July 26, 2017

Yesterday was another BEAUTIFUL day on the lake! After 2 days of rain we welcomed the sunshine with open arms!

Classes worked hard on their last minute tasks yesterday with swimmers and boaters perfecting their strokes, arts and crafts classes finishing their projects, and sports classes getting in last minute favorite games! It's crazy to think about how fast this session has flown by!

Lunch yesterday was a camp favorite - Shepherd's Pie! People were talking about the meal all day long! Some even went up for a third serving! After lunch campers enjoyed a quiet rest hour, and then back to the normal general swim schedule. 

Evening program yesterday was a game called "Step It Up" where campers have to complete little challenges to earn beans. They can turn in their beans to their team captain, who takes a step for every bean turned in. The goal is to get the captain from their starting location back to the A-Field! It was a ton of fun!

We will be back on the blog tonight to report on today's activities and banquet!

-Shannon and Sloane

July 25, 2017

It was a cold day on the lake, but we didn't get any rain so we will take it!

Because of the colder weather, any classes involving water were cut a little bit short today. Swimmers had just enough time to get some practice with their strokes before they got out of the water and changed into warm dry clothes. Sailors had a quick task to compete on the water and then headed back to camp before it got too chilly. Sports classes played games on the field that gave them a chance to keep their blood flowing, and arts and crafts classes got to work on their projects while enjoying the warmth of a fire in the fireplace. All in all it turned out to be a great day!

Instead of a general swim today, the whole camp met up on the A-Field to play non-stop cricket! The game was so exciting you could hear cheering all the way down by the lake! It lasted a little longer than a normal general swim would, so afterwards we went straight to fourth period and skipped activity period for today.

Dinner was the perfect meal for tonight - Grilled cheeses and chicken noodle soup! There was extra excitement stirring in the dining room today because after dinner we are hosting our Talent Night! Cabins have been working hard on their skits, and individual acts have spent most of their free time preparing for their performance! We can't wait to see how talented our campers are!

-Shannon and Sloane

July 24, 2017

Today was our first rainy day of the session and we had a great time! We started the day off with a breakfast of cornbread and oranges! Afterwards campers headed back to the cabin to start cleaning their muddy cabin! 

Because of the rain, our class schedule was a little different today. Swimming classes played games in the activity room, and small craft classes played board games on the upper porch. Sports classes played play-doh-nary, a pictionary game played with play-doh, along with a variety of other indoor games.

Our lunch today was Swedish meatballs, gravy, green beans and mashed potatoes. Our dinner for today was chicken patty sandwiches with a dessert of chocolate pudding pie! Campers were excited to see some of their favorite meals on the menu for this rainy day!

Tonight's evening program will be reverse scavenger hunt, which is a game that allows campers to bring props from the cabin to organize skits that follow a theme they're given. It is a favorite game for almost every camper so it's been exciting for them to spend time after dinner planning which items they will be bringing to the event!

We are hoping for better weather tomorrow, but either way we will surely make the most of it!

-Shannon and Sloane

Track and Field Day!

Everybody woke up excited for the today because it was Track Meet! The Sunday in the middle of the session is dedicated to a competition between the green and white team. After a breakfast of cinnamon bread, campers headed to the A-field for the standing long jump, running long jump, softball throw, and the 50-yard dash!

We kept up with our tradition of having ham and noodles on this eventful day with churros for dessert. Everybody enjoyed a much needed rest hour to prepare for the optional "marathon", which is more of a half-mile run through camp. Immediately following the marathon, we started a camp-wide relay race called the Indian War Relay. This race involves every single camper who is assigned the job of either runner, swimmer, passenger, or boater and it spans all around camp's property, including the lake. The campers had a lot of fun with it!
 

We finished out the afternoon with some swim races and other activities to occupy the time we had left until dinner. Evening program was a series of relay races such as soccer ball dribble, dizzy izzy, kickball pass, and pass the hula hoop. Tomorrow we will total up each team's points so we can announce the track meet winners at banquet! Today was a fun day and we are sure they will sleep soundly tonight!

-Shannon and Sloane

Halfway Point!

Today we are officially half-way through our first girl's session of the year! It has gone by so fast! 

Swimming classes spent the day working on perfecting their strokes. Sports had a fun time playing games on the A-Field, and boating classes had a beautiful day on the lake. Canoeing classes have been "training" for a couple of days working on their speed so they could be strong competitors in today's canoeing race. It got competitive! Sailing classes did not have the luxury of much wind so instead of sailing they went paddle boarding and snorkeling along the shore. 

For lunch we had Lasagna followed by Jell-O for dessert! For dinner we had our second "eat out" of the session because it is the Kitchen's night off. It was a fun buffet-style meal where campers got their food and then were able to sit around the waterfront and enjoy their meal with friends from other cabins. We offered oranges and cookies for dessert which many campers ate while waiting to play tetherball! Not our typical dinner, but it was a welcomed change by all!

Tonight we will be finishing our game of "Mission to Mars" for evening program. Last night the "humans" had a chance to capture the "martian's" flag. Tonight we will switch roles and the "martians" will have a chance to capture the "human's" flag.

Tomorrow we will host our traditional Track and Field day so we hope the campers sleep well tonight and wake up tomorrow with a lot of energy!

~Shannon and Sloane

July 21, 2017

It was another hot day on the lake! Class schedules were adjusted today to accommodate. Swimming class was spent in the water of course, and small craft classes allowed their campers to take a quick dip before they went out on the lake. Sports classes enjoyed a nature walk where they explored the woods all around camp. It was a much cooler alternative to a game on the field and the campers loved it!

General Swim was a favorite today because it followed a very humid rest hour! Activity period offered a lot of water activities as well including jumping off the tower and aquarium games. Even options such as Kan Jam and Gaga ball offered a quick dip afterwards. 

For lunch we had chicken parmesan, with sorbet for dessert and for dinner we had hamburgers with cheesecake for dessert. Cheesecake happens to be a favorite dessert for many, so we had a lot of happy campers tonight!

With Track and Field day coming quickly, we spent some time after lunch today to allow each area of camp to pick their team captains! These captains will lead the green and white teams in cheers during track and field day this weekend.

Evening program tonight will be Mission to Mars, which is a capture the flag game that takes place all over camp. We will finish the night with a quick dip so everyone has a chance to cool off before bedtime! 

-Shannon and Sloane

Lucky to Have the Lake!

Today, Thursday, was another hot day- but what better place could we be during this kind of weather?  Breakfast was chocolate chip bread, and it was delicious, as always.  Campers and Staff alike loved the yogurt, fresh bananas, and orange slices that went with it. 

We did all of our regular activities, but tried to work the water into everything we could.  For example, Senior canoeing classes practiced capsizing, sports classes in the afternoon took place in the water, General Swim was extra long, and everything offered during Activity Period included a Quick Dip at the end! I think we all realize how lucky we all are to be here on Columbia Lake and to have it to swim and cool down in all day.  And of course, everyone is being reminded to stay hydrated.  

Lunch was a camp favorite- baked ziti, and was served with warm baguettes, and pears for dessert.  Dinner was chicken melts and chips, which are always a hit.  

We were also lucky enough to have a special musical guest tonight!  Mr. O'Hare came to camp this evening and showed campers instruments from all over the world, including Eastern Africa, Ireland, Australia, and Japan to name a few.  He is very talented, and played many of them for us.  It was a nice change of pace, and as expected everyone was interested, engaged, and had awesome questions at the end.  

We hope you all are staying cool out there in the real world!  

-Jen

July 17, 2017

It was a beautiful day at camp today!

Breakfast began with french toast and then campers were off to clean their cabins. They did an awesome job for the first day and the nurse was very impressed. 

This morning classes started with a quick overview of rules, then campers found out who their teachers were. Swimming classes evaluated each swimmer's strokes, small craft classes learned about their particular boat, arts and crafts started new projects, and sports classes played a great first-day game called "Nuke 'em." 

Activity period today offered jumping off the tower, playing Kan Jam, and a fun game of Gaga ball in the Gaga pit. It was a very active day at camp!

Evening program tonight was Capture the Flag, which we allow campers to play both on the field and in the woods. It was a high intensity game that we all had a lot of fun with! 

The weather looks great for the rest of the week and we are excited to get into the camp routine!

-Shannon and Sloane

We're off to a great start!

We have begun camp!! Hurray!

Everyone is doing great so far! Today, everyone went off to meet their fellow campers and counselors. With tours going out around camp right after parents had left, we all met in the council ring to go over some rules and expectations for camp. After that, we met the staff and learned the rules for general swim. 

Our 24 new campers went in with Catherine, our waterfront director, to show off their skills. Catherine told them what level they would be in for swimming and then everyone went in for a short general swim. 

After general swim, everyone went up to change and then went back down to the flagpole for flag lowering. We do this every evening and morning. When the flag came down, we went up to supper. 

Tonight's supper was hot dogs and baked beans. We also had tater tots on the side. Brownies for dessert, filled everyone's stomachs to the brim. 

Currently, we are all getting ready for evening program. Every night we play a camp wide game. Tonights game will be "Medical War"! The campers love this game. It is a big dodgeball game. If you get hit by the ball, you sit down and wait for your teams "medic" to come and save you. 

We are hoping the everyone gets nice and tired during evening program so as to make their first sleep here just a little bit easier. Tomorrow should be fun, since everyone will get to meet their teachers! 

~Allissa Parker

Final Day of Session 2

It is so hard to believe that today is the final day of camp! Even though the weather wasn't ideal, we were still able to have some fun! Campers officially found out if they passed their classes, and they will be rewarded with a certificate tonight at campfire. Most classes did not go out on the lake, but instead were replaced with board games. Camp just purchased 10 new board games, so we had a ton of fun trying all of the new ones out today! They were a huge hit! 

Today for activity period we allowed kids to jump off the tower. We offer this almost every day, but today it was particularly special because all of the kids who passed into level 4 swimming class were able to jump off the tower for the very first time! It is really exciting to watch them find something else they love about camp.

Tonight for our evening program we will be hosting the campfire - complete with awards, songs, musical performances by some of our campers, and counselor skits. Then it is off to bed for the very last time this session. 

Pick up will run from 8:30-9:30 tomorrow morning, and the kids will be all packed up and eagerly awaiting their family's arrival! See you soon!

-Shannon and Sloane

July 12, 2017

This morning for breakfast we had cornbread! For first period today, our level six and above swimmers had the opportunity to swim to Frog Island! 8 campers took part in this tradition. The first classes of the day went smoothly, and campers were able to continue working on their strokes in swim class, arts and crafts projects, and capsizing in small craft.

Lunch featured pork chops and mashed potatoes, with vanilla pudding for dessert! Campers and counselors headed to rest hour with thunder in the distance. Instead of general swim today, we played a rousing game of counselor trivia followed by board games played in the safety of the upper lodge. 

Activity period began with some okay weather, so campers were able to play rugby and basketball up on the A-field! About halfway through the thunder rolled in, so we moved to the lodge to play more board games. Tonight was the kitchen's night off, so we had sandwiches in the upper lodge for dinner followed by cookies and grapes! We were even able to get some songs in after the meal!

Tonight's evening program is a game called reverse scavenger hunt! Campers have just a few minutes to create a skit about a topic given to them by their counselors. The team with the best skit wins! It's a great game to play on a rainy day and the campers are definitely excited!

Here's to hoping for better weather tomorrow!
 

-Shannon and Sloane

Rainy Morning Turned to Sunny Afternoon

We woke up today to enjoy a breakfast of english muffins with butter and jelly. The first classes of the day went a little differently than normal because of the rain from early in the morning. Swimming and small craft classes were still able to use the water to its full potential, but sports class had to be held indoors because the field was too wet. Instead, the athletes participated in an exciting game of indoor baseball! It is played with the rules of normal baseball, but instead of a metal bat and baseball, players use ping pong paddles and balls. It was a favorite for everyone!

After a filling lunch of Texas casserole, everyone headed to the cabins for a much needed rest hour followed by general swim. The skies cleared from last night's rain, and it turned out to be a beautiful day here on Columbia Lake just in time for activity period! Six lucky campers were able to experience camp's stand-up paddle boards to get a different view of the lake.

Meatball grinders and applesauce was devoured for supper, with chocolate pudding pie for dessert. For evening program tonight, we are entering the world of a Star Wars themed carnival, thanks to our LTs! Everyone is looking forward to a great time and a restful night's sleep!

-Shannon and Sloane

July 10, 2017

We woke up to blueberry bread for breakfast, coupled with cereal and yogurt! Classes resumed their normal schedule after track meet, so campers went back to practicing their skills and working to impress their counselors. Each day many campers are passing their classes and moving up to the next level which is always exciting to be a part of. Swimming classes are working on perfecting their strokes, canoeing classes and sailing classes practiced capsizing today, arts and crafts classes worked on making cardboard airplanes, and sports classes played a crazy game of non-stop cricket. It was another active day at camp!

During activity period today some counselors hosted a Gaga tournament, and it had a HUGE turnout. One lucky team was able to beat them all, including the staff team! Other campers participated in jumping off the tower, playing card games, sailing, and playing soccer.

Lunch was shepherds pie with another round of chocolate chip banana bread for dessert. It was very welcomed by the campers! Dinner tonight was a pizza buffet and it was definitely a huge hit.

Evening program was "Cops and Robbers," one of the most requested games by campers. It is particularly fun because we play with team staff versus team camper. The boys have to run extra fast to escape the wrath of their counselors! Campers absolutely love the competition and staff have fun wearing the boys out. It was another successful day at Camp Asto Wamah! 

-Shannon and Sloane

Track & Field Day

Everybody woke up excited for the today because it was Track Meet! The Sunday in the middle of the session is dedicated to a competition between the green and white team. After a breakfast of bagels and cereal, campers headed to the A-field for the standing long jump, running long jump, softball throw, and the 50-yard dash!

We kept up with our tradition of having ham and noodles on this eventful day with lemon sorbet for dessert. Everybody enjoyed a much needed rest hour to prepare for the optional "marathon", which is more of a half a mile run through camp. Immediately following the marathon, we started a camp-wide relay race called the Indian War Relay. This race involves every single camper who is assigned the job of either runner, swimmer, passenger, or boater and it spans all around camp's property, including the lake. The campers had a lot of fun with it!
 

We finished out the afternoon with some swim races and other activities to occupy the time we had left until dinner, which was hamburgers with green and white cake for dessert. Evening program was a series of relay races such as soccer ball dribble, dizzy izzy, kickball pass, and pass the hula hoop. Tomorrow we will total up each team's points so we can announce the track meet winners at banquet! Today was a fun day and we are sure they will sleep soundly tonight!

-Shannon and Sloane

July 8th, 2017

We were happy to welcome the sunshine today after the long, rainy day we had yesterday! This morning started with chocolate chip bread and the campers couldn't have been more excited. Classes were very active today. Sports classes got to play football, arts and crafts continued to work on their projects, and small craft had a great day on the water. 

Lunch today was lasagna followed by butterscotch pudding for dessert. Rest hour was particularly quiet, but when the second general swim started the campers had high energy and were ready to swim! 

For activity period the campers had a choice between jumping off the tower, playing gaga ball, fishing, taking a ride on the Hunter, playing soccer, or writing articles for the birch barker. 

Tonight for evening program we have 2 options lined up depending on the weather. If there is no rain, we will be playing a game called step it up. If it rains we will be playing reverse scavenger hunt. The campers were split into their green and white teams for track meet, and tonight's game will be their first opportunity to score points for their team!

We hope they get a good night's rest tonight because tomorrow is track meet, the most active day of the session! They need high energy to cheer on their team and earn the most points!

-Shannon and Sloane

Rainy Day

Although we woke up to a bit of rain this morning, we were still able to keep busy and have fun! This morning was practically perfect because we were able to sleep in a little AND we had waffles and peanut butter for breakfast! Cabin cleanup proved to be difficult due to the mud being tracked into the cabins, but campers worked diligently to keep things clean.

The morning started with swimmers in the water, but as the rain picked up, the rest of the periods had to be held indoors for their classes. Sports played Play-Doh Pictionary, and small craft offered various board and card games. Swimmers tested their knowledge with a competitive game of Scattergories.

Campers enjoyed chicken parmesan before heading to the cabins for an extended rest hour. Fourth period boating classes got to go out right as the rain cleared, and was followed by a sunny activity period!

Tonight's evening program, "Murder by Night", is a murder mystery game where the counselors give clues to uncover the murderer behind a fake Wamah death. It's a goofy game that we know the campers will have a lot of fun with!

-Shannon and Sloane

Boys Camp

This morning began with an english muffin breakfast, with cereal offered in conjunction! Cabin clean-up went off without a hitch because the campers are starting to get used the routine! A few cabins were so clean the competition almost ended in a 3 way tie! 

It was another great day for morning classes and a few lucky swimmers were able to pass their classes early and move up to the next level which is always very exciting! Sailing classes finally had some good wind on the lake, so they were able to really learn how to handle the sunfish today. Sports class offered kickball, handball and soccer and campers got to vote on the one they wanted to play. Kickball was a strong winner!

Our lunch for the day was baked ziti followed by a dessert made from scratch by Amanda, one of our kitchen staff who has been attending culinary school. She made chocolate banana cake with a banana glaze, and it was well received by the campers! We had tacos for dinner with lemon bars offered for dessert. 

Everyone is getting excited to play king dodge for evening program tonight and it is sure to be a favorite. The quick dip afterwards will give campers a chance to cool down before bedtime. We are looking forward to a great weekend ahead of us!

-Shannon and Sloane

What a day we have had! With the weather beautiful yet again, our cookees head up at cookee bell to set the tables for breakfast. Today we had cornbread and cereal. There was oatmeal offered for those who needed to warm up a bit, although we can't imagine many people needed to warm up! 

Campers headed back to clean their cabins and get ready for first period. During sports class the campers had a choice to play a few games which was exciting for them. Everyone was excited for swimming and boating because it meant that they could be in the sun and water! 

Cookee bell came quickly again! The campers raced to set their tables so they could enjoy a tasty dinner of meatloaf and mashed potatoes with corn on the side. After cleaning up the tables a bit, the campers were even more excited to find out that they were going to be having chocolate pudding for dessert. 

Rest hour came and went and everyone got in the water for general swim. They rushed off to fourth period in hopes that activity period would come quickly. The campers enjoyed tower jumping, aquarium games, gaga, and a few lucky campers were able to go paddle boarding and on the Hunter. The Hunter is the biggest sailboat here at camp. It can hold 6 campers and 2 staff making for a super fun time! 

Tonight's supper was a bit different. Our kitchen had the night off so each cabin wrote down sandwiches that they would want. We made each camper and staff a sandwich and they headed out with their cabins to a different place in camp to eat. 

Tonight's evening program game is "Pirates"! The campers love this game but this year it is a bit different. They campers will have to go around to counsellors and find "keys" to unlock a treasure chest. The chest will have a map that will tell them were the treasure is hidden. 

We are hoping for a lot of participation and enthusiasm from the campers!!

~Allissa and Sloane

Fourth of July

Today we began a joyful 4th of July with delicious french toast. Our morning was sunny with a light breeze and campers found every morning class enjoyable. Campers took advantage of the weather by taking out boats, canoes, and fishing off the docks during free time. For our noon time meal, hungry campers had chicken fingers and rice with a side of green beans. One of our kitchen staff members, Amanda, baked a special dessert: banana spice cake with cinnamon frosting. We have never had that dessert and it was a huge success!

This afternoon, campers cooled off during general swim and then headed off to 4th period. Lucky lakeside campers who had boating class were able to watch the 4th of July Boat Parade. Afterwards, all of our campers took part in activities such as gaga, basketball, tower jumping, and fishing. For supper, we had grilled cheese and tomato soup. Hopefully everyone saved room for our ice cream sundaes!

Soon, the bell will ring and campers will play Spies and Smugglers (we have a special twist tonight to celebrate the 4th of July, so the name has temporarily been changed to Rebels versus Redcoats). After evening program, campers and staff will enjoy ice cream sundaes by the lake. Hope you had a great Fourth of July!

Boys Camp

We had another beautiful day on Columbia Lake!

Today was the first day of classes for all of the campers and they were all very excited! The swimmers couldn't wait to get into the water and the small craft classes were busy learning all of their strokes and parts of their boat. Sports classes got to play a camp favorite - Nuke 'em! It's a great game to help everyone learn names. In arts and crafts some boys chose to attend nature classes, others started working on making a basket, and the rest were left to put their creativity to the test! A few even made up their own board games! 

Lunch was a tasty dish of ravioli with chocolate pudding for dessert, and for dinner we had steak sandwiches followed by cherry cake for dessert! 

Tonight's game for evening program will be capture the flag. This game can be played both on the field and in the woods which makes it a little more difficult! We hope all the campers play hard so they can sleep soundly tonight.

-Shannon and Sloane