The Sari Diaries- Tuesday 7/15/25

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

Our day at #TheRanch2025 was extraordinary! We had so much fun and plenty of action all day long, and I am excited to report all of the excitement to you this evening. So here it goes…

Meals
-Breakfast: Waffles, Sausage Links & Scrambled Eggs
-Lunch: Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches & Fries
-Dinner: Cheese Ravioli!

Birthdays
-Annie F from Trailriders celebrated her 14th birthday!
-Coral S from A-Frame celebrated her 13th birthday!
-Lexi K from C-C celebrated her 13th birthday!

Activity Achievements
-Annie F, Jenna W and Zoe C all joined the Gold Club!
-Alexis R, Laney K, Alexa R, Jessie H and Anabelle L became Chippy Bats!
-Cassidy A crossed the wakes on two skis!
-Cameron H lifted a ski for ten seconds!
-Sandra O got up and around the lake on two skis!
-Dylan H got up and around the lake on two skis!
-Nora C got up and around the lake on two skis!
-Luma W got up and around the lake on two skis!

What Else Happened Today?!
-We had a very lovely first day of B Day activities! Down at fishing, the fish weren’t biting but it was still a good time. Campers learned how to rip worms, bait the hook and cast their lines. And at pottery, Josie W was super excited to try to wheel for the first time…she is a natural! At the stables, campers were happy to meet the horses, feed them, brush them and mentally prepare for their first ride. In cooking, they were making delicious brookies…yum! At sailing Julia M, Lily R, Lexi K, Brooke R & Billie S had a great adventure of capsizing and recovering out on Dam Lake. They got back to shore eager to share the their story. Basically everywhere I went, campers were engaged and thrilled to be back in action!

-Before lunch, we met at the Center Fire Circle for our first Coin Ceremony of the session. We distributed the Annual Coins (Impact) to the Second Session Campers along with Growth Coins for all new campers. Additionally, we honored Joss R with a Leadership Coin. Joss has been a leader in so many ways this summer- she is an includer, a nurturer, a camp enthusiast and a generally kind good human. We were so excited to present her with this coin as it is so well deserved!

-Tonight was Big and Little Sis Night. In preparation, we had a Big/Little Sis reveal at breakfast, a Big/Little Sis lunch and some extra bonding time for these camp siblings at rest period. The evening program though was the main event. Big and little sisters dressed in costume together and enjoyed a night full of silly activities. There was a handshake contest, ice cream eating contest, water balloon toss, shoe toss and more. The night ended with everybody gathering in the theater for the finalists to compete in Big and Little Sister trivia. Ava L and Elle H were tonight’s winners…this duo competed hard against all of the other Big and Little sisters and they knew a lot about one another up on stage.

And that was our day at CRC- it was an amazing one! I will mention that while the Big and Little Sister evening program is always a fan favorite, it is just one part of our Big and Little Sister program. Throughout a camper’s career, she might have four different big sisters and just as many little sisters. Our goal in all of these pairings is, of course, to help younger campers feel that they are connected to an older camper, but it is more than that. We want each Chippewa camper to have a network of Chippies who they get to know throughout their camp experience- we want them to have a genuine impact on one another…in their summer but also in their lives. I still remember my big and little sisters from when I was a camper…some of them are my very good friends today, and some are Chippies who I think fondly of when I look back. Either way, those big and little sisters of mine from way back in the 1990s certainly had an impact on me, and one that I can only hope is similar to that of what is happening nowadays with the same program.

Okay, now that’s really all…thanks for reading- have a great night!

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari