Summer 2010 - Week #6 - Camp Qwanoes :D

Last week Jaymi and I had a wonderful, 7-day vacation at an awesome camp in Crofton, called Camp Qwanoes.

It was the best!

It was so nice to get away and relax, and it was a such a fantastic place to unwind and get in touch with ourselves.  I can't even explain how amazing it was, how much fun we had, and how relaxed and happy we were, coming back home.  I came home with motivation to declutter my house, simplify a few things, and do some good things for myself and my family.

Since we have been back, we've been listening to the camp music each morning (it's a great way to start our day), remembering our wonderful memories from camp, and trying to live each day with the same happiness that we had while we were there.  The new friends we made and the staff that took care of us were such happy, uplifting, friendly people, and it was wonderful to be around them.

:D

We began each day with breakfast together, followed by Q-Town (songs, skits, a video of the activities the day before, then the kids joined up with their various groups to do crafts, and other fun stuff while adults listened to some more music and a speaker, if they wanted).

After that, was Family All-Star Games - each day was different, and ALWAYS so much fun.

One day, there was this awesome staff member who made balloons into animals/characters, that were made of, say, 5 balloons or something.  They were amazing!

He made the Cookie Monster,

Pluto,

and Jaymi got a flower.

Then we had lunch, and after that, the main activities were available for the afternoon.
The activities were endless, and amazing!
There was:

sailing,

fishing,
low ropes course,

high ropes course,
the Skyscraper (where, tethered in above you of course, you free-fall from 80 feet high and swing),

the Breathtaker (another free-fall, tethered in, swing, but without the swing seat and it was only for one person),
Jaymi wanted to do this, and climbed the huge tree, sat up there with her favourite counsellor Sarah, and then decided to climb back down.  I was so proud of her, though, for doing that whole climb and considering it.

the Screamer (a double zip-line, for two 'racers'),
archery (we both tried this for the first time and ended up doing it almost every day),

skateboarding,

mountain boarding,
mountain biking,
arts & crafts,

kayaking,
canoeing,
swimming,

Then there was Water Smorg (a collection of inflatable fun),

which included:
the Blob (an amazing giant inflatable tube where one person would sit on one end while someone else would dive off a high platform, bouncing on the beginning of the Blob and causing the first person to be bounced right off of the end),
two water trampolines,

the sidewalks,

Castaway Castle,

the giant waterslide (soooo much fun and sooo high!),

the Iceberg,

and the tubing and skiing options, which included:
the Rocket,

the Rock 'n' Roll,

the Double Biscuit,
the chair,
kneeboarding,
waterskiing,
and a ton of other options, like basketball, soccer, beach volleyball, trampoline, etc..

There was also an indoor place called Club Cocoa, which had couches to hang out on, a milkshake/coffee/smoothie bar, table tennis, foosball table, a fun top-spinning game and more.

There was a place to get ice cream, of course.

Or you could have some fun throwing a frisbee, tossing a ball around, rolling in the grass, or spinning around. :)

There was a great playground that Jaymi spent a lot of time on, playing with her new friends.

She made a few new friends.

Sienna,

Alex (her best friend there)

and her favourite counsellor, who she absolutely LOVED, was Sarah.

After all of the activities were closed at 5pm, we all headed to dinner for 5:30, and then another set of Family All-Star games.

After that was Family Fireside (a campfire with songs, skits, and a brief talk)

followed by Mugup (a snack and drink for the kids).

The younger kids were then put to bed and the older ones went off to their own Q-Town while the adults had the option of having a babysitter look after their kids while there was an adult Q-Town.

Everything was optional, which was nice.
Absolutely NOTHING was pushed on us at all.

And of course, we spent a bit of time in our room, having some relaxing, down time (playing a game or enjoying kid-fun in the room, like sliding off of the bed or hanging out the window).

Jaymi also spent some time practicing her drawing, working very hard at learning to draw Garfield characters.  She is getting very serious about art lately.

Jaymi and I made a promise to each other, to try something new every day.  Something we had never tried before.  And we did it!  We were so proud of each other and ourselves, every day.  It was exhilarating.

Definitely one of the best weeks of the summer.