The Great Adventure | Family Camp 2011

Over the Memorial Day holiday, we spent our 3rd weekend at Higher Ground Retreat Center for Family Camp with our friends from Crossroads Church. We had an incredible time with 40 or so families. So many special moments were made through the planned adventures outdoors. We really were sad to see the experience come to a close on Monday.

Some of you might be wondering, just what happens at our Family Camp? Well first know REALLY organized and creative people plan it and no detail is spared. Every instruction is masterfully designed and given provided in full color. Like this year when we got to our room, it was already equiped with plastic canteens for water, name tags, a bound guidebook, trail mix, hand sanitizer, bug collecting stuff for the kids and commemorative T-shirts.

You are immediately assigned to a team. This year we were the yellow team. We called ourselves the Lemonheads. We are instructed to create a team chant and create a song with each team member's name used for introducing ourselves to the other campers over our first lunch together. Our chant went something like...

"The Lemonheads you want to meet.
Our name says sour -
Our hearts are sweet.
Pucker up campers!"
Then we blew a big kiss.

Here is another team as they start their chant and song:



You are never hungry at Family Camp - 3 squares that's for sure. The staff does a great job of keeping us fed.

There is daily time for group singing and worship during which each family sits on a sheet they've brought decorated with their family name on it. Each year a song defines the themed experience. Luke loves singing "Praise Ye the Lord" and this year got up on stage to help lead the guy refrains. Go Luke!

Over the 2 full days, there were 8 adventures our team traveled to on the grounds. Each one had a fun element and a learning element. Here is our team after one of the adventures. Then Chris fixing a pin to Luke's lanyard - a badge was given after each accomplishment.





We were in the middle of an activity on the camp's football fields and found a wayward baby mouse.



Here's Chris smiling at me during a more creative station after I busted him. We were to cut out words and pictures from periodicals, but of course Chris took the opportunity to read one of the newspapers instead. Only Family Camp can come between him and his daily paper so he was pretty excited to be in the vicinity of one.



And then there are the games. During the first two camps, the competition got a little intense so this year there were no points awarded trying to make it a kinder, gentler Family Camp.

So why did we get so upset when the Lemonheads sucked?



Granted other teams seemed to have their teams stacked with older children while we had 4 infants/toddlers, 1 child over 7 and our own special needs 4 year old. You can tell I'm over it!!!! No way!!!!

I had the most fun during the Shoe Relay. Each team member took off his or her left shoe. All teams' shoes were put into a big pile and in turn you had to run out to find yours, put it on and return to your line.





Our size and youth were disadvantages during the Pile On Game in which you had to see how many teammates 1 person could hold at a time. The winning team had something like 14 on top.



I laughed hard from the sidelines during the Dizzy Spinning Game. Chris and Luke also participated in the Egg Toss, the Running Sprints (Luke came in 3rd in his age group!) and the Cracker Eating Contest (last year this was the event where Luke "left it all on the field" so to speak.)



The first night we gathered around the campfire for s'mores and songs. The second night was Guys' Night and Chris played 4 consecutive games of Ultimate Frisbee until the wee hours.





Some of the most fun I had was at the 70/80's Dance Party Sunday night. We dressed the part and had a ball. I even crammed in learning moves to participate in a flash mob to surprise the kids. It was as much fun as you can have without a sign of a Bartles and James wine cooler. We had our sitter watch Mitchell this day because of the heat and the terrain and frankly it was fun to enjoy the day a little more free.



I know it may seem like your typical church picnic, but to us it's a treasure. I always say I know I'll count these family memories among our best. Until next year!