We enjoyed hosting parents, siblings and grandparents on Saturday for Parents Weekend. The weather was beautiful and campers were excited to reunite with their families. Thanks to everyone for traveling far and near to spend the day with us. 

Full season campers took no time transitioning back into camp life after being dropped off this morning. Second session campers arrived around 1:30 pm. Under sunny skies, they quickly unpacked, completed swim tests and signed-up for this weeks series of activities which begins tomorrow. First time campers unwrapped either a Blue or White Team shirt tonight and went running through the CIT hand tunnel. They were taught traditional team cheers and proudly wore their team shirt. We headed to the beach for tug of war between divisions. The Blue Team juniors, White Team intermediates, White Team seniors and White Team staff pulled a win. Campers headed to the showers to wrap up our day. and giggles cold be heard in cabins on the hill.

Sadly, we are mid-way through the summer.  There's so much to jam into second session. We have mountains to climb, lakes to canoe, dance moves to learn, wakes to cross over, Blue & White games to play and cheers to chant. We’re going full force into second session and look forward to continuing to master our skills, learning how to live with each other and most importantly, we look forward to all the happy moments together. 

Living in a cabin with a group of girls and counselors for weeks on end— with hardly any privacy — is not always easy. We learn to share and to compromise. We learn to give and take a little. We learn how to cope and navigate emotions. We learn to cooperate. These are all great skills we will put to use in all our relationships: at home, with our family, at school, in college, at work and beyond. Our days are filled with fun, sun and activities galore. Our nights, with evening programs, trips to the shower house, night talks, and evening patrol.

We look forward to all the excitement the next three-and-a-half weeks holds. As I type this, camp is quiet, the stars are out and our CIT's are finishing braiding each others hair for their Boundary Waters trip which heads out tomorrow morning. Parents.... we have an incredibly happy camp. 

Full speed ahead and smile on,

Mary