A few things that I thought were lacking.....There were barely and black people there. Now there was a ton of AA women at the conference center, unfortunately they were there for a different event! We did have black speakers but they mainly just came for their presentation for the adults and left. There weren't any black helpers in any of the kids rooms which was dissappointing.
We did many craft projects which were a lot of fun but they could have made them more meaningful by explaining the importance of them and how they relate more to African heritage/history.
The theme of the camp was a palace theme. The name of the palace was "it is good that I exist". Which struck me as inappropriate in the setting of adoption when the alternative could have been abortion or death. Typically when I think of a theme for a conference or camp, its something catchy and inspiring and this just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I believe the inital intent was to instill pride into who you are but a different phrase could have worked better. Now I completely could be reading too much into it but just on a surface level, when I read the theme the first time, it didn't feel right. And when I mentioned it to a couple friends when I got home, they were shocked at it as well.
Now don't get me wrong, we had a fun time and met some new friends, I just had different expectations. So will we go again, most likely but I will go with different expectations and more of a its a fun adoption camp to go to for the weekend, is cheap enough, and isn't too far away. My expectation will not include the African American heritage part. That part we will continue to work on at home within our AA community here and possibly try another AA camp this summer as well.
And now for the pictures!
Addy was very proud of the fact that it was a mommy and Addy weekend!
We made a pretty plate together.... Well Addy colored the plate and I took the picture!
Addy made a little friend named Isabel. They really connected and were super cute together!
Joyana and Addy were super cute as well! Joy was around 3 as well!
We made crowns which AJ LOVED! She was always asking where her crown was so that she could wear it!
JoJo really took to Addy as well. She was a super sweet girl who loved to hold AJ and play with her between activities.
Addy enjoyed having her own bed... until we actually went to sleep!
We had ice cream cones at every meal!
Addy got the opportunity to play the african drums and took part in their little parade through the rooms! 
The whole group! This is the biggest group that they have had in their 4 years!
It was nice to get away and have a special trip with AJ. Sometimes she just needs a little extra love and attention and this did the trick! She was super tired when we got home and actually slept the WHOLE way home!
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