Today, like every day, we celebrated.  Sure, it was the nation’s birthday.  But most importantly, it was a great day to be us.

Shep announced it was a laundry day, and the crowd cheered wildly.  Bet that doesn’t happen at home.  As far as the kids are concerned, it’s a magical system.  The dirty clothes come out of the bongos and into special bags with an opening at the top as well as zipper on the front.  The bags disappear and then two days later miraculously reappear inside the cabin.  You open the bag by the zipper and inside are perfectly folded clean clothes that you simply unpack like a suitcase and put away.  Definitely something to celebrate!

This time we outsmarted the weather.  Barney and Cory prepared three schedules:  one for a washout, one for just the courts being wet, and one if all was playable.  Each was needed, depending on the time of day.

After inspection, which went a little longer because of sheets needing to be changed, the weather turned nasty.  Time to pull out Schedule #1:  Movie morning!  Each Division watched in a different location.  The group in the Pavilion cuddled snuggly in blankets.  The air was almost winter-like, so a snack of chicken noodle soup was perfect.

By afternoon the rain had kinda sorta stopped.  It felt great to run around and play sports, even though we had to hold on basketball, hockey and tennis (Schedule #2).  After three days of rain, playing outside was something to celebrate.

Dinner went a bit longer because of a downpour, but Mitch kept us happy by turning on the tunes.  Of course we sing camp songs here, but there’s something about certain songs that gets everyone singing at the top of their lungs.  Those include (for some unknown reason) “Party in the USA” and “Sweet Caroline”.  They love the “da-da-da” part.

The clouds finally moved out, and we could actually have our regular 7th period (Schedule #3).  Seniors and Stars chose between hockey, Gamblin’ (fitness) and Archery.  Juniors had either Basketball, Volleyball or Chill Top.  Sophomores picked from Lacrosse, Baseball or Yellowhorn.  Freshmen had Football, Golf or Mini Golf.  Tigers headed to Soccer, Spikeball or Gaga, and the Cubs had Tennis, Ping Pong or Chess.

Evening Activity was the highlight.  We brought the entire camp down to the waterfront, because a friend from across the lake was putting on a top-notch fireworks show.  Shep placed each Division in their own “viewing area”.  The youngest cabins watched from inside of a motorboat, so there was no place to wander.

The fireworks over Trickey were amazing, but best of all, the show was here on our docks and beach.  The entire Skylemar family was gathered, which made us feel relaxed, protected and carefree.  Now, that’s a cause for celebration!