After the late night outside yesterday I was able to sleep
in a bit this morning. Once the alarm went off I got up to take my shower. Once
I was out I started waking up the boys, most of whom were still dead to the
world. We had to get moving though, as today was our last day in camp. That
meant that we had to clean out the cabins and load all of our belongings into
the vehicles for the trip back to school this afternoon.
When the bags were packed and loaded, it was time once
again to head off to
breakfast. Like yesterday, today's breakfast wasn't much to brag about. We were
handed our tray with scrambled eggs on a taco shell with shredded cheese to add
on if we chose, as well as some cubed potatoes (that were already cold). As
always, the option to have cereal
or hard boiled eggs was available, in addition to water, orange juice, and milk to
drink. I cannot even pretend to say that I am sad to say that this is our last
official meal here...
Breakfast At The Dining Hall
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Ahh, the classic egg taco. If only the cheese could have been
smuggled out for yesterday's tacos... Oh, and who could forget the
cold potatoes?
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The scheduled activity for this morning was Archery. All
of the girls did their best to compete for the role of Katniss Everdeen from the
Hunger Games movie (and book - I'm sure they've all seen it and read it by now).
Samantha's friend Maya was crowned with that title, as she hit the center of the
target three times. Sam came close to tying her though, as she managed to hit
the center twice herself. Overall the kids had a lot of fun here, and best of
all nobody got hurt!
Our last activity at Camp Tamarack was Outdoor Cooking.
Last time Tyler and I were here one of the options was to make an apple pie over
the fire, so Samantha was all excited to be able to do that today. Turns out
that is no longer an option (or it wasn't today, anyway), so she had to settle
for a choice of either a grilled cheese sandwich or a pizza (bread, tomato
sauce, and cheese). She opted for the pizza, and decided that it wasn't so bad.
The instructor also made some popcorn over the fire which the kids could try if
they desired. After everyone got a chance to cook, they got a chance to make
s'mores. Last time we learned that even the marshmallows were kosher, although
we didn't inquire this time around.
Outdoor Cooking
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A look up at the outdoor cooking area at Camp Tamarack.
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Samantha and her friends started out attempting to light a fire
with sticks, but ended up just making music with the sticks and the
rocks.
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Sam found herself a new friend at camp! And no, we didn't bring
it home as another pet.
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Sam working on making her pizza.
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The kids all got some help from the chaperones closing up the
hot pie irons.
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Sammie waiting for her pizza to cook in the fire.
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Sam sitting down to eat with her classmates.
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Another shot of Sam and the others enjoying the fruits of their
cooking labor.
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Sam got the biggest stick possible to roast her marshmallow on.
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No matter where she went, the smoke seemed to go right into
Sam's eyes. She had to resort to hiding behind her shirt just to get
the marshmallow roasted!
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Before heading back to school on the bus, we gathered at
Applebaum Village one last time. When I went to camp with Tyler, we headed back
to the school and ate pizza. They have since changed that procedure, instead
eating pizza in the lodge at camp before heading back (I guess too many people
headed home right when they got to school, resulting in too much leftover
pizza). They ordered pizza from Food Castle (a grocery store that I worked in
for about two miserable weeks many moons ago when I was still in high school)
and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised with how good it tasted. This
was especially true after eating camp food for the past three days (and the junk
food that I smuggled to camp in my bag)! The kids passed the time while waiting
for the pizza to arrive by playing soccer one last time. After we ate it was
back to school to unload the vehicles. Samantha and I headed home for a nap
after an exhausting three days of fun!
Applebaum Village
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A look at Samantha and her classmates playing soccer while
waiting for lunch to arrive.
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I know, I know... technically these two pictures should
have been on a page titled June 8th, since that is when they are dated as well
as when Samantha received them. Since camp officially lasted from the 5th
through the 7th, I didn't want to create a page for something that took place
after camp, even though it is camp related. I know that doesn't make a ton of
sense, but it's my website, so I am sure you'll quickly learn to get over it!
Camp Tamarack Awards
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Samantha was awarded this Fantastic Feats award, for "achieving
the unachievable" in large part due to her quick scaling of the rock
climbing walls.
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Samantha was named "Miss Camp Tamarack 2012" for "embodying the
total camp experience", a title she will hold until next year's fifth
graders go to camp. She was extremely proud of this honor, as were
her Dad & Mom.
Great job Sammie! You really showed your leadership skills and
pushed yourself past all of your limits this week. We love you,
kiddo!
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