Spanish Camp

In trying to drop Liesel and Ireland off at Spanish Camp, I was a bit too eager and tried to drop them off like 4 hours early. Having already checked out of the hotel, we decided to explore the town a bit. Turns out, Bemidji lays claim to Paul Bunyan and Babe the Big Blue Ox. 

The Welcome Center has lots of abnormally sized objects like telephones:

Mittens:

Toenail clippings? I thought that was a bit excessive...

The fireplace the girls are standing by in the phone pic is made up of stones from all of the United States which is pretty cool. There is a very Instagrammable sign right by the waterfront as well!

Just a couple of blocks away, we found a really fun shopping district.

We explored and got some ice cream and finally headed back to camp right on time.

This year, the girls were pros- all ready with their passports and prepped for their introductory test. They knew which activities they wanted to sign up for and had no problem locating their casas. 

After helping them unpack and settle in, they were anxious to meet other campers and start making friends- which just warmed the cockles of my heart. The pandemic really killed a lot of social skills in these kids and to put yourself out there and seek out friendship is a brave thing to do. Liesel and Ireland gave me hugs and they were good to go! Once I was at the car I found the jar of beads Liesel wanted to take with her so she could make bracelets so I trekked back to give her that and they were already immersed in camp life.

Summer storms abounded and I was caught in a doozy of one on the way home. It cleared and a bright red moon shone for me around the Wisconsin Dells which kept me going until I was in the clear.

 Parents have access to photos from each day and oddly the girls were rarely in them. We were able to catch a few and they were clearly having fun.

Picking them up two weeks later, they were thrilled to see me and surrounded by all their new friends. 

They showed off some dances and songs they learned before we hit the road for the long drive home. Initially we talked about stopping at Mall of America and doing some more shopping but there were more storms on the horizon and we decided to just make a beeline for home. We stopped at the exact same Jimmy Johns we did on the way home last year. Liesel showed off her henna tattoos and informed me Reagan has done them before. 

It always throws me when one of my girls tells me something about my sisters I didn't already know...

Liesel told me if this had to be her last year of Spanish Camp, this was the one to go out on. She really enjoyed herself but she's also ready to pass the baton. Next year she will focus on getting a job and saving for college and Gita will accompany Ireland to Spanish Camp. It's a sacrifice for us to send the girls there, but so far, it's been 100% worth it. They have never had anything less than an A in Spanish and they come back with so much cultural knowledge and so many memories!