Showtime and 1 final goodbye!

Well howdy again parents!! Its me again (LJ) and I’m here for the final blog of 2nd session. I get to start ya off with the first blog of the session and then wrap ya all up with the last one of the session with everything that’s happened during the last 2 weeks and its been busy!!! Today everyone one was getting in their last full day of rides down the zip line or on the circus, finishing up their arts and crafts projects and heck, I even saw the girls in canoeing class going the wrong way in the river. They were paddling up stream above the dam, not that they were going the “wrong way, its just Ive never seen them venture to that part of the river before. They all had smiles in their faces so it must have been a good trip. The girls at horseback had a pretty big day too!! Each period they all competed in the horse show and tomorrow the winners from each class will compete in the Grand Championship. Be on the lookout tomorrow (or today if your reading this on Thursday) on our social media platforms as they will have all the latest updates and winners. It should be up online around or before noon. We took our CSR class today to the top of Pickles Palace (3 stories) and then down to the river. That doesn’t even sound exciting until you find out that we did it all from the outside of the building!!! They learned to climb up rope and switch over to what’s called a “guided rappel” where they do a lot of technical stuff that’s pretty dad gum difficult and I’m happy to tell ya that every single one of ‘em did it without any problems. Those girls amaze me more anymore every day. Tomorrow I’ll take them on one last special trip that will have amazing views and be the largest rappel/climb out they’ve ever done. You don’t want to miss the pics even if your daughter isn’t in CSR class, you’ll love the views I promise.

Tonight we had Showtime at Skyline where all the campers came to the gym and got to watch all the campers strut their stuff as they showed out with everything they’ve learned the past 2 weeks including the drama class version of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I gotta give props where props are due, the ladies in the play tonight were all amazing and it was one of the best presentations Ive seen. They were focused, sharp, on ket and even when they were “just saying their lines” they used inflection and emotion and it was absolutely fabulous. Not to be outdone, gymnastics, cheerleading, and one of the best performances of the night had to be the older girls in dance class performing amazing moves to the music of the classical dancer, Michael Jackson (its sad that as I wrote this I think about seeing him back in the 80s and realize that most music from back that far actually is classic nowadays…)

I did get to enjoy dinner tonight with all the age outs as they all joined Sally, Frances, Katie and of course every campers favorite ropes course person “Pickle” was there too!! Sally always cooks them a special dinner on their last day of classes and that includes some of her famous homemade ice cream. They must have loved the meal too cause there wasn’t any ham, mac & cheese, veggies or bread left when they finished. (of course there wasn’t any ice cream left either, that just goes without saying…….)

Tomorrow we’ll have the Grand Championship I was talking about earlier followed by club meetings and packing day, awards day and finally well end the session with our banquet where all the girls will find out who won what awards in each activity and then finally which club won the point cup, the horse cup and the Eloise H Temple Spirit cup. When they announce the winners of the cups the girls cheer and yell louder than anything you’ve heard. Picture it kind of like hearing a blender full on nuts and blots in the middle of a steel barrel and then make it a little louder…

After the banquet each club will head down to the river for our official end of competitions called River vespers where the club leaders will light the final campfire of the session and then well hear each cabin wish and my favorite part of the whole session. The age out speeches. Its my favorite part not because the session is finished but because you get to hear the campers who have spent their final days as campers here and they make a short speech to everyone else about what their time here at camp has ment to them. There’s no filter or app to make it look cool or funny, its just straight from the heart feelings that they’re wanting to pass on to all the younger campers who still have time left here at camp. Its genuine, its honest, its heartfelt and quite emotional as these young ladies talk about all the lessons they’ve learned while being at their home away from home for the final 2 weeks. To hear these ladies speak straight from the heart is more impressive than anything you’ll see or read on social media nowadays, trust me. Be proud of your daughters, if your daughter is an age out ask them to read their speech to you, if your daughter is in her first year or anything in between, ask her to tell you what she accomplished or enjoyed while at camp this session, you’ll be impressed, trust me.

This is the final blog for 2nd session, tomorrow (Thursday night) will be crazy with everything going on so this is the last chance I get to talk with you before I see you on closing day. Its been an honor and a pleasure to have your daughters here at camp and for you to trust us with your most prized possession. I hope you enjoyed their time at camp as much as they did. (but I doubt it!!). On closing day we’ll have a special area that has been deemed “the dad pad” next to the office. It’ll include coffee, sausage and something interesting on TV. Don’t worry moms, you are always welcome there too!! Don’t let the name throw ya off, its a great place for everyone to gather. Thanks again and please everyone be safe on your way to camp Friday to pick your daughter, Its been a great two weeks and we’ll see ya Friday morning! thanks again, LJ