courage to take the test and passed with flying colors. Congrats Kaya! Now she just needs to get the courage to actually go down the slide!

Happy 7th birthday to our wonderful Kaya! She had her birthday party at the movie theater for a screening of the Lion King. She also handmade her piñata this year, although it broke a bit fast for everyone to get a chance. Her theme was moo-vies and she had a cow cake (she came up with that herself – I think inspired by Chick-Fil-A). I can’t believe I have a 7 year old!

We had the privilege of going to Bulls game with the Duke Pediatric BMT family support group and the HEARTS club. That meant we get to sit in a box, with free food, go down to the field between innings, and ride a golf cart to the dug out after the game to watch fireworks. It was pretty special. Kaya even got a haircut in the barbershop (yes, weird, I know), and Wool E Bull made a special appearance!

Kaya spent two full weeks at Schoolhouse of Wonder camp. It’s an outdoor nature camp, where they do a ton of walking and playing in the woods. Other than that, I actually never figured out what they did for most of the day. But she came home tired and happy. And dirty.