Today has been great; a fantastic last full day at camp. Not only did we have many campers smash their timed miles (one guy by 33 minutes!) but we have also had the most wonderful group of parents in camp.

Not only did they all get up bright and early for morning walk, they also participated in the mile run, sat through lots of lectures all day and then even hung around for a super, if very sweaty, game of speedball in the evening.

It has just been magical to see how engaged all our parents are and how willing they are to make this change for the whole family. Having them here for the workshop makes me feel happier that the campers are returning to supportive homes, that whilst they have only been with us for a few days, at least they understand a little of the changes that the campers have already made to their lives.

The willingness of many parents to completely change their own habits and be 100% supportive of their camper is wonderful and I look forward to spending more time in the workshops with them tomorrow morning.

We said goodbye to a few faces today and there was much crying. Campers never believe me when I tell them they’ll cry when they arrive and cry even more when the leave but the tears that flowed today made them think perhaps I wasn’t so wrong. We’ll have the Kleenex ready for the flood tomorrow.

Otherwise the Dolphins had their special outing and others mixed exercise and group activities with packing up and sorting out their belongings. I am excited for all the missing iPods that will be found in the final clean up tomorrow!

Jude.

Labels: lifestyle change, parent workshop, speedball

I witness perhaps one of the most hilarious scenes today when two of my counselors were coerced into a fake wedding by their group. Obviously focused on the ‘happily ever after’ the Cascades couldn’t accept that their Counselors were also about to go their separate ways and decided to unite them forever.

The result was hysterical. Instead of confetti, splenda packets (now known to contain 4 calories each) were thrown and instead of a bible a Calorie King was used to read the sermon. The bride even wore white and was driven away from the ceremony on the camp tricycle.

Thankfully the rest of the day was a little less surreal! In our final ‘real’ day of camp (without parents, special outings and timed miles) everybody had their last group session, the 8 week Smokies and Sierras had their lunch challenge (most stayed spot on with great choices at Port a Sub and pumkin muffins were made in culinary.

Some of the reunions when parents started to arrive were really moving and I know that those who haven’t seen their child in four, six or even eight weeks noticed a remarkable change in them and it was a beautiful sight to see families united again.

The start of the workshop went well, with lots of informed discussions and a very engaged energy. We finished off the evening with our final Levels Ceremony. We saw even more campers enter the realm of the Bald Eagle and the speeches were again excellent and one or two truly moving. It was wonderful to share that with our parents and also hear the campers thank their parents for sending them to camp.

I am looking forward to seeing many happy faces at the timed mile tomorrow morning (no that wasn’t a typo – I know some previous times are going to be blown away!) and also celebrating the Dolphins with their special outing and spending more time with our parents. But perhaps most importantly, enjoying and celebrating all our campers; as my time with them is rapidly drawing to a close.

Jude.

Labels: levels ceremony, parent workshop, pumpkin muffins

Today exemplified the camp spirit that has been with us for the whole summer. However sometimes it is not until the camp comes together as one that you really see that in force.

As part of Wellcoming each group was charged with creating their own ‘group spirit’. The results were visual but also measurable in the way they bonded and worked together. The Rockies showed their united front by dressing the same and each wearing a letter of the alphabet to spell ‘Wellspring’ on the front and ‘Go Rockies’ on the back. Ingenious! The Appalachians threw themselves into their artwork and color coordinated themselves to all be blue and orange. The Sierras and the Smokies had a slow start but by the start of the fun run they had picked up the pace and were working so well as a team that they even attempted a four legged entry into the fun run.

The campers may believe that ‘fun run’ was mis-titled but even on a special day we still need to get our steps in. Using the loop around the fields, each group got points for how many times their campers circuited the loop. Extra points were given to those who ran or walked using crutches! Lots of people opted for biking round. Fewer points but more circuits; however the plague of thorns we keep suffering put paid to that rather quickly.

In the afternoon a Scavenger Hunt was set up around campus with clues involving Calorie Kings, the bottom of the swimming pool and destinations all over. By the end of the day one Appalachian had 30,000 steps she had walked so much.

However, despite this everyone still found time to dance their socks off at the evening dance. Everybody made a really effort with their clothes and the make-up and hairstyling also made a reappearance. It is great to see how happy the campers are with how they look and feel now and some of the dance moves were spectacular. The King and Queen and Prince and Princess were crowned and many other campers received special awards. Such as ‘most likely to become a Wellspring Counselor’, ‘Camp Comic’ etc

A very ‘Wellcoming’ day indeed, and I look forward to welcoming many of you into camp tomorrow.

Jude.

Considering that they had very little access to shops or scrap clothes some of the outfits at stretch circle this morning were amazing. The theme was ‘Blast from the Past’ and some ideas were ingenious. My personal favorites were ‘greek toga’ (clever use of bed sheet complete with homemade wreath), caveman (another sheet, a plastic baseball bat for a club and messy hair) and perhaps the wittiest was ‘me 7 weeks ago’ complete with cushion stuffed up t-shirt as a fake belly!

The 80s took a good hit, partly because the fashions from that decade seem to come back around every other month and are currently to be found in most hip teenager wardrobes. At breakfast the count was taken for yesterday’s steps and costume effort, with the Appalachians currently winning hands down.

Then it was back to business with culinary lessons, trips to Xcelerate (some still in costume!), swimming and Group. Then at dinner we had the announcement of the nominated Wellcoming Prince and Princess (lower camp) and King and Queen. All the nominated campers gave speeches in thanks of their nomination and extolled their fellow campers to vote for them again in the final round. The speeches were excellent and a lot of thought and time had obviously been put into a few of them. One girl read her speech off her iPod, reminding me that it might be blast from the past day but we truly are in the 21st Century.

Tomorrow the whole day is given over to Wellcoming with a fun run, the King/Prince and Queen/Princess crowning and the dance. Each group is to come up with their own costume theme and parade tomorrow morning for the whole camp. I am hoping that at least one group will chose the Wild West as it is the only costume I haven’t yet worn this summer!

Jude.

Labels: costumes, king and queen competition, spirit week

Today’s youth can SHOP! However the good news is that whilst ransacking shops of anything super cool tonight, our Eagles also got loads of steps. (And the staff got even more as they trawled around after them!) One of my highlights from the evening was when a young girl realized that instead of buying an XL she would be perfectly fine with a small. Amazing!

Today was a really fun and busy day. Wellcoming kicked off with ‘wear your PJs day’ and the votes are already coming in for the Wellcoming King and Queen. Weigh-in went well this morning with lots of happy faces – particularly amongst out 4 week campers


With a lot to fit into just five days this week activity levels were high. Cascades had nutrition, crossfit, email and sports. The Smokies went to Xcelerate and also had nutrition; the Appalachians had PT and Group; whilst the Rockies also had Nutrition and Crossfit.

This evening the Sierras had their dine-out challenge to Chili’s. The guiltless grill provided the perfect dining option for many but a few decided that the temptation of other, less healthy options was too great. In fairness, they had planned for a high calorie dinner by going under their calories at breakfast and dinner (a good tactic for staying on program) but I think they’ve have to not eat for a few days to justify the steak and bacon!

Whilst the Sierras were off dining and the Eagles were shopping, the rest of the camp played Capture the Flag and earned points for their Wellcoming Teams. Tomorrow’s theme is ‘blast from the past’. Old enough to actually have actually lived in the 70s, 80s and 90s, I am looking forward to the campers’ ideas of what I wore as a child!

Jude.

Labels: 000 steps, costumes, dining out, shopping

Louie (our camp nurse) gave me the card from his camera today so that I could copy the photos he has taken over the past seven weeks. I have posted some of the ‘mud pit’ pictures from forth week tonight as I think the camp camera battery had died so we missed taking any; but there were many other great and hilarious occasions that already seem like distant memories – Color war, Capture the Flag, the Talent Show.

Normally I look at photos on a day by day basis and it was wonderful to actually look back across the whole summer and to see the remarkable differences in some of the campers. I am not exaggerating to say that some of the physical changes in the campers since the first week are remarkable. Bellies have disappeared, dress sense and amount of make-up worn has completely changed and face shapes have altered as bone structures become more apparent.

We’ve also been noticing the other changes in campers. Postures have become better as campers have improved their core stability and become prouder of their bodies. We are hearing more laughter (sometime raucous) and shy, quiet campers are finding their voices and becoming positively cheeky! Ever camper has become more confident in their own abilities and secure in the knowledge that they can push themselves hard and still achieve their objectives.

Tomorrow is the start of ‘Wellcoming’. With a homecoming theme we have three days of fun activities planned ending in the dance on Wednesday night. Tomorrow kicks off with ‘wear you PJs’ day and a whole camp game in the evening. As ever there are points and prizes to be won for extra steps, extra effort and team spirit.

I look forward to having even more fun photos to put up.

Jude.

That was the message from tonight’s levels ceremony. With only one week left of the summer we encouraged all our campers to “make it the best week of the summer so far” and to give everything they have.

Unfortunately our final week didn’t start off well this morning when a driver ran a red light and hit one of our vans carrying four Cascades on a grocery visit. Thankfully everybody walked away unscathed and we have left the Law to deal with the driver. (If I have not spoken with you today then you can be assured that your camper was not in the van!)

Thankfully after that inauspicious start things got much better. Any camper who wanted to got an opportunity to go horse riding this morning and for many it was their first experience of riding. Otherwise it was a busy day in the culinary room, the Smokies and Sierras had crossfit and the Appalachians had swimming and Group amongst many other activities.

Tonight was our week 7 levels ceremony and I am delighted to inform you that many of our current four week campers have made it to Dolphin level and that we also have more Eagles in our nest. The speeches were again excellent and very heartfelt and those campers are examples not to just the rest of camp but us all. Camp is extremely challenging but they have worked through all the ups and downs and become stronger and healthier as a result. I am confident that even more campers will get there next week.

So as we go into our final week it will be one of both excitement and trepidation but fingers crossed it will be the best yet.

Jude.

Labels: eagles, final week, levels ceremony