Family Camp

To begin with, my sister was a Girl Scout. This is important information for the rest of this post.

Also important is that, when I was growing up, there were three families that were inseparable when they were at the same function; my family, the Van Hooks* and the K's (*Names have been changed to protect the unsuspecting victims, er, um, subjects of the following photos). The children consisted of three boys and four girls, all together. John, Carolyn and Mike from the Van Hooks, myself and my older sister Maureen, and Rebecca and Rachel from the K's. And of course, all the girls were Girl Scouts together (well, Rebecca was older, but Maureen, Rachel and Carolyn were all in the same troop). And every year over Labor Day weekend, the Girl Scouts in St. Louis hosted a three day camp called Family Camp. The idea was that it was a Girl Scout event at a Girl Scout campground, but the whole family could come. You'd stay in permanent tents or even cabins, bring your bicycles, and have a great weekend of archery, crafts, swimming, square dancing, silly games, scavenger hunting, bicycling, fishing, and eating some fine cafeteria food.

Only, we didn't stay in the permanent tents or cabins. Our three families (minus John, who was quite a bit older) stayed at the one campsite (Whispering Winds) that did not have these structures. It was tucked back by the archery range and it had a pavilion with some picnic tables. It had lots of trees for stringing laundry lines (or, in our case, hammocks). And we always had the most fun, thank you very much.

Anyway, we haven't been able to actually go to family camp since the girls stopped being Girl Scouts, so a few years ago, we all decided we'd do a Family Camp Reunion, and my parents hosted it. We had crafts, games, food, and good times. So we did it the following year at the Ks' house. And the next year at the Van Hooks. It's been fun, because the families have been growing through marriages and having kids, so now the number of people attending is rather large and rambunctious. In fact, this year, when Rebecca hosted it (because it's time for the kids to start hosting), we were apparently so loud that when Michael showed up, he said he could hear us shouting and having fun halfway down the street.

Anyway, as it was Juliette's first (and, also, her cousin Lydia's first) Family Camp ever this weekend, I thought I'd share some of the highlights with you.

Granny Gets Ding-Dongs Stacked on her face

Cousin Lydia's shirt says "Future Girl Scout"

Michael Attempts to find a Penny

Becca gets ready for another game, while Kathy and Juliette Cuddle

Rachel and her husband John blow up balloons while Juliette cuddles with Rachel's mom Jamie

Cheryl Van Hook and Jamie watch as Granny blows it for the living room team.

Carolyn's boyfriend Nelson has to transfer these stacks; one is empty, one is full.

Mike concentrates on apple stacking while Carolyn laughs at his valiant effort.

Having once seen a youtube video of cup stacking, I show Greg K how it's done.