Summer Camp Begins!

It is now officially summer, and we are in the second day of what could be our first official heat wave. Joy!

Phoebe enjoyed her Service Learning Camp at her school last week. They cleaned the trails at a local state park, pulled weeds at one of the gardens for the local food bank, sorted and packed food at one of the food bank's warehouses, made cat and dog treats for the animals at one of the local shelters, and collected food, supplies, and money (via a car wash) for the shelter as well. The weather cooperated for most of the week, but it rained heavily the day before the trip to the farm, so Phoebe needed to wear her snow boots, and they got a little muddy.

Muddy Boots!

She also got some pool time, which made her very happy.

This week she starts Harry Potter Camp at Doane Stuart, a private school located in Rensselaer. It is not quite as close, but it's Harry, so we don't mind! She went off today with her Hogwarts t-shirt and her robes, ready to go. Her friend Eesha will be at the camp at least this week, so she will have a friend while she gets settled. She is there this week, next, and two weeks in August. This is also a potential school for Phoebe after she finishes Taylor, so she will be able to get a feel for it.

As is usual for the summer, Phoebe is reading up a storm--she needs only one more book to fill up her first sheet for Barnes and Noble! Nim's Island was set aside when her friend Mercedes loaned her a copy of The Secret Zoo, by Bryan Chick, which Phoebe had been wanting to read. Then she read the next book for her book club, The Ruins of Gorlan, the first book in The Ranger's Apprentice series, by John Flanagan. After that, she read The Search for WondLa, by Tony DiTerlizzi, also loaned to her by Mercedes, and The Nine Lives of Montezuma, by Mike Mopurgo. Right now she is reading a horse book, but the name escapes me, and she took it to camp, so I can't check!

We finally finished The Red Pyramid and have now started Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She was particularly fond of the cat goddess Bast in The Red Pyramid, and she was very happy when she showed up at the end. She was annoyed that it took Hermione so long to show up in Order of the Phoenix, so I had to remind her that she isn't the main character! But she now has, and all is well.

She saw the trailer for the second Percy Jackson movie, The Sea of Monsters, and she is excited to go see that when it opens in August. We are hoping to go to the drive-in this summer, before there aren't any left. The only problem has been good movie choices!