Family Camp Part 1

Today I'm sharing Part I of our trip to Sky Ranch Family Camp in Colorado!  This was our third summer to attend camp and we had a BLAST!  I've said it before but for us, family camp feels like a TRUE vacation because literally everything is handled.  From activities to food... everything is on site and it's truly relaxing.  GLORIOUS!!!

We left McKinney on Sunday around 6 a.m.  The only picture I took that morning was of the last bite of my sausage, egg and cheese biscuit - hahahaha

We drove all morning and pulled into Amarillo around 11:30 or so.  Quick stop for lunch and gas and then we were back on the road...

Lots of movies and reading in the afternoon...

... and then a GORGEOUS rain storm right as we were pulling up to camp.  Can you SEE THAT TEMPERATURE??!?! 

The drive in will never not amaze me!

At camp and SO HAPPY!!!

We got settled in our cabin and then made our way to the lodge for dinner (pasta and meatballs) followed by their famous "pizookie" (pizza cookie - hahahaha).

After dinner just hanging out on the porch GIDDY because we were chilly ;)

There was a quick little intro meeting with parents while the kids played outside, a family worship time and then we headed down to the rec center to play...

... rock climb....

... and get the strawberry smoothie we talk about all year long ;)

The next morning Griffin wasn't feeling too great so she and hung out in the cabin while the boys went and did the hanging log (it's essentially a pillow fight duel on an actual hanging log).  The camp itself (Horn Creek) has been around for decades (Sky Ranch bought it 8 years ago I think) and the hanging log is a long-running camp tradition ;)

Not too mad about Dave bringing me a biscuit and a cup of tea while I hung out at the cabin with G.

Griffin was feeling much better by lunch so we headed over to the lodge for tacos and then she and I decided to take it easy that afternoon with some crafts...

... and more rock climbing...

... while the boys hit up the target range.

That night was Western Night which is our family's FAVORITE night event.  Typically dinner is served outside with pony rides and some western games BUT it was rainy that night so we had brisket in the lodge and then headed down to the arena for the dance ;)

LOOK HOW STINKING PRECIOUS THEY ARE!!!

The counselors put on a little melodrama (so fun!) and then we headed outside for root beer floats while they got the room ready for the dance.  Justin was our family's counselor and he was AWESOME!!! He and Mason had matching hats that night which was cracking us up.

Back inside the first hour or so was "western" with lots of two-stepping, line dances, etc...

... and then the second half was a silent disco which was seriously one of the most fun things EVER!  Everyone got a pair of headphones and could switch between three "stations" that were being dj'd by counselors on the stage.  One was pop, one was oldies and one was Disney/etc.  You could switch as often as you wanted and it was so fun because your headphones changed colors when you switched channels so everyone knew what you were listening to.  It was also hilarious to take your headphones off and hear everyone scream singing like they would have been if the music had been blaring (because it was blaring in our ears).  When they told us what we were doing I was kind of skeptical but it was seriously so much fun.

Griffin was WIPED after a few hours of leaving it all on the dance floor ;) so she and I headed back to the cabin to crash and the boys met up with friends at the rec to bowl for a bit.

The next morning we were all so happy after sleeping with the windows open and waking up chilly.  HALLELUJAH!!!

After breakfast (cinnamon rolls, sausage, eggs, etc.) the kids went off with their counselors for Bible study and then hang out time (they break them up by age/gender) and the parents have a big discussion group led by a host family (ours was a Dallas pastor and his wife).  EVERYTHING is opt in/out based on what you want to do but we have always enjoyed the discussions and get a lot out of them.   After that there's free time until lunch and my kids typically just ran around with friends playing nine square, tetherball, going to the rec center, etc.  

I opted for some reading and tea on the porch of our cabin...

... and G joined me for a bit when she came to grab water and put her hoodie away.

After lunch (chicken sandwiches) we had the afternoon to do activities.  We headed across the creek...

... to the pond to try out some fishing...

... and then over to the tubing hill...

... and then to the rec center to play for a bit and then to the lodge for some games with friends.

Tuesday night we had dinner (orange chicken) followed by "Skyvivor"...

... essentially their version of Survivor ;)

We were split up into tribes and had to complete 9 (I think) challenges...

... and earned a reward of s'mores ;) This was really well done and my kids LOVED IT!  If you read my post from last year this night was similar to "Sky Spies" but the challenges were better.

I'll wrap up the camp posts on Thursday of this week so if you have any questions leave them here and I'll get to them on Thursday!