We had hoped to have Lilly for the first time this year but
it appears she, at age 7, is still uncomfortable with the idea of being away
from her parent(s) more than just overnight ... and that's a requirement for Cuz'N Camp.
We hope she will want to come next year.
On Tuesday, we got up early and headed for Las Vegas to pick
up Erin – Kris’s “baby girl” who, at almost 12-years-old was flying into
McCarren as an unaccompanied minor.
After we claimed her, Cuz’N Camp’s first “mystery trip” was to the Las
Vegas Discovery Children’s Museum. It
was fun, fun fun packed into 3-floors. A
little pricey at $12 per person, but well worth it with things to climb, swing
on, push, pull, dial, build, dig, pour, explore and investigate. For almost 4 hours, our pre-teens giggled
over, played in and contemplated the end result at a dozen displays.
Our second “mystery trip” of the day was to the new Silverton
Casino with its new million-gallon aquarium.
Because we were there on Tuesday, we didn’t get to see the mermaids (who
perform for the tourists while feeding the fish on Thursday – Sunday) but the
tank was filled with dozens of species of beautiful fish. They were interesting and pretty, even
without the scantily clad girl swimmers.
Our third “mystery trip” on Tuesday was to the always
popular M&M Store with its four floors of candy, t-shirts, mugs, toys and
other costly memorabilia, but who doesn’t enjoy those tasty little chocolate
filled treats.
On Wednesday, we spent a couple of hours at the local
Deseret Industries store where the girls shopped for and tried on clothes,
shoes and lots of other stuff. Erin got
a cute skirt and a couple of tops but no shoes.
Taisley found a couple of tops and a pair of “gladiator” shoes. Both left the store happy.
From there we went to Raymond and Linda Lowe’s home for
aquatics in their indoor swimming pool where the girls dived, flipped and swam
for more than 2 hours.
On Wednesday night, our “mystery trip” was an evening at Tuacahn Center for the Arts
in Ivins. Grandma got a great deal on
tickets since it was considered a “dress rehearsal” for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.
Wow, it was soooooo good. The
girls and the audience laughed at the hilarious telling of the scriptural
account of Joseph and his jealous brothers and tapped their feet to the beat of
the wonderful music. It was a really fun
night.
On Thursday, they were beat (and, honestly, so were we), so
we decided to forgo the two “mystery trips” Grandma had planned and just stay
home and work on craft projects, attend Taisley’s back-to-school night and end
the day with a night swim at the Lowe’s.
Another fun – but less frenzied day!!!
Friday was supposed to be extra special, according to
Grandma’s plans … starting with a “mystery trip” to the Washington County
Fair. I thought we would just spend the
day riding rides, seeing the farm animals and eating over priced and mediocre
food. Turns out, the rides did not begin
operating until 4 p.m. (we got there around 11 a.m.) because it was too
hot. We wandered for awhile, saw some
interesting seed displays and talked to a couple of friends, then decided it
wasn’t worth waiting around for 4 more hours.
On the way home, we took a side trip to the Dinosaur Discovery Museum
which – surprisingly – the kids found very interesting!
Friday evening was special because after 4 days, Taisley was
missing her Dad, so the “mystery trip” I had planned was especially timely. She “guessed” we were going to the movie when
I told her the “mystery trip” started at 7 p.m.
She was delighted when, instead of parking at the Stadium 8 Movie
Theater, we pulled into her driveway where, in the stairwell, Rick and Danielle
had created, a “laser” field made of red string. To get to the Welch’s home theater in the
basement, the girls had to navigate their way through the string trying their
best to avoid touching it and sounding the alarm (Rick had some interesting
sound effects). After much laughter,
both made it through then we settled into a big-screen showing of “The Lego
Movie” complete with strawberries, sour cream and brown sugar … and
popcorn. The evening concluded in the
back yard with a hula hoop contest, S’mores over an open fire (with the evening
temperature about 100 degrees) and chit chat with the family.
Ask these two delightful young women how they enjoyed Cuz’N
Camp this year. I hope they’ll say they
had a great time – despite Grandma declaring it a “no technology zone!” Ask them about chalk art and making bombs on
the driveway – despite Grandpa’s worries about damaging the house and/or the
driveway. Erin said the best part of
Cuz’N Camp was seeing Taisley and me at the gate when her plane landed. Taisley particularly liked swimming … and
they both thought shopping at the Deseret Industries store and Grandpa's waffles were the best!
Next year, Cuz’N Camp will be in Puerto Penasco, Mexico (June 8-14)! Bring your swim suits and cameras and plan to enjoy an exciting and fun-filled week at this very different Cuz’N Camp, which for the first time since its inception will see parents invited (unless the Cuz'N's talk me out of it)!
Next year, Cuz’N Camp will be in Puerto Penasco, Mexico (June 8-14)! Bring your swim suits and cameras and plan to enjoy an exciting and fun-filled week at this very different Cuz’N Camp, which for the first time since its inception will see parents invited (unless the Cuz'N's talk me out of it)!
