Off to college!?!

The boys had a wonderful opportunity to attend the University of Utah basketball camp this past week. They went from Monday until Thursday. It was a really neat experience for them because they were able to stay in the dorms. On Monday, I hesitantly drove my 10 & 12 year old boys to college. What an experience that was!!! First of all, I have to say....I was SOOOOO lost trying to find my way around this massive college. Building after building, one way street after one way street! Finally we were able to find the building for registration. I parked my big mom bus in a TINY parking lot and proceeded to the "drop your kid here" building. Now...to give you an idea....my boys were some of the youngest there as it is a camp for 10-18 year old boys. So...as these fully grown guys with hairy bodies are all checking themselves in, I stood there with my two boys who seemed SO little. We checked in and they gave them each a dorm key and a food band, along with a map with complete with "you are here & your dorm room is here" circles. HA!!! Like a 10 & 12 year old along with their map retarded mother are going to understand this map with black blobs and two circles!!! Are you kidding?!?

Some miraculous power lead us straight to the right dorm and we proceeded to go inside the building. Once inside, we found their room and went inside. This was our first look at a dorm room and it was a little bit of a shocker! For the boys...they were wondering where the TV was hiding and why the heck was there another door on the other side of the bathroom? For me... I was shocked that they were actually a little bigger & nicer than I had pictured and that they actually had their own bathroom instead of a community one down the hall like in the movies! After the shock wore out we realized that there were beds to be made. Makayla and I were happy to take care of that for them. I think she was just as nervous as I was to leave them in this strange land. We got their beds made and went over the directions a little bit more as we learned they'd be walking to everything they did and were on a specific schedule. We hurried back to the "check in" building which would here on out be the kitchen! At this point the boys started to realize that they were on their own. No parents to help them along the way. Jordan started feeling the pressure of being the big brother in charge and started to panic. He asked me to stay and watch them eat lunch and then walk them to the gym. Since I was dragging the 2 girls along, and had promised them fun activities of our own, I let the boys know this wasn't happening. I walked them to the cafeteria, gave them hugs and went on my way. Half way to the car I wondered if I'd ever see them alive again...but took comfort in knowing that they both had cell phones and had asked them to call me during every meal and break they had. Off we went....and there they stayed.

The panic finally wore off and sure enough the phone rang all week long on the exact break schedule of the boys. They were doing great! They had a wonderful time at camp and learned a ton! After talking to a few boys who had done this camp before I learned it was one of the hardest most intense camps in the nation, but was known as one of the best as well. There were kids from all over that had flown in for this camp. Their roommates were from Texas and they had some funny stories to share about that! On the last day both of their teams made it to the finals. Jordan's team took first place in his division. It was a long week for both of them but I know they have become better players and have definitely gained physical strength and life lessons from this experience. Life lessons like...don't cook microwave popcorn for 4 minutes or it catches on fire! ;) Someone in their dorm did this on the last night! As much as this was a growing experience for them, it also taught me something. You can't hold on to your babies forever. Sometimes you just have to give them all the things they will need, teach them what they need to know and then have faith that they will make good choices and be OK.

Jordan getting his award for winning the finals

Jordan's team and his coach

Brayden and his coach!