It is always difficult to say goodbye to our friends we know we won't see for quite some time. After numerous hugs and a full cooler of snacks from Les and Wes, we were on the road at 6:30am to begin our trek home. We talked about the week's activities and the awesome wedding during our 11-hour ride. After a few stops, we arrived home close to 8pm on Monday evening. We were all tired and thankful that Tuesday was our "recovery" day.
After unpacking, our next task was getting everything ready for school. Tuesday afternoon, however, we were able to take a break and make it special for Cam. Our cousins, Kate and Seth stopped in for a short visit as they were en route back to the east coast. Cam was totally shocked! They came bearing birthday gifts for the 18-year-old: an enormous chocolate bar from Zingerman's, a hat that says 'Life, Liberty, Beaches & Pie' and a famous homemade blueberry pie baked by Seth! It was a literal sweet surprise. There never seems to be enough time to catch up, but we were so thankful for the fun visit.
It seems that Cameron entered kindergarten not too long ago. In the blink of an eye, his senior year of high school began on Wednesday. Thanks to Brody and his mom for picking up the Senior shirt so Cam could wear it on the first day. His buddies Tiana and Addyson were waiting for him on the bus.
Cam survived the first three days of 12th grade and was ready to sleep in for the weekend. Saturday was our project/catch up day and Chris officially finished his thesis for his master's degree and uploaded the final documentation!
On Sunday, we made our way to see cousins, including JJ, Jeffrey, Libby, James and his family, along with Katie and her family. It was another surprise for Cam to see cousin David, who was in from Texas. Oma met us as well and we were all gathered to surprise cousin James to celebrate his 40th birthday. A delicious cookout accompanied the festivities as well as more extended family and friends.
We were scheduled to depart before 7p to return home. With school now in session, Cam is up every morning before 6am.
Our younger cousins pride themselves in knowing all of the intricacies of the safety buckles for Cameron's power wheelchair. All four waited for their older relative to get in the van before piling in behind him to fasten the hooks into the chair.
After a final safety check, we were ready to make our way back to GR. The cousins, for us all, seem more like siblings. And their innate ability to make Cam feel part of the gang is an invaluable gift.
Camology Quotes:
During our 11-hour trek from North Carolina back to Grand Rapids, we made a few pit stops. Cam kept us chuckling with his jokes..
"Where is a police officer's favorite place to arrest people?"
------------------------------------"A Rest Stop!"
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