Owen...and then more doug

This boy of mine is seriously growing up before my EYES!! You all know how cerebral he is about everything, right.  really analytical which caused him to have a lot of fears over the past few years.  WELL... this year is all about conquering fears for Owen.

Since the beginning of 5th grade he has been so excited/nervous about Outdoor Science School which is the 5th grade science trip.  they leave on monday and get back Friday.  And since the beginning of 5th grade he has been worried and all consumed about how he was going to sleep while at camp, so very far away from home.  Well, like 2 hours, but you know.  We were thinking and praying about it for months. Owen isn't a great sleeper anyway. lots of scary dreams and thoughts filling his mind at night.

While the kids were in Las Vegas, my dad took owen around with his equipment list and got him all ready.  being prepared makes him feel much better.  One thing he did not inherit from his mom is that procrastination gene.  LUCKY BOY!

Anyway, he was almost ready to go when he got back from vegas and then we spent sunday night packing the rest.  Doug gave him a father's blessing and he went to sleep just fine.  Up bright and early monday morning, he had some breakfast and Doug walked him to school pulling his suitcase and carrying his backpack as he walked up the block.   i got a little teary saying goodbye. UGH! why is it so hard seeing kids do hard things? oh, life.

anyway, i thought about him all week long.  would pray for him while laying in my bed.  And we didn't hear a peep all week.  no phone calls from the camp? good sign, i suppose.

Friday morning i drove up to school to pick him up and there were 2 buses and tons of kids and parents standing outside the school waiting for the suitcases to be thrown off the bus.  moms and dads were cheering and hugging each other. Like a big hero homecoming scene or something.  I spotted owen talking to some friends with his back to me and i ran up and grabbed him from behind.  OWEN!!!

He turned and hugged me so tight and so long i teared up all over again.

He had the best time of his life. The best time ever! He said the first night was hard because he kept thinking about scary things but his two buddies from his class would talk to him and make him feel better. "What did they say?" I asked.   "I don't know, they we just there for me."  hahaha that's so cute.

The next day Owen went to magic mountain for Baylen's birthday.  Historically, Owen hasn't loved the big rides and such but the first roller coaster he went on was a 7 loop roller coaster!! He did it and he liked it and he wanted to go again.

After camp he told me he was 70 or 65% braver so it would make sense that he could take on other fears like big roller coasters in the same weekend.

he also said that during camp they had a spider demonstration where kids could hold a tarantula!!  He is seriously afraid of spiders, especially big ones but he said he wanted to try and conquer that fear so when they asked for volunteers he raised his hand.  I asked if they picked him but he said they didn't because kinda raised up and then brought it back down really quick a couple of times in a row. Up and down.  really wanting to get picked but not really but trying to talk himself into it.... you totally know that feeling, right??

Anyway, just a big shout out to Owen for being so awesome. conquering fears left and right. pretty cool kid.  :)

AH! I was so happy to see him!

Arthur, ethan and owen

chris and owen

Owen, Chris and Justin -- these are the two that "were there for him" :)

He sat on a bus for two hours to get home and then spent about that long running around picking up kids and doing errands with me before we got home.

This was, no joke, like 3 hours after that.  He didn't take off his coat or boots??  Just catching upon shows. haha

SO yeah, i'm a little behind on posts.  Will update with Dougs offical bday party pics soon!