CD 3, Day 3

It is so hot it's ridiculous! It's been in the 90s all week so we've switched a lot of the activities to water-based activities. Yesterday was interesting because we had two different sets of storms roll through: one during breakfast and one during dinner. And in between, blue sunny beautiful skies.

Aside from the strange weather, the week has started off on a high note. My eight campers are pretty wonderful kids. I am enjoying hanging out with them. One of the little boys in our unit (2 cabins=1 unit) is hard of hearing so I still get to practice my sign. He's so naughty but he's my little buddy!

The week is going by pretty fast. We aren't doing any camp outs because of the heat. Because I have a younger cabin we get to go to bed early, which is nice for me and for them. Our last activity for the night is always 6:20-8:20, followed by Trading Post at 8:30. During Trading Post time the campers are allowed to by one snack and one drink from the camp store. It is a nice chance to sit down together and relax after a busy day. After everyone is done eating we head down to the cabin for bed time.

I am currently facing a serious decision about what to do with the rest of my break...sleep or shower. Can I do BOTH in an hour??

~SJ

Oh, this has got to be the good life :-)

I have to say I didn't expect it to be a whole week between posts! CD2 was amazing! This was the first week where I was honestly sad to see all of my campers go. My co-counselor JB and I had seven of the sweetest girls ever! My favorite (even though we're not supposed to have favorites) was a little darling named Lilly. Within five seconds of meeting her she grabbed my hand. Within five minutes she hugged my arm and said, "I like you." She was so adorable! She was incredibly helpful to not only staff but the other campers as well. I have an infected ear piercing right now and when I would go to the health lodge to have it looked at she would hold my hand and say, "It's okay, just relax." We also had a camper with a mobility issue who used a walker and Lilly would hold doors for here and try to help her with everything. The camper with the mobility issue, Meghan, was a sweetheart as well. She was always very positive and threw herself into every activity she could. She loved playing duck duck goose and she swam every day. She goes to school with three of the other girls in the cabin so it was a nice chance for them to hang out. They also got along great with the other three girls.

There was a lot of homesickness in the cabin. One of the girls literally asked every few minutes when she was going home and what the schedule was on Friday. This had a ripple effect and throughout the week three of the other girls would randomly get homesick and cry because they missed various family members. I felt for them, and by the end of the week I found myself being a little homesick as well. After next week I will be taking a little vacation to spend time with my family over my birthday. I am very excited to have this time with them.

The summer is already half over and I have to say that I couldn't work in a better place. Here is a list of some of the things I've been paid to do this summer:

• be pulled on an inner tube tied to a paddle boat
• go camping. 3 times
• play field hockey
• drive the John Deere gator
• build a 1-match fire
• have a dance-off
• dance to Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Disney
  
• build sand castles
• get some crazy cool tan lines
• go swimming
• eat candy and ice cream with kiddos every night
• make craft projects
• shoot archery
• drive a pontoon boat
• take a hay wagon ride through the forest
• run
• laugh
• play

I'm not saying I get paid buckets and buckets, but the rewards of this job are beyond monetary measure. Every time I make a camper laugh or see them smile during an activity I feel like I have the best job in the world. Even when I am falling into bed completely exhausted I sleep well knowing that these kiddos and I are sharing this time together and that it is benefitting both of us. We say that we're here for the campers, but I think for a lot of us, they are here for us, too.

Next week is CD3 and I will have eight of my own girls again. They are 13 and 14 years old and I am looking forward to spending a week with them. I hope everything goes well in your respective weeks as well!

~SJ

I think it's a bug...but it's got fur...

Wow. How time flies when you're at camp. So not only are we done with DHH 1, but DHH 2 has come and gone as well. It's been a whirlwind two weeks. I had16 and 17 years olds during DHH 2. It was a small week because of the fourth of July. There were about half the amount of campers in all of camp so I only had four in my cabin. For two of them it was the last year--you age out at 17.

Camp out one during DHH 1 was really good. I got a deer tick behind my knee but one of the nursing assistants took it out. Our DHH 2 camp out at Indian Point was a blast as well. There were only three boy campers in the cabin we worked with so it was a small group. One of the boys went fishing and caught a bunch of bass. He lost his lure int he water close to shore so me being the darling I am shed my shoes and socks and waded out in my spandex shorts to retrieve it.

I will post pictures below so you get more of an idea of what I've been up to. Next week we have CD2 and I don't have any campers in my cabin so I will be a co-counselor to the Hemlocks cabin. There are 7 girls between the ages of 10 and 12. I am looking forward to the week!

Chelsey and I at the Tropical Oasis dance, DHH2

My unit pal for DHH2, Morgan, and I at the Indian Point lighthouse

Me getting the camper's lure from the rope swing area.

Me busting some moves during the dance off, DHH2

Two of the counselors dressed up as flamingos for the dance

Chel and I out on the pontoon on the weeked

Amy, J-Wow, and myself at the DHH1 dance

Luke and Jake

Me being super good at archery...sort of

Hanging out in the shelter we built out of branches and downed trees

Stay tuned for more camp fun!
~SJ