The Lilje Family: 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.