This has been a whirlwind month for the kids.

We started the month with 4th of July activities. Skyler’s cheer team performed in the parade. We had our annual family picnic with my dad’s side of the family. The three younger kids ran in the annual Kids Fun Run. We watched the fireworks (the first ones back downtown since the horrible flood of 2008). And we had several family meals.

Then the kids headed to Chicago with my mom. For two weeks. They went to Navy Pier, saw tons of movies and went swimming almost every day.

We got to see them for a day and a half before they all headed off to church camp. Keaton went to West Virginia for a mission trip. And Skyler, Spencer, and Caleb headed to a nearby camp for some fun outdoor activities.

This weekend we picked them up from camp and immediately headed to Des Moines for a soccer tournament. And by immediately I mean after a stop at home for showers.

I completely underestimated how dirty the outdoors is. I know, right? Who knew spending a week in the forest with bugs and mud and creek water could be so disgusting?

Skyler was in a Music, Art, Drama camp so we headed up to camp early to catch her performance. They wrote their own musical to perform for parents. It was very cute. They did a fantastic job.

The second I saw her I was a little taken aback by how filthy and tangled her hair was. I turned to Lee and said, “Ok we are going to HAVE to make time to stop at home for showers.”

This might come as a shock to you, but I’m not really an outdoorsy person. You’re shocked, right? We were at camp for an hour; watching Skyler’s performance and picking up the kids. I spent the entire hour trying not to have a panic attack. The second I stepped in to the lodge my OCD kicked in and I wanted to scream “NOBODY TOUCH ME UNTIL YOU WASH YOUR HANDS!” But I took a deep breath (which was difficult since the lodge smelled like animal urine), plastered on a fake smile, and tried to make the best of it.

Kids love that kind of thing. Dirt, mud, creek stomping. They were in their element. Me? I was all, “Grab your stuff. Let’s get the hell out of here.” A couple weeks ago Keaton said we should buy an RV and go camping in the summers. My response? Do I look like a girl who camps? When Keaton was in Boy Scouts Lee went on every camping trip or Keaton didn’t go. I would have passed out the first time I accidentally stepped in a mud puddle. Or starved because you know my OCD won’t allow me to eat from some rusty skillet held over a fire made with dirty sticks rather than a stove.

Stopping home would likely make us late for the soccer tournament, but I didn’t care. Showers were necessary if I was going to sit in the car with the kids for a couple of hours. And I’m sure Spencer’s teammates would appreciate the sacrifice of a shower.

As soon as we got home they all jumped in the shower. And I went through their bags. I dumped the bags directly in the laundry room. Towels and bathing suits were covered in smelly water, small tree branches and dried up leaves. I did everything I could to stop dry heaving as I stuffed the washing machine full of camp clothes. Several pairs of socks that used to be white were now black. I just threw those away. For my sanity I would rather spend $10 on a package of new socks then continue to touch those stinky, mud-filled socks. I’m seriously thinking about throwing away a couple pairs of shoes too. YUCK!

I’m thinking next year Lee can pick the kids up from camp and wash all their clothes. I’ll spend the weekend at the spa.

While the younger kids are at camp, Keaton’s been in West Virginia on a mission trip for church. They got to stay in the dorms at the school that is portrayed in the movie We are Marshal. While there they are working on a few projects; building something and teaching a bible school class. Keaton got to play the part of a worm and spent part of the day dressed in a green body sox and a shirt. I really hope somebody took a picture of that.

On Thursday night Keaton texted me:

You should hear about it tomorrow but i’m tellin you now because i feel terrible about it but two of my roommates were throwing bottles out a window and i knew

I called him and we talked about it. He didn’t throw anything. He knew it was wrong. His only mistake was not telling anybody what was going on. I was glad to hear he wasn’t partaking in the prank. But was a little upset to hear he also did nothing to stop it. However it was clear that he knew he was wrong and was taking responsibility for it.

So all was good.

But then last night I got the whole story from a friend who was on the trip. A friend who ended up having to fly home early with the two boys who were throwing water bottle out of their dorm window. A flight they had to take because the police were involved and the boys either needed to go home or go to jail. They stole the water bottles from the work site. They came dangerously close to hitting pedestrians with the full water bottles. And they almost hit a cop car with a bottle. AND this was the second night they were throwing water bottles out of their window. Keaton left all of that out when we had talked the night before.

So I began texting Keaton asking him to confirm my new found knowledge of the event. He ended up calling me. Yes, everything I heard was true. And the youth leader wanted to talk to me.

She got on the phone and said, “I wanted to talk to you. And it’s for a good thing.”

Ok, now I’m really confused.

She went on to say that while they were initially disappointed because Keaton didn’t come forward and didn’t tell, they are now very impressed with him for taking responsibility for his role in the matter. No he didn’t throw any water bottles. Other kids confirmed that. But he now realizes that he shouldn’t have allowed it to happen either. And he, all on his own [along with another boy who knew, but also didn't tell] volunteered to help the other two boys pay off their debt to the church. They are going to work off the three plane tickets (for the two boys and the chaperon who had to fly back) by working at the church.

Keaton is 15. And, like many 15-year-olds, he will find himself in situations where he will have to make hard decisions about what’s right or wrong. He will have to decide whether or not to give in to peer pressure or do the right thing. He will have to face consequences when he experiments with danger or finds himself in tough situations.

One of the hardest parts of being a parent of a teen is letting them make their own decisions. Letting them take the fall when they make bad decisions. And trusting them to do the right thing.

I’m so happy to see that Keaton is admitting when he’s wrong and taking responsibility for his actions. I’m so proud of him for realizing his mistake and learning from it. He is such a good kid. I know he will make more mistakes in the next couple of years. But I have faith that he will learn from them and be a better person because of them. I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful teen.

This morning we dropped Caleb off at camp. And guess what? Chicken butt. Oh, um, I mean, I had him all ready for camp last night. I was so on the ball this time.

I got him in for his physical on Monday. [Granted still at the walk-in clinic because apparently he hasn't had a physical since 2007 and our doctor's office couldn't fit him in before this morning.] I got a copy of his shots records before hand. I even packed his back last night so we weren’t frantically throwing things together at the last minute.

I’ve overcome procrastination. Maybe.

Although I haven’t overcome my hatred of mornings.

I woke up late, didn’t get out the door until after 9am, and we still needed to stop for gas. So we didn’t get him to camp until 10:30am; a half hour after he was supposed to be there.

But I’m making progress, people. And that’s all that matters, right?

Caleb was a little apprehensive about camp. He’s sort of independent. But prefers to go off on independent adventures…when his siblings are accompanying him. However, this time it was all him.

He sat in the backseat, very quiet. Lee tried to lighten the mood with a joke. A VERY BAD joke. “Don’t worry. You’ll have fun playing in the forest with the bears.”

Caleb said with all the attitude his little 8-year-old body could muster, “Um, a bear would eat me!”

So with that joke falling flat, we decided to be silent the rest of the way there.

Turns out Caleb’s cabin was just two cabins away from Skyler’s cabin. And we saw Skyler as we were pulling in to unload. This immediately lifted Caleb’s spirits…a little.

We got Caleb signed up and dragged all his luggage out of the car. As we were headed to the cabin his camp counselor told him to grab his swim trunks and towel. They were heading to the pool first thing.

And that was how they hooked him. Caleb is a sucker for the swimming pool. All his fears swam [pun intended] away and he was practically pushing us back in the van. “Bye Mom and Dad. See you later.” No more fear of bears or loneliness or anything. They were going swimming and that’s all that matters.

I’m a little sad that I can be so easily forgotten when swimming is involved. But at least I know he’s having fun.

Yesterday Skyler and Spencer left for camp. This is the first time they’ve ever gone to a camp where they spend the night in cabins…in the wilderness. I HATE camping. I HATE bugs. I HATE tree pollen and weeds and dirt and mud and…well, pretty much anything outdoors. But the kids? Love to be outdoors. I knew they’d have a blast.

So while they were getting excited. And I was fretting over creepy crawling things they might encounter in the middle of the woods, I completely forgot to take care of all the small details of camp. Things like filling out the paperwork required for them to go. And buying tiny soaps and shampoos and flashlights. Oh, and getting them physicals.

We needed to drop Skyler & Spencer off at camp at 4pm. And it takes an hour to get there. Around 1pm I remembered there was some paperwork I needed to fill out. So I printed it off and began filling it out. That’s when I read “Please return these forms to camp at least 2 weeks prior to your child’s session.” Oops. Considering camp started in 3 hours I wasn’t going to quite make that 2 week deadline.

Then I found the physical form. Physicals?!? Who knew kids had to have a physical before camp?

Considering it was Sunday afternoon and the doctor’s offices were closed, I was in a bit of a pickle. I called the camp to find out what my options were. But nobody answered the phone. ‘Cause, you know, a day when parents are dropping their kids off at camp would be a good day to ignore the phone. I doubt parents would have any questions.

I was starting to get pissed. At myself. Why do I ALWAYS procrastinate about, well, everything. The kids are going to be really ticked off if they don’t get to go to camp because I couldn’t get my shit together.

So I called the walk-in clinic by our house. They said they were really busy, but could probably get them in. So with physical forms in hand, Lee raced out the door with Skyler & Spencer. Now this walk-in clinic is in the same building that our regular doctor is in. So I was hoping they could just pull the kids’ records, see when their last physical was, and, assuming they’ve had a physical in the last 2 years, just fill out the form and send Lee and the kids on their merry way.

BUT, that would be too easy. They said they don’t have access to those records. And, even though everything is now input in to the computer and the hospitals big PR push is that everything is available at the touch of a keyboard, the walk-in clinic says they can’t access anything. They don’t know when their last physicals were. They can’t see their shots records. Nothing.

Instead Lee and the kids had to wait in the waiting room for over an hour, see the doctor, and have him fill out new physical forms. Then I had to pray that the church would let me fax their shots records the next day.

And the best part? According to the walk-in clinic, Blue Cross Blue Shield won’t pay for physicals at a walk in clinic. So I’ll have to pay $90 per child for the physicals.

Look what my procrastination has cost me! ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FREAKING DOLLARS!

You’d think I would have learned a lesson from this. That procrastination doesn’t pay. In fact, procrastination makes you have to pay others. But you’d be wrong. I’m sure I’ll still procrastinate in the future. ‘Cause if I didn’t what would I have to bitch about?

On a side note, the kids were allowed to go to camp. We got them there just 45 minutes late. And I was able to fax their shots records today. So all worked out in the end. At a price.