It's been so quiet...

So, this must have been what it was like in the "the old days". You know, back before we had kids. The house is so quiet. And it's clean. The pillows are adjusted on the couch perfectly. I haven't been stepping over Bionicles and dirty socks on the steps. I haven't folded one blanket in the living room. We even ordered pizza late one night, and ate it downstairs in the home theater while watching a scary movie.

It's weird.

The kids have been at swim camp at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion all week. This is their first time away from home for such a long stretch. They each have a buddy (Max & Anya) from their team to room with. So that has made it a lot easier on all of us!

My friend Gayle, Anya's mom, and I accompanied the four 10 and 11 yr olds on a long 5.5 hour drive there on Sunday (which, in reality actually turned out to be almost 7 hours including potty breaks). I wish I would have taken a picture of my car before we unpacked everything. There were bags, towels, pillows, and blankets plastered up against all the back windows and between all the kids. It was cozy.

The kids were so excited about their first "college" experience. Will thought that the dorm rooms are "really small and kind of boring...there is nothing on the walls!" Maddie and Anya brought their own artwork to hang - a bunch of swimming-focused Wordles that they had created previously. What artsy girls!

I've talked to them several times a day on the new pre-paid phone that we purchased. The phone is a much bigger deal to Maddie than it is to Will. They know it's temporary. And the fact that I don't allow texting is a bit distressing to Maddie.

They said camp has been really fun, but really hard. They are in the pool 3 times a day (morning, afternoon, evening). They have classroom lectures, videotaping sessions, conditioning practice, and technique work where they work on 1 stroke per day. They even have 1 hour a day of dryland practice each morning. They do some running and some strength training. And apparently, the kids now know what burpees are. Will thinks he might just get his 6-pack stomach after this week. It sounds like there is a lot of fun stuff too. Movie night, campfire and s'mores at the coaches house, and a tornado warning during which they played games in the bomb-shelter basement of the dorm. I'm sure that was thrilling for all of them!!

Yesterday, Maddie told me, "The food is so amazing. It's all you can eat. For one whole hour."

She takes after her dad.

Will and Maxwell

Anya and Maddie