Look out Austin, here she comes!

Not only is Mom arriving tomorrow to spend the last two weeks of summer with The Boy, she also received an offer on her house yesterday! They've scheduled her closing for Sept. 8th. Then look out Austin, here she comes!!

In other news, you guessed it, The Boy is home from camp! We got up bright and early on Saturday morning and drove to Marble Falls. The kids were already assembled when we arrived. There was a somewhat lengthy, yet entertaining closing ceremony, then we headed home. You'll be happy to know that although camp may have started shaping Drew into a "champion," some things never change ... he had his t-shirt (complete with dirt and paint) on backwards, and had it tucked not only into his shorts but also into his drawers! He also came home with ants, enough grass to cover the front lawn, and at least one sock and a pair of shorts that don't belong to him. So far, we know he is missing a t-shirt, a flashlight, a pair of flip flops and something else I can't recall. We had to stain treat (using both a gel and a spray) and super-bleach his whites 2x. Next year, I think we'll pack t-shirts in nice bright colors to better hide the dirt ;) We'll also pack at least one extra pair of swim trunks, since it seems like they spent more time in them than out of them, gold bond powder (due to the aforementioned time spent in swim trunks) and a few more pairs of undies. He somehow managed to run out before the first laundry day and secretly slept naked one night!

From the stories, it sounds like he had a really good time and he wants to go back next year. I'm happy to report that Drew made it to the top of the climbing wall, completed the 1 kilometer swim, and won the bobbing-for-apples competition. He and his cabin mates (including 2 kids from Mexico and one from Venezuela) also had a run-in with a water moccasin. No one got bitten, but the tale is very dramatic. And some nasty boy spat in his face. Apparently he didn't want to give Drew's fishing pole back (after already snapping the line once). While he didn't hit the bullseye, Drew did hit the target during archery and at the firing range. He won several rounds of "Ga-Ga," (kind of like dodge ball, but in a ring and the ball stays low to the ground) but got "skunked" (i.e. shut out) 2 out of 3 games at "pickle ball"(tennis with a paddle and a wiffle ball). He's saving his "champs" (the monetary unit at camp) to buy a pickle ball set next year (at "kneeman markus"), presumably so he can practice on his own :)

We got back into Austin in time for lunch and a trip out to the lake. Rather than trade a trip to 6 Flags for a wakeboard, The Boy decided to take an advance out on his allowance -- 17 weeks worth, interest free (isn't Kyle so generous ;)). The wakeboard's maiden journey was a complete disaster. The water was too rough and Drew couldn't get up ... then I more or less ran over Kyle when he gave it a go (no injuries, thank god). I don't know why the water is so choppy these days, but it's getting old and it scares me to drive in it. It also freaks me out that Kyle's gear shift (?) can be pushed forward and appear to be engaged, yet be in neutral (one is unable to steer in neutral). Ugh. Needless to say I panicked when I finally realized I wasn't actually steering and was heading straight for him at very close range!

Drew went to his first pee-wee football practice on Sunday (from 1:30 to 4:30 nonetheless). He did really well despite the fact that 1) we hit triple digits yesterday at 4:00 and 2) the coaches this year are much tougher than the coaches last year (and probably less fun as a result). I think camp got Drew in better shape than he was in last year at the start of the season. I also think the coaches were happy to see Drew's size (again, he's one of the youngest kids on the team and yet one of the biggest). We were a little afraid that the coaches weren't going to play him this year since he missed the first two weeks (and "position selection" day). But, based on one practice, it seems like the guys are teaching the kids good skills (stuff Kyle didn't learn until college), that they really know what they are doing, and that in-person they aren't nearly as bad attitude/win-only-focused as we thought they were going to be.