This is how I bungalow! (Day 4)

The last day of camp began bright and early at 6:30 am.  We got all packed up and headed to breakfast (grits, eggs, chicken, and biscuits). 

After breakfast we went back to the cabins to clean up and make sure everything was ready to be loaded onto the bus.  Ben went to the Leaders meeting (there were too many leaders for everyone to go) and the rest of us headed up the hill one last time to the chapel.  The staffers entertained the campers with silly songs and games.

At 9:30, the other Leaders joined us and we were able to view the DVD that was made during camp.  We each got a copy, along with a LUL t-shirt.  Once we were dismissed, we met Erik and Stacy outside to say our goodbyes, let them sign out t-shirts, and get the last group photos.

 The Cow Team!

Ole!

Then it was back down the hill where we THOUGHT the bus would be loaded and waiting for us.  However, the bus driver had gotten stuck and was about an hour late.  We were VERY happy to see Ben come around the corner leading the bus driver to our cabin!

The bus ride home was peaceful.  The kids were EXHAUSTED and many of them took the opportunity to rest (Hannah included).

We arrived back at RBC around 3:00 pm on Sunday.

All in all, it was a great trip with great friends and memories that will last a lifetime!!!

 Andy, Adam, Ally, and Eli

 Lucas and Ansley

 Skylar, Hannah, and Sophie

 Eli, Skylar, Hannah, Zachary, Erik, and Megan

 

Sophie and Kim

This is how I bungalow! (Day 3)

Day 3 began at 7:00 am Saturday morning with a yummy breakfast of french toast sticks, bacon, and biscuits and jelly. 

After each meal, our group gathered outside the cafeteria and took a trail behind the cafeteria back to the cabin.

 Skylar, Hannah, Brittany, and Sophie waiting outside the cafeteria.

Hannah and Skylar on the trail leading back to our cabin.

After breakfast it was back up the hill for more music and Teaching Time with Greg. 

After that it was craft time.  I sat that one out and went back to the cabin to rest.  :)  After craft time came lunch (chicken filet sandwiches, chips, applesauce, and peanut butter brownies) and rest time. 

Skylar, Hannah, and Sophie hanging out at the cabin.

After rest time on Day 3 came the moment we had all been waiting for!  It was finally our turn to ride the swing and the zip line!  While I did not ride either, Hannah rode both! 

 Skylar, Hannah, Sophie, and Megan waiting in line for the Zip Line.

Skylar and Hannah on the Zip Line.

The line for the swing was looooonnnnngggg!!!!  After waiting in line for well over an hour, Rodney and Skylar got back in line to ride the swing again with Hannah.  Poor Rodney spent all of his free time waiting in line for the swing! I have great video of their swing ride but couldn't upload it for some reason. You can see it on Facebook!

 Hannah, Rodney, and Skylar getting strapped into the swing.

 Up they go!!

They made it down safely!

The line for the swing was looooonnnnngggg!!!!  After waiting in line for well over an hour, Rodney and Skylar got back in line to ride the swing again with Hannah.  Poor Rodney spent all of his free time waiting in line for the swing! 

After all of this excitement it was back to the cabins to shower and get ready for dinner (chicken strips, mac & cheese, rolls, and jello) and then back to the chapel for more Funapalooza and Teaching Time.

After Teaching Time on Saturday it was time for the traditional campfire.  We all gathered around to sing songs of worship and reflect on all we had learned during camp.  This is a really special moment for the kids. 

After the campfire, we went back to the cabins for "Words of Affirmation".  This is a time where the leaders paint symbols on the children's foreheads while telling them of some action they displayed during camp that was positive.  For some children, this time of appropriate touch and positive affirmation is critical.  This was another emotional moment for me and unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures.  :(

After this, it was canteen and lights out for Day 3 of camp.

This is how I bungalow! (Day 2)

Our first day at camp was a blast!  After a not-so-restful night's sleep, we woke up promptly at 7:00 am to begin Day 2!

For breakfast, we had grist, eggs, sausage, and biscuits and gravy.  It was pretty yummy!!! 

After breakfast we made the hike back up the hill to chapel for Teaching Time where we learned more about God's grace.  After Teaching Time, we got to participate in a "Creation Quiz Show".  Randy, Brittany, and Maddy were chosen to represent the cow team.  They were competing against three other teams to correctly answer questions related to creation.  We won (of course)!

Then it was time for lunch (hot dogs, tater tots, carrots, and smores) and rest time.  During rest time, the campers had to be quiet in their bunks.  Suprisingly, the girls were pretty good about it (some even begged to turn the lights out!). 

After rest time, we made our way down to the rec area for a fun relay game!  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures.  The kids had to pair up, run to a kiddie pool filled with really large wet t-shirts, put it on (over both of them), and run an obstacle course.  Each time that completed it within the time allotted got to have a chance to dump a bucket of water on their leader's head!  Ben was lucky enough to be chosen by the kids for this honor! 

After group rec came FREE TIME!!!!!  This is what we had been waiting for!!!  During free time, the kids were allowed to swim in the lake, ride the zip line, go out on kayaks or paddle boats, and ride the water slide.  We could only ride the swing on our designated day and this was not our day.  At the beginning of free time, campers (leaders included) were allowed to take a swim test that would allow them to swim in the deep part of the lake.  This is a big deal for the campers because, if you pass, you get the "white band of awesomeness" (see pic in Day 1 post).  Hannah and I both passed this year!  :)

Hannah and I spent all of our free time on Friday swimming in the lake and going down the water slide.  I went down twice and lost my sunglasses on my second ride (I did the same thing last year-you think I would have learned!).  The water slide is FAST!!

View of the water slide from across the lake

After Free Time it was back to the cabins to get showered and ready for dinner.  Friday night we had chicken fettucine alfredo, broccoli, and rice crispy treats. 

 Waiting in line to enter the cafeteria

After dinner we had some down time, so a group of us decided to take the 1.25 mile hike around the lake to the chapel.  I got some great pictures!

 Hannah with her walking stick!

Brittany, Skylar, Sophie, and Hannah waiting to enter the chapel

After more music, Teaching Time, skits, and fun, we went back to the cabins for another Memory Makers session.  This time the kids played a game of "Telephone" where one person is told a sentence and they hav to whisper it to the person next to them and it is passed around the circle and the last person recits the sentence.  The point is that the sentence often changes once it has passed through so many people.  The lesson of the activity was for the kids to learn that it's best to go directly to the source if they want accurate information. 

After Memory Makers it was back to the canteen and then "lights out" for Day 2!

To be continued.....

This is how I bungalow! (Day 1)

So, Hannah and I just got back from Children's Camp and we had a blast!!!  This is going to be a long post with probably more detail than most of you want to know, but I took lots of pictures and want to document everything! 

The camp we went to was Camp Look Up Lodge in Traveler's Rest, SC.  There were 19 children and 6 adults from RBC.  Here is a view of the waterfront and main cabin/office from across the lake.

We departed Thursday, July 28, at 10:00 am and arrived at camp shortly after 2:00 pm.  We were greeted at the gate by Cynthia and Jeff-o-rey, two SITs (Staffers in Training), who warned us that there was a Bigfoot loose in the camp!  (This was part of the continuous storyline that would be a part of funapalooza each morning and night.)  As we got off the bus, of course we were met with a bunch of high-fives (one thing LUL is known for) and the two summer staffers assigned to our team, Erik and Stacy. 

 Erik and Hannah

  Stacy and Hannah

 We found out that we would be the "cow team" and were given our arm bands.  We were excited and began practicing our "moos" (more about that later) and cow signs. 

 Cow band and "white band of awesomeness" (more on that later)

We quickly gathered for our first group photo as we waited to go in for orientation with Krevin.  :)

After orientation, we made our way to Cedar Lodge which would be our home for the next four days.  The boys were on the first floor and the girls were on the second floor (up 3 flights of stairs!).  There was also a common room on the second floor.  The location was nice; very close to the cafeteria, waterfront, and canteen, but the space was very tight and we were a bit crowded.  In addition to RBC, we were also joined by 3 kids and a leader from another church since they had such a small group.  It worked out great and we enjoyed getting to know Angel, Bayleigh, Maddy, and Jayden.

Here was our schedule for Thursday:

We got everything unpacked and Erik and Stacy took the kids for a hike around the lake while the adults went to the Leaders Meeting where Zac, Manager of Operations for LUL, went over the rules with us.  During the meeting, he called each church out and a representative from that church had to go up and pick up the evaluations.  Since I was on the end, I ended up going up and I told everyone to "moo" when he called out "Ridgecrest" since we were the cow team.  However, it appeared as if everyone was mooing at me and I quickly realized that wasn't my best idea ever. :)  It was pretty funny but I made a rule that no one could moo around me for the rest of camp.

Dinner on Thursday was pizza (the rectangle, school lunch kind), corn, salad, and cookies and cream dessert.  Not too bad.

After dinner we had to make our way to the chapel for Teaching Time and Funapalooza.  Let me just stop here and tell you about the hill to the chapel.  It is long and it is steep!!  I don't know the angle, but I swear it's at least 80 degrees!!!

 Walking around the curve to climb the hill to the Chapel

 Starting to climb the hill

 View from the bottom of the hill

 

 View from the top of the hill

 We finally made it!

Each "Teaching Time" session began with a countdown clock and everyone singing and clapping to "I Saw the Light".  All the kids would count down the last 10 seconds and then SCREAM!!!

I Saw the Light

The summer staffers then led the campers in worship through song.  They used the same songs each session to give the kids a chance to really learn them.  I can't tell you how powerful it was to hear all those kids and leaders singing praise to God.  For those of you who know me well, you can understand what an emotional moment that as for me.

No One Like You

Greg Boone is the owner of LUL and the featured speaker during camp.  He is a PHENOMINAL speaker!!  This was theme was all about knowing God and understanding His gift to us.  The kids were really engaged and took away some important life lessons.  I wish I had gotten a picture of Greg but my camera didn't take good pictures in the chapel.  :(

After Teaching Time came Funapalooza!  This was the time for fun and games and skits!  The summer staffers taught the kids a few silly chants that we heard many, many times throughout camp!  The campers LOVED this!! 

The skit was countinous, with a segment being presented during each Funapalooza session.  The basic storyline this year was that there was a bigfoot loose at camp, and camp was going to have to be closed down unless the $1 million fine could be paid.  Cynthia and Jeff-o-rey were SITs trying to find a way to save camp.  They enlisted the help of Bobby Jo Walker, a professional bigfoot stalker, who attempted to trap bigfoot by dressing Jeff-o-rey up as a female (emphasis on "male") bigfoot.  The XGs (accompanied by the chill-leaders), were the "bad guys" and tried everything they could to make sure camp would be closed. 

After Teaching Time, it was  back to the cabin for Memory Makers.  In this activity, led by Erik and Stacy, the kids were told they had to walk a chalk line without stepping off the line.  Those who were successful were told to sit on one side of the room while those who were unsuccessful were told to sit on the other side of the room.  After everyone had a turn, Erik started handing out prizes to those who had been unsuccessful and then to those that had been successful.  The point of the activity was to teach the kids that everyone received the gift, even those that didn't deserve it.

Each night the kids were allowed to go to the canteen to purchase snacks, drinks, and souveniers such as t-shirts, flashlights, bandanas, etc.  The most popular choices were cow bandanas, slushies, and ice cream cookie sandwiches.

 View of Beehive and canteen from Cedar Lodge

The campers had a little bit of free time in the cabins before lights out.  They mostly pent this time playing Uno and painting nails.  

 Hannah's bunk (Ally slept on the bottom)

Playing Uno in the cabin

My "cow" toenails (curteousy of Ally)

At 10:30 it was "lights out".  The girls were pretty good about going to bed (after a very important annoucement from Ansley!).  :)

To be continued......

Champs!!

Last night was the DSSL Championship meet. It was long and hot but so much fun!!! At the beginning of the season, Hannah said she did not want to do Champs because the water is too deep (they swim in 8 ft instead of 5 ft). However, after last night she is so glad she did! I am so proud of her for working hard and making a lot of improvement. She even learned to dive this yet which helped shave a lot off of her time.


Her starting time this season for freestyle was 31.34 seconds. Her best time (last night at Champs) was 23.15!!! That's an 8 second
improvement!

She did not get to swim breast stroke last might because she disqualified at every meet. Breast is the toughest stroke and LOTS of kids DQ.

She swam back stroke last night after only swimming it one other time this season. BUT...she swam it in 38 seconds, knocking
8 seconds off her seed time and winning her heat!!





The coaches, Allison and Meredith.



After the meet, We were starving, so we went to Carrabas with friends and enjoyed a yummy meal!!!