Camp Elk River - Zimmerman, MN

Part Three

After biking and kayaking, the entire group moved on to archery. Iowa camps don't let the girls do this until fourth grade. They were so excited to do it in June but a heavy storm pushed us out after they had taken just one shot. As a result, they were all really excited to get to this activity. Our counselor, Puppy Chow, gave the girls some safety instructions before getting them started. She even let us stay an extra half an hour because they were having so much fun. I took a ton of photos because it was so great to see how strong and confident they were. I am only posting about half of the photos I have so if you would like more of your daughter, email me and I will get them to you. 

They ended the day with dinner, more games, and a camp fire.

They had a life sized fussball field which the girls couldn't pass up. They even invited another troop to join them.

Then they settled in for the campfire and s'mores. They chose to sign up to do a skit in front of the rest of camp. By now, I'm sure you have all heard the Squeeze the Orange, Rock the Mullet, and Plunge the Toilet song. They did a terrific job and the rest of the camp really got into it too. It's possible I'm biased but I'd have given them the award for Best Act.

Performing their song

 

The ride back to Regina was full of excitement, silliness, and a lot of sugar! They sang the camp songs they learned over and over!

After our return, we had our Bridging Ceremony on the playground. Each of the girls worked really hard this year. They learned new skills and their confidence grew with every outing.

Heather's talented friend made this great cake for us! If you didn't get to see it, there was a Lego bridge going from a plate of brownies to a juniors cake. She donated it to the group!

Thank you to all of the parents who trusted us with their girls this weekend. They are a diverse group who genuinely seem enjoy one another. Their confidence and decision making has grown by leaps and bounds in the past year. It has been a tremendous pleasure to get to know all of them.

Also, a special thank you to Andrea Clark who offered to help us on this trip! She was a huge help to us and the girls loved having her along with us.

Finally, thanks to Heather for arranging the 15 passenger van, the pre-camp emails, and the cake! Our troop would be a mess without her!