Sleepaway Camp Adventures

On July 7th, we dropped Hailey off at Girl Scout Camp for her first sleep away summer camp experience. I don't know why but my girls aren't huge sleep away camp fans. Me, I loved it and would use my own money to go back for the next session especially as I got older. 

Anyway, I wanted Hailey to have this sleep away camp experience so I got a friend to go with her. I booked her in a session where they slept in the lodge instead of in tents or cabins. And, I kept telling her stories about my summer camp days while reading her my favorite childhood book, "Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood."

Off to camp! 

She agreed to go but wasn't looking forward to it that much. She's my third so I also thought it would be a good lesson in independence for her. We do everything for her because she's slow. It takes forever for her to get out of the house. She's constantly running back upstairs for her shoes or something else she forgot mere minutes after I told her to come down with the item. So I was interested in how this was going to go. And I needed to let go of doing things for her. This offered her the perfect opportunity and me too. 

I wrote her letters every day and she wrote in her journal so she wouldn't forget to tell me things. And, I did get a letter from her on Tuesday that popped up in my email that her counselor sent her. I couldn't tell if she loved it or hated it from that letter so I would have to wait until she got home for the full report. 

Here's a summary of her camp experience straight from her lips:  

Favorite Thing about Camp: The pool! I got to be in the highest group and could swim anywhere because I passed the swim test. 

Favorite Food at Camp: The lunches were the best - chicken tenders, pizza and mac n cheese

Worst Food at Camp: Chineses Food (chow ming noodles with vegetables in it - they were gross and I went to bed hungry that night. Dessert was this cupcake with whipped cream that tasted terrible.)

Least Favorite Thing About Camp: The first breakfast  - it was bagels that didn't taste like anything

Least Favorite Activity - Canoeing. It was boring.

Something I Tried that I had Never Done Before: Canoeing in the front position, and I ate a banana in a banana boat sundae! (Usually I don't eat bananas.)

Favorite Dessert: Ice Cream

Overall Camp Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 8.5 

Asked if she'd ever go back to sleep away camp again, she said maybe but only every other year! 

Did she love it, no. Did she hate it, no. I'll take that as a good experience! Thanks to Lexie for going with her that helped give it that 8.5 rating!

Her letter to us

Happy to be going home with Lexie