Today was another beautiful session 3 day here in Starrucca, PA. We had mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid to upper 70’s. It’s starting to sound like Groundhogs Day but hey, better than the wet weather we had earlier in the summer!

Camp of Thrones is now in full swing. Kingdoms have been formed, royal families have been chosen, and challenges have been started. Today at lunch the royal families were introduced. Alliances have been formed between the following departments: Theater and Sports, Arts & Crafts and Pioneering, Waterfront and Circus, and Rock Shop and Horseback Riding. The first challenge has also been announced between Theater and Art. More news to come!

Today our mountain bike enthusiasts took a trip to Windham, NY to the 2015 Mountain Bike World Cup Festival. They had a blast watching bike races and enjoyed the entertainment all around them.

At snack break today I held my big Boston teen trip meeting with all of our campers and staff who are going on Monday. I handed out the itinerary, a packing list, talked about our expectations from them while out of camp, and discussed details about the overall trip. Our 9^th grade and older kids participating in this trip are so incredibly excited for our 4 days of fun, which is only 2 days away.

Today’s special feature is the Camp of Thrones Royal Family introductions.

Tonight’s evening activity is Mr. & Mrs. ILC. This is one of our campers’ favorites. The female campers dress up the male counselors as females and vice versa. Those reps then perform in a variety of competitions on stage for the camp to watch. It should be a night full of laughs and cheers! Until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Hi Island Lake families! Believe it or not, it was another beautiful day in Starrucca, PA. Today we had partly sunny skies with temps up to the mid 70’s. This morning started off cool but by afternoon it was a shorts and t-shirts kinda day. Perfect camp weather!

We are going to try something new this session called CAMP OF THRONES. No, it’s not the Game of Thrones, rather it’s similar to the game of Risk. I’ll try to explain it without it sounding too complicated. The goal is to be the kingdom (department) to acquire the most territory on camp by the end of the summer. Each camper has an opportunity to choose which kingdom they’d like to pledge their allegiance to. The kingdom head (department head) will appoint a Royal Family to be the official decision makers of the kingdom. The Royal Family will choose a kingdom Name and appoint citizens to create a Kingdom Crest (flag).

Once the kingdoms are decided upon, they may declare an invasion on a neighboring kingdom (i.e. tennis can invade theater but not horseback riding because horseback is not located near tennis). Invasions can only occur at specific times of day and there will be challenges set up for the citizens (campers) of each kingdom. The challenges must be appropriate to the defending kingdom. If the challenging kingdom wins, they acquire the entirety of the defending kingdom, including their terrirory, royal family, and all of its citizens. If the challenging kingdom loses, they forfeit their citizens to the defending kingdom.

A kingdom can decide to ally themselves with one other kingdom over the course of the game. The game is meant to be played only in fun. Our goal is to have our campers show off their talents and encourage one another to excel. We’ll keep you posted on how it goes!

Today our sports enthusiasts went on our 3^rd session trip to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame. As always, they had a great day there. We’re proud to announce that we won yesterday’s archery tournament at another camp. Our kids did a fantastic job!

Today’s special feature is Tennis! Tonight’s evening activity is a staff magic show. I promise it’s truly a magic show and not revival night (Lol!).

In the real world we hear it’s now officially the weekend. We lose track here at camp, but enjoy your weekend and until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Today is the first day of majors and minors for our 3^rd session. Our campers are getting right back into their routines with activities once again. For those who are new to the 3^rd session, they are first starting with their activities and it’ll become routine to them before they know it.

The skies were partly cloudy today and the temps are once again cool in the high 60’s to low 70’s. Pretty wild that our summer temps are so low this year but hey, it beats the heat and humidity that the summers usual bring!

Today our 7^th grade boys lacrosse team came in 2^nd place in the Wayne County tournament. We’re so proud of how well our boys have played throughout the summer. Good job guys! We also went out of camp today for an archery tournament. The kids had a great time competing against other camps.

Today’s special feature is Cooking, Science, & Video!. Tonight’s evening activity is Groups. Here’s a list of what’s going on around camp: BOYS: Group 1- scavenger hunt, Group 2- pool party (with girls group 2), Group 3- t-shirt party (kids walk around and write on each other’s blank t-shirts we’ll provide), Group 4- capture the flag (with the girls). GIRLS- Group 1- campfire, Group 2- pool party (with the boys), Group 3- t-shirt party (with the boys), Group 4- capture the flag (with the boys).

It’s going to be a chilly night, but luckily those bunks stay warm from the daytime air. Until tomorrow when it’ll warm up a bit again, ILC U THERE!

Welcome to 3^rd session at ILC! The first full day of the session begins with sunshine and temps only hitting the low 70’s. It was the perfect weather to run around for our 4-minor day. Today our theater lovers auditioned for the 3^rd session show, Footloose. Those new to this summer also took their deep water test for swimming in the lake, waterskiing, wakeboarding, and taking out the boats. Kids also got tested for their level in a variety of activities such as tennis, dance, rock shop, and horseback riding. 4-minor day is their chance to try out activities to see what the kids would like to sign up for as their majors.

Later this afternoon we held our special camp traditional activity,…Panic! I announced items from the bunk and the kids ran in to retrieve them to bring out to their group leaders/judges in the middle of their campuses. The bunk with the most points won LTB (Late To Bed). 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.

Tonight’s evening activity is Groups! Here’s a list of what the kids will all do: BOYS: Group 1- xtreme dance off, Group 2- dodgeball, Group 3- pioneering games, Group 4- kong pong (because the oldest boys love it!) GIRLS: Group 1- pool party, Group 2- egg drop, Group 3- gaga, Group 4- crazy games.

Today’s special feature is Panic! Have a good evening and until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Today was our 2^nd changeover day for ILC summer 2015. Where has this summer gone?   We can’t believe we are starting our 3^rd session already! This morning it was difficult to say goodbye to so many amazing campers. We hope they all had a fantastic summer and return home with wonderful memories to hold onto until next summer when we can all be back together here at camp once again.

In the meantime, summer continues as we enter into our 3^rd and final session. We are excited to get to know many of our new campers who are arriving with fresh haircuts, clean white sneakers, and exhilarating grins from ear to ear. Our campers who stayed on from session 2 are pumped up to make new friends and see many from last summer. We know the 3^rd session will be just as incredible as our previous 2 sessions.

We are also busy preparing for our big 3^rd session teen trip to Boston and Martha’s Vineyard. About 80 campers and 9 staff will head to the land of the Red Sox to spend 4 days and 3 nights checking out Boston and the surrounding areas. Included in this trip are a visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame, Faneuil Hall, Fenway Park tour, a duck tour, Six Flags, and a day trip to Martha’s Vineyard. At night we’re going to see Blue Man Group and Shear Madness. This trip is the highlight of the summer for many of our older campers so we’re all revving to go.

Tonight’s evening activity is “Make Your Own Sundae” (Aka “Make Your Own Mess”) in the canteen. Tomorrow is our 4- minor day. Until then, ILC U THERE!

We cannot believe that today was the last full day of session 2 here at Island Lake. This entire summer is flying 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 2 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.

Since today was the last full day of the 2^nd session, our campers had only majors and no minors. This afternoon they had super clean up and packing time for those campers who are leaving tomorrow. Later in the afternoon we rocked out to our big Rock Concert in the theater. The theme was The Beach so the kids all dressed the part. We were aiming for an outdoor concert but we had a little rain this afternoon. Electrical equipment and wet grass don’t mix well so the beach party went indoors.

Today was the rad skatepark competition during the majors for all of our skateboarders and rollerbladers. Lots of kids have improved immensely over the course of the summer so this competition was a great opportunity to show off their gnarly skills.

Tonight’s evening activity is the older campers’ show, Anything Goes. No doubt our campers will do a fantabulous job. Tomorrow you will be able to view photos of the show on CampMinder.

Our session 2 campers still have 1 more night to spend with one another. We hope your children arrive home happy, semi-clean, with only amazing, fantastic, superb, incredible stories to share with you about their summer 2015 here at ILC. Tomorrow we will welcome all of our session 3 campers to Island Lake. Until then, ILC U THERE!

Today was the last day of our 2^nd session majors and minors schedule. Tomorrow we will have only majors, along with super clean up and an afternoon rock concert. Last night’s performance of Free to Be ILC was adorable! Those little ones put on quite a show with a really cute set to go along with it.

With the sun shining once again, we had yet another beautiful day in Starrucca, PA. Temperature were in the mid to upper 70’s so we could not have asked for a greater day of weather.

Lots of activities and events went on here at Island Lake today. The Rock Cabaret performed this morning during 1^st minor. A whole bunch of campers & CITs sang rock songs from a variety of B’way shows and did a fantastic job. The 7^th grade boys lacrosse team played in a home game this morning. They won and they’ve now advanced to the Wayne County finals! Nice job boys!

The ILC Mud Run took place in the 3^rd minor today for all of our campers. Over 100 kids participated as they ran around camp and completed obstacles along the way.   Some obstacles were wet, some muddy, some dry. They had such a blast! Today’s special feature is the Mud Run!

We also had some activities outside of camp today. Our avid canoe and kayak campers returned from their overnight trip down the Delaware River. Our dancers headed out to another camp for yet one more dance competition today.

Step right up and get your popcorn on because tonight’s evening activity is the Circus Show! It’s going to be an exciting fun-filled night with flying trapeze, high wire, fabric, lyra, mini-trampoline, rolling globe, ground skills, and more! Don’t worry parents, we’ll video tape the show so you can order it on dvd after the summer.

One more full day left in 2^nd session. Changeover day info will come via email tomorrow morning, as well as in tomorrow’s blog. Until then, ILC U THERE!

Happy Neon Day! Today our campers and staff are all wearing neon colors just for fun. You’ll see lots of neon in today’s daily summer photos so warning, you may want to put on your shades before viewing them! (wink wink!)

Holy cow, there are only 2 more full days left in the 2^nd session! Where has this summer gone? The saying is definitely true, time flies when you’re having fun! We hope your children are all having the most remarkable, amazing, fantastic, extraordinary, spectacular, wonderful, memorable summer with us here at Island Lake this summer. We’re sure they’ll come home and share tons of great stories with you. It’s just hard to believe that their wait for next summer will have to start all over again.

Let’s just focus on the here and now since our ILC summer is going so incredibly well. The change in the weather from 1^st to 2^nd session has definitely been in our favor. Today was another beautiful day in Starrucca, PA. The morning started off cool in the 60’s and then it warmed up to the mid-70’s. Perfect summer weather here in the Pocono Mountains!

Our canoe & kayaking campers went on an overnight river trip today. They left this morning and they’ll return tomorrow morning. Looks like they’ll have perfect weather for this fun experience.

Today in sports, our 6^th grade boys played basketball out of camp this morning. Our 7^th grade boys played in a flag football tournament at another camp this morning, as well. This afternoon our 9^th grade girls played in the finals in the Wayne County tennis tournament at another camp. We won a few matches but unfortunately we didn’t win overall. The girls fought a good fight and played very well.

Our photographer took sibling photos today after lunch so you’ll be able to view them on CampMinder. Since some kids are out of camp, don’t be upset if your children aren’t in the pictures. There are definitely some siblings on the overnight river trip and we’ll try to capture them with their other sibling tomorrow when they return. Today’s special feature is Sibling Photos!

Tonight’s evening activity is the younger campers show, Free to Be ILC. It’s an Island Lake version of Free to Be You & Me. I hear it’s going to be the cutest thing ever so I’m very excited to see it. We’ll have lots of pictures to show you tomorrow and if your children are in the show, you’ll have an opportunity to order a copy of the video on dvd after the summer.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more Island Lake scoop. Until then, ILC U THERE!

Hi Island Lake Families! Today was another beautiful day in Starrucca, PA. The sun was shining and temperatures were in the upper 70’s. Perfect day to run around and play camp! Now that Visiting Day, Color War, and Lazy Day are out of the way, we’re back to our majors and minors for the remainder of the session.

Today was our 2^nd session trip to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame for all of our baseball lovers (and pizza lovers and fudge lovers!). About 45 campers left this morning after breakfast and returned right before dinner at the end of the day. They had a great time. Our 5^th grade girls played in a softball game out of camp this morning

Tonight is the start of our 2^nd session performance week. We’ll kick it all off with our Dance Show and Magic Show tonight. Coincidentally, the theme of the dance show is superheroes! We’ll have lots of photos for you tomorrow in our daily photos on CampMinder.

Our special feature today is Arts & Crafts. Enjoy and until tomorrow, ILC U THERE!

Today was Lazy Day so everyone left camp for the day. Our 6^th grade and under kids went to Skate Estate for the afternoon. At Skate Estate they can rollerblade, rollerskate, play laser tag and arcade games. It’s always a fun day when our campers go there. Our 7^th grade and older kids went to the movies to see Jurassic World.

The morning started out cloudy and we had some rain after brunch. Luckily, the skies cleared by early afternoon and the rest of the day has been warm and sunny.

Tonight we have a cookout so we will eat dinner outdoors on the picnic tables. Evening activity tonight will be groups. Here’s a list of what everyone is doing. BOYS: Group 1- watch the movie, Parent Trap, Group 2- pool party, Group 3- scavenger hunt, Group 4- kickball. GIRLS: Group 1- Parent Trap movie, Group 2- pool party, Groups 3&4- messy twister (supersized twister board & loads of fun!).

Tomorrow we start up with our regular activities until the end of the session, which is drawing near way too quickly. Session 2 is over on Tuesday, August 4^th, so be sure to come to your appropriate bus stop if your children are going home that day. The buses should arrive all of the stops sometime around 11:30am-12:00pm. I will provide more details in the next few days. Until then, ILC U THERE!