Wednesday, April 30, 2008

I think Mother Nature is still confused. We woke up this morning to low thirty-degree weather here in the mountains, despite the fact that the dogwood are in full bloom, the grass is green, and spring is here in full force. Could you imagine being here in your cabin when it gets that cold? Brrr!

I just returned from the barn for a quick shower to get the hay off me after helping the guys unload a full 52 foot tractor trailer truck from Michigan that was full of hay! I think there were over 700 bales of alfalfa and timothy mix so that our horses can eat as well as we are at camp. Yummy! As soon as we got the big rig out of here, David Cantrell brought his mini-excavator over and is down by the canoe lake, cutting a foot path around it so that we can walk around the lake a little easier for fishing and walking. There's another reason though...a little teaser: It has something to do with some changes to the last couple of days of camp. I'm not telling though. You'll just have to wait!

It is absolutely gorgeous in the Heavenly. The guys are busy blowing off cabin roofs, cutting grass, bush-hogging the pastures, and getting camp all spiffy. Kris and Carol are hunkered down in the office scheduling activities for all of those who have sent their online sign-ups in. That can only mean one thing! Camp is right around the corner! We can't wait. It's going to be the BEST SUMMER EVER!

Spring Break and Camp Comes Alive!

Spring Break and Camp Comes Alive!

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

I love Spring! Mother Nature is trying to make her decision here in the Heavenly World. We are alternating between beautiful warm days, and cloudy, cold ones. The trees have tiny buds on them, and the grass in the pastures is greening. It's a sure sign that camp is coming when James dusts off the John Deere mower and starts to ride in those baseball-field perfect parallel lines up and down camp.

We also know spring has sprung as camp becomes a flurry of interviews and tours for prospective staff members. There are two today, and several yesterday. We have a great group of counselors (and campers) to make 2008 the BEST Summer EVER! We also were treated to a visit by 1959 thru 80s-era riflery instructor Dolly Thomas and alumnae friends Tippy Carmody and Lynn Simmons.Dolly and Skip Thomas were fixtures at Illahee for a number of decades.

Our family is back in the routine after an amazing (maybe the BEST ever) vacation to Costa Rica. Laurie is the gypsy in the family, and spends daydream time on travel websites. We got some help this time from a travel agent, and were able to see and do so much in our 12 days in central America. I think the best thing about vacation is that our family actually is able to enjoy each other free from the distractions of carpools, studying, sports schedules, and weekends with friends. Sound familiar? No cell phones, computers and T.V.s (except for the Davidson/Kansas game) added to the togetherness. Unplugged and loving life!

Now that we are back, our attention is focused fully on the Summer of 2008, less than six weeks away! We can't wait! Activity sign-ups are coming in, and we can tell by the phone calls and emails that campers are excited too! Yippee!

The Daffodils Are Here!

The Daffodils Are Here!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The daffodils are here! And with them, comes the excitement and anticipation of another amazing summer at Illahee! It is wet and cold today, but there are signs of spring everywhere. The Canada Goose pair who return every year, are carefully guarding their nest. This is always great fun for (Fig) Newton, our full-figured Labrador, who thinks it is his job to cause as much stress for the couple as he can conjure up. There is a consistent flow of prospective staff visitors, coming to camp to interview, hopeful that they will be a part of the Best Summer Ever too.

In addition to prospects coming to camp, we also travel to lots of colleges and universities to meet friends of current and former Illahee counselors. Gretchen and Kris recently went to Furman and enjoyed seeing Roland Mitchener, McKenzie Butler, Katherine Dyer, Kathleen Stark and Megan Mullinax. They are as excited about the summer as the hundreds of campers who have gone online to register for activities, order Ship Store items, and complete summer forms. Our newest activity, Campcraft seems to be a popular choice! Laurie and Gordon enjoyed last Saturday in the Hickory, NC area interviewing horses for camp! As many of you know, Illahee's equestrian program is unmatched by most summer programs, and when we have an opening in our "herd," we want to make sure he (or she) is the BEST! New staffer, Anna Miller, rides competitively, and raises goats with her parents. We had a blast watching her ride, chasing goats, and visiting with her and her parents on a beautiful Saturday in Hickory.

Brian, James, Ryan, and Bill have been busy (with an occasional hand from Gordon) sprucing up camp. It is going to look great (as usual) when things start to bloom. We can't wait.

We recently heard from Toya West, who has been teaching in Ecuador, and who had a surprise visit from Graham Manning (there on a mission trip). They enjoyed a great visit, including time in Toya's classroom. Toya writes that she will be pursuing a job in the fall with Carpe Diem Education, taking college students on semester service projects in Central America. Graham is currently pursuing an internship with Vanderbilt's highly-ranked baseball team!Spring Break is here for many of you. Gordon and Laurie are taking our family to Costa Rica for an epic adventure that hits all points. We are looking forward to staying in eco-lodges, zip-lining, surfing, spending time in the mountains and on the beach....doing lots of hiking. It should be fun. We hope whatever adventure comes your way this spring, it brings lots of great time with family and friends. We can't wait to greet you on opening day in front of the dining hall for the start of the summer of a lifetime!

Spring Mailing is On Its Way!

Spring Mailing is On Its Way!

Thursday, March 06, 2008

There is always a flurry of activity leading up to the final trip to the post office before camp. Can you believe it? Last week, we were saying goodbye to February and ourkids missed two days of school for icy roads! But, it will soon be our favorite season, and Laurie and I will be standing on the camp road greeting excited families as they drop their campers off for the BEST SUMMER EVER!

In your mailbox early next week, you will find a packet from camp that includes the parent handbook and some other must-read information. More exciting than that, though, is information about logging on so that you can read about all of the great Illahee activities...and then...sign up for them! That's right, you'll sign up for your activities right online, so that your schedule will be waiting for you when you get to camp! How cool is that? There are also forms to pre-order Ship Store items as well as for parents to let us know a little more about their girls. We can't wait to see them starting to fire up those e-waves!

Counselors...the key to success!

Counselors...the key to success!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Reading back through my Valentine's post made me realize how important great role models are in the lives of young girls. Navigating the waters of parenthood certainly isn't easy, even when blessed with great kids...AND we all have great kids! This is staff recruiting season. Luckily for us, like campers, it is really more "re-enrollment" season than it is recruiting season. Spearheaded by Director Laurie Strayhorn and Associate Director Gretchen Greene, our staffing efforts really begin in December and carry us all the way to camp. If you ever have the urge to ask us "what we do in the off-season," this is a big part of it! Besides the mint juleps and bon-bons on the deck!

As a parent, I am humbled by the "job" that other parents do, especially when we reunite with some of the great older gals who make up a very successful summer staff at camp. Laurie and I took a quick trip to Gator Land this past week, and were able to visit with Nicole K.,Jamie K., Brynn W.,Mary Hillyer P. and Emily E. A rainy and blustery day in Gainesville, it was such fun to sit and sip lattes and hang out at the KD house and find out what these girls are up to...knocking the top off academically, job hunting, doing community service, practice teaching and getting excited for camp! Mary Hillyer's part-time job is making sure the Gator student-athletes are attending class! You know, you would think...

If you have read my summer blogs, you know that we "make no bones" about the fact that our counselors (and campers) are what make Illahee the best girls camp anywhere! We are blessed with a beautiful facility, lots of fun stuff to do...but it is the people who keep us all coming back year after year!

Illahee is also a welcoming place...more so than any other camp that I know. We love welcoming new staff members to our family! If you know of any college-aged girls who would make great Illahee staff members (and have the summer of their lives), please email Laurie! They could be a great baby-sitter, teacher, coach or friend. We look forward to hearing from you. Think Camp!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day! Laurie and I have noticed lately that our social life is taking second seat to our children's. Don't get me wrong...we have a wonderful group of friends and are able to get out or host them at least once a week or so. There is nothing I like more than inviting friends to join us at Pinecrest, overlooking the canoe lake and pastures for a great evening of conversation and food. We have a great deck with an outdoor fireplace that has found us outside even in blowing snow!

Gardner, our fifteen-year old always has a full social calendar, but she is not an advance planner. We feel blessed that our home is "teen central" for her group of girlfriends. Well, maybe blessed is not always the overriding emotion I have as I stumble down the hall on a weekend hoping that we programmed the coffee maker right the night before...stepping over clothes and dishes and all the rest of the stuff that comes with constant in and out. One day recently, our crew had left for school and I was sitting in my PJs reading the paper and one of Gardner's best friends, Jessica, walked down the hall, glanced in, and said, "hi Pop." She emerged out of Gardner's room about five minutes later looking cute in a pink Valentine's outfit and asked, "how do I look"? We are both grateful that our house is a welcoming place for so many friends, and probably can sacrifice our privacy and social calendar for our kids for now as it will end soon enough.

We spent Valentine's Day with the rest of Asheville standing in line at Carraba's waiting for a table, which actually came fairly quickly considering the number who had the same idea as the four girls we had in tow. Dads out there will recognize my eagerness to abandon my own plans for a romantic evening out with Laurie when Gardner came up with her usual last minute plan to forego any boys with three other girlfriends...that we could take them to dinner (but not sit with them). All four girls are beautiful, fun, and smart girls...the kind that we all dreamed about when I was coming of age. So I jumped at the chance to whisk them away from the invitations that they all had received from boyfriends or admirers. I bought roses for each girl, and was able to enjoy dinner with my own valentine, about 6 tables over and behind a room divider.

Our parenting lives are changing quickly. Gardner (and Turner to a lesser extent) are craving more and more autonomy. She never misses a chance to let us know that "she can do it herself" and that we are "soooo strict" compared to her friend's moms and dads. As parents, we crave occasional glimpses into the adult that she will become, realizing that there is still more "little girl" there than anything. After the Valentine's night outing, she came in and gave me a big hug,, and said she had a great time...that "her friends don't think I'm Hitler after all." As you, I know that probably tomorrow I'll be Mussolini. But, this too will pass. Happy Valentine's Day!