December, Remembered

(how do you like that slant rhyme blog title? so bloggy!)

Yet, that's what we have here, a couple of posts all about December. It's like, so last decade I know, but I'm nothing if not thorough and a bit anally retentive when it comes to chronologic blogging. So over the next few posts I will recount our last month of 2009, hopefully finishing up before the end of January 2010!

So here now is the first installment of Richardson Family Raconteur's

December, Remembered.

Our December started with a Big Adventure for the twins. They had the opportunity to participate in the Sixth Grade Science Sleep Away Camp for four days. The camp is located about 2 hours away from Orange County in the mountains near Big Bear, not far from Jenks Lake where we went camping two summers ago. They left on Tuesday morning Dec. 1st from the school for the bus ride there and returned home not long after lunchtime on Friday the 4th. They were excited and a bit apprehensive about being homesick, but we knew it would be a great opportunity for them in a lot of ways. The school had established a letter delivery service, we wrote as many letters before they left as we wanted, then they were taken with the kids and delivered each day as specified. Of course we wrote one for each twin each day and they later said they really enjoyed them. The weather was cold and we had borrowed some cold-weather gear as most of ours is kept in Utah where we usually only need it. I regret that I didn't do better by them in this area, I sent them with mittens when they really needed some good warm gloves. But overall they came home tired and excited with a lot of stories and experiences to relate, and, in the case of Harriet, one teeny tiny crush on one of the counselors (no names or photos included of that, even though I have both, Harriet's already going to kill me for including this...)

And lastly we need to give a big Thank You! to their grandparents for funding this wonderful opportunity!

Jack and Harriet on the morning they leave for camp,

mostly excited, a bit apprehensive

(don't look too closely at Jack's red-rimmed eyes)

girls ready to hit the road

Harriet with two of her best friends,

incidentally also the three girls in the class who wear glasses.

They call themselves "the Bee Gees" for "the blind girls"

they took A LOT of photos of themselves and

faces like these on the bus ride up

arriving at Camp Nawakwa near Big Bear

from 70 + degrees down to around 40 or so.

snowy ground

Harriet with the campy mountain scenery

shooting at hay during archery

tired and happy on the final bus ride home

Thats about it for photos from Harriet,

who has her own camera.

I lent Jack my old Sony,

the first digital camera we ever owned,

for the trip to camp.

I told him I'd pay him a

nickel for every photo that he took.

I should have specified

I'd pay him for every decent photo that he took.

Here's just a small sampling of what came back from him.

button on the bus

tic tacs his friend gave him on the bus

many, many blurry photos of the scenery passing by

his cabin among the trees at the camp

photo from the dining hall

utensils, plate, bowl and cup from dining hall

photo of cabin interior from Jack's top bunk

luggage ready to go on the last morning

photo with some of his class (Jack far right)

the rest of these photos I stole

off the twins' friend's facebook pages...

Jack and friend in their waterproof

"green gear" provided by the camp

Jack, left, rappelling wall

goofing off on a hike

can you do this?

(okay, I lied, here's one photo....)

Well, there it is, the first four days of December covered.

Coming up next time, first Saturday of the month,

featuring Breakfast with Santa. See you then!