Sky Ranch

If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time you probably know that we LOVE Sky Ranch.   It started back in 2017 when the boys went to Day Camp at MCA and to say we were all in would be the understatement of the year.  I mean - here's photographic proof of how in we were ;)

Dave and I were so impressed with the quality of the programming, organization of what felt like one million moving parts and THE COUNSELORS!  I will never forget after the closing show going back with their cabin group and having the counselor talk to us about what they had seen in each of our boys this week and being blown away by how WELL they knew my kids.

That initial experience led us to Family Camp at their Horn Creek location in 2018 where, once again, we couldn't have been more impressed.  

You can read Part 1 of our experience HERE and Part 2 HERE.  We also went back to Family Camp in 2021 and 2022 because we loved it so much!

We got back from that trip to Colorado and Mason expressed interested in going to overnight camp here in Texas - a spot opened up and we dropped off 7 year old Mason with only a few days notice.

It was his first time to sleep anywhere other than at home and I remember driving off and thinking WHAT HAVE I DONE and then getting this picture later that night and knowing that he was going to be fine ;)

In all seriousness though, our experiences at both Day Camp and Family Camp had left us completely confident in Sky Ranch's ability to keep Mason safe, happy and healthy while he was there.  Having seen firsthand how well those other two programs were run we absolutely trusted Sky Ranch with our first grader for the week.

Since that first year, Luke and Griffin both started going as well and this summer will be Mason's 7th year, Luke's 6th year and Griffin's 5th year.

  

Yes, camp is super fun - there's jet skis and a blob and water slides and paintball and a banana boat and ALL THE THINGS but the value goes far beyond them simply having a fun week.  Camp has taught them independence and helped them be able to "figure things out" for themselves.... whether that's "what should I do with this wet towel" or "I really don't like what's for dinner, what should I do?" - they're away from us and making these little decisions and figuring things out independently which we LOVE.  

I feel like sending my kids to camp is a way to tell them (without telling them) that we trust them.  We trust them and their abilities enough to be away from us for a week fully confident that they can handle it.  That if something comes up they're smart enough to figure it out and/or ask for help.  It instills this intrinsic sense of confidence that has served us and them well at home and school.

 

My kids have gone to the same school since they were four years old which is a HUGE blessing, but they haven't been presented with the challenges associated with being a new kid or just having to figure out their place in a group - enter Sky Ranch.  They've had friends join them a few times but generally speaking my kids don't know a soul when we drop them off and IT'S SO GOOD FOR THEM!!! Pushing them out of their comfort zones (in a safe way) has led to some amazing friendships and great life experiences that have given them the ability to empathize with a new kid at school, a kid who doesn't have a group to sit with, etc.  It also provides them with an opportunity to build the social skills that they wouldn't have a chance to otherwise.

Ultimately, what has kept us re-enrolling year after year though is the impact that the Sky Ranch counselors make on my kids lives every single summer.  There are a lot of great camp options out there but I'm convinced that nobody has a better staff than Sky Ranch.

 

Dave and I can share about our faith, we can have our kids in church, we can send our kids to a Christian school and NOTHING will be as impactful as having college kids that my kids think are THE COOLEST talk to them about their faith and encourage my kids in their own walk with the Lord.

Mason prayed with a counselor to accept Jesus (with a raccoon family present, I might add - important detail to Mason - hahaha) and after our kids get home and tell us about all the milkshakes they had and cabin raids they did and friends they made they are always eager to tell us about how their faith was impacted over the week.

This summer Mason and Griffin are headed back to camp in Van, Texas TWICE which they could not be more excited about and Luke is heading up to Colorado with the Quest program.  We're all VERY excited.

Now that I've pledged my love to Sky Ranch and gotten everyone all excited about it here's some details...

If you have kid(s) that you're interested in registering for overnight camp in Van, TX I have a discount code for you!  MOMFESSIONALS will get you $200 off the week and you can click HERE to learn more.

If you're not quite ready to send your kid to overnight camp, Sky Ranch offers day camps at LOTS of locations including this one at MCA right here in McKinney.

If you have questions PLEASE don't hesitate to leave them in the comments or shoot me an email (momfessionals@gmail.com).  Whether it's about the food at family camp or how to send camper mail to your kid going to camp or HOW can I even think about dropping my baby off at day camp ;) I'd be more than happy to answer it all.

Sky Ranch is such a big part of our family's story and I'm hoping that if you've been considering jumping in as well that this is the encouragement that you've been looking for!

HAPPY Thursday and happy (almost!) summer, friends!!!

Thank you to Sky Ranch for partnering with me on this post - y'all know I love talking about Sky Ranch and how it has positively impacted our family over the years so getting to partner with an organization that we love and believe in is a dream!