Camp Rainbow

Today I got to escape the confines of the hospital and spend the day at Camp Rainbow. For most of the summer this camp is a JCC day camp but for one week of the year they cater to special groups of children each day and today it was time for all the cancer patients and their sibling to have their turn. I got to come along as a camper/counselor/extra set of hands. I rode the bus with the kids and sang along to a bunch of new camp songs... they have definitely gotten more PC then the ones we used to sing! Once we got to camp, I helped with the 5-7 year-old boys and the little peanut pictured here with me since she is four and her brother was in my group. Before lunch there was scooter hockey and boating, which were both a hit. They even had itty bitty paddleboats that the kids could do all by themselves. After some hot dogs and more singing it was on to the pool. Kaycee (she's the peanut) and I had a great time floating and splashing. We finished off with a hike. On the way home our bus overheated so we had to join the other bus which made for a tight squeeze but definitely more fun. Some of you will appreciate that I wore my "Teen Girl Squad" tshirt and one of the counselors started singing the Tragdor song!! Overall, it was great to see all of the kids just playing like they are supposed to... trading IV poles for Noodles and sterile playrooms for muddy frog hunts. Every once in a while it is great to have a day that reaffirms everything you want to do with your life and today was certainly one of those for me.

Canoeing in Baraboo

After the fun at the waterpark, we were ready for dinner. We ate at the Cheese Factory, which was a surprisingly quirky and lucky find. Our dinner was supurb... without any meat!! The next day we made our way to Baraboo for a little canoeing. We took the 4.5 mile trip down a pretty tame but at some points shallow, Baraboo River. It was a beautiful day and wonderful to be in natural sunlight as opposed to the usual florescent glow. We saw some sunbathing turtles and even an egret. Though our coordination at times left something to be desired, I look forward to our next trip on the water!

Our Mini Vacation

A couple of weekends ago, Ari and I were able to sneak away from our respective hospitals for a weekend at the Dells. The Dells is the land of waterparks and we were looking forward to escaping the heat. We spent Saturday at Mount Olympus which is a combined theme park and water park. What a blast. They have go cart tracks, rollercoasters, waterslides, and mini golf courses AND an indoor waterpark and indoor rollercoasters. We started out with the go carts for a warm up and then hit the rollercoasters. They have this awesome rollercoaster that starts 16 stories up and goes underground. I would like to tell you that I was excited about riding it, but I have gone soft in my old age. Ari persuaded me to go on it and I can honestly say it was one of the best rides I have ever been on. So after that we were ready to hit the water! We made it down about 4 or 5 slides when the weather got nasty. We decided to take that opportunity to check in to our bed and breakfast. We then went back to the park for more!! We went to the indoor water park which was fabulous because it was heated!! I have to admit, I think we had more fun inside than out. They had a double tube ride that took my breath away it was so fast! We finally had to drag ourselves away to get ready for dinner. On the way out we were going to play a quick round of putt-putt. Ari got a hole in one on the first hole! Staff then came by to tell us that lightning had been spotted and we had to stop. Needless to say, Ari was disappointed to have is awesome shot wasted!!

My sister is married!!

I apologize for the late update but I am so excited to announce my sister's marriage to Larry Tobis. As I am sure I have told most of you, I picked Larry out many years ago. My sister and I were out eating dinner and he came up to introduce himself. I told my sis that she should date him and a couple of months later they were inseparable! I absolutely love having a brother!! He is so much fun and loves my sister like crazy (which is the most important part). What Kristen and I like the most is how well Ari and Larry get along, which lets us get in tons of girl time.

The wedding itself was beautiful. Kristen was so creative in all of her planning and so bold in having it outside. It turned out to be a beautiful day. Larry actually wrote a song for my sister as his vows and played the guitar... everyone was in tears. Koby of course jumped right in the lake during the middle of the ceremony; bow tie and all.

The post-celebration was also memorable. Shortly after being seated for dinner the sky opened up; we were so lucky to be under a tent! Then of course came the dancing. My cousin Ed Dj'd both of our weddings and everyone had a great time. Then there was a special interlude by Larry's cousin who decided to do a glow stick routine... we were all shocked and will never forget that! If I had only brought my rhythm ribbon...