Hey, Camp Folks!

The Everything Summer Camp ‘Share Your Camp Story’ drawing saw an excellent response with about 30 entries! That’s why we’re publishing each and every one right here on the Blog! Today is our last post to share the submissions we got from last year! We got a handful of entries that were too short to qualify, but it seemed like they had fun, so we thought we’d share their stories on today’s post.

First, is Robin H. who wrote about her time at Camp Longhorn.

“What are your summer plans? Each summer for 15 years the camp experience has been mine. I have had the honor of serving as a Camp Nurse in Maine, Missouri, and Texas. My children accompanied me and when they became aware of traditions and annual reunions with cabin mates, we returned to the same camp for their remaining years.
             One never knows when the common camp experience will surface. Upon entering college, my son wanted to join a certain club. Many of his peers had attended a certain camp and wondered if he was related to their ‘favorite’ Camp Nurse. My son felt this camp connectedness had some part in getting him accepted into this club.
             Things that you remember most are those that happen in your heart. Camp provides treasured experiences that one will carry for a lifetime. My children are grown now…Going to camp connects me with children of all ages… heartfelt joy that is never ending!!!”

And here’s the submission from Bob D. about his experience sending his daughter to Geneva Glen Camp:

“Geneva Glen Camp is a bit of a legend here. It’s only about an hour outside of the city but once you’re there it feels like you’re worlds away. I love that there’s not just kids from Colorado, but from all over the country and the world!
             Katie is always excited about spending weeks away from home: swimming, riding, shooting, hiking and hanging with new and old friends. In fact, she has signed letters to home with ‘Miss You (not really!)’
I have mixed emotions: I love for her to have the experiences but I miss her when she’s gone.
             What I don’t love: I seriously dread hiking up the hills of Geneva Glen with her trunk. Of course it’s big, heavy and has a clever zebra print. But, it’s a no-name trunk, purchased online and the single handle broke the first time I lugged it up the hill.
For camp next year, Katie is getting a trunk, with wheels!”

There’s no network like the summer camp network! I’m glad you guys have such positive camp connectedness. If anyone else is interested in one of these camps, you can check out Camp Longhorn and Geneva Glen Camp sometime soon! And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Aficionados!

The 30 camper submissions we received for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest at Everything summer Camp were a hoot. We’ve gotten such a kick out them, that we’re posting each of the entries right here on the Blog! Besides our seven lucky winners of larger prizes, all other entrants received a $15 gift certificate to our online store! Today’s post is from Evan V., who wrote in to tell us about his time at Camp Nah Jee Wah. Here’s his submission:

“So, Camp was the best time of my life and I made soooooooo many new friends. I will never forget all of the fun activities I did at camp! But, there was one night that made me jump left and right, and that night was… the BEAR! We were all coming back to the division from Shabbat when three people stopped us from going inside. We asked why, but they wouldn’t tell us yet. Our counselors told us to go into the dining hall and we sat there for about 15 minutes when my division head told us that there was a bear in our division! Well, we all freaked out but then matters got slightly worse… we had to go back into the bunks still! So we started walking into our division when a car started honking. Me and a few of my friends sprinted behind one of the bunks to take the shortcut to my bunk. So, when we got to our bunk, I scrambled up the stairs and while I was still on the porch, I looked over my shoulder and saw two beady eyes in the woods! I will never forget the beady eyes of the bear and how frightened I was. Now, whenever I am told to tell a scary story, I tell the story of the Nah Jee Wah bear. But, besides bears and scary stories, Camp was the best time I have ever had in my life!!! Color War made it really awesome. In Color War there were two teams. Gold and green. The campers are separated into the two teams and then are given tasks and events to participate in for team points. I was on the green team and we got so many points I knew we would win. But, then it really got tense when gold team started getting more and more points until I wasn’t so sure about us winning. At the end of Color War, we were about to announce the winning team and… surprisingly, we WON!!!!!!!!!!! I was so happy I had a hard time falling asleep that night. I loved camp, and I think that more people should try it so they can get the experience that I got!”

Evan clearly had a blast during his summer camp stay. He obviously loved Camp Nah Jee Wah. You may love it yourself if it’s a good match for you. Look into Camp Nah Jee Wah for yourself right here and as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Aficionados!

We’ve been entertained to no end with all the summer camp stories we received from roughly 30 campers for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest that was held at Everything Summer Camp. So we’re posting each of the entries right here on the Blog! After our seven lucky winners of larger prizes, all other entrants received a $15 gift certificate to our online store! Today’s post is from Ava R., who wrote in to tell us about her time at Camp Chi. She liked Camp Chi a lot:

“Camp Chi was amazing. The first thing I did when we got off the bus was have fun. We started with outdoor cooking then moved to horseback riding, then had delicious food and, by then, even though I felt a little homesick, Camp Chi was overcoming my fear of overnight camp with fun. After that we had an evening program which included introducing new campers (me) to songs and games. That night our whole cabin had fun playing games, doing lanyards, and other campy stuff. About twice every night our cabin would do sneak outs, which could be from tidying to coloring socks. At Camp Chi we also had specialities which could range from pottery and horseback riding to waterskiing and ziplining!!! Camp Chi had a specific schedule and it said: FUN FUN FUN!!!!!!! Kids were never sad at camp Chi because every day was something new. We had a pool party and color wars and scavenger hunts and hikes in the river. But whatever the activity was at Camp Chi it was never boring, dull or any other bad thing. It was always adventures, fun, creative, and many more good things. So if I were to give a review to a kid about how good or bad camp Chi is, one being the worst and ten being the best I would rate it: 1,000,000,000,000!!!!!!”

Ava rates Camp Chi one trillion on a scale from one to ten. She obviously loved it. You may love it yourself if it’s a good match for you. Look into Camp Chi for yourself right here and as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Aficionados!

So happy to hear about your time at camp, we were thrilled to get so many great submissions about campers’ camp experiences. We received about 30 submissions for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest that we held here at Everything Summer Camp. So we’re enthused to post each of the entries right here on the Blog! After our seven lucky winners of larger prizes, all other entrants received a $15 gift certificate to our online store! Today’s post is from Macy C., who wrote in to tell us about how she got ‘got’ by the counselors at Camp Ozark. Here’s her story:

“On the last night of camp, we were playing music in our cabin when our top staff came in. A top staff is the head of the cabin. She came in and told us, ‘Campers, your 3 counselors have done something unacceptable on camp grounds. We are going to have to fire 1 of them and you have to choose.’ We were all astonished. Would our counselors do something that bad? Why would they do this to us? Our top staff led us out of the cabin and onto the deck. They took us into the cabin 1 by 1 to take your pick. We would all try to think of what the counselors would of done. We were huddled in a circle crying. One girl said, ‘If this is a prank, I’m going to punch someone!’ I was one of the last people pulled into the cabin. On the cabin floor one of the 3 counselors said to me, ‘I’m sorry we have to do this to you. Do this very quietly. When we say so flip over this paper’ they hand put a paper in front of us, ‘Follow the instructions and then give them back to us.’ We flipped over the paper. It was our cabin award! Every camper gets a cabin award with their name and a quality that the counselors think you showed best. It was all a prank! We were all so happy. Then we laid down on our beds and got to watch the next person get pranked. The next girl screamed when she figured out. She was so mad! We all shushed her because the people outside don’t know yet. When the last girl entered the cabin, she was mad. The counselors told her, ‘The votes are tallied 4, 4, and 3. If you pick the counselor with 3 votes all of us would get bad consequences, but not fired. Choose wisely.’ She said, ‘Are you sure this isn’t a prank?’ This is the girl who said she was going to punch someone if it was fake. We all burst out laughing! None of it really happened! She was so glad, but also angry. It was such a good prank! Afterwards, our counselors gave us candy because they felt bad. This was quite an interesting way to end the last night of camp. That is my camp story.”

What an evil trick! It was probably pretty hilarious for your counselors, though! Hope you get a good laugh about it now, Macy! Get a good look at Camp Ozark for yourself if you don’t mind a camp that gets a little pranky from time to time. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Aficionados!

We were very happy that received roughly 30 submissions about the camp experience for our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest that was held here at Everything Summer Camp. We’re excited to post each of your entries right here on the Blog now! To follow our seven lucky winners of larger prizes, all other entrants received a $15 gift certificate to our online store! Today’s post is from Vannessa H., who wrote in to tell us about her son’s camp-filled summer experience that started at Camp Geiger. Here’s her story:

“I am the parent of Colten and wife to Steve H. As they prepare for a busy summer, packing them up to go away was a big part of it for me. Colten was our big traveler this year. He started out with Boy Scout camp about two hours from home. Geiger camp off Rt K in St Joseph, MO. Colten H has been going to scout camp for 6 years. A week in a tent and activities like swimming, hiking, zip line, camp fires, and more. This camp was Sunday to Saturday with one family night. (So that moms can bring clean clothing and take dirty one’s home. Well ok, get a hug too) There are hundreds of boys at this camp. As a mom, I have crazy images of how items get strung all over the many acres. An email is always sent out a week later saying that something has been found or lost.
                On the last day of scout camp, we got up at 4am to go pick him up early. He had to catch the church van that was already in route to Glorieta, New Mexico! (We live in Northern Missouri) He changed out suit cases and was off to camp #2. This was his first year to attend this camp. A great camp for intense activities and Bible studies. His favorites were rock climbing and zero gravity scooters. The downhill dirt track had hills/ramps that he was able to get ‘air time’. A mud pit was a favorite for many too! It is funny how labels of who you think you are or status or click you belong to come off when covered in mud –you are all the same. I love to hear from those that went to this camp on how they really bonded as a family.
                Next camp, a mission trip that Steve and Colten went on together about five days after Colten was home. This gave me a chance to wash ALL the really dirty, set in grime. This trip was to Nicaragua to build homes and share the love of Jesus. This too was a new experience for Colten H. This is the third year that Steve H has gone. Their checked baggage was a tote filled with items for an adopted family. They took a gift for the children from the first two families. Steve loves the girls from the first year and has a family type bond with them. They join up with other churches and Project Hope out of Springfield, MO. Anyway, the only clothing they have for themselves is in a carry on backpack. They stay in a compound with about 45 people. They have a staff that washes clothing for them while they are out in the villages. Your stuff was to be clearly marked with your name or initials. The group left the country after five baptized and a wedding! But the real change comes in the 45 people that went.
                Everything Summer Camp helped everything get returned home to the right closest! The clothing went through very active events and many washings. The tags were on everything from backpacks, socks and underwear, T shirts, and more. A few are starting to come off now, but this mom is happy to have everything home—including two very important men.”

What a fun-filled summer Colten had! He must be moving into adolescence gracefully with all his experiences! Glad your important men are back by your side. Check out Camp Geiger for yourself to see where Colten stayed. Maybe it’ll be a good match for you. As always, thanks for reading!

- John