Ring Ring...

Tonight your phone just might be ringing
and
Tonight if you answer it might just be a YWCA Camp Westwind staff
and
If you talk to them you might just get to hear about the amazingness planned for 2011
and
If you love Camp Westwind, you might just make a donation pledge!

Looking for one last way to give during the holiday season and get a 2010 tax deduction? YWCA Camp Westwind would love your support. It costs the YWCA about $100 a day to provide a camper with the experience of a lifetime. Donate today! www.ywca-pdx.org

Happy Holidays!

Janette "Pickle"
Camp Director

End of Resident Camp 2010

Well, today is a gloomy day for two reasons.
1. The weather is pretty gloomy (but normal for Oregon)
2. All the staff are packing up the summer into little boxes. The teen tents are taken down, the cabins are cleaned out, archery & bouldering wall were disabled, Art Palace is being packed into boxes, the store is boxed up, challenge course will be taken down later today.

However, on a happier note, we are also currently planning SUMMER 2011! Who's excited for that? I know I am. :D

Just a few reminders...
* if you have discovered that you forgot something at camp, please contact westwind@ywca-pdx.org or call Sarah at 503-294-7476. All lost and found items have been shipped to the downtown YWCA office and are awaiting to be claimed. As of September 1, 2010, any left over lost & found will be taken to the Goodwill.
* We are still selling our camp DVD for $12. These DVD's are put together from various pictures of camp. Each session, youth sessions 1-6, Mother Child camp, and CampOut each have their own memory DVD. Please contact Sarah for these.

We are so thankful and touched that you all chose to spend the summer with us at Camp Westwind. We have been impacted by each and every one of the participants at camp. You all are truly amazing and wonderful people. Hope to see you next summer!

The last song for you of the summer:
Say When

Say when, will we ever meet again.
Say when, will we ever meet again.
Say when, will we ever meet again.
Say when, will we ever meet again.
Say when dear friend, say when.


Say where, and I'll meet you right there.
Say where, and I'll meet you right there.
Say where, and I'll meet you right there.
Say where, and I'll meet you right there.
Say where dear friend, say where.

Say why, does this parting make me cry.
Say why, does this parting make me cry.
Say why, does this parting make me cry.
Say why, does this parting make me cry.
Say why dear friend say why.

Say who, do I ever love but you.
Say who, do I ever love but you.
Say who, do I ever love but you.
Say who, do I ever love but you.
Say who dear friends say who.

Say when, say where,
Say why, say who,
Say Y-O-O-O-O-O-U.

AT CAMP YOU KNOW ME AS.....
13
Ace
Bola
Bones
Bowette
Bumble
Calypso
Chicken Skin Flynn
Cloud
Dorri
Eire
Feo
Finch
Gex
Gnarwhal
Happy Feet
Hermi
Hoku
Jellyfish
Kicks
Kiwi
Koala
Mac
Mars
Nala
Otter
Paisa
Pepper
Peregrine
Petrie
Philly
Pickle
Pippin
Platypus
Poi
Rascal
Rhapsody
Scrabble
Starburst
Tulip
Vista

CampOut Day 1

Hello Families & Friends!

Today was the first day of our completely last session for summer! (I'm not sure if that should be an "!" or not....) Anyway, today families crossed over the river to join us at Camp Westwind for CampOut! It has been a GORGEOUS day here at camp (sorry Session 6, 5, 4, etc campers!). I believe the weather forecast is supposed to be between 70-80ish the whole 5 days! What a great way to end.

Going back quickly from last session, a couple quotes from our Camper Evaluations.
- Just because someone is a moose, doesn't mean you can't be friends. (A camper's answer to embracing diversity)
- You don't need electronics to have fun. (Answer to: What did you learn during your time at camp?)

Song for the Evening:
Mr. Moon
Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon,
You are out too soon,
The sun's still in the sky

Go back to bed, bed
And cover up your head
And wait 'til the day goes by.

Session 6 Day 6

Say goodnight to you,
Say goodnight, to you
The day is done, and down goes the su-u-un, un,
Say good night to you (and you and you and you)

Well, today wrapped up our last full day of youth camp. We had a great campfire, with lots of skits, songs and dream logs (check out our YouTube channel later for videos).

Campers today participated in Interest Groups this morning, and Round Robins this afternoon. Most campers got at least one of their top 3 choices in Round Robins, which is GREAT! We also had a singing (delicious) lunch, and a BBQ dinner.

It was a great way to end the summer session. Right now, we are having the Bowling Championship! Who are you hoping to win...? Teens, Alpine, Highlands, Sherwood, or Kitchen?

I hope you have enjoyed reading about this week!

"Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever." - Keri Russell Thank you for choosing to spend your summer with Camp Westwind!

Happy Camping and see some of you tomorrow.

Session 6 Day 5

Good Evening Families & Friends!

I hope everyone has had just as great of a day as we've had here at camp. The weather was nice, the campers are awesome and well, we're just so excited to be here!

Today was a fun packed day. All the units came back from their overnights this morning and had time for some showers, went on to archery, bouldering wall, beach games, and other activities. Some of the cabins in Highlands even went straight into kayaking/hiking Cascade Head! Other cabins also did a great trek up to High Meadow.

Man, what a fantabulous day!

Dinner was a special surprise.... A surprise for both the staff and campers! The Unit Coordinators and Co-Directors decorated the Lodge in an underwater theme... All the staff & Teen 2s dressed up in costume. For the meal, we sang underwater related songs, spoke in whale/underwater, and had backwards dinner (meaning dessert came first). Don't worry though, children (at least at my table) ate the rest of the dinner too!).

I hope everyone has had a great day! Please don't forget to take our poll to the right!

Oh yeah! I failed to mention that yesterday was pigtail appreciation day! Below is the staff with all their pigtails.

Session 6 Day 4

Baby Moon

There's a wee baby moon lying on it's back
With it's funny little toes in the air
And it's all alone in the big blue sky
But the wee baby moon doesn't care.

Baby moon,
Keep shinin' on me,
Baby moon

There's a wee baby moon lying on it's back
With it's funny little toes in the air
And it's all alone in the big blue sky
But the wee baby moon doesn't care.

Good afternoon families and friends of campers and staff here at Camp Westwind! We've had a great day so far, between our delicious breakfast, new interest groups, singing lunch and now packing for overnights!

Our interest groups today were put together by the Teen 2 campers. It was their first interest group and they turned out really well! The choices today were: Bat Cave Beach Games, Mythical Creatures Around Westwind, Diversity Rocks, Art, and Global Cooking. The teens did a great job putting them together and fulfilling the creativity of Camp Westwind for the youth campers.

Singing lunches, now these are always fun! About halfway through the meal (or after everyone has had a chance to get seconds), the staff and campers start singing random songs. Song like: Disney tunes, Popular Songs, and other camp appropriate songs. Both the staff and the campers LOVE doing this kind of meal!

Currently, the camp is prepping for the overnights. Counselors and campers are preparing their sleeping bags and overnight items, while the specialists, UA's and UC's cut and gather the food material for tonight. The weather has opened up nicely, so here's to hoping the rain stays away for the evening!

Meals:
Breakfast - waffles, bacon, strawberries, whip cream, cereal bar, (veggie sausage), orange juice
Lunch - Dino nuggets(!), fries/tots, cut veggies, salad bar and pink lemonade.
Dinner - Packout! Most cabins seem to be having a sort of fajita, enchilada dinner.

Happy Camping!

Session 6 Day 3

Oh Gee

OH, gee how happy I feel
I've got the vision of an automobile,
I don't have to worry where I get my next meal,
'Cause I'm eating chicken and I don't have to steal.

Chorus:
Everything's just going my way,
Every dog's gotta have his own day
Well I've got mine and I'm ready to say
Everything, everything, Everything, everything,
Everything's going my way.


Well, my clothes are tailor made
And my shoes are patent leather Whoo
All you gotta do is stitch yourself together
Take a look at me and Lordy Lordy Lordy
Everything's going my way.

-chorus-


I hope you enjoyed your song of the day! :D Welcome to Session 6 (again, sorry for this being day 3 and the first post!).

Campers have been having a great time so far this week. We've had interest groups:

Spontaneous Dance Party with Kiwi & Pippin: Campers walk and hike around camp breaking into a spontaneous dance party! Campers are encouraged to extend their comfort zone and be themselves through new dance moves.
Bother Beetle Day with Peregrine & Tulip: It's an old Camp Westwind tradition... that encourages campers to appreciate the small things in life.
Explore the Stars with Starburst & Mars: Campers learn the difference between astronomy and astrology. They also discover the differences in peoples personalities.
The Amazing Race with Kicks & Paisa: Campers made team bandanas and are accomplishing various tasks together, while building confidence and friendship.
A Challenging Morning with Finch & Philly: Campers work on problem solving skills through challenge related activities. They build teamwork and cooperation while discussing social challenges and solutions to them within Camp Westwind.

Meals:
Breakfast - eggs, coffee cake, fruit, cereal bar.
Lunch - Grilled Cheese, tomato soup, veggies, goldfish, and salad bar
Dinner - Meatloaf, baked potatoes, veggies, salad bar

Session 5 Day 6

Song for today (although we haven't actually sang it yet):
Percy the Pale-Faced Polar Bear
Up in the land of ice and snow
Where the temperature drops to 40 below
Who's the happiest one up there?
Percy the Pale-Faced Polar Bear

He sleeps all day
And then at night,
Catches a few fish by the pale moonlight
Has not worries, has no cares
Percy the Pale-Faced Polar Bear.

Then one day a hunter came out
And caught poor Percy by the snout
Put him in a great big cage
Percy HOWLED and he GROWLED,
but he couldn't get out!

Now he's living in a zoo,
Funny thing is, he likes it too.
'cause he met his girlfriend there!
Percy the Pale-Faced Polar Bear.
Who?
Percy the Pale-Faced Polar Bear.


What a glorious day here at camp (and I'm not talking about the weather). This morning a lot of cabins opted to have breakfast out of the dining hall, so it was pretty empty except the two Alpine girls cabins. All the teens came back from their amazing overnights. Teen Lead 2 slept out at Merkwood the first night after Eire, Philly & Cowpie just reclaimed it a few days prior.

Cabins today had interest groups!
Skittles Party with Eire & Pippin: Campers use skittles to learn about diversity and to share their love for skittles.
Ninja Academy with Sparkie & Kiwi: Campers learn that becoming ninjas is a way they can express themselves however they want and build confidence; bringing out the inner ninja.
Magical Marvelous Unicorn Exploration with Gnarwhal & Nala: Campers search high and low for Galanthor the Unicorn, so he can teach them the secrets of the forest and possibly the universe.
Pretty Vivacious Choralaries: Fun w PVC with Mac & Cloud: Campers play and make amazing music using PVC piping and their voices.
Explore the Stars with Mars & Starburst: Campers learn the difference between astronomy and astrology. They also discover the differences in peoples personalities.

Campers have been having so much fun! Today, besides Interest Groups, we've had campers partake in archery, challenge course, bouldering wall, nature, hiking, beach games, ninja, kitchen raids, ocean dipping, kayaking, mudmucking (I think I can still smell them) and more! The kids have been all smiles since I've seen them! Tonight we had a Lion King all camp and it was great!

Meals:
Breakfast - packout(ish), coffee cake, sausage, yogurt, cereal bar, milk, fruit
Lunch - Yakisoba noodles, veggies, bbq pork, salad bar, water
Snack - graham crackers, frosting & sprinkles
Dinner - pizza! pepperoni & sausage, cheese, tempe for the vegetarians, baby carrots & celery, salad bar and vanilla ice cream for dessert

The photo above are campers enjoying the snacks from a kitchen raid. The kitchen raid has become quite a popular activity this session; of course, why wouldn't it be? Wouldn't you want to steal pirate Chicken Skin Flynn's treasured cookies? Mmm...

Well, all of the campers did so well last night on the overnight. They all stayed out in the campsites with the dampening mist (not raining, just heavy mist). They seemed to have a great time too! Some kids hiked, some kids played beach games, and a couple even went to some brand new overnight spots!


Tonight at dinner we had a silent dinner. It was so quiet! 146 people and I could hear a pin drop - okay, not actually a pin, but I think you may get the gist.

I hope you all had a great Saturday afternoon! More to come tomorrow!

Session 5 Day 4

What should we learn today? How about Frampton the Crab?

One day me, my mommy and daddy were sitting at the beach
Sitting at the beach in East Hampton
When out of the water, along came a crab
And the crab's name was Frampton.

Now Frampton was a crab who loved to climb
He loved to climb bushes and trees all the time
One day Frampton climbed all the way up in a tree
And he fell out of the tree and bit me on the toe

He bit me on the toe, he bit me on the toe
I didn't know what to do and I didn't know where to go
So I ran home and who was standing there
But my grandma to put a band-aid on the toe.

Whew, I enjoy that song! I apologize for missing a post yesterday. I was so excited about the Banana All Camp, I forgot.

Today we did our second round of Interest Groups. Our second round of Interest Groups were: Extreme Sand People, Creative Writing in Creative Places, Funkadelic Tie-Dye, Kangaroo-a-pa-looza and Board Game Bonanza.

We also spent time playing cabin games, Ninja is a popular one, as well as Elimination. After Interest Groups and games, we had lunch, followed by more games and packing for the overnight. Currently all cabins are out on overnights! Sleeping under the stars - well, clouds tonight - while eating food cooked over an open fire, and having value sessions.

Meals for today:
Breakfast: waffles, berry mixture, whip cream, eggs, cereal bar
Lunch: DINO nuggets! tots, grapes, salad bar
Dinner: Cookout! Most units favor Foil Dinners, enchiladas, and fajitas.

Session 5 Day 2

Alright, here is the song of the day. Now when you read this, you should sit or stand every time you say the letter "b." Any questions?

My bonnie lies over the ocean
My bonnie lies over the sea
My bonnie lies over the ocean
So bring back my bonnie to me.

Bring back, bring back
Oh, bring back my bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Oh bring back my bonnie to me.

Man, wasn't that fun?

So, today has been a pretty chilly day! The clouds are covering and there's a slight breeze. This morning was so much fun! Campers split into interest groups (see the definition section if you don't know what this is). The interest groups for days 2 & 3 are:

Super Pooper Trooper: learning about animal scat, and how to properly use the bathroom in the woods. The photo is Cowpie showing campers the bear & elk scat that he found.


Extreme Napping: I don't know about you, but this one sounds great & self-explained.

Hobbit Heroes: Campers are laughing, joking, singing, and learning how to be hobbits!

Breaking all the Rules: Now, these aren't actually broken rules. The directors have already pre-approved their rule "breaking." Things like kitchen raids, going on the whale watching deck (staff only), ringing the bell, etc. This photo is campers on the whale watching deck.

Extreme Meadow Exploration: Campers are heading to so many amazing meadows during this one. They get to end their week at High Meadow.

Which interest group would you want to participate in?

After interest groups, we had lunch, and now. Well, now we are heading to do cabin activities. Alpine is going to go hike Cascade Head today, other cabins are going on the Bouldering Wall, Challenge Course, Archery, and more!

Menu:
Breakfast - Chocolate chip pancakes, sausage patties, bananas, cereal bar.
Lunch - Chili dogs, or hot dogs, chips, chili, cut apples, baby carrots, salad bar.
Dinner - chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, watermelon, salad bar, and ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

Happy Camping!

Session 5 Day 1

We welcome you to Camp Westwind,
We're mighty glad you're here.
We'll send the air reverberating with a mighty cheer
We'll sing you in
We'll sing you out
To you we raise a mighty shout
HAIL HAIL
Gang's all here,
Welcome to Camp Westwind!

Welcome Session 5 campers (and parents who are reading this blog). I hope you are all ready for a treat. Our staff are super excited to spend these next 8 days with your children! All campers (and luggage) have made it across the river to the place we cherish: Camp Westwind. As we speak, the campers are all with their cabins, thinking of goals for the week, deciding what kind of activities that they would like to sign up for, and more!

We had a Blues Clues campfire tonight. I unfortunately did not make it to campfire, but the staff told me it was very funny!

All the campers are now in bed. I hope you all had as great of a day as we did!

Today's Menu:
Lunch-
Chicken patty sandwiches
Potato chips
Fresh fruit
Salad Bar

Dinner-
Whole Wheat Pasta
Spaghetti
Meatballs
Cheesy bread
Grapes
Salad bar
Brownies

On the Road: Campers and staff on the road are having a great time and making many stops. Today, their destination will be at Camp Westwind. The van of travelers who packed up 8 days ago to go on an amazing (first) travel camp has crammed so much fun into 10 days, it's crazy! In the last few days, they have ventured to Trees of Mystery, Game Park Safari in Bandon, and today they will be heading to Sand Rails in the Dunes! Wow, what an amazing week!

Here at the Beach, we have been having so much fun with Mother Child Camp! The moms and children are so amazing, and the kids always find a way to make us laugh. We have had many activities open: archery, kayaking, bouldering wall, arts, art by Indigo, art at the barn, slip n slide, ocean dipping, mudmucking, hiking, campfires, talent shows, and more! This week has been great!

Session 4 Day 6

“In the end we are all separate: our stories, no matter how similar, come to a fork and diverge. We are drawn to each other because of our similarities, but it is our differences we must learn to respect.”

This week cabins have grown to be great friends. Kids who came to camp with different backgrounds, found things they had in common to come together to make this magical community happen. This week has been an amazing week. The campers and staff have such a great bond that will hold everyone together until the next summer when we can hopefully meet again at Westwind.

This morning we had a great sausage, hash brown, fruit berry, and egg scrabble mix (tofu scramble for those who couldn't eat the later). We are now packing up our bags and color coding them, while some cabins are taking showers, and others are playing games. Lunch today is going to be pizza!

And now, to finish with our favorite camp song.

Murry the rabbit boy, Murry!
Murry the rabbit boy, Murry!

He hops from place to place
To save the human race

He’s Murry the rabbit boy, Murry!

The rabbit and the boy were caught in a radiation storm!
And when the clouds uplifted the boy had been transformed!
The rabbit and the boy had been mutated into one!
And that is the story how Murry our rabbit boy begun!

Murry the rabbit boy, Murry!
Murry the rabbit boy, Murry

Session 4 Day 5

Good Evening!

Travel camp had a great day! Today they went hiking and found some really amazing waterfalls. Their photo above is near some mountains on the 299. Yesterday they went to In-N-Out which, in my opinion, is super amazing!

Here at the beach, it is our last full day of camp. Campers came back from their overnights, unpacked, and some even showered before rotations. This afternoon we enjoyed the sun during our Round Robin rotations, which included: archery, boulder wall, ocean dipping, art @ the Barn, art @ the Palace, elimination, capture the flag, and challenge course. Just about every camper was able to get their top 3 choices! We just love it when that happens. This evening, we had a great Spongebob themed campfire. Some videos will be posted on our YouTube page later.

Now, all the campers are in bed, after some evening unit activities. When they wake, it will be the very last day of the session.

Please remember, crossing for car campers is at 3:00pm. Please also remember to bring your ID!

Session 4 Day 4

Good evening camp friends!

We hope you all had a marvelous day, as we did here at the Beach too. The photo to the right is a camper who's ready for the overnight. All units headed out on their overnights today, eating pasta, fajitas, enchiladas, and of course s'mores.

We really do have a great group of kids this week. Besides packing and heading out to the overnights, we also enjoyed some new interest groups. Today's were: Make Your Own Superhero, Board Game Bonanza, Creative Writing in Creative Spaces, Fantastic Fairies, Epic Salt Marsh Xploration, Pirates of the Kayaking Carribean, Xtreme Predator Prey, and Papermaking. Some of the paper the kids made was fantastic! They all had their own little flair to them; glitter, leaves, colors, and more!

Happy Camping!

Session 4 Day 3

TRAVEL CAMP UPDATE: Travel Camp is off to an amazing start! The team is enjoying the sunny warmth of Southern Oregon and will be hanging out in the Oregon Vortex today with a stop at the House of Mystery. Last night the team planned their budget and menu, utilizing their mad organization, teamwork, and leadership skills. On with the show!

IN THE CITY: Camp Westwind in the City is also in their 4th week of camp! This week is Frolic in the Fountains! They have been playing hard out in the city, exploring the fountains of Portland. Today, they are going to be heading to the zoo!

AT THE BEACH: Camp Westwind at the Beach is well underway with our amazingly creative activities. This morning we had more interest group time! The leprechauns did an amazing job not being seen, or turning into trees when people were around (very funny!). The teens are preparing to be packed out and camping the next 2 days, the rest of camp has activities abound today: slip 'n' slide, showers, store time, mud-mucking, archery, bouldering wall, extreme sand castles, tie-dye, soccer, games, challenge course, hiking, art, and more! Plus, the sun is shining and looks glorious!

Session 4 Day 2

Welcome new parents of Session 4 campers & Travel Camp campers!

We are very excited, our all camp for the Beach is Harry Potter, there have been skits, cabins are eating in houses in the dining hall (pictured), even a point system for the houses!

This week is also very special, because today kicked off our first session ever of Camp Westwind on the Road! We will be getting updates from the staff and campers to post as well as tweet (if you aren't a follower of us on Twitter, you should be!). Also, if you would like to watch some videos from prior sessions, please visit our Camp Westwind YouTube Channel (there's a link on the right towards the bottom).

During the morning hours, we had Interest Groups. This week's first groups were: Lord of the Flies, Monster Madness, A Challenging Morning, Extreme Sand People, Archaeology, Xtreme Napping, Interpretive Dance, and Leprechauns! If you had an interest group, what fun, crazy idea would you have?!

This evening, we will have our opening campfire, which has been based around Fairy Tales!

Breakfast: Pancakes, Bacon, Cantalope, Milk
Lunch today: Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup, Carrot Sticks, Salad Bar
Dinner: well, we aren't quite at dinner yet, but I'm pretty sure it is going to be Hot Dogs, Baked Beans, Corn on the Cob, Sliced Peaches & Salad Bar.

Happy Camping!

Session 3 Day 5

We have had a great week so far at camp! We are so sorry that today was the last full day.

Everyone came back from their overnights, and were ready for more fun! We had activity periods, and some Round Robins (at camp those are open choice activity periods where kids get to choose what they would like to do). We also had BBQ dinner and our last campfire! While Sherwood campers were showering and getting ready for bed, the Highlands and Alpine kids were having a fondue & dance party!

We'll try to attach a video from our first campfire this week!

Session 3 Day 4

Camp is all quiet, as everyone is asleep on their overnights. They've had fajitias, pizza bread, s'mores, and more! The weather today was not as warm as yesterday, but it was still a nice day all-in-all.

Session 3 Day 3

Good evening friends! Today was a great day! The sun was shining bright down on the Beach today. We finished our first group of interest groups and will have another group tomorrow. Teen Ad went out on their 2 night overnight tonight, we had a birthday all camp, with face painting, cupcake decorating, international song leading, pin the tail on the donkey, and birthday crown making. It was loads of fun to celebrate everyone's birthday's together.

Sesion 3 Day 1

We Welcome You to Camp Westwind!
We're mighty glad you're here
We'll send the air reverberating
With a mighty cheer
We'll sing you in, we'll sing you out
To you we'll give a might shout HOORAY
Hail Hail the gang's all here,
Welcome to Camp Westwind!

We are off to another week here at camp. This week's 6 day session is going to be filled with fun adventures. We started off today with high winds, making crossing fun! Tonight's dinner was spaghetti! For the agenda: We will have campers check in with the nurses in Friar Tuck, they will make their top choices for programming this week and interest groups.

Session 2 Day 3

Siegfried was a slug
But he’s not your average bug
You can love him like a brother or a sister or a dog
But you just can’t give him a hug

I’ll tell you why
He’s just to slimy, too slimy to slimy
And he’s really really small, really small, really really small
And you don’t know where he’s going, where’s he going, where’s he going
Look he’s climbing up the wall, up the wall, up the wall.

Siegfried was a slug
But he’s not your average bug
You can’t tell the front from the back sometimes
But he sure can cut a rug

UH-UH UH UH UH
UH UH UH UH UH
UH UH UH UH UH
Funky cold slug

UH-UH UH UH UH
UH UH UH UH UH
UH UH UH UH UH
Funky cold slug

1-2-3-4- get your sluggy on the floor
gotta gotta get up to get down,
gotta gotta get up to get down

1-2-3-4- get your sluggy on the floor
gotta gotta get up to get down,
gotta gotta get up to get down

Siegfried the Slug, was our song choice yesterday! And, might I add, a good one - it was in my head all day!

The past two days have had amazing weather! Sadly, yesterday the wind picked up in the afternoon, so we had to cancel the two afternoon kayaking sessions.

So far this week, we've had some awesome activities: archery, boulder wall, fairy finding, beach games, elimination, hobbit heroes, and even keep the balloon in the air! Tonight we will have a choose your own adventure all camp!

Have a great day!

Session 2 Day 1

We welcome you to Camp Westwind
We're mighty glad you're here,
We'll send the air reverberating
With a mighty cheer
We'll sing you in,
We'll sing you out,
To you we give a mighty shout HOORAY
Hail, hail the gang's all here,
Welcome to Camp Westwind!

WELCOME SESSION 2 CAMPERS (and the parents reading the blog)! We are very grateful for the nice sunny day for check in. Campers are all in, in their cabin groups, and getting ready to watch some amazing Interest Group skits! Tonight, we'll have some move in time, flag, dinner, a campfire, and loads of songs!

Session 1 Day 6

Well I live in the mountains
And I sleep beneath the rocks
The only thing that makes me happy
IS my favorite pair of socks
Because they smell like COCONUTS,
THEY SMELL LIKE COCONUTS,
THEY SMELL LIKE
CO-CO-NUTS

Well, I went to Seattle
To become a rock star
But I didn't really make it
No I didn't get very far
So I had to sleep in my car
And it SMELLS LIKE COCONUTS,
IT SMELLS LIKE COCONUTS
IT SMELLS LIKE CO-CO-NUTS

Well my car caught on fire
Caused by a wire
It burnt down to the ground
All that's left was a tire
So I took a magic carpet
And I flew it to the beach
And I landed in some lotion
And it smelled like a PEACH?!
A PEACH!
NO!
IT SMELLED LIKE COCONUTS
IT SMELLED LIKE COCONUTS
IT SMELLED LIKE COCONUTS
IT SMELLED LIKE CO-CO-NUUUTS

Now that you all just sang that song to yourselves, it was almost like you were here at lunch! Today's lunch was a singing lunch! For those of you who haven't been to camp before, what this means is singing is always happening... Not just any singing but Disney songs, Camp Songs, and other random songs. And the best one from today was THE COCONUT SONG!

We also had a challenge at breakfast to see if Calypso (the camp Artist) could go through lunch without smiling... Well, she did pretty well, until the Sherwood boys made her smile. So, she walked up and down the Lodge like a chicken, followed by Ukulele dressing up in a dress.

The Teen Leads just came back from an amazing two night overnight too!

On the list right now, we are in the middle of Round Robins: free choice activity periods. This week, the activities are Bouldering Wall, Archery, Ocean Dipping, Self Portraits, and Slip N Slide.

We can't believe today is the last full day of the Session 1! We were having so much fun, we didn't even notice the days fly by. Tonight's campfire is run by the Teen Leads, I can't wait!

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Quote:
Bumble's Cabin did a random Wiggle Walk (absolute amazing activity that can't be described in words, similar to scavenger hunt, but way more awesome).

Bumble asked her cabin to find something that reminded them of camp. Campers came out with pants on their heads, shorts, wacky hair, etc. When Bumble asked why it reminded them of camp, camper responds, "Because camp is where you can be yourself and unique. You can even wear shorts and be different too, and no one will think you are weird."

Session 1 Day 5

Good morning all my Camp Westwind friends,
With your hair just as straight as mine
Good morning all my Camp Westwind friends
You're surely lookin' fine
Out of your pajamas and into your togs
Hopping down to breakfast like a bunch of frogs
Good morning all my Camp Westwind friends
With your hair just as straight as
Teeth just as white as, smile just as bright as mine

Who doesn't like to start their mornings off with a camp song? Well, today's weather is looking to be amazing! The sun is already out, as camp starts to fill back up with the noise of campers and staff. Camp was out on their overnight last night, which we are grateful that the weather was nice.

Today's agenda....
Service Projects with Teens
Camp Store is open
Animal Tracking
Challenge Course
Scavenger Hunts
Kayaking (if it's not too windy)
Tie-Dye
Bouldering Wall
Ocean Dipping
Archery
Star Stomping
Hikes
SlipNSlide
Paper Marbling
And MORE!!!

Welcome!

Hello Camp Westwind Followers!

Welcome to our new blog that is finally up and running. Session 1 is already three days in and going great! It rained a bit at camp today canceling the Challenge Course outdoors, but everything was a go! We had a Rainbow Olympics All-Camp where campers were split into different colored teams and participated in fun events such as: Extreme Water Relay Race, Elimination, Predator & Prey, Tumbling Pyramid O' Cups, S'more Spectacular.

Earlier this week, we also had a campfire, interest groups, climbing on the new bouldering wall, as well as shooting on our new archery range, and more!