Summer Camp Season 2

Summer time is here!  It is about time, if I may say so myself.  There are only so many ideas one can come up with to entertain three little kids.  Especially in Iowa where winter lasts for a good six months.  Anyway, it is warm and wonderful outside now.  Cabin fever has subsided and a new cabin is in view.

Yep, you guessed it.  Summer Camp!  To be honest, we do not have plans for attending a summer camp this year.  Our adoption is keeping us plenty busy as it is.  I am sure we will in the years soon to follow.  It was a staple in my childhood and I would hate for my kids to miss out.  Anyway, I am sure many of you are though.  I thought I would do some digging and offer up an example of what all of you first year camper parents can expect.

Okay, okay, so maybe this is more of a reminder to be thankful for what it isn’t!  Either way, this is a classic that has been around for a while.  It is still a lot of fun to pull out now and then and have a good laugh!  Enjoy!!

Dear Mom and Dad,

Our Scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and were worried. We are OK. Only one of our tents and two sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up the mountain looking for Chad when it happened. Oh yes, please call Chad’s mother and tell her he is OK. He can’t write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found him in the dark if it wasn’t for the lightning. Scoutmaster Wilbert got mad at Chad for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Chad said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn’t hear him.

Ah the joy of experiencing nature! (Image: Mat Hayward)

Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas can will blowup? The wet wood didn’t burn, but one of the tents did. Also some of our clothes. John is going to look weird until his hair grows back.

We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Wilbert gets the car fixed. It wasn’t his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked OK when we left. Scoutmaster Wilbert said that with a car that old, you have to expect something to break down; that’s probably why he can’t get insurance. We think it’s a neat car.

He doesn’t care if we get it dirty, and if it’s hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the fenders. It gets pretty hot with 10 people in a car. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway patrolman stopped and talked to us.

Scoutmaster Wilbert is a neat guy. Don’t worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Terry how to drive on the mountain roads where there isn’t any traffic. All we ever see up here is logging trucks.

This morning, all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake. Scoutmaster Wilbert wouldn’t let me because I can’t swim, and Chad was afraid he would sink because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood. Scoutmaster Wilbert isn’t crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn’t even get mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of the time working on the car so we are trying not to cause him any trouble.

Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Dave dove in the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works. Wade and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Wilbert said it probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken. He said they got sick that way with the food they ate in prison. I’m so glad he got out and became our scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was doing his time.

Anyway, I have to go now. We are going to town to mail our letters and buy bullets. Don’t worry about anything. We are fine.

Love,

Little Tommy

PS: How long has it been since I had a tetanus shot?

See, wasn’t that worth the read!  I am sure your kids’ camp will be much more… uh… responsible than this.  If not, let me know and I will be praying for you!  Hey, if you have some great camp stories yourself then share them in the comments.  I am sure everyone will love to read them!