We dropped them off two days ago, right after lunch. I scrambled to get them to their aunt and uncle’s on time, so they wouldn’t be waiting on my kids to go on to the camp grounds.

I had packed a whole cooler full of gluten free food for the younger sibling, which had eased the nerves I’d held on to for the past year (since the week last summer she was sad that her older brother had gotten to go to camp). This year, she was old enough (second grade!), and preparations for her two-night stay were much more complicated than his had been (and were again). Still, with a menu in hand, we had shopped over the weekend to make sure that she had something similar to eat at each meal so she wouldn’t feel left out or tempted to eat something that would make her sick. GF pancakes, check. GF hot dogs, check. GF graham crackers. CHECK.

I didn’t hear a thing from them the entire 48 hours they were gone, which is of course, a good thing. Their younger sister wasn’t upset at all that she couldn’t go, but she was not willing to sleep in the room all three share, alone. So for those two nights, I lugged my pillows and blankets into the room and shared her full size bed.

After lunch today, the three of us drove to the campgrounds and picked them up. The smiles on their faces that I had pictured in my head on the way over weren’t so quick to come. In fact, only one of the two had a (small) smile at all.

The other, well, he was exhausted. And on steroids from a very last-minute trip to the clinic when we woke up Tuesday morning to his eye almost swollen shut and a rash spreading from, apparently, a poison ivy reaction this past weekend. By the end of the trip home, though, he had perked up a little and was ready to talk about his experience.

The experience that involved swimming, s’mores, sunscreen, and a lot of laundry.

Now, we’re back to two bickering girls that missed each other but can’t seem to get along. Summer is in full swing!

Through The Lens Thursday is meant for self-improvement, so please….constructive criticism is welcome!

Through The Lens Thursday is a self-improvement photography project that Alison of Writing, Wishing and I are doing this year.

Don’t forget to join our Flickr group or share your own posts if you’d like to follow along and work on your own photography! And use the hashtag #throughthelensthursday to connect with others working on it, too.

Next week’s prompt is SUNSET.