A Note from Rybes

Today, our swimming director Sarah wanted to share a few thoughts about how the week was going with all of our readers. Sarah, or Rybes as most know here, was inspired a picture she took, and wanted to express her sentiments on this blog. She really hopes you all enjoy!

This picture to me says so much about this summer.  Here we have a rainy day, brave campers laughing in the water in the distance and a few warming up by the fire, keeping each other warm and happy.  I love how symbolic a fire burning in the rain at our fire circle can be and how when I look at this picture it makes me giggle.  Our Camp Daggett 2012 Summer Olympics occurred today and it was one for the books.  We all had an absolute blast and just like that Olympic torch burned on, so did our positive attitudes as we cheered everyone on and pushed through our unusual Michigan weather.

Now this picture makes me giggle because before Olympics and before the weather began to clear up, we were still having a fabulous time under the clouds and soaking up the rain.  In this exact moment we were extremely entertained as we laughed about our charcoal rock drawings and the names these campers came up with on their camp out for each log in that fire (yes, they are that awesome, they named logs based on their sizes and laughed every time we called the logs by their names as we worked to keep that fire alive).  To me that’s what camp is all about.  It’s about the simple things in life, the ability to make someone smile and laugh with the smallest of gestures.  The rain never holds us down. It brings us closer together as we bond through making the best of every situation we are fortunate enough to spend together.

I will always remember our week six campers as the ones who always smiled even when thunderstorms hindered our usual schedules and the ones who could always brighten up our day even if the sun couldn’t.  Camp is about smiling and laughing and accepting everyone even when things like the weather turn a little upside down. Get it!? The smile written on the rock is upside down in this picture, but don’t worry, the ones on our faces were ALWAYS right side up! I cannot wait to share such a special night tomorrow with this special bunch of wonderful individuals!

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Tuesday Already?!

Wow! It seems like we have done so much in such a short amount of time. We definitely matched the excitement of Monday with all of the activities today.  Campers got to experience many new things, including canoeing and sailing. It is also a pleasure to all of the staff when campers say that they have tried something new.  Some of the older groups this week even got to sail all the way across the lake! Of course, no Tuesday at camp would be complete without some Tye Dye in Arts and Crafts. Campers also got to play some kickball on our beautiful rec field, recently rebuilt this spring.  Lunch was a hit as campers dined on some coney dogs, although dinner may have topped that as we had our weekly fajita bar- compete with pineapple upside down cake! While those two may not seem to go together, they were both delicious and our whole kitchen staff deserves all the love and gratitude that they get.

Our night activity was a brand new one today, as Sarah Rybes brought us “App Night,” a whole night dedicated to some of the most popular mobile applications that kids have these days. While some may not have known what some of the apps were, our staff made sure that all of the campers enjoyed playing all the apps. Kids played Temple Run, where participants had to run through the woods while being chased by monkeys; Angry birds saw water balloons shot at  different items in an attempt to knock them over. Our Pandora station provided some entertainment for the evening, while campers also provided tweets and photos to remember the night by. While this was going on, the Iroquois and Ottawa cabins got a chance to develop their team building and communication skills while doing adventure activities. They had a blast ending the evening on our high ropes course.

Again, it is only Tuesday but we have done so much already. However, there is still so much more to be done, including Wobbly Wednesday, Christmas in July, and the Mud Walk!  Keep checking back for lots more about what we are doing!