7/25/10 It's finally here. The last week of resident camp for 2010. Absolutely crazy. It's off to a great start, from the lack of rain and the amazing campers. They all started their "adventures" today, which are going very well. Canoeing is a popular class this week with 16 kids! Last night the campers enjoyed the Zany campfire, where they met all the staff, sang songs, and watched skits. Tonight, they are getting a little sweaty and muddy by a large game of Capture the Flag! This week's theme for Day Camp is "Christmas in July!" This is a personal favorite of mine, as I love to listen to Christmas music all year long, as well as quote Elf. Get ready to have lots of Christmas spirit! We also have Hand in Hand out here this week. Hand in Hand is an organization for kids with special needs, and they come out here for two weeks every summer! It's a really awesome camp that we get to work with, and it's great to see the kids have so much fun here. Special shout out to Band-Aid! It is Band-Aid's FIFTEENTH summer here! She was here originally as a camper, and moved through the ranks to a CIT, a lifeguard, the camp medic, a counselor, and finally the Resident Camp Coordinator! It is her LAST week here, since she finished school and received her nursing license. Make sure when you see her, to give her a big hug and thank her for all her hard work! Love, Prancer  7/14/10 Camp Genesis is an extremely special camp for us at Camp Abe Lincoln. It brings a group of children together who are all dealing with the same issues; having a close relative battle cancer. While they get to participate in all of the wonderful things camp has to offer, they also get the chance to learn more about cancer. Every day they have various programs that range from making flags with things that represent cancer to them, to learning the various stages of cancer. Today was a very exciting day with the kids getting to go to Genesis West Hospital and learning about treatments and the machines. They got to give mock koolaid infusions, place their counselors in the scanners, learn about dosimetry, try on wigs, and make a nutritious snack! While these kids undoubtedly are missing their families, we know that they are having fun, and getting the chance to just be kids. This group of kids is awesome to work with, and their strength is amazing to see. We hope that being at Camp Abe Lincoln lets them know that they aren't alone and they have a whole community to lean on even in the worst of times. 7/13/10 From Band Aid You may have noticed a lot of kids during the check-in process, at camp, the more kids the bigger and better the activities! Our week kicked off with our zany campfire which gives every one a chance to let loose, get to know the staff, and watch some hilarious skits. Featured in the picture below from that evening is Oneida cabin. We did have some rain last night, at camp we moved our activities from outdoors to the inside with pillowcase races. Each cabins brings a pillowcase filled with random items from their cabins, and then the MC of the activity requests an item from the list, cabins get points based on how quickly they find the requested items. Some of the items from last night include clean socks, a working flashlight, and something with the core values on it!   7/13/10 From Prancer This week is off to a good start, even though the rain has changed a few plans (the rain just won't stop this summer)! Last night the campers got to participate in a pillowcase race, where they got to "auction" the items off to Papa Smurf. Tonight they will get the chance to cook their own dinner over a campfire that they will build with their cabinmates, so wish for good weather please! Today Young Bear and Wabsecon are climbing the Alpine Tower, while Pottawattamie and Black Hawk are riding horses! Day camp has a very exciting theme this week of "Blast from the Past." Yesterday they were "in" the 1950's. They got to make their own play-doh and then they buried time capsules that they will dig up at the end of the week. Today, in the 60's, the campers are going to Woodstock where they will make hippie vests and headbands! 7/7/10 The morning was humid but sunny and the campers got to participate in some awesome activities. They got a chance to try different MREs (the favorite was meatloaf), face-paint, creating an ABC military book, and learning how to march in time with a visiting soldier. The group also had the chance to see a helicopter that landed in our very own soccer field! We had planned to have night swim but mother nature had her own plans this evening, and we don’t let the rain stop us from having some serious fun around here! The night ended with Camp Abe Lincoln Idol, each cabin presented three acts varying from joke telling to writing original lyrics to popular tunes. 7/6/10 I'm back!! As the camp director, being away from camp is an anxious adventure. Obviously the cause was great, bringing home two little boys to add to our family, but I still missed the ongoings of camp. We train the counselors to help create a perfect society, one free of ridicule and fear, and when I leave this community, I truly miss it. Camp is going great currently. This is Military Kids Camp week. A truly worthy cause. We have 56 children here who have a direct family member who is, recently was, or soon will be deployed in the military. These kids sacrifice just as much as their military family members. The military "brats" as they are so lovingly called, are fantastic kids. So mature beyond their years. Tomorrow we have a very exciting day as a Captain from the Arsenal is going to speak during our lunch as well as a helicopter is scheduled to land on camp property. The kids do not know that yet so it should be a big surprise. Day camps have been running great as well. They sometimes get looked over on this blog as they are only here for a limited time compared to resident campers, but they are a big part of why we are here at camp. Where else can 4-10 year olds experience nature up close and personal. This week is Arts and Crafts week. Campers will be making bracelets, necklaces, macaroni art, paper mache and many other crafts. Not to mention the "big 3," as we call them, archery, canoes, and horseback riding. The weather has been a little damp lately but all in all it has been a great week thus far. 7/5/10 Even though we missed the fireworks on the 4th of July we had an awesome night at camp! At the opening ceremonies we all got zany, which basically means getting dressed a little goofy and just plain having an awesome time. Monday kicked off the OMK activities which included learning how to use a GPS! 6/30/10 Today's blog is brought to you by a CIT! "Life as a CIT was and still is a long road... but as a former camper, this has been one of the best experiences of my life. I love seeing all the campers running around doing their activities, and I love our activities as CIT's. For the last two days we have been camping outside in the woods in tents. We have cooked our own meals on the fire and we've been totally isolated from the other campers. This experience has brought all the CIT's closer together and I would not trade this for anything. You guys are my second family and this is my home away from home. I love you guys and I love this camp!"    6/29/10
   6/28/10    6/23/10 The weather definitely got a little hectic today, and the kids were stuck (safely!) inside the Lodge. They made the most of it though and held an "Ultimate Counselor Make-Over," complete with painting and costumes. Some activities were able to keep with their schedule; the music class have gotten some more chords down on the guitar. Soon, they'll be playing Free Bird, I'm sure. The first half of dinner was eaten without light, but luckily the power kicked back in right before dessert. Since the weather had calmed down, and the Iowa heat was still in full force, the campers still got to enjoy the night swim for tonight's activity!    6/22/10 Today felt like a real scorcher, so the campers had a great time hitting up the pool this afternoon to cool down! The CITs also got a chance to challenge themselves mentally and physically on our alpine tower; they did an amazing job of encouraging each other throughout their time there. We also had our cookout tonight; each cabin received hamburgers and hotdogs to cook over an open fire.    6/21/10 This week's opening camp fire was extra zany, with lots of facepaint and costumes! We also started our first choose-your-own-adventure activities. Archery is one of the most popular activities that we offer, and is pictured below. We also managed to have tons of fun, even with the rain keeping us in, by hosting an "auction" of camper's belongings that they had to stuff in a large pillowcase.    6 7/16/10 The sun finally arrived at camp, which gave campers the chance to go outside and have fun! Campers in the Canoeing class learned how to communicate and work together, by one person being blindfolded and the other giving instruction. Blackhawk and Wabsecon got to experience the Alpine Tower for the first time and they did amazing! All the cabins got to cool down tonight and relax during our night swim!    6/15/10 Tuesday's evening activity is always one of the favorites. Each camper gets the chance, with their cabin, to build a fire and cook their hamburger/hot dog and a smore! This week's cabins get a little extra applause for their effort since they had to build a fire on ground that was still pretty wet from the earlier down pour! Today's blog is brought to you by one of the campers that participated in the Amazing S'More competition! "I think the cook out was cool because we made our own food and s'mores. We were playing ninja* on the logs, AWESOME!!!!! I'm writing this cause I'm awesome like my cabin mates!!!" - Wabsecon Camper * Ninja is a game that focuses on agility and just plain having a lot of fun! It was brought to us this year from another Y camp by one of our new counselors!   6/14/10 It’s Monday night and the campers are completely worn out!!! To rewind a little, Sunday night everyone dressed up and got a little crazy for our Zany Campfire! The counselors performed skits and songs for the campers and got a chance to introduce themselves. Cabin Young Bear is featured in the picture. Today was their first day trying out their 3-Day Adventure class; these pictures feature our archery and soccer classes! The arts and crafts class made God’s Eyes with yarn and sticks from outdoors as well as friendship bracelets, the canoe class had their first chance to explore the lake, and our horse campers got acquainted with their new best friends for the week! There is a lot of exciting buzz for the cookout and campout tomorrow, pictures and comments to come soon!  |
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