summer camp applications are in!

Remember that time that we conned our little nieces and nephews into thinking that coming to our farm is tantamount to summer camp? (You can read about it here.)

Oh, wait. 

That's still happening. 

I sent each one of the kiddos (with the exception of the five-month-old) an application to fill out and return. 

It asked the applicant to mark down things he or she is interested in, like feeding the dogs, taking hikes, getting water to the chickens, milking cows, driving a Gator and partaking in scavenger hunts. 

It also asked each child to write a 50-word essay explaining why he or she should be chosen to attend camp. 

The applications have now all been returned, and I just loved seeing how each one of their minds works.

Here's part of three-year-old Willa's answer as dictated to her mother: "I am a kind and nice girl and I love being a princess. I am a little girl and because I love butterflies."

Seems like a legit reason to be accepted into camp. 

Five-year-old Cil said she should be able to go to camp because she "likes to be at the farm with her Uncle Chris and Nin." (That's me.) 

Can't blame the girl. 

Jonathan, age 6, believes he should be chosen to attend camp because  he "likes to go fishing and walk with no shoes on," also noting, "It's fun to play in the mud."

Looks to me like he's got the no-shoes thing already down pat.

His brother Oliver, age 8, said he should be chosen to attend camp because he wants to learn "to build a fire, milk and cow and sleep in a tent." He is also confident that he "will have fun if I am chosen!!!!!!!" 

I counted the number of exclamation points he included, by the way, just to make sure his excitement was accurate.

Grace, who is 14, "would like to learn how to drive a  Gator without running into a tree" (She may have had a small incident with a go-cart once but you won't hear it from me.) and is interested in "learning how to feed chickens because I don't even know how to." 

You and me both, Gracie.

And finally, Josie, also 14, laid it all out there by writing that "You might think I'm crazy but I want to learn how to milk a cow and drive a Gator . . . and feed chickens, which I have never done but Mom told me how she did it when she was young and growing up at Grandma's and Grandpa's house." And really, she noted, at the end of the day, "Camp will give me some good stories to tell when I get back to school after summer is over." 

Oh, boy. I can virtually guarantee THAT. 

So now's your chance to vote. 

Should we give all the kiddos a chance at summer camp, especially little chubby baby Simon who didn't even bother to fill out an application?

Seriously. Kids these days.