Camp Conestoga: A Long Saturday

After a long, very cold night, the girls were ready to start their big day at camp. We had a busy schedule which started with breakfast, a nature hike, swimming, lunch, canoeing, sports/games, dinner, and an Un-Birthday party. 

Nature Hike

Our first outing was a nature hike which was lead by one of the troop's favorite counselors, Bumble. She took us on a 90 minute walk and let the girls explore as much as they wanted. We found an old try that had been knocked over and the girls decided to see if they could walk across it. Along the way they found some very cool looking mushrooms, lots of spiders, and many plants (all of which they were convinced were poison ivy). 

Kjirstin

Left: Bumble, Kjirstin, Sophia, Madelyn

Walking across the tree: Sydnee, Lexi, Sarah

Madelyn getting across the tree trunk

Sydnee exploring

Left: Sophia, Madelyn, Sydnee, Lexi, Sarah, Kjirstin

Along the way, the girls noticed a dead cicada. There were none of the expected screams, gasps or, "GROSS!" comments. Instead all of the girls eagerly picked it up and passed it around. 

Swimming

After hiking, it was time for an hour and a half of swimming. The only problem was that it was about 60 degrees outside, which is why there is only one pool picture! All of the girls dazzled us with their diving board tricks and more than one of them learned how to blow water at the mom's through their floaty "noodles." 

Canoeing

Swimming was followed by lunch and a trip to the camp store. Up next was canoeing. After promising one of our girls in particular that there is almost no way a canoe can flip, a canoe flipped. Thankfully it was a mom who was in the canoe by herself. The one camper who had been so worried wound up helping in the rescue efforts and brought the life guard kayak back to shore. 

The girls took turns with us out on the lake. If they were not canoeing, they were on the shore with Bumble learning how to fish and catch frogs. There was a lot of excitement when Sarah caught her first fish! Everyone was really proud of her. 

Top Left: Mary, Ali, Heather

Bottom Left: Madelyn, Sophia, Kjirstin, Lexi, Sydnee, Sarah

Time to put the kayaks and canoes away! 

Ga Ga Ball

Next up was a giant Slip and Slide. Did I mention it was 60 degrees? Thankfully the girls were willing to change and we wound up playing a very competitive game of Ga Ga Ball instead.

The Un-Birthday Party

The girls ended the night with party games, dancing, and a bit of silliness. :) After the party, we headed back to the camp site where Zim and Hippo built a camp fire and helped the girls make S'mores. After such a long day, they decided to forgo a second dance party night. 

Ready to Go! Friday

The girls met at The Pizza Ranch for a pre-camp lunch. After a bit of shuffling and some last minute shopping, we were ready to go.

                                                  Sarah, Kjirstin, Madelyn, Sophia, Lexi

After a little over an hour drive, we finally arrived! The girls were given a sheet of activities that they could choose from. Their first job was to rank them in order of preference. The girls were more than willing to compromise and, in the end, they wound up getting to do all of their favorite activities. 

After choosing activities, it was time to get our shirts!

Once we were all checked in, the camp counselors had the girls play a big group game. It took a few minutes to get the hang of it but it was a great way to break the ice and meet some of the other campers and parents.  

                                                                 Sarah and Kjirstin

                                                                   Heather and Lexi

Sophia and Kjirstin

After the game, we were shown to our cabin by our fearless leader "Einstein." All of the counselors had nicknames so you may have heard your daughter talking about Guido, Bumble, Hippo, Zim and others. We had a little hike to our camp site but there girls held up!

Our "home" for the weekend consisted of a camp site with eight cabins, a camp fire, and (yes!) indoor plumbing. The girls were surprisingly ok with our accommodations.  

Our camp, "Outpost"

Top Left: Madelyn, Lexi, Sophia

Bottom Left: Kjirstin, Sarah, Sydnee

Left: Kjirstin, Lexi, Madelyn

After getting settled in, we headed over to the main part of the camp where a whole shed full of activities was waiting for us. 

Apparently we have the reigning hula-hoop queen in Sophia! 

Madelyn and Sydnee making a sand castle.

After playing, it was off to dinner. The girls had several choices at meal times and were often asked to be "hoppers" or scouts that ran food and dishes back and forth to the kitchen staff. None of them complained and they were all great helpers. After dinner, we were on "Sparkle Duty" which meant we had to sweep out the dining hall. 

The night ended with a camp wide show. The counselors put on skits, taught the girls songs, and had them energized for the weekend. If you hear your girls singing about mashing bananas, squeezing oranges, rocking mullets, or yelling out an occasional, "Come on Bessie give, the baby's got to live!"  you can thank the counselors. :) 

After all of the activities, most of the girls were ready to call it a night! Zim and Hippo gave the girls an hour before they had to be in bed. They wound up having a "dance party" in one of their rooms. When Heather went over to tell them it was time for bed, she found 13 girls (7 from the other troop at our camp site) joining in on the fun.