Camp Gigi is in Full Swing in Goochland

Connor (7), Lily (2), and Emma (9) make the most of Camp Gigi.

This is for all you Richmond moms out there – I bow down to each of you!

Camp Gigi 2011

It’s Camp Gigi week in Goochland and the camp is in full swing!

My daughter and her husband are enjoying some much needed time away together – in Paris of all places! While they are gone for 8 days, I have enrolled my three grandchildren, ages 2, 7, and 9, in Camp Gigi for a week. You may recall that Camp Gigi is how the kids refer to our special day together each week in the summer when we go out for lunch and an activity – but for this week, it’s a full week!

Of course, when my daughter and her husband asked me about keeping the kids for 8 days, it was February and snow was on the ground. Summer was eons away and it all seemed so simple. “I would love to have them for a week,” I recall saying naively – and noticed their grins and smiles as they immediately starting surfing for airline tickets.

Little did I know…….

Kids today keep you quite busy – whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or if you also have a job outside the home. Especially in summer. When you’ve had an empty nest for over 10 years, you get comfortable with your life. But that is quickly changing for one week this summer.

First there was the youngest who is currently taking antibiotics twice daily, with the addition of a probiotic daily. Not too much to remember, right?

It's craft time!

But then, my grandson goes to a 1/2 day camp four days each week which means he needs a lunch and snack packed each morning, a good breakfast, and getting dressed for camp so we can head out the door by 8 a.m. The oldest granddaughter has gymnastics 3 times weekly and needs a snack and water bottle packed, but don’t get too excited. There’s no way their days overlap completely so that means another schedule to juggle with 2 of Emma’s days overlapping with 2 of Connor’s days, with 2 of Connor’s days on different days and 1 of Emma’s days different than Connor’s days (I wouldn’t even try to figure that one out if I were you!).

Connor and Emma both have to be at their camp and gymnastics on two days at the same time – no simple feat for a grandmother who is used to a leisurely cup of coffee, walking the dog, and checking emails each morning. During the midst of it all, Lily who is only 2, demands constant attention by tugging at my pants and hands, and my 5-pound Pomeranian doesn’t have a clue what’s happening so she stays at my heels constantly.

But we’ve figured it out and so far it’s working.

The older kids spending 1/2 day at camp and gymnastics a few days gives me time to spend one-on-one with 2-year old Lily so we spend a lot of time playing, crafting, and singing. Before you know it, it’s time to pick them up and get all of them back home where we start preparing lunch for 2 of them (Connor ate at camp remember). After lunch it’s naptime for Lily so I read her a story, rock her, and sing to her until she falls asleep. But Connor and Emma are still ready to keep going, so we find time for afternoon activities like crafts, reading, and sometimes a movie or even a computer game while Lily is napping. Not too much electronic time though – that’s not what Camp Gigi is all about!

All ready for gymnastics

Once Lily is up, we’re off again!

So far, we’ve spent one afternoon on an outdoor nature hike picking up wild flowers, weeds, rocks, and even bugs — and another visiting the Children’s Museum of Richmond. Deep Run Park was a lot of fun and if it hadn’t reached nearly 100 degrees, we might have stayed longer. They had more fun than you can imagine swinging on the homemade swing made of a flat board hanging by a rope on an old tree in our backyard — and later, picking red, juicy tomatoes right from the garden was a highlight for all 3 of them. There was a contest to see who could find the most ripe tomatoes (thank goodness we planted that garden and kept it watered!). One afternoon was surprisingly fun for the kids as we filled an inflatable pool with icy water from our well, and set-up the old “slip ‘n slide”  where they spent two hours in water-play in the backyard. Lily’s water-table was also a big part of the waterpark.

Who knew?!? Our very own “Water World” in Goochland!

Gigi's Water World

We visited a farmer’s roadside stand and tasted juicy ripe watermelon and peaches one afternoon, which the kids just loved. There was something about getting a free slice of watermelon and peaches on the side of the road in the hot sun that made it even more delicious to them. We left with 2 watermelon and 2 cantaloupe, along with fresh peaches — and some very sticky hands and faces. We had pancake day which was a big hit because they got to wear their pajamas to lunch too — and there were more sticky hands and faces that day too.

I’m not sure what else we’ll do at Camp Gigi over the next few days, but you can bet it will be fun. Although I’m feeling aches and pains where I didn’t even know I had muscles, it’s been one of the best weeks I’ve had in a long time and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I wanted Camp Gigi 2011 to be a time for the kids to remember for many years to come.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s been busy, crazy and hectic. My house is a little more disheveled than normal and the laundry is piling up. The dishwasher is full and so is the sink. The refrigerator is more disorganized than it’s been in years and the car — well, you can imagine the car!

After saying their prayers last night, Connor looked at me and said, “Gigi, I haven’t been to all the camps in the world yet, but I think Camp Gigi will be the best camp in the whole world.”

Ahhhhhh…….that makes it all worthwhile.

The thought of doing this every week makes me exhausted, so to all of you Richmond moms out there I say, “You Rock!”