Halloween is such a fun time of the year, so why not celebrate it at camp?  From the decorations, to hayrides, to the JC1 haunted house, to yummy candy and sugar cookies, campers had a spooktacular Friday evening dressing up in all sorts of funny and creative Halloween costumes. Dressing up is one of the most FUN parts of Halloween. Even the counselors got in on dressing up, making them feel like a kid again. Dressing up is a  wonderful way for campers and staff to showcase their creativity.  All sorts of Halloween games were played for candy treats. The most popular game was the high striker, also know as a strength tester game. A few campers came close to hitting the bell at the top and several staff members successful made the bell ding. We have some pretty strong Agawak girls here. The CIT's manned the dunk tank and Mary sent Carly into the refreshing water on the 3rd try. Iris had a large group of campers huddled around her for palm reading and Indy and Alexis gave firetruck rides. 

The Blue and White Tenathalon tradition is an all-day first session favorite. Working in small Uh-Ungowa and Fiky-Ikus groups of combined ages, campers give their all in many different sports-both traditional and camp style. Gaga, Nukum, swim races, dodge-ball, kayak races, Red Girl Relay, basketball, kickball, and swim relays began our activities this morning. After a hearty lunch with tuna croissants, chicken nuggets, full salad bar (and pizza leftovers-yum) counselors handed out mail and it was off to rest period in  the bunks. When the bell rang, screen doors flew open and campers ran off to play an afternoon of big games in the warm summer weather. 

Campers were given their Lip Sync groups and will start to practice tonight for our annual Blue and White Lip Sync evening program which will take place the Wednesday before our first session ends. Our Blue and white Commissioners (Jesse, Paige and Caroline) have done a superb job implementing our Blue and White program and upholding important traditions. 

Tomorrow morning we will slow things down with Lazy Breakfast. Ducky, our head chef, will be flipping homemade pancakes all morning long. Our weather continues to be amazing and our campers are having the time of their lives. I like to think that we become our best selves at Agawak because the people here believe in us. One of my favorite things about Agawak is how much trust it places in the people who live here. We trust our juniors to get to activities on time, create fabulous skits each night, and even refill food from the kitchen. We trust our intermediates to be kind to each other, problem solve situations and to embrace the crazy adventures of camp. We trust the seniors to be real leaders, role models and show enthusiasm.
From ages six to sixteen, we believe in each other to laugh often, love kindly, and show respect. It’s no wonder we find it easier to be our best selves — when two hundred people believe that you can do it, we find ourselves proving them right.

Smile on and full speed ahead.

Mary