Happy Wednesday everyone! Can you believe that Visiting Day is only 3 days away? Where did the summer go? It’s flying by way too fast. Guess that’s what happens when you’re having fun.

Speaking of fun, last night’s evening activity was amazing! We started the night in the circus building with Mo & Tal, our circus directors, putting on a show for the entire camp. About 10 minutes in, the music changed to Revival Night music, the henchmen ran into the circus building, and all of the campers screamed and immediately made a run for the waterfront. As always, Revival Night was a huge success and our campers enjoyed watching their friends repent for all of their previous sins. J

Last night was ETB, Early to Bed. We had our staff meeting during rest hour while our campers were SUPPOSED to be writing letters home to all of you moms and dads. No promises of course since you’ll be here in 3 days, but we hope they all wrote home to you. Tonight is LTB, Late to Bed, since tomorrow is our Lazy Day. I’ll fill you in on the Lazy Day activities tomorrow since we have a surprise in store for one of our age groups.

Today was our 2nd session tubing trip down the Delaware River. It was the perfect weather for a lazy river stroll with temperatures in the low 70’s and the sun shining strong. Our 8^th through 11^th grade mixed doubles tennis kids went to another camp for a big tournament today.

We had a special event at lunch today called Magic Lunch. Some of our magician campers performed a cool stage magic trick for everyone in the dining room at the end of the meal. I still can’t figure out how they did it,…it must be magic!

Today was the last full day of our teen tour out west. We’re excited for them to return to camp and share their amazing experiences with us. For their final day they visited Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. Afterwards they enjoyed some retail therapy at the Scottsdale Fashion Square. Tonight they’re going to race their hearts out at K1 Speed in Phoenix, AZ. It’s an indoor go kart race track where the kids will do Grand Prix style racing with a podium ceremony and podium photos and awards at the end. They’ll spend their final night in a hotel in Tempe and then tomorrow they’ll fly out of Phoenix Airport to come back east.

Tonight’s evening activity is groups! Here’s a breakdown of what everyone is doing. GIRLS: Group 1- campfire, Group 2- mini carnival, Group 3- egg drop, Group 4- Mr. & Miss ILC with Boys Group 4. BOYS: Group 1- pool party, Group 2- campfire (separate fire pit from the girls), Group 3- kong pong, Group 4- Mr. & Miss ILC with the girls.

Today’s special feature is MAGIC LUNCH & MOUNTAIN BIKING! 3 more days until we see all of your smiling faces here at camp! Until then, ILC U THERE!

Hi Island Lake families! Yesterday’s Country Western theme day was a chock full of fun. The group leaders pretended there was a bandit named “Los Pantalones” and he was running around camp taking things from our staff. The staff had been announcing missing items at dining room announcements for a couple of days in preparation for this. They had wanted signs posted all over camp so the kids were seriously trying to find this masked bandit. Good thing they never did, otherwise we’d owe them 100 canteen tokens and LTB for a week!

Last night’s Hoedown was a fun-filled evening activity for our campers. Boy did they line dance, especially to the Cotton-Eyed Joe! The kids ate chili, searched for lollypops in the hay, got hitched at our marriage booth, played on a real tractor (it was parked, don’t worry), and counselors participated in a pie eating contest. Our Country Western Day was a hit!

Today was Tournament Tuesday and the Book of Records. Tournaments took place not only in Sports but also in Science and Cooking as it’s spreading all around camp. In sports we had some 3 on 3 basketball games, World Cup games, archery tournaments, fencing tournaments, martial arts challenges, mountain biking time trials, home run derby, kong pong, LAX skills challenge, hockey skills challenge, and even Quiditch!

In Cooking they had a “mystery box challenge”. In this competition our department head, Sanne, gave the kids 5 ingredients. Our campers had to work together in teams to incorporate these ingredients into one dish. They had 45 minutes to cook, clean, and prepare their dish for guest judges to taste and decide upon a winner.  I have to tell you, I was a guest judge in 1^st session and man oh man those kids can cook! In Science there was a chess tournament for Tournament Tuesday.

For the book of records kids competed in push ups, saying the ABC’s backwards, swimming times, singing the longest note, basketball spin, the loop run, fastest at tying shoes, verticle jump, soccer juggle, racket bounce, farthest throw, and more.

Today we hosted our annual Wayne County Volleyball Tournament for boys 11^th grade and under. About 6 other camps came to ILC to play one another in v-ball all morning into the afternoon.

In out of camp trips today, our Pioneering kids had their 2^nd session climbing trip to Prompton Park. The kids had the opportunity to hike, climb 30-40 foot boulders, and enjoy the great outdoors.

Our teen tour out west is drawing to an end in a couple of days. The feedback we’ve received so far is more than enthusiastic. The kids are having the greatest time of their lives. I didn’t think that was possible after spending time here at ILC but hey, camp friends together,…nothing better than that! Today the kids went on a Pink Jeep Tour. It was a scenic off-road adventure in red rock country. Great pics to come on our CampMinder photos. After the tour they went out to Jerome, the largest ghost town in America. Set on the side of Mingus Mountain, this mining town is propped on a 30 degree mountainside 2000 feet above the Verde Valley. There they also checked out the cute shops and took more great photos.

Today’s special feature is TOURNAMENT TUESDAY! Tonight’s evening activity is everybody’s favorite,….can you guess? Yup, that’s right,…Mo & Tal’s Circus Show! Ok, we’re going to start out the evening with our favorite circus directors who will be putting on a show for the camp.  About 5 minutes in, what’s going to happen?  You guessed it, Revival Night will surprisingly break out!  The kids have absolutely no idea either, which is going to be the icing on the cake.  More info to come tomorrow.  Until then, ILC U THERE!

Yee-haw! Hey ya’ll! Happy Country Western Day here at Island Lake! Many campers and staff dressed up all day in anticipation of tonight’s Hoedown. Arts & Crafts and Cooking offered minors dedicated to it. Tonight’s big Hoedown is going to be a blast! Our Texas counselors will teach kids how to line dance, there will be a pie-eating contest, kids can search for lollipops in a haystack, we’re serving chili, and even having a marriage booth. Fun for everyone involved!

At lunch today we had a County Western costume contest. The winning bunk on the girls side was G12 and the winning bunk on the boys side was B22. The camper who won for overall best dressed was Ariella B. The winning bunks get LTB tonight. Below you will see pictures of these winners as well as lots of other campers and staff all dressed up.

Today in sports our 6^th & 7^th grade boys tennis teams had a tournament outside of camp. We also hosted a 5^th grade boys baseball game here at camp this afternoon.

Our CITs had a fantastic day yesterday at the Grand Canyon. I’m going to post an extra set of photos so you can see the beautiful scenery they experienced. Today they departed for Sedona, Arizona where they will have a nice relaxing day after their long hike in the canyon yesterday. They will enjoy the hotel pool and then have dinner in Sedona.

Speaking of out of camp trips, just a reminder to parents of kids entering 9^th grade and older. We added a 2^nd bus for our Boston trip in the 3^rd session. Now we have available slots for additional campers. If you have not yet signed your child up for the trip but would like to, just give us a call here at camp and we’ll send you the appropriate forms. You can also sign up your teen for the trip on Visiting Day here in the office. Your child must be entering 9^th grade or higher, must sign up for the 3^rd session, and the trip is an additional fee.

Today’s special feature is campers dressed up for COUNTRY WESTERN DAY! Enjoy these photos in additional to the Grand Canyon ones and until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Happy Sunday fun-day! We woke up to sunny skies and warm temps, the warmest day of our summer thus far. Our campers are now settling into their majors for the session and trying lots of new activities for their minors.

We had a great deal of sporting events in and out of camp today. This morning’s tournaments were all out of camp. We had a 7^th grade boys baseball game and a 9^th grade girls softball game. This afternoon’s sports were all in camp. We hosted a 7^th grade boys lacrosse game, a 9^th grade boys baseball game, and a 9^th grade boys tennis match. Lots of action is going on here at ILC.

In other departments, our theater kids are busy learning songs, staging, and lines for Free to Be ILC and Anything Goes. In cooking they’re grilling pizza and making zucchini soup. Rock Shop has lots of bands rehearsing and lessons going on all day. In Pioneering they’re busy on the climbing wall, ropes courses, giant swing, zip line, building fires, and hiking around trails. This only touches upon all of the activities going on here at camp today.

Out on the western front, our CITs on the teen tour have a huge day today. They’re taking a 9 ½ hour tour of the Grand Canyon! On this tour they’ll see the Painted Desert, the Little Colorado River Gorge, and the Historic Cameron Trading Post on the Navajo Nation. The highlight will for sure be a hike along the edge of the Grand Canyon so they can enjoy the glorious sunset. They’ll then dine with a spectacular view of the canyon. Pictures will come later on our CampMinder daily summer photos.

Today’s special feature is pictures from the WEST COAST TEEN TRIP from the past week! Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, Las Vegas, San Diego Zoo, working at a food kitchen, and more.

Here at camp, tonight’s evening activity is Counselor Hunt. The counselors hide around camp and the kids have to find them and bring them into the gym. Once brought in the kids find out if the counselors are worth positive or negative points. The bunk with the highest number of points earns LTB.

That’s it for today. Until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Hi Island Lake families!  Today was our 2^nd Rookie Day of Summer 2015! It was a great success, as several future Island Lakers experienced a day in the life of a camper. We hope the children had as much fun as we did!

Today was also our first full day of majors and minors for 2^nd session. The sun shined for most of the day and the temps warmed up even more than the past few days.  We had a thunderstorm but it was at the end of the day during 3rd minor.  Our happy campers were still fully engaged in our major and minor schedule.

In sports news, a group of campers attended the LG&T Tennis Challenger in Binghamton, NY. Some campers had the pleasure of being ball kids while others watched the matches. What a great experience for our campers to see players qualify for the US Open! Our 8^th & 9^th grade girls lacrosse team had a game at another camp today and played very well.

With our teen trip now in Flagstaff, AZ, today they volunteered at the Flagstaff Family Food Center. In the morning they helped prepare food for families. In the afternoon they had the opportunity to serve the food and entertain children and read to them. Tonight they’ll have dinner at Bigfoot BBQ and then walk around the Old Town Shops.

Tonight’s evening activity is a full camp game of To Tell the Truth. A few staff sit on the stage of the theater and all tell the same story. The campers in the audience then get to ask the staff questions to try to figure out who amongst them is telling the truth.

Today’s special feature is VIDEO & SCIENCE! We hope you’re having a nice weekend and until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Happy first full day of 2^nd session! With partly sunny skies and temps in the 70’s, it made for the perfect day to run around and have some fun here at Island Lake.  We had a little drizzle this afternoon but it wasn’t enough to affect any activities.  Our campers stayed busy with their 4-minors of auditions, level testing, and trying out activities that they’d like to sign up for as their majors.

Later this afternoon we held our special camp traditional activity,…Panic! I announce items from the bunk and the kids run in to retrieve them to bring out to their group leaders/judges in the middle of their campuses. The bunk with the most points wins LTB (Late To Bed). We get creative with examples such as 2 campers wearing last summer’s blue & grey Color War t-shirts doing leap frog from their bunk to the judges. Another item may be as simple as a red Island Lake canteen token. I play music after announcing each item so our campers can sing and dance along while playing Panic. It’s a fun activity for all ages.

Once Panic was over our group leaders went around to all of their bunks to sign up our campers for their majors. All of our department heads were in the office to assist in case of activity conflicts during the same major. We assist the campers with their schedule to make sure they can take every activity they’d like and be sure no one is closed out of an activity.

Meanwhile, after 2 big days of hiking national parks (Zion & Bryce), our kids out west took it easy today as they traveled to Flagstaff, Arizona. They’ll top off the night with dinner near their hotel and then they’ll go see a movie.

Tonight’s evening activity is groups. Here’s a run-down of what each group is doing (weather permitting):  BOYS: Group 1- sk8 games, Group 2- capture the flag, Group 3- campfire, Group 4- kong pong. GIRLS: Group 1- pool party, Group 2- campfire (separate fire pit from the boys), Group 3- theater games, Group 4- gaga.

Today’s special feature is DINING ROOM BUNK TABLE PICS! Enjoy and until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Happy Changeover Day! With sadness we bid farewell to our 1^st session campers this morning. On a brighter note, we welcomed our 2^nd session campers this afternoon with open arms. It’s always difficult to see good friends leave. Fortunately, this was a small changeover day and many more campers stayed than left.

Last night’s performance of “Legally Blonde” was truly unbelievable!  The kids sang, acted, and danced their hearts out. Between our wonderful theater staff and our talented campers, the show was a huge success!

With our 1^st session performances all done now, we will start over again in the 2^nd session with auditions tomorrow on 4-minor day. Our sports will continue into the 2^nd session, as well. Speaking of which, today our gymnasts went to another camp to participate in a big gymnastics competition. We placed 1^st to 5^th in many events. Great job, ILC gymnasts!

Our CITs out west had a blast in Zion National Park yesterday. Today was another big day as they explored Bryce Canyon National Park. Once they finish at the park they’re going to watch a real western rodeo. What an experience!

Back here at ILC, tonight’s evening activity is “Make Your Own Mess” (aka “Make Your Own Sundae”)! Campers will go to the canteen with their bunks to make ice cream sundaes and then hang out and get to know our new campers. Those children will finish unpacking and spend time getting to know their bunkmates.

Today’s special feature is goodbyes & hellos! Enjoy your evening and until tomorrow which is our 4-minor day, ILC U THERE!

We cannot believe that today was the last full day of session 1 here at Island Lake. These past 2 ½ weeks flew by way too fast. It’s going to be sad to say goodbye to many amazing campers tomorrow morning. We hope they had the greatest experience here at ILC & we hope to see them all at camp next summer once again. Parents of session 1 campers, you should have all received an email with changeover day information. Please read it thoroughly to make sure you are properly prepared to pick up your children at the bus stops tomorrow.

It may not be February 14^th but here at Island Lake today is Valentine’s Day. Many campers & staff are wearing red or pink to celebrate the love at camp. Our campers rocked it out in our 1^st session Rock Concert this afternoon after super cleanup (& packing for those who are going home tomorrow). The Valentine’s Day theme ran throughout the rock concert.

Bunk Cup has been a fun camp-wide event throughout all of 1^st session. Many bunks were extremely into it and earned points in all aspects of camp. Since the session is winding down, a winner was announced at lunch today. Here’s a breakdown of winners: On the girls side, 4^th place went to G11, 3^rd place to G14, 2^nd place to G15, and 1^st place went to G24. On the boys side, 4^th place went to B15, 3^rd place to B16, 2^nd place to B4, and 1^st place to B24. However, there was an overall winner of bunk cup. The new 2015 ILC champion of Bunk Cup went to,….drum roll please,…..Boys Bunk 3!!! Those kids went crazy with excitement and are proud to be the new champions amongst camp.

Out west, today was a full day for our teen tour. They explored Zion National Park where they went on a full day guided tour. They hiked and checked out the beautiful scenery. We’ll have some wonderful photos to share with you on CampMinder.

Last night’s Circus Show was absolutely FANTASTIC! Our performers put on a stupendous, outstanding, magnificent show. We recorded it so parents, you can order a copy after the summer. Tonight is our older camper production of “Legally Blonde”. It should be another wonderful ILC production.

Sorry but I don’t have any special feature photos for you today. Hopefully all of this camp news will hold you over for now. There will be lots of Valentine’s Day photos in our daily pics on CampMinder.

That’s all the news that we have for today, our last day of the 1^st session. For those of you with children coming home tomorrow, enjoy your last evening of peace and quiet (Ha!). To everyone else, ILC U THERE!

Hi Island Lake families! After 4 days straight of sunshine, the inevitable happened,…it rained. But don’t worry, it didn’t start until after lunch, it wasn’t heavy, and it didn’t last very long.  Last night’s performance of “High School Musical” was spectacular! Our younger campers put on quite a show with magnificent sets. You’ll have an opportunity to purchase a dvd of the show after the summer.

We had tons of special events going on here at camp today. Our pioneers went on a climbing trip in Prompton Park, which is near Honesdale, PA. The kids had the opportunity to climb and rappel on 30-40 foot rocks. We also had an intra-camp mountain biking race for our bikers. Our skaters had their once a session skatepark competition. Campers of all levels competed in rollerblading and skateboarding to show off their mad skills that they developed over the course of the past 2 ½ weeks.

Here at Island Lake today we hosted our annual Wayne County 9^th grade and under boys volleyball tournament. Although we didn’t place in the top 3, our kids had fun and our staff enjoyed hosting other camps. In other sports our 9^th grade girls basketball team had a game.

We’re also starting something new here at camp,…Tournament Tuesday and Book of Records. Kids will have an opportunity to create new camp records and others can then try to break those records. We’re starting this in sports and hope it’ll extend to other departments as well. Tons of sporting tournaments took place during the minors today to start our book of records.

Today our CIT’s said goodbye to Las Vegas and hello to St. George, Utah. There they started off their day picking up canned food to donate while they volunteered at the Utah Food Bank. They then checked into their new hotel and went to dinner at Boca di Beppo. They have a very busy day tomorrow at Zion National Park so they took it easy today.

Back here at ILC, today’s special feature is MAGIC! Tonight’s evening activity the Circus Show and then ETB. I’ll bring you a full report on the Circus Show tomorrow. Until then, ILC U THERE!

It never gets repetitive saying that today was another beautiful day in Starrucca, PA.   We just can’t believe that session 1 is drawing to an end in a few days. Didn’t camp just begin? Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. And fun is indeed what’s being had here at camp. We have never seen so much spirit in the dining room as we have this summer. Every day something new and exciting occurs and we LOVE it!

Today in sports our 8^th, 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th grade tennis teams went out of camp to play in some tournaments. Our 6^th and 7^th grade softball team went out of camp, our 5^th grade girls soccer team played a game here at home, and our 7^th grade boys basetball team hosted a game at camp.

Tonight our little pioneers are having outdoor overnights. Some boys from groups 1 & 2 are camping out under the stars and some girls from groups 1 & 2 will also have their own night of orienteering, pitching tents, building a fire, etc. It should be a great experience for those children who love the great outdoors.

What’s happening in Vegas is not staying in Vegas because I’m going to share it all with you (LOL!). The CITs out there had an absolute blast last night at the Adventuredome. They zip lined across the indoor amusement park and enjoyed the rides. Today they toured the Hoover Dam. Afterwards they went to the Stratosphere Hotel, the tallest freestanding structure in the US. Once at the top they saw the amazing view of the city and enjoyed a couple of thrill rides. They then walked up and down the strip to check out the cool sites and hotels.

Today’s special feature is HORSEBACK RIDING! Tonight’s evening activity is our younger campers’ musical, “High School Musical”! We’re so excited to see the little ones perform on stage. I’ll report about it to you tomorrow. Until then, ILC U THERE!