Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/268792
16 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • March 2014 W here did the school year go? I was just walking my daughter, Jessie, into her second-grade classroom for her first day of school. Of course, I had my camera and camcorder. I'm always carrying one or the other, or both, to capture memories of her firsts. She probably won't like it when I'm snapping pictures of her first date, but come to think of it, I probably won't either. My wife, Mattie, might need to snap that one. For now I'm just looking ahead to summer. Somehow the school year zoomed by and its time to register for summer camp. Jessie's summers have been enriched by all kinds of camps over her early years. Of course, these have not been the kind of camps where older children go to spend a week or more away from their parents. Mattie and I couldn't handle that yet. Instead, they are three-hour sessions over four or five consecutive days during the summer. There's been kindermusik Camp, kindergarten Camp, Cheer Camp for Girls, Fancy nancy Camp, Reading Adventure Camp, Math Camp, Math and Science Camp, Soccer Camp, and Basketball Camp. Wow, I wish I would have been able to plug into these camps as a boy. Okay, not Cheer Camp for Girls or Fancy nancy Camp. Her summers also include Vacation Bible School and a trip to visit our out-of-state family and friends. not only do we have lots of pictures and video footage to capture this summer fun, we also have a box or two of the creations that Jessie makes during these experiences. Whereas Mattie finds it difficult to clean out Jessie's closet and get rid of the cute clothes that she's outgrown, I have trouble throwing away my daughter's handiwork. One day when Jessie is older or we are out of storage room, we will look through the boxes of her masterful artwork and remember the fun times she had making them. BY PATRICk L. HEMPFInG camp Fun summer Although Jessie loves to attend camps with her friends, I hold fond memories of summer camps held right here at home.