Honey Camp Twenty Ten part 1~

So the first day of HCTT was superb and well. I've got this looong post to prove it. After a fantastic 4th of July the day before, we came home exhausted and soon after, fell into bed in preparation for the busy morning that was coming. Mom did manage to cover her kitchen table before bed though...she's so good to use butcher paper to protect her table as well as welcome the kiddies to HC. This year there were SIX kids! Of course my three {Joel's first of many HC's!}, my cousin Jamie's kids {Kenzie and Owen} and my aunt, Stacy's, little girl Madeline. {Stacy and I are only four years apart in age...my mom is the oldest of her siblings and Stacy is the youngest. So we really grew up together. Syd is a year older than Maddie.} So we got started around 9am on Monday and hit it hard till around 4!

This is sure to be the longest HC post because it was just a great day with lots of pics! The theme of this year's HC {if there was one} was paint. Because these kiddies painted something everyday! Mom had each of them a huge t-shirt to wear each day to protect their clothes...they painted a ton! And because of the required time to complete these, we started straight away with ceramic Christmas trees. We have a lady in our church who offers ceramics classes...the girls have both been through her class and have made beautiful trees before. So the ones they made at HC are being given to my mom and Jason's mom. Joel gets to keep his...so each of my kiddies has their own to have as adults. How cool is that?

It takes THREE coats of glaze to cover these trees that stand about a foot tall I guess. You also paint the base {where the light kit is attached}. It's so weird to me. The glaze for deep green is a dark gray color as it goes on. Then as it dries, it is a really light gray. When it is fired though, it becomes a perfect green with lighter accents throughout. Joel painted the top four inches of his tree six times I think! So funny. I of course helped him with the rest. But he was doing a bang up job on his own too! Here are the fruits of our labor.

We took the trees to a friend for firing and here is the finished product. This one is Joel's. I've put the lights in it but still need a star for the top...you get the idea though!

The kids also began painting their lap boards/lap desks today. Prior to HC, each child decided on a theme for their board. Kennedy just wanted her initial with paisley fabric, Sydney chose Tinkerbell, and Joel chose Buzz Lightyear {shocker!}. So they began with the task of painting the boards the solid color of their choosing and mom and I sanded them so they'd be nice and smooth. The next night, Keith and I painted their design on the boards for them. But here they are on day one of painting~

After painting the lap boards , the kids headed out to play on mom's water slide. I wondered if Joel would even like it...but oh my. He couldn't get enough!

I made up some yummy chicken salad and we had lunch around noon. Then the kiddies made smores. Yep, with a lighter. Oh the fun they have at HC!

Each afternoon following lunch, we headed a few miles down the road to my Uncle Al's home where he has the perfect in-ground pool. The kids would swim and swim and wear themselves out! My mom's sisters, Jill and Stacy, and I enjoyed some laughs and great conversation. Kev got to come with us this first day and I think us ladies educated him a bit seeing how he's still a newlywed and all! lol!

My sweet Joel, he fell fast asleep {actually he did this everyday at the pool!}. But on this Monday, he climbed up on the float with me, and said, "night night mama." He nestled himself down and slept like this for about 25-30 minutes. I was afraid he was getting too much sun so my aunt Jill lifted him out of the pool and laid him on a lounge chair. He never woke up. How beautiful is he?

We just had a fantastic day!