The Sari Diaries- Tuesday 7/23/24

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

Good evening! I am back, and while last night I had some assistance from Chat GPT, tonight it’s just me. I am happy to be able to share my genuine feelings about the day with you…although it was fun to see what Chat GPT came up with last night! So here it goes…our 7/23/24 at #TheRanch2024…

Meals:
-Breakfast- Waffles, Scrambled Eggs and Diced Potatoes
-Lunch- Chicken Quesadillas
-Dinner- Chicken Parmesan

Skiing Achievements:
-Sutton G got up and around the lake on two skis!
-Dylan C lifted a ski for ten seconds!

Chippy Birthdays:
-Maddie Jacobs’s 11th birthday!
-Delia Roffe’s 11th birthday!
-Stella Shlifka’s 15th birthday!
-Maya Fern’s 16th birthday!

Details of the Day:
Today was a special one! We had a great time at regular activities, and we had a wonderful time at our evening program- Songfest Practice. But the real highlight of the day was our celebration of Kayleigh Dyble’s Five Year. Kayleigh hails all the way from England, and she has made being at CRC each summer a priority.

She arrived at 8258 County O way back in 2018 for summer number one. She taught painting, and she was an amazing Chippy right away…her campers loved her and she made painting a legit activity in which campers learned painting skills and techniques. She returned in 2019 as a veteran, and continued making Chippewa a better place. She then had to take the summers of 2020 and 2021 off due to COVID-19. But fear not, she still returned when it was finally feasible and she has been here ever since.

Kayleigh is special to the Chippewa community for so many reasons, but what sticks out to me is that she is someone who finds each and every individual at camp to be important. She genuinely cares for the humans who live on Dam Lake each summer, and she makes sure to show it. Her energy and her actions bring positive vibes to all those around her and we are so appreciative that she has chosen to make Chippewa her home. And so, to honor Kayleigh and share our love for her, we surprised her at lunch with her Five Year celebration. We sang to her on her way into the lodge, we wore shirts that her camp friends made, and we spent our rest period at the Center Fire Circle showering her with love…speeches, poems and gifts were shared. And we presented her with the Confidence Coin…not only for the confidence she has shown and grown during her time at camp, but also for the confidence that she helps instill in others each summer. Thank you, Kayleigh- for being an incredible Chippy, a fantastic counselor, an amazing friend and an integral part of the Chippewa Sisterhood.

Aside from the celebration of this extraordinary Chippy, we had some other fun around here. Julia E and Maddie B enjoyed horseback riding this morning…yes, two Lakeview girls who aren’t exactly known for their horsemanship are taking the opportunity in their final four weeks as campers to really dig into the ranch part of this place…how cool?!

This afternoon I had the privilege of joining the third period softball class. It was composed of four Rafter campers (Dylan H, Cassidy A, Olivia G and Chloe W) and three Trailriders campers (Laney K, Liv K and Alexa R). I played the role of catcher…all geared up in catcher garb, and the campers rotated pitching, hitting and fielding. We had a grand ole time, and I always love when the olders are not only cheering on and supporting the youngers, but also actively having fun with them…it was wonderful!

Tonight at dinner, our table had a sweet little visitor- Noa B. She came over excitedly to show us that “she got her dream jibbit.” She proceeded to show us a light switch jibbit…it was pretty cool! She explained to us that she had to trade ten other jibbitz for this one, but it was well worth it. I personally find it hilarious that there is a whole jibbitz economy within our little Chippewa world.

So that’s it- lots of happiness circulating around CRC today. It has really been an exceptional one! Thanks for reading…goodnight, Chippies!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari