Brown paper packages, tide up with strings… These are a few of my favorite things…

It has certainly been awhile since my last blog post, but camp has kept me far from my computer for most of the summer.  With that said, it’s been hard to capture my experiences as they happened.

While I met a lot of incredible people who I now consider amazing friend, the “theme” for this post was inspired by one, Sarah Daniel.  She was one of the first counselors I met at camp, and before camp even started she asked, “So Cy, do you love camp yet?”  I won’t lie, I initially thought Sarah was a bit crazy, but I was wrong…  She just loves camp, she loves when other people love camp, and now she loves that I love camp. 

So here are just a few reasons why I love camp:
(I'm sure I missed some important ones... so if you would like to add, please do)

The unforgettable things that kids say and do, they really do say the darndest things… I love camp.

·      Camper on our overnight, “If I snare a dear, can we eat him?”

·      Camper 1: “What was Jesus’ last name?”
Camper 2: “Christ, duh.”

·      Camper:  “Cy, have you finished reading A Brief History of Time (A Stephen Hawking book on the theory of relativity, time travel, and why we are on earth) yet?”
Me:  “Kenny, you gave it to me this morning.”

The pool, the diving board, Swim Olympics and Belly Flop competitions… I love camp. 

"FLYYYYIIINGGG FIIIISSSHHHH!

Suffering through the days when there was no coffee, but totally relying on each other to do so...  I love camp.

Counselor hunt, war paint, ninja outfits, hiding on top of the basketball hoop... I love camp. 

Mikie/Cy, Life/Death, Good/Evil...

Working rental camps, staying up late playing board games, sleeping through breakfast… I love camp. 

Thanks to camp, my brother and I have the satisfaction of knowing that two pairs of these pants exist... and we own them both...  I love camp.

Assist goes to Emily Sumners and Sarah Daniel

Talking to each other in our "Ms. Kim" voice, because it's so awesome... I love camp.

Dressing ridiculous for camp dances, and dancing so hard that your entire shirt is soaked in sweat…. I love camp

Hippy Dance with Jal, Myself, Mikie, and Shaun

Having a birthday at camp, and feeling incredibly loved… Camp birthdays are the best...  I love camp.

Co-counselors...  I love camp.

Ryan was my only co-counselor this summer.
So grateful for this guy.

Getting my chest waxed in front of camp during the two week session, all thanks to my brother…  I love camp. 

"Kelly Clarkson"

Waxing my brother's leg and armpit...  I love camp...  and I love my brother.

About to wax Mikie's armpit.

Storms in our little tin cans, also known as cabins… I love camp.

Playing Mafia, telling jokes, and sharing riddles with the campers till late, knowing how hard it is going to be to wake up for that breakfast bell and loving every minute of it… I love camp.

Getting to shave your facial hair in a way that is usually culturally unacceptable, but at camp is totally okay, arguably… I love camp.  

If that doesn't say "America", I don't know what does.

Prank night… I love camp.

Ropes Staff and talking about "our feelings"… I love camp. 

Sharing deep conversations, hearing the hearts of new friends,  and writing letters between cabins… I love camp. 

Making “True Life: I love camp” with Sarah… I love camp. 

Being able to spend this summer with my brother and Ben, couch surfing and generally just being up to no good… I love camp.

Ben, Mikie, and I at the Sounds Game on the 4th of July with
our friends from camp (Emily Sumners is the only one pictured)

Showering with ginormous spiders, and being perfectly fine with it… I love camp. 

Hearing where many of our campers come from, where they are going home to, and knowing that you’ve influenced them in a positive way in the short time they spend at camp…   I love camp.  

Some of the youngins' at trading post

Learning to play new songs on the guitar, thanks to Ben for the lessons and Sarah for her Guitar…  I love camp. 

Spending the whole summer getting to know and working with some amazing people, hoping that they learned just as much from you and you did from them…  I love camp.

Summer Staff and the magical Danger Ranger

.I LOVE CAMP.