Happy Neon Wednesday everyone! Today is “Neon Day” here at Island Lake so our campers and staff are all sporting their fluorescent yellow, pink, green, orange, blue, etc. clothing for fun. 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 a great time. Our Island Lakers always enjoy camp-wide games by the Simon Sez guy (Steve Max). After Steve Max, we had 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 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 Lazy Day. With LTB, our campers will have an extra half hour added on to their curfew. Tomorrow morning everyone can sleep in late, as our 8am breakfast is optional. We have brunch at 10:30am for the camp and then we will all head out for a day of fun. Groups 1 & 2 are going bowling and groups 3 & 4 are going to the movies to see “Tarzan.”

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 mid 70’s and the sun shining strong.   We also had 2 separate volleyball games, both here at camp. Our 8^th & 9^th grade coed team excitingly won their match against the other camp this morning. Our coed 10^th and 11^th grade game was played this afternoon and unfortunately they didn’t take the win. Lastly, our 8^th & 9^th grade girls tennis team played this afternoon out at another camp. This was their next round as they make their way towards the finals in Wayne County.

Tonight’s evening activity is GROUPS. Here’s a list of what we have for the kids: BOYS: Group 1- Sk8 Arcade (bunch of games for the little boys in the skatepark): Group 2- Kong Pong: Group 3- Messy Twister: Group 4- Pool Party (with girls group 4):  GIRLS: Group 1- Scavenger Hunt: Group 2- Campfire: Group 3- Gaga (for the lower half of group 3) & a Campfire (separate fire pit than group 2 & for the upper half of group 3),: Group 4- Pool Party (with boys group 4)

More Color War fake breaks happening here at camp. Tomorrow is Lazy Day so we can’t break Color War then,…or can we? (Wink Wink) Until then, ILCUTHERE!

Today was another beautiful day in Starrucca, PA. We woke up to cool temps that slowly warmed up throughout the day to the low to mid-70’s. The sky was partly cloudy but with lots of sunshine throughout the day.

We had another busy day here at camp. We hosted the 10^th & 11^th grade Wayne County Boys Volleyball tournament with 7 other camps in attendance. We enjoy hosting the 2 boys volleyball tourneys every summer, the first one for younger boys in session 1 and the second one for the older kids in session 2.

Our dancers went to a nearby camp to participate in a Dance Competition. They left early this morning and returned this afternoon. Our dancers scored gold, which was high up in the rankings. The girls all said they had a great time, as well. Our golfing fanatics went out of camp this afternoon to a nearby golf course to play 9 holes. Our 6^th & 7^th grade boys played lacrosse against another camp here at home this morning.

The talk around camp these days is Color War! The big question is, will Color War break before Visiting Day or afterwards? We’ve been shooting off fake breaks with our traditional gun shots, 1 or 2 in total at a time, equaling a fake break. Once we shoot off 3 gunshots it will mean that Color War has begun. Stay tuned for more info regarding Color War,….

Tonight’s evening activity is Steve Maxx, the professional Simon Sez guy. He has performed at NBA and NCAA basketball halftime shows and he makes his rounds to the sleep away camps in the tri-state area every summer. Steve Max has been performing here at Island Lake for over 17 years and our campers and staff still have a ball with his large camp-wide Simon Says games. It should be a fantastic evening activity for everyone.

Today’s special feature is WATERFRONT! Enjoy and until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

Today started off as a beautiful day in Starrucca, PA. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the grass was growing,…until the rain came rolling through. We had some light rain right after lunch but not enough to affect any activities in our 2^nd major. We’ve had quite a bit of rain lately but fortunately, activities haven’t been affected all that much. The sun came back out later in the afternoon hours to be followed by rain once again at dinnertime.

We had a lot of activities going on for our campers, especially this morning. Here’s a list of all that our campers participated in today:

1. Climbing Trip– today our pioneering/ropes/climbing campers went to Prompton State Park in Honesdale, PA. At the park they repelled, took a top rope climb, and crawled to the top of a tunnel, all while belaying safely.
2. Girls Swim Meet– our female swimmers went to a nearby Wayne County camp to participate in this specific once per summer swim meet. Our campers competed against almost 15 other camps and we placed 7^th
3. Basketball Tournament– 11^th grade and under girls went out of camp to play in a basketball tournament at another local camp.
4. Tennis Tournament– 6^th & 7^th grade boys went out of camp to play in a tennis tournament and they did FANTASTIC! Luc L. won 1^st place in 6^th grade doubles. David P. placed 3^rd in 7^th grade singles. Trey S. & Eli B. placed 3^rd in 6^th grade doubles, and Jaden R. & Elijah R. placed 3^rd in 7^th grade doubles. It was a great day for our boys tennis team and we’re very proud of them.

Today’s special feature is a double edition: FISHING & MAGIC! Due to the rain, tonight’s evening activities have had to be altered. Some campers will be watching movies while others will be playing indoor activities.

Enjoy the photos below and until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

Happy Sunday fun-day! We woke up to misty rain and dreary skies but hey, it didn’t break our campers’ spirits. The skies slowly cleared and activities resumed as usual. By afternoon the sun shined once again and today turned into a beautiful warm, sunny summer day. Our campers are now settling into their majors for the session and trying lots of new activities for their minors.

We had a few sporting events in and out of camp today. This morning’s tournament was here in camp. Our 8^th & 9^th grade girls played against another camp and they kicked booty and took names! That’s right, our girls beat the other camp 12-3! Whoop whoop!  This afternoon’s sports were all away games. Our 8^th & 9^th grade girls played soccer and our 6^th & 7^th grade boys played baseball out of camp.

In archery news, our campers had an ILC Shootout amongst their peers once again. The kids broke up into teams of 2 and competed amongst themselves against other teams of 2. Lots of action has been going on for our Island Lakers.

In other departments, our theater kids are busy learning songs, staging, and lines for 101 Dalmations and Xanadu. In cooking, they’re making “busy day cake with whip cream” (Yum!). Rock Shop has lots of bands rehearsing, as well as 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. In magic, they are practicing close-up, card, stage, illusion, and much much more to become the next Houdini. On the water, our kids are swimming, boating, sailing, skiing, wakeboarding, jumping on the Aquaslide, and playing on all of the other lake toys.

In circus, they’re twirling on fabric, flying on all of our different trapezes, climbing and swinging on the Spanish web, rolling on the globe, juggling pins and balls, flipping on the mini-tramp, walking the tightrope, as well as participating in many more activities. In art, they’re creating amazing projects from scratch. Just wait until Visiting Day when you can go to our art building to check out the exhibit. Some of these projects are seriously incredible! You won’t believe that children have created these outstanding projects.  All of these activities I just mentioned only touch upon everything that has been going on here at camp.

Tonight’s evening activity is Mr. & Ms. ILC. This is amongst one of the more popular evening activities here at camp. The girls’ bunks dress up male counselors and the boys’ bunks dress up female counselors to look, act, and perform as the opposite gender. Mr. & Ms. ILC is a light-hearted, fun beauty pageant and quite entertaining for everyone involved, as well as our spectators.

Today’s special feature is ROCK SHOP! Below are photos of rock bands practicing for the rock concert at the end of the session, as well as private lessons and practices down by the lake. Enjoy the remainder of your weeekend and until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

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 our 2nd session campers. The sun shined throughout most of the day and the temps went all the way to 80 degrees.   Our happy campers were fully engaged in our major and minor schedule.

Today was the 31^st annual Dr. William Perkins Memorial Run in Honesdale, PA. A busload of campers left early this morning to participate in this run, which has become a tradition for our Island Lakers for over 20 years now. The run took place at a park to raise money for the nearby hospital. Our campers ran a 1-mile race, a 2-mile race, as well as a 5K race, and they placed very well overall.

In ILC sporting news, our 8^th & 9^th grade boys played in a tennis tournament here at camp this morning and they won. Next for these boys is the Wayne County semi-finals tournament. Our 8^th & 9^th grade girls played in a softball game this morning here at camp and they won, too! Woohoo, go Island Lakers!

Tonight’s evening activity is COUNSELOR HUNT! The counselors all hide around camp (only in public areas but of course) and our campers have to run around and try to find them all. Once caught, the kids find out if the counselors they captured are worth positive or negative points. The bunk that captures the most counselors with the highest score at the end of the activity is the winner. They will win bragging rights and LTB (Late To Bed).

Well, that’s about it for today. I hope you’re having as nice of a weekend as we are here at camp. Until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

Happy first full day of 2^nd session! With mostly sunny skies and temps in the low 80’s, it made for the perfect day to run around and have some fun here at Island Lake. 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 traditional ILC activity,…Panic! I announce items from the bunk and the kids run to retrieve them and bring them 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 and announce things 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 kids of all ages.

Once Panic was over our group leaders went around to all of their bunks to sign their campers up for their majors. All of our department heads were in the office to assist in case there are 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.

Tonight’s evening activity is GROUPS! Here’s a run-down of what each group is doing: BOYS: Group 1- Pool Party: Group 2- Gaga: Group 3- Capture the Flag: Group 4- Kong Pong. GIRLS: Group 1- Theater Games: Group 2-Team Building Games: Group 3-Dodgeball: Group 4- Messy Twister (Wait till you see pictures of this activity. All I can say is, it’s very MESSY! Oh and a LOT of fun, too!)

Today’s special feature is PANIC! 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 “Zombie Prom” 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 younger camper show will be “101 Dalmations” and our older camp show will be “Xanadu.” Our sports tournaments will continue into the 2^nd session, as well.

Speaking of which, today our gymnasts went to another camp to participate in the big Wayne County Gymnastics Competition. The results aren’t in yet but our girls did great. Lila S. placed amongst the top in the floor routine. We also had a male swimmer come in 1^st place in a swim meet at another camp. Go Zach W.!

Tonight’s evening activity is “Make Your Own Mess” (aka “Make Your Own Sundae”)! Campers will go to the canteen with their bunkmates to make ice cream sundaes and get to know their new friends better.

I don’t have any photos for you today, but there will be tons of them posted on our website of this morning’s goodbyes and this afternoon’s hellos. Until tomorrow, ILCUTHERE!

I cannot believe that today was the last full day of session 1 here at Island Lake. These past 2 ½ weeks have flown by way too fast. It’s going to be sad to say goodbye to many of our amazing campers tomorrow morning. I hope they had the greatest experience here at ILC & I hope to see them all at camp again next summer. 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.

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 performance of “Zombie Prom.” It should be another wonderful ILC production.

Today we offered all 3 of our majors and just 1 minor in order to have our once per session “super cleanup” in the afternoon. Those campers who are staying for 2^nd session had to clean their cubbies and find those missing shorts, matching socks, and brand new t-shirts they didn’t know their mom packed for them for camp. (wink wink!) Those campers who are going home tomorrow (tear!) had an opportunity to pack during this time. We then had our big Rock Concert in the late afternoon. Our rockers worked all session with their bands to perform for the entire camp. They jammed out to old school tunes, as well as pop hits, and looked stylish all the while.

Today was a light day in sports. The only intercamp game was our 6^th & 7^th grade girls’ basketball team who went out of camp. Although we didn’t win, the kids said it was the best time they ever had losing a game to another camp. Actually, in the words of our athletic director Danny, “the kids said it was the funnest loss we’ve ever had.”

Today was our “Sibling Photo Day”. After lunch our camp photographer took pics of just about all of our siblings and then he posted them to our website’s daily photos. I just so happened to have snuck in my little point and shoot camera to get my own set of pics for you to all enjoy here on my blog. I took random photos of siblings who were posing at the moment, so I apologize if I don’t post a photo of your children.  I’m sure there is a pic of them on our website’s photo album.

Well, that’s about all the news that I have for you today, our very 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!). I truly hope your campers come home happy, healthy, and with tons and tons of amazing ILC summer 2016 stories and experiences to share with you. To everyone else, ILC U THERE!

Hey Island Lake Families! Wow, 1 more full day left in this session before our first changeover day on Thursday. I cannot believe how fast session 1 has flown by! For those of you with children coming home on Thursday, I hope they have only amazing ILC experiences to share with you.

Last night’s younger children’s play, “Oklahoma”, was a huge success! Wow, we have some talented children at this camp. Their acting skills, with their southern accents, entertained the audience throughout the show. Those little ones truly sang, acted, and danced their hearts out. I hope you enjoy the photos posted on our website.

Yesterday our 5^th & 6^th grade boys played in a 1-day soccer tournament against several other camps in Wayne County and we came in 2^nd place! We’re so proud of our boys for doing so well!

Today in sports, we hosted an 8^th & 9^th grade boys’ volleyball tournament here at Island Lake. Lots of other camps attended and played all day long. Our 8^th & 9^th grade girls went out of camp to play in a basketball tournament and they said they had an absolute blast. A few of our avid golfers went out on a trip to a nearby golf course. Our future generation of Tiger Woods’ are working hard, both here at camp at our driving range, as well as out on a local golf course in the area.

Our skateboard and rollerblade kids competed in our Skatepark Competition today which we host for our campers at the end of each session. Campers of all levels competed in rollerblading and skateboarding to show off their mad skills they developed over the course of the past 2½ weeks.

Today’s special feature is HORESEBACK RIDING!

Tonight’s evening activity is our highly anticipated Circus Show, followed by ETB (early to bed). Woohoo! A good night’s rest for our campers! But anyway, back to the show,…I’m excited to see all that our campers have learned throughout the session under the big top tonight.   I’ll deliver to you a full report on the Circus Show tomorrow. Until then, ILC U THERE!

Wow, we 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 Island Lake. There’s tons of spirit here at camp, both from our beloved Bunk Cup as well as in the dining room cheering during the meals. Every day something new and exciting occurs and we LOVE it!

Last night’s Dance Show and Magic Show were both AMAZING! Our kids did such a fabulous job performing on stage. The girls were so graceful and danced beautifully to well choreographed numbers. Our magicians came in all ages and sizes, both boys and girls, and never ceased to amaze the audience with their abracadabra skills. It was an entertaining night in the ILC theater.

Today in sports our 8^th & 9^th grade boys played soccer out of camp. Our 8^th & 9^th grade girls played lacrosse out of camp this morning, as well. The 6^th & 7^th grade girls soccer team played here at home this morning. Lastly our 5^th & 6^th grade boys played soccer out of camp this afternoon. It’s always an added bonus that we won several of these games! Woohoo!

All session our tennis program has been running an ILC Open where the kids of all levels play on a bracket and the winners advance until we finally reach a winner in all skill levels. The ILC Open is still going on. Today we also hosted an ILC Open here at camp for our archery kids.

Tonight we have a pioneering overnight for our campers who take it as a major and have learned how to orienteer, pitch a tent, cook, and camp under the stars. They’ll be heading to Tent City, which is about a mile hike from our ropes course area on camp.

So as to not sound like we’re only all about sports, our theater campers are busy rehearsing and preparing for their upcoming performances. Tonight we have our younger camper show, “Oklahoma”. We know this is going to be fantastic, as our theater director and tech director are amazing. Their staff creates wonderful sets, costumes, and lighting design.

Tomorrow night is our always anticipated and never a disappointment, fantastic, unbelievable, greatest show on earth,…the Island Lake Circus Show! It always amazes us what these children can learn to do in only a couple of weeks’ time and rehearsal. Even after 30 years, I’m still in awe by our circus shows.

Wednesday afternoon we will have our big session 1 Rock Concert. Wednesday night is our older camper performance of “Zombie Prom.” Lots to look forward to over the course of these next several days during our performance week here at ILC.

Today’s special feature is CIRCUS. Tonight is “Oklahoma, “ which I’ll be sure to tell you all about tomorrow. Until then, ILCUTHERE!