Katie left today for a week at summer camp. This is her first year in the Sherwood Forest program, the camp for 4-6th graders that runs for a full week.

We used to drive Danny and Lisa all the way over to the camp, near Occidental, but Katie likes to carpool from church with her fellow campers.  Why?  They apparently stop for McFlurries on the way.  

The transition to Sherwood Forest is a welcome one. They have cabins instead of tents. Beds instead of the

hard ground. Flush toilets, a dining hall, and more grown-up activities like a zip line and archery. 

Each camper also picks a new name for the week that is a play on words using their real name. Months ago, Katie settled on hers -- "2000 and Kate." Two of her cabin-mates are Kayla (Ka-olya Crayons) and Hailey (Hailstorm). Other names we have loved over the years: Last but not Lisa, Truth or Derek, Holy Guaca-molly, Darren-gytis, Sydney Australia and Beta Max.

Oh, and Katie already has her name for 2009 selected: Better Kate than Never.