The Montgomery Inquisitory: One plus some

We took Gwyn and Celee to Camp Conowingo next. They also had a lice check and got to proceed to camp. Celee chose Camp Hogwoods and Gwyn chose Choose Your Own. We knew that Camp Hogwoods was supposed to be Harry Potter themed. We weren't sure what to expect from Camp Choose Your Own, but Gwyn liked the idea of picking her own activities.

Celee was very excited to go to a Harry Potter themed camp. She had already set her heart on being sorted into Raveclaw House and going by Buckbeak all week. Thankfully, the camp delivered! She had a blast and made lots of new friends, all who love the Harry Potter world. They did all the usual rockclimbing, swimming, archery, etc. But they also made wands and "potions." Celee had a terrific Hogwoods week!

I don't really know what was "Choose Your Own" about the week Gwyn chose. She said that they did rank some activities in order of preference, but it ended up if you picked things that other people didn't, you had to take what spot there was. But she still got to do lots of super fun things like horseback riding, swimming, rock climbing, and archery. And she made a lot of new friends too.

Meanwhile, Lyla was on her own at home so we were happy to have some friends over a couple of days. I took them all to the 4-H Fair one of those days. We saw a pretty funny magician. I chuckled several times, so I consider that a funny magician! The kids got to see all the livestock waiting to be judged. They also played games, got their faces painted, and ate ice cream. It was children's day so everything but food was free so that makes it even better!

Later in the week we went on another ParkQuest. This one had us fishing at North Point State Park which is on the Chesapeake. Evan was the only one who caught anything, and that was only a tiny fish that slipped off the hook before we could get it all the way in. But it was fun to learn about the tide and temperature of the water and how that affects fish. And the fishing only lasted for around 30 min. which was about the extent of the kids' attention span for it that day anyway. Then they played on the beach of course.

We also did a second History ParkQuest while we were down there that was supposed to teach us about the British invasion of the peninsula prior to the Battle of Baltimore in 1814. It was a little disappointing as the descriptions of the places we were supposed to go were dramatic and exciting, then we'd pull up to a litter-filled soccer field, or an abandoned lot surrounded by apartment buildings. We were all psyched to see the actual battle field where the defenders held back the British - hence the holiday Defenders' Day. I realize that things can't always be kept the way they were, and a lot has happened in the past two hundred years to that particular patch of ground, but it seems like it should be commemorated with a little more grandeur than a sign next to a bus stop. Oh, well. The kids did learn a little more about the War of 1812, and that's a good thing. Oh and there was a rope swing, so that made the driving worth it for them.

We also went to a science program at the library put on by the Westminster Astrological Society. The kids helped the astronomer "make" a comet and they made their own hovercrafts. They also learned about sublimation and got foam dumped on them. It sublimated, so no worries.

And finally our two Camp Conowingoers came home. Then all three of them could give us camp song concerts. We'll be singing about stinky feet, cheese, and marrying the weiner man for the rest of the summer.