The Sari Diaries- Friday 8/5/16

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

Kahuna Day take two was ahhhh-mazing! We had a nice time yesterday morning with arm wrestling and today at wake-up the hype began all over again! From morning until after the luau, the Kahuna spirit was through the roof. This morning we had first series, second series, running relays and tug of war. From kickball to lanyard making, everyone tried their hardest to make things happen for their teams. At lunch, the Blackhawks were on top followed by the Bulls, Bears and Cubs. It is always fun to learn the places at lunch…it motivates everyone to have a stellar afternoon…which we definitely did!

After a short rest hour, everyone headed to their third series events. Soph-Aloaf and I reffed the flag football games in the South Field. The Stahlberger girls on both the Bulls and Blackhawks showed some serious talent on the field. There were plenty of others who were impressive but per usual, the best part in my eyes was the ability of all four teams to find the balance between intensity, spirit and sportsmanship. After a staff flag football game, swim relays, a blob competition and hula dancing, each team sang their song for the others. The Cubs deserve a special shoutout for their song today…it was to the tune of “Right Field” and it was incredible. Cliff was on their team so he played the guitar and they sang in perfect unison. Every single camper and counselor, regardless of which team they were on, loved it and cheered loudly for the performance!

Kahuna Day ended with our traditional luau. The steel drum music played as campers and staff ate with their teams of the front lawn. Per usual, the favorite item was the pineapple upside down cake made with love by Jen the Baker. Other highlights were the pretzel buns and jalapeño poppers! It was a delicious meal for everyone to enjoy! After dinner we all thanked the captains and advisors for their leadership today. They did a fantastic job of keeping the energy high and ensuring a fun day for all. Additionally, we gave credit to Smashley (Smoss and Ashley) for planning and implementing a flawless day of fun and competition. Finally, they announced the winners. The Bears came in first place by ONE POINT! It was crazy and quite unexpected…nevertheless, it was exciting!

Seeing as it is Friday, we still managed to have a really special campfire this evening. The theme was friendship and I don’t think it could have been any sweeter. Sydney M led the campfire and many campers gave sermonettes expressing their feelings on friendship and more specifically on camp friendships. I loved hearing what they each had to say and was blown away by how insightful and thoughtful they were with their words.

And now, after a long, productive and fun day, #TheRanch2016 is fast asleep. Without a doubt, today was one of the best we have had all summer…we packed a lot of action in…we had time for craziness and time for reflection…it was all just spectacular…for real! Okay, now I’m rambling- thanks for reading!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari