Week Five of Summer Vacation, the Week the Cub Went

Week five of summer vacation was an exciting one! CubJ headed off to sleep away Cub camp for five nights. Sunday evening we dropped him off at camp after dinner. During drop off and registration we were able to tour the camp facilities. It is a beautiful camp located on provincial reserve property in the foothills.

While at camp the kids have the opportunity to swim, do archery, obstacle courses, learn about nature and animals, and do work towards completing their badges for fire lighting, astronomy, hiking, canoeing and many others. The campers sleep in large canvas tents complete with raised wooden floors and massive lanterns. There are full washing facilities and mess hall to complete the cushy camp experience. The very best park of the camp are the fantastic counsellors, who most importantly made us all feel so comfortable in leaving our little campers with them for the week. None the less, it was hard to leave our little (okay okay, he is 8 5/6, sniff sniff) camper. From years of going to sleep away camp myself, I knew that he hardest part was going to be us leaving and that he would have a spectacular week of adventure. Not to mention that the highlight of the week would be not having a Mom around to make sure you ..... fill in the blank!

SparkJ enjoyed a week of one on one time with Mom and Dad and swimming lessons. Every summer includes at least one round of swimming lessons in our family. It is a great way to develop those all important life skills required to avoid drowning. Swimming lessons always build a huge appetite so SparkJ enjoyed a delicious Strawberry Waffle at Cora.

SparkJ was also able to catch up with her Second Cousin M (2CousM) and Second Cousin C (2CousC). It was a great afternoon of playing with the girls getting along like champions and quickly playing away more than two hours. When it was time to go, they were quick to request another playdate as soon as possible! Always a good sign. MommyJ, CousinK and 2CousC all had a great time chatting while taking in the new park. It was a lovely afternoon ladies, thanks for the fun!

By Friday, pick up day I was down to only waking up twice a night wondering it CubJ was okay and having fun at camp. Needless to say, the countdown to 330pm closing ceremonies was greatly anticipated. Seeing him was fantastic.

He really seems to have enjoyed all of the experiences at camp. They had a great time and not to bad weather. CubJ keeps fondly recounting stories about Grinder the cook, Lexus and Chickpea two of the counsellors, and his camp mates. Here are some of the pictures that he took while he was away.

After pick up, we headed out to MacKay’s in Cochrane for ice cream. After ice cream there was a special request for ‘my favourite chicken tenders’, so we were off for dinner and more hugs from Mom. Over dinner it was nice to see just how much we all missed each other!

The week was closed out with a successful trip to Cricket. CubJ reported having great luck catching some googlies and enjoying batting. SparkJ enjoyed a little more one on one time with Dad.

Week five was a great week with new adventures and lots of growth for all of us. We hope that this post finds you all well and enjoying your own summer vacation!
Best Wishes Always,

MommyJ