Sofia goes to camp

This morning, Sofia left for Girl Scout Camp at Shadow Rim Ranch, near Payson. I volunteered to be a bus chaperone, so I was able to snap a few pictures. Here she is on the bus. I sat in the front row. She sat a couple of rows back, next to a girl she just met. I saw them chatting quite a bit, but at one point they were both reading books. Sofia didn't take any books, so her neighbor must have given her one to read. Unless Sofia snuck one on...


When we arrived at the camp, the counselors unloaded the bags. Then, each girl was greeted by their specific counselors. I'm sure I was embarrassing Sofia a little to be taking pictures, but she'll forgive me someday. If you're not familiar with Girl Scout camps, the counselors go by nicknames, which are printed on the backs of their shirts. So I guess one of Sofia's counselors is named Peanut.

Right before I headed back to Phoenix in the empty bus, I peeked in to the mess hall, where all the girls had gone. Sofia's group was playing some kind of name game. She looked happy. I tried to get her attention to wave goodbye, because I hadn't had a chance to say goodbye or give her a kiss or anything. I couldn't get her attention, so I just had to go.

She'll be back next Friday. I know she'll have a great time, meet some new friends, and learn something new about camping and backpacking (her session is called "Backpack Beginnings.") I'm so glad she greets adventures like this with openness and joy. She's awesome!

There's no cell phone service up there, but the campers can receive mail. It's always comforting to actually get mail during mail call (my nephew Steven can probably attest to that). Since the camp is only 6 days, it's not too practical to mail letters via snail mail, but they have an email service where you can set up an account, buy credits, and then send emails. The counselors will print them each morning and then deliver them to the camper at mail call. I set up a basic account so we could send a few emails. Hey, you all can do me a favor. If you would like to send her a little note (or make it as long as you want) please do it as a comment to this blog (write it as if you were writing her) and I'll copy and paste it in an email we send her. That way none of you has to sign up (and pay for) an account. I know she would love to hear from others! She won't be expecting it, so it will be a nice surprise. Thanks in advance!