MH2016

After a full week of friends, adventure, family time and worship, the Monday after Mount Hermon always feels like a little bit of a let down.  Think I'll try to cheer myself up today by right away writing about the TENTH great summer we've spent at camp.  We've been going since Delia was an infant, and neither girl knows a summer without this beloved tradition.  Mount Hermon somehow always meets our expectations and we've never left the week without feeling sad that our most-looked-forward-to-all-year vacation is over.  This year MH was extra special because my good friend Teri was up at camp with 2 of her kids and also Dave was able to stay for the whole week, making it really feel like a whole family vacation. 

Our week starts with a big carnival and picnic on the fieldhouse lawn.  We eat ribs and chicken and corn on the cob and watermelon and ice cream bars and watch a fun program introducing us to the week's theme and all our wacky counselors.

There is always dancing and Delia just can't resist leaping to her feet and joining in!

SO fun and different this year was a theme we really connected with: Settlers of Hermon, based on a favorite game, Settlers of Catan!  Funny jokes about resources, robbers and the desert were worked into the dramas.  And each childcare area was named after a resource.  The little ones in Child Care were Sheep.  The middle age kids (Ella and Delia) were Coal in the Day Camp "Mines".  The junior high and high school were "Lumberjacks" representing Wood.   We loved playing this game together in our cabin after hearing about it each day!

We were given a big version of Settlers to play as a family too!  Hidden all over the Mount Hermon campus, from the dining hall to the pool to the ropes courses to the boat docks, were resource cards!  We had to hunt them down and label them on a special map.  Chasing all over camp, and hiking miles up and down the hills, took an entire afternoon of free time and it was a super fun way to spend time together.  You know we love our games!  :)  When we turned in our completed map (first ones!!), we got a cool prize.

This year we tried a new cabin.  We loved how much space our new place gave us, compared to the tiny cabin over the creek we stayed in for 9 years.  We each had a bed and multiple rooms with closing doors.  We did not love its far distance from the hub of camp or the 60+ steps we had to climb to get to it!  We had to be strategic about bringing all our stuff with us everywhere each day so as to save trips back to the cabin.

But, all that hiking and stair climbing did have us feel just fine about taking an extra piece of bacon at breakfast...or signing up for a session with the Mount Hermon masseuse for the first time! :) The picture below shows another pro-- the path we had to take to get up to our cabin sure was pretty.  Even with the 60+ stairs, I think we will try to stay here again (especially if it means I get another massage!).

With all of our hiking, we found this HUUUUGE banana slug.  When stretched out, it was as big as a real banana!  We had to take a selfie with it.

Once again we hauled our tired selves up the hill for the totally-worth-it griddle fired pancake breakfast and pancake tossing contest.

 With our bellies full and hot drinks in hand, the walk down the hill is always much better-- especially when you get to do it with friends!

On Tuesday we took our traditional trip to the beach for the afternoon.  I was so freezing, I had a sweatshirt on, but these crazies spent most of the time time jumping around in the giant waves.

 They took breaks to bury each other in the sand.

We always look forward to Train Day on Wednesday-- an open air, hour long train ride down the mountain to Santa Cruz and a day we always share with Amy and her family.

Having just done all the rides at Disneyland, we opted to skip all Boardwalk rides this year and spent our time playing pirate mini-golf instead.  We had a pretty major cold front hit us at Mount Hermon this week, so we were actually happy to get out of the wind and stay indoors during this Boardwalk time.  With fake thunder storms, cannons going off, automated pirates popping out of barrels and even an "underwater" portion lit with black lights, this mini-golf course is our favorite.

On Thursday we were adventurous, tackling the ropes course, climbing wall and archery range.  Ella is just a few pounds shy of the BIG ropes course, so this little one is becoming a bit boring for her.  She flies right across.  But, Delia had some fear and we're proud of her for once again conquering it!

Thursday night is always the Adult Dinner night.  They feed our kids at Day Camp, and we dress up for a formal dinner and concert in the dining hall-- just adults!  I have always sat at this "Ladies Table" with all the friends we do MH with.  This year, Dave joined us and had 6 hot dates! :)

On Friday the girls each met their counselors and small groups in the ice cream shop to share a Mudslide-- a big trough of ice cream with something like 10 scoops in it.  When you finish it, you get your picture on the wall.  I think Ella's group tried to set a new record and slammed it down in about 3 minutes!

Then, we did what was probably my favorite thing all week-- took a long creek hike through the redwoods with our group.  We started down by the ropes course, and, with our water shoes/flip-flops, hiked through the creek all the way to the beach and waterfall.  We battled various challenges along the way, like deeper water, fallen trees, and no way across except to scale rocks.   Delia loves a hike that lets her climb and figure out the best way to go, so she really came alive!  I think we found a new Friday tradition, which is cool because there are very few things about MH that are "new" each year!

As always, we were challenged and encouraged with words of wisdom from amazing speakers who this year brought Psalm 71 and 90, Ecclesiastics, and the story of Josiah to life.  It is hard to walk away from Mount Hermon without reflecting on your life and making some new commitments to the Lord.  The worship times are just incredible too-- especially the energetic multi-generational time we share with the kids.

Even with all the laughter, all the ice cream, all the adventure in hiking and conquering ropes courses, all the time being fed The Word by world-class speakers, all the meals I did not have to plan, make or clean up, and all the excitement at the beach and Boardwalk, my favorite thing about Mount Hermon remains this beloved church family we get to share it with.  We were able to give them a little shout out when our family was picked to be interviewed for the video.  They have invited and included us and for an entire decade blessed us-- our whole family now!-- with this wonderful gift of Mount Hermon!  It's a legacy we see continuing in our family for, hopefully, multiple generations!