Hey, Siblings!

You know about Father’s Day and we all know about Mother’s Day (which is just up ahead next weekend), but did you know that there is a day to celebrate our siblings? It’s today: Brothers and Sisters Day. Happy Brothers and Sisters Day everyone. Our siblings are everything from our best friend to our arch rival—our moral support as well as our annoying roommate. There are days when you love your siblings more than life itself; other days you want to disown them.

Whether we appreciate it at the time or not, they’re there for us.

And that’s reason enough to be thankful for our brothers and sisters. You’re all in this together—on the same rollercoaster ride of your household, under the same roof. Together. Brothers and sisters rely on the older ones for comfort and guidance; older siblings learn valuable lessons in growing up and maturing.

I’m the youngest of five siblings and, take it from someone with decades of experience: the older you get, the more you come to appreciate your brothers and sisters. Now that we’re all grown up, we find that we rely on each other all the time. Heck! I work with both of my brothers here at Everything Summer Camp!

Mark, the oldest, is the Vice President. Brian, the next down the line is our Operations Manager. And—of course—the youngest, yours truly, am the Writer and Blog Administrator of Everything Summer Camp. And, altogether, I know there’s nothing the three of us wouldn’t do if we knew either of our sisters, Erica or Kim, needed our help.

You can celebrate Brothers and Sisters Day and show them that you care by connecting with them in whatever way you can make happen today. If you’re younger, maybe just do something nice for your siblings. Take the dishes for a week or some other shared household chore to give the other/s a break. If you’re older and you no longer live together, you can get together a share a meal or have a talk around a fire. If you’re separated by too much distance for getting together, just make sure to send them a card or talk to them on the phone.

Just make sure you let you’re brothers and sisters know what they mean to you at least this one time each year and appreciate that you have them in your life! Some only-children out there certainly have perks to being the only child, but they aren’t so fortunate to have built-in friendship with their kin. Happy Brothers and Sisters Day, Folks. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Physically Fit Folks!

Today is Fitness Day—a good day to consider all the good things you do for your body and maybe a reminder to do more for yourself if you’d like to see more improvements. Getting into shape can sometimes seem like a daunting endeavor to embark upon, but you may be amazed at how quickly your body will turn itself around in gratitude of you doing what’s good for it.

We’re no strangers to pushing ourselves for further fitness here at Everything Summer Camp. That’s why we’ve started our company-wide ‘Commit to be Fit!’ program in which we track our healthy habits of every day: did we stay away from sweets, did we get enough sleep each night, did we get out each day for some exercise, and a good number of other factors.

All of the healthy deeds we chart throughout the days are assigned to a point system that gets added up and when we hit certain mile markers, we get have prizes like ‘Commit to be Fit!’ team spirit apparel and a water bottle. The shirt and hoodie advertise that we’re a part of something that we’re proud of while the water bottle goes to help one of the most important parts of being fit—hydration!

Just the same as a kid getting the most out of the summer camp experience, we know our Everything Summer Camp family operates much smoother when we’re all healthy and happy, so the ‘Commit to be Fit!’ program seemed like a the best way to boost morale and give every day our best!

We’ve had excellent Blog posts in the past about fitness and summer camp. Check out the first Blog of a whole fitness series when you click right here. Have fun getting fit and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Frisbee Fans!

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a flying saucer! No, I’m not talking about any close encounters of the third kind sort of flying saucer. It’s the toy flying saucer that I’m talking about. You can use it to play a game of catch unlike any other—no ball involved—along with a number of other Frisbee-centric sports such as Ultimate Frisbee or Disc Golf.

The Frisbee glides by providing its own lift as it moves through the air and its spin is what creates its stability (using angular momentum in the same fashion as a gyroscope). This allows for aim and accuracy when it’s thrown.

Such a different concept from the typical ball that most sports use, how did such an interesting toy as the Frisbee come to be invented anyway? Well, it’s a cool story—one that starts in 1937 on a Thanksgiving Day evening.

After enjoying a delicious meal, one Walter Morrison and his one-day wife, Lucille, were having some fun, tossing around the lid of a popcorn canister. They discovered how well a flat disc could travel with the proper throw.

Another day, experimenting with the same concept, Walter and Lucille were tossing a cake pan back and forth on an afternoon at the beach. They were offered 25¢ for the pan despite the fact that cake pans, at the time, only cost a fifth of the offer that was made.

The couple saw that this idea could produce a profit and Walter sketched up a new design to make the disk more aerodynamic for improved flight. They named it the Whirlo-Way after a famous racehorse, however, in the midst of increasing UFO sightings after the incident at Roswell, New Mexico, they renamed their toy the Flyin-Saucer to capitalize on the craze.

From there, Walter started his own company in 1954 and redesigned the Flyin Saucer model, calling it the Pluto Platter. Before long, he sold the rights to Wham-O. That pretty much completes the history of the Frisbee—except for how it got its name.

Ironically, the name comes from students of Yale University who started tossing around empty pie tins from the Frisbie Pie Company—just the way Walter and Lucille threw around popcorn tin lids and cake pans! Once the co-founders of Wham-O learned of this term for throwing discs, they renamed the Pluto Platter for good. Catch your own light-up Frisbee right here at Everything Summer Camp and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Earth Lovers.

Today is Earth Day. A day designated to reminding everyone to appreciate the Earth we all walk on and to do your part in pitching in and keeping it the beautiful land it’s meant to be. This holiday got its start in 1970 when one US Senator for Wisconsin, Senator Nelson initiated our own National Earth Day. But, really, every day should be Earth Day, as we ought to appreciate our living home and treat it with respect at all times—not just one day a year.

The environment is worth it! Last week was Plant Appreciation Day which was featured here on the Everything Summer Camp Blog. We covered a few different ways in which plants are absolutely essential to our existence and well-being. From the air we breathe to medicinal food and even positive moods, plants do so much for us every day; it’s only right that we return the favor!

Simply picking up litter may seem like help on such a small scale that it’s not worthwhile, but that is definitely misguided thinking. A clean room influences further organization and tidy routines (just the same way that an unclean room only encourages further recklessness). A clean Earth works the same way.

The folks from UCO Gear can tell you all about it. Their very own Steven Reinhold is responsible for the #Trashtag Project that puts a fun spin on a noble deed of picking up random litter (especially in natural spaces like state parks and local trails).

Steven Reinhold, a UCO Gear ambassador was so haunted by an accidental littering moment that he was compelled to clean up heavily littered spots throughout his travels to make up for his one mishap. It was recording his deed by snapping pictures that inspired him and spawned the #Trashtag project.

“Instead of taking self-fulfilling summit selfies,” says Steven Reinhold of UCO Gear, “We should be ‘Trash Tagging’ ourselves in pictures where we are cleaning up our wild places!” What a fun way to do good! Do some cleanup in a local spot that sees more litter than it should. It’ll make you feel productive and the site will look a million times better! And don’t forget to take before and after pictures. Happy Earth Day, Everybody.

- John

Hey, Riders!

If you’re passionate about horseback riding, then you’re probably already aware of our fantastic selection of riding gear from leading brand names like Equi-Star, Troxel Performance Headgear, and Ovation. Each of these brands has their own niche in the world of riding accessories. And today, I’m talking about Ovation. Check out awesome riding pants and chaps from this great brand!

Summer camps are often times full of horse people just like yourself, so we need to be prepared and provide some of the very best in horseriding gear. We want all riders to be safe, comfortable, and free as they gallop and jump!

Like Equi-Star (which we also offer right here on our website), Ovation is one of the many trusted brands in the English Riding Supply family—a name that’s been growing their collection since 2013. English Riding Supply is the parent company for other names such as RWR (Real Women Ride), RSL (Riderstouch Gloves), Equi-Essentials, and roughly 30 other brands that have quite the reputation for themselves as being high grade.

Whether you're an experienced rider or you’ve just begun your first riding lesson, Ovation offers amazing, comfortable, and premium products for equestrian horseback riding and tagged with a great, affordable price. Whatever occasion you’re dressing for, whether it be an event, school, pleasure riding, or cleaning in the stables, Ovation is a trusted brand that people return to time and time again.

Get all the gear you’ll need to go riding during your summer camp stay right here! Check out our selection of Ovation Horse Riding Gear and get yourself set with your pair of riding pants and chaps. You can view our complete selection of Ovation products available here at Everything Summer Camp when you click right here. Enjoy browsing and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John