Callie's a Teenager!

Whether we wanted to admit or not, Callie was turning thirteen this year and we just had to roll with it. It was a birthday party year, so we had to figure what to do in the midst of Covid. Callie chose to stick wtih the theme of our summer, which was camping. We made a reservation at Carter Caves State Park and started making plans. First obstacle was how to get everyone there since our Mazda had broken down in mid-September. Based on its age and the cost of repairs, we opted to get a new car. However, we weren't in any rush since we were all working and schooling from home. In short, we had to rent a mini-van to get Callie and her friends to the camping birthday. First stop, Starbucks.

 One of the best things about teenagers is that they can do some of the work. And even if they aren't sure how to do it you can have fun watching them try. Callie was willing to take the lead since she had put up the tent several times this summer. And her friends were all willing to pitch in.

So here's the finished product. They did quite well, and Sarah did even better by making sure the tent was properly festive.

Once we got the tent up we sent the girls up the road to play some mini-golf.

Since everything in the campground was so close it allowed the girls to be independent while not being too far away. They are a good group, and they were particularly kind to include Reese in all of their activities. We had also lucked out because the weather was pretty nice for early October in Kentucky.

Next up was making the fire and cooking dinner. The fire took a little longer than usual and we actually had to special order a delivery of firewood. The girls played some games at the table, did each other's hair, and overall got into the camping spirit.

And even more important, they did the dishes once dinner was over. Callie once again took the lead to show her friends how the Bowes camp kitchen works. Once they had cleaned things up we sat around the fire, had s'mores and played truth or dare with a glow ball. It was a great night and once we retired to our separate tent the chatter didn't last too long.

Once we had made breakfast and cleaned up the camp we had the opportunity to take a brief tour of the X-Cave. This park is in eastern Kentucky and its cave system is nothing as grand as Mammoth Cave, but it is still pretty awesome. 

We knew that the tours were going to be limited in the number of people who could sign up, but we were very happy when it was just our group. Our private tour got the ability to go as quickly or slowly as the girls wanted. They seemed to enjoy it, and once the tour was over we got back into the minivan and headed back to Lexington. It was a great 13th birthday party, and Callie had a lot of fun. But she had one more surprise waiting for her when we got home.

We had told Callie for a while that she could get a cell phone when she was in 8th grade or when she turned 13. In the end, we went with 13, and she was over the moon excited.

After she opened the gift up on her birthday weekend it took us three weeks to get to the store to have her phone set up. She was patient, but a girl can only wait so long. And just like that we were a three cell-phone family.