Buckeye!

Quick (and very belated) update on BLW 2013:

It was amazing!  We had so much fun.  The people there were friendly and we made lots of friends.  It was great to hang out with Maggie and Jacke, two of our summer counselors!

 

Song Circle! ....and I just noticed the bear on the wall.

 

Jalisa in her bubble costume for "Go Fish" night - adorable!

 

 

We ended the trip with dinner at Cracker Barrel with our new friends from Canada - they were so nice!  Jalisa is going to visit their camp next month.

 

I guess no one told Michigan that winter is over - there was STILL a pile of snow in our parking lot on Monday.  Dad and Me was a great time last weekend despite the cold though.  And it is now warming up just in time for our concert Saturday and all of our May events!

 

Happy Camping!

Oh, Hi, Oh!

Congrats to Jalisa for an awesome job teambuilding with 150 students at Coopersville last week - it was AMAZING!

Tomorrow we will be leaving for the Buckeye Leadership Workshop in Ohio, and Jalisa and I are SO EXCITED!  There are quite a few of us attending this year, inluding some new and returning counselors.  I can't wait to see them again - it's been too long since last summer.

Say Cheese!

I'm looking forward to the themed events, because I have some great costumes planned:
Go Go Gadget- I found an old trench coat in my parent's coat closet.
Go Fish- Ariel Wig and a big purple starfish barrette.
Go Back in Time-  Recycling my Back to the Future Halloween costume.
Go Team-  I'm going Harry Potter for this one.  Go Gryffindor!

We're going to learn a lot, see old friends, make new ones, sing songs...I feel like a camper!

Happy Camping,

March Madness!

Long time no see, fellow Campers!

February just RUSHED past us here at Camp.  We had a lot of stuff going on, and the good times keep on comin'.

Jalisa kicked off her busy recruiting and conference season with trips to Chicago, Texas, Grand Rapids and Detroit.  She has been constantly on the move, promoting camp and getting scholarship applications out to schools.  She is now a pro at mass mailings.

A great time was had by all at the Daddy Daughter Dance, and this weekend is the chance for Moms and Sons to bust a move in green.  I can't wait to drink some green punch.

Swing your partner, 'round and 'round...

Happy Camping!

Lights! Camera! MAYHEM!

I just spent the morning decorating for Saturday night's mystery dinner and I am getting so excited!  The room looks very glamourous.  Roles have been assigned, bribery money divvied out, trophies polished, and the red carpet rolled out.  Now all we need is the glitzy guests!  Here's a great picture of some guests from last year's carribean theme:

Next up on the calendar is Camp Newaygo in da Moonlight at the Watermark in Grand Rapids.  This is our second annual da Moonlight fundraiser, and once again we have raffle tickets for your chance to win a cool grand.  I still have some available to sell so let me know.

Happy Camping!

Let's make NIA the new Zumba

For the past year Camp has been hosting an exercise class once a week for local women.  NIA, which stands for neuromuscular integrative action (or non-impact aerobics, as it was previously known), is a great fitness program that combines nine different movement forms including yoga, t'ai chi, Tae Kwon Do, and jazz.  The program focuses on whole-body conditioning and the connection between body-mind-spirit.

NIA instructor Kathy Streng makes the one-hour class so much fun.  The music ranges from earthy instrumentals to cyberbeats.  It makes you want to get up and move!  The class is tons of fun and leaves you with more energy than when you started.  It's also a great way to beat the winter blahs.

And you can do it anywhere.  And barefoot.

This year the class runs from 5:30pm to 6:30pm every Monday.  Each class is $6.  Come check it out.

Happy Camping!

You'll have to speak UP a little louder

Hello All!

We've finally slowed down a bit at Camp this month, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything going on.  Speak UP! is this weekend and next weekend followed by our MLK Day "Day On" celebration and our mystery dinner theater event on the 26th.

What is Speak UP! you ask?  It's an amazing program designed to get kids involved in their communities and learn about philanthropy.  We show kids that giving back can be big or small and comes in all forms.  Last year we had a guest speaker that gave break dancing lessons to underpriveledged youth, and a man who helped bring fresh water to rural villages in South America. During the two day retreat the students test themselves and their leadership abilities, learn to work as a team, pick a project, and go back to their schools with a new outlook on the value of philanthropic service.

And the knowledge that philanthropy is super fun, too.

We currently have five school districts involved and we would love to cater the program to other schools.  Community service is one of Camp's core values and we love sharing that with kids all over Michigan.  It's a fun and rewarding program for students and for us as well.

Happy Camping!

Happy New Year!

We're back!  We all had a refreshing holiday and now we are all pumped up for tomorrow's Camper Reunion.  Jalisa is planning an EPIC giant game of Candyland, plus the annual gingerbread and wrapping paper fashion show contests.  Hopefully this year there will be enough snow to sled and make snow angels.

After this week we are gearing up for the annual Speak UP! retreat for middle school and high school students.  It's really rewarding to see these kids learn all about philanthropy and creating a project to give back to their community.  Then we are having our annual mystery dinner theater.  We get to dress up for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.  I'm so excited!

Happy Camping!