Here We Go Again!
Tomorrow morning "Owlets 2008" begins. I think this must be about year ten (or more). It is essentially a "Grandma's Camp" and is something the cousins and family friends look forward to all year long.
Nick's mom, "Meemaw" (that's what the kids call her) is a true outdoors woman--she's the one who started this fabulous tradition. I went through my photos tonight and found some cute pics of Owlets from years past. All the moms work there; it's really great to have two weeks that are devoted to just the kids and being outside doing something memorable with family and friends. We might complain on occasion but we truly love hanging out together (right girls!).
Flower costume for drama show
Friendly? game of tug of war
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Buddies on the tramp
Drama Show (the kids wrote their own play)
Climbing on the wall
Cake eating contest
Camper of the Day (what a relief!)
Two-year-old on Raj (my turn! my turn!)
Face painting by me
My kids are so fortunate to be learning such amazing skills and making such awesome memories. Every day they have rock climbing, riding, archery, nature, art, drama/singing, sports/tramp and pool time. Did I miss any? They each belong to a group of kids their age. At Calleva, our main camp, our logo is an owl--hence, Owlets. So the group names are different types of owls: Screech, Elf, Snowy, Great-Horn, and Eagle. Screech owls are named for obvious reasons-they're the babies. The Eagles are the oldest and most coveted group. It's quite a rite of passage once you've made it as far as an Eagle--they can hardly wait for this!
We begin and end our day (9:30-1:30) with "Council" where we sing camp songs, have a joke of the day, make announcements, hand out awards, announce the Camper of the Day etc. The best thing we ever did, is make all the kids leather vests to pin or glue all their beads and patches on. They are SO proud of these things and absolutely love to pull them out of the box each summer. This little camp is the perfect preparation for going to the BIG camp--though I'm always sad to see them go. Here's to another great season! Thanks Meemaw!
8 comments:
That is sooo awesome! Do you think they will take a 28 year screech owl so I can come and play? No, dang it! What an awesome family tradition you have! I loved the face paintings and the vests! That must take a lot of preperation to get ready every year! Too fun! I am way jealous!
I still love this idea. I really hope my kids get to be a part of Calleva in one way or another, me and Mitch were talking tonight that we miss the camp days...
What a great post! Such cute kids! You rock at face painting! Thanks for being a Markoff, so I can do this stuff! I knew there was a reason I kept pulling for Nick...
Ohh, I miss Calleva. If my parents are still around when my Natalie is old enough to be in Owlettes, I think we'll spend our summers at Calleva. I'm pretty sure my mother will still be in the office in 5 years. Remember when I worked in the office with you? That was 9 years ago this summer! Crazy, huh? And even after all this time, you're still my favorite ;)
It looks like those kiddos are having a blast! Your girls camp sounded a little less primal than mine. :) Glad you survived and made it home, too!
Glad about Owlets, now udate!
TIme to update. This is the reason i don't like owlets. You are all on a hiatas (sp?) for two weeks.
UPDATE!
Don't encourage my wife to blog more than she already does! Enjoy the owlettes pics for a few days...
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