Treasure Mountain Youth Camp 2016

The whole family went to Treasure Mountain Youth Camp again this summer and had a blast!

 The theme for this year was "Do All For The Glory Of God." I think the kids certainly did their best to live out that theme in everything they did.

 They did team-building exercises (get your whole team across the lava!)

 had team competitions (who can dress their counselor in the best toilet paper suit?)







 Did art projects

 Got to know each other

Played crazy games

sang silly songs
 
did some hilarious skits

 and made their own music.

This year, we had the added blessing of Rebecca's Dad, Scott, with us. He helped manage the kitchen...
 

and the little ones whenever he could. :)

 One of the highlights was the water day. They played a whole bunch of games like picking up marbles from the pool with their toes and bringing them back to a bucket.



 Then they had to fill a bucket by passing a cup with holes in it over their heads to the back of the line.

 Another one was to stick as many cheese balls to the head of their partner

who was wearing a shower cap covered in shaving cream.

 Of course, it eventually devolved into an all-out shaving cream war.

 No one was safe.

 The casualty count was high.

 and some got it worse than others. :)
We had made plans for a second water day that involved a redneck waterslide, but the weather didn't cooperate. it rained a good bit this year, with one day seeing more than 6 inches of rain! Good thing we were at the top of the mountain! :)


 But fortunately, the skies cleared and we were able to have a fire on the last night.

 I mean, what's camp without marshmallows, right?

 Right!

Treasure Mountain Youth Camp - 7/2015

And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." - Matthew 22:37

That was the theme for the week-long Treasure Mountain Youth Camp at Higher Grounds Retreat Center. We were invited by a friend to come and help out with the camp this year. They had need for a camp nurse, which Rebecca had never done, so she stretched her comfort zone a little and tried out something new.  She was kept busy with bumps, bruises, and bee stings all week long!

We made it a family adventure, signing up Olivia, Gabe and Ezra to be campers while I volunteered to be a general helper, assisting the teenage counselors and other leaders with whatever they needed.

 The campers participated in skits,

 silly songs

 Bible studies and devotionals,

 a ropes course,

 a cookout by the campfire,

 (where everyone sang Happy Birthday to Rebecca!)

 and had lots of fun with their new friends. 

There were two highlights to the camp. The kids were divided into 3 teams for the week and they competed for points on things like memory verses, trivia questions and relay races. But by far, the most fun was the Water Games. The three teams competed in a series of relay races designed to get them (and everyone else) wet! 

 It could not have been a prettier day...

 The second highlight was going ziplining at Carolina Ziplines. Only Olivia and  I went from our family. 

 The hooked us all up with a bunch of gear.

 Olivia was a bit hesitant once she was standing on the first platform,

 but shouted "Woo hoo!" as she went across the ravine for the first time.

 After that, it was a piece of cake.

 There was one "racing" line with 2 lines side-by-side. Olivia didn't weigh quite enough so she had to partner with a counselor. They beat me...

We had a fantastic time and would love to go again!

 Back at camp, Gabe got to ring the bell to call everyone to dinner.

And Ezra was first in line... no surprise there. :)

If you think Emma and Irene were left out of the fun, you'd be very wrong!

 Those two were like the unofficial mascots. Everyone was always holding, carrying, hugging or playing with them.

 One leader's husband had a series of classic muscle cars and he brought a different one each day. He gave the kids rides in this beautiful station wagon. Let me assure you: this is NOTHING like the station wagon I remember growing up... :)

On the last evening, the full moon was beautiful, especially as it came up over the huge clouds. This one looked an awful lot like a lamb. Can you see it?

 The kids with their counselors.

The leaders and counselors.

We are so happy that we got to go to the camp and meet so many new people. The kids had such a great time and are begging to go next year! We can only hope that it works out that we can all so it again.