Project: Chalkboard Thought Bubbles

At camp I'm always looking for fun little side projects to do. Our camp is big on photos. We have two full time photographers that upload around 800 photos every single day so that the parents can be sure to see their kids in action. Right before camp it dawned on me that thought bubbles might be a fun element to add to our arsenal of equipment. You know, like a cartoon. Cute, no? Perfect for saying "Hi Mom!" or "Happy Birthday!"

I made these in our maintenance shop so I had plenty of tools and materials at my disposal, but it is nothing special that you wouldn't have at home...or at least with a cheap trip to Michael's or Home Depot.

The first step was to grab some scrap plywood. Mine was a 1/4 inch thick because that's what I had on hand. Tyler and I quickly sketched out a few different shapes (square and oval) and then grabbed the jigsaw to cut them. He has a much steadier hand that I, so I left the drilling to him.





Next, we sanded down the rough edges and rounded out the corners a bit.





Now, here is a key step. You need to have a way to hold the sign up, so we took scrap lumber (2x4) and cut a few small blocks. Ours were about six inches long.





Then we lathered them in wood glue and placed them on the back of the sign.





See? Makes it easy to hold up the bubble.





To finish it off Amanda and I used regular chalk board paint and put on two coats.





Once they dried, we followed the directions and conditioned the bubbles with chalk and then set about writing cute thoughts. To change the thought, we simply wiped it off with a cloth or eraser.

Fun, right?!





It would be fun for a birthday party, wedding photo booth, a classroom or anything really!

There are a million ways to do it - do what works for you and have fun with your thought bubbles.

(No, I have no idea why Brittany is wearing pigtails. Or a visor. Upside down. She was feeling very camptastic that day apparently.)

Eric the Baby Squirrel.

You're not going to believe this.

You're just not.

But I swear on my life, it's true.





I saw it with my own eyes and even got photographic documentation.

They rescued a squirrel.

A few things you should know:

4. There is a small group of about twenty guys here at camp that are getting the grounds and buildings all ready for the staff to arrive next week.

1. There are no children here yet.

6. Theses boys are ridiculous.

Basically, a group of the guys went into one of the cabins last week to clean it out and while they were in there they found a very skinny, very abandoned and very cute baby squirrel. The poor little guy came right up to them and the boys immediately took him in as one of their own. His name is Eric and they love him.

They built him a tree fort, feed him sunflower seeds and butter to fatten him up, and keep him warm.

They love him and want to keep him forever, but they know that he has to be released back into the wild and taught how to survive on his own.

They know this because they are responsible people and googled what to do with abandoned wildlife.





However, they are having a very good time carrying him around and freaking people (like me) out when they walk up to you with a baby squirrel on their shoulder. Or on their head. Or in their pocket.

Camp.

I'm back at camp (and in the USA!) and it feels so good to be here.

I'll be here at camp all summer, so posting is going to be far and few between. Stick with me though! I'm still working on a post about the Birthday Extravaganza we had this past weekend. 

This is a post I wrote at the end of last summer and I thought I would repost, just to give you a reminder of what I'll be doing all summer. Try not to be jealous.

Enjoy!

About a week ago camp officially ended. Our cabin was cleaned out, my car was packed, and goodbyes were said. I flew from camp down here to Atlanta where I've been hiding out and catching up on sleep at my parent's house ever since. It was the perfect opportunity to come home for a visit with my friends and family. But coming back to the real world is always a bit of adjustment. Getting used to cell phones, running errands and all the other day to day stuff is a bit of a shock. But the real shocker is always the questions people have about camp life. Foolishly, I assume that after working like this for the past 10 summers my friends and family would have some idea of how my summers are spent. I'm always amazed at how little people know about the camping world. It's just so natural and normal to me I assume it is to everyone else as well. 

The camp I work at is a regular, over night camp for kids. We have no religious affiliation, no sports focus or any other specialty. We're just a good ole fashioned fun sort of place -- the exact place you think of when you think of summer camp. We have plenty of counselors that are your typical college kids out to have the summer of their life, and they do. I spent two amazing summers as a counselor back in college and would gladly give my left arm to go back to those days.

These days camp is a little bit different for me. You see, someone has to manage and organize all those campers and counselors. That's where the management side of things comes into play. So while a lot of counselors grow up and move on to jobs that require them year round some of us grow up to become teachers, allowing us to keep coming back to camp. At this point we've outgrown the counselor job but there is still plenty of work to do at camp, even for us old farts. It's a win-win. We get to keep coming to camp and earning a little cash and camp retains some it's experienced counselors to help keep the place running smoothly.

Why do we give up normal life to work at camp after all these years? I don't know. Maybe because we love it, maybe because deep down we're a little crazy. Maybe because we love working with the kids and mentoring the counselors. I don't know. There are a million different reasons.

What I can tell you is that we are all just as close with our camp friends as we are with our real life friends. Sounds weird, but its a true story.

Much to everyone's shock, we're just normal people. With normal jobs and normal lives.

I promise that we all fix our hair everyday and wear normal clothes when we're at home and at work. It's just at camp these things aren't important. At camp the goofier and crazier you are, the better off you are.

 

So what do we do at camp? All kinds of things. Jobs you wouldn't even think needed doing. Jobs that I would love to explain but I wouldn't be able to do it justice. I'd have to use camp lingo to sufficiently explain it and then you'd just get confused. Let's just say that we do a lot - from directing plays, to organizing sail boat races, writing cheers, inventing games, creating craft projects and making sure the lactose intolerant kids get a popsicle instead of ice cream. But most importantly, we make sure the campers are happy and the counselors are working well together. 

I get it. Camp isn't for everyone. I understand that not everyone wants to live in a cabin, regardless of how nice it is. Not everyone wants to eat camp food. Certainly not everyone wants to be surrounded by 400 campers and 200 counselors all the time. But once you look past those details you find that its a pretty amazing place. (Break out the crackers, it's about to get cheesy.) We're the kind of people that like to be outside, like to dance, like to get creative, like to work with kids and like to be active. Not one single person at that camp is capable of sitting still for more than 30 seconds. It's just not in our nature. It's pretty fantastic to be surrounded by adventurous, creative and fun people all summer. There is nothing better.

If it wasn't so awesome than how on Earth would I be able to get all these nice looking people to act like this...

Seriously, don't they look like fun? 

The Photos Just About Sum It Up.

This is going to be my last post about the summer. I promise. Well, I'll try.

We'll wrap it up with my favorite photos. Some are my favorite because I just like the photo, some because they represent a great memory that I don't want to forget.

I know this is going to come as a shock to you, but I don't write this blog just for you. Often I write it for myself. Because it helps me remember things. One of my favorite things to do is look back through my old posts and take a trip down memory lane.

The swim beach. My front yard. The clouds were spectacular that night. It had stormed earlier in the day and the left over clouds were so badass.

Same night, but we brought down a bunch of camp-made adirondack chairs and built a camp fire for an evening under the stars. It was very camp-esque.

My beloved. He loves tearing around the lake on his jet ski. I repeat, he loves it.

My favorite place at camp. My home for five glorious summers. I know every inch of the ski dock.

I was also playing with a really fun wide-angle fisheye lens that day and thought the photo turned out really cool.

That is me! I finally got a chance to dress up as the moose!

It doesn't really smell good in there.

We don't get very many days off at camp. Six to be exact. So we try and take full advantage. TC and I have fallen into a bad habit of going to the same places over and over for our days off. This summer we tried to broaden our horizons a bit. This is us on top of Mt. Washington in North Conway, New Hampshire. It's in the White Mountains and is the highest peak in the North East. It is also home to the fastest winds in the world - like 231mph fast.

I think it may be our Christmas card photo. If I ever get around to making a Christmas card.

A sunfish. We have a fleet of 14 sail boats that include Sunfish, Hobie's and a JY. The sails are brilliant colors but this photo just lent itself to black and white.

I spend most of my day chasing the sunfish around. TC loves the boats so much that he named his dog after them.

For years I've heard the locals talk about a country western joint called the Silver Spur. 

I finally had a chance to go this summer and it was unlike anything I've ever seen. Old timers dancing. Legit cowboy hats. Belt buckles. BYOB. Barn doors. All under a disco ball.

It was awesome.

I won't name names, but this photo is summer love. I love the boots with the Toms in the background. Standing up on her tippy-toes to sneak a kiss from her summer sweetheart - Be still my beating heart.

I hope they get married.

Theme of the summer: Super heros.

Socks with capes? Doesn't get any cooler than that.

Remember how I said that TC and I go to the same places over and over for our days off? Well this is our favorite. It's a little cottage outside of Freeport, Maine. See our chairs on the porch with a table in between? That's where we play cards and split a bottle of wine. Then we fall asleep by 11pm because we're exhausted. And old, apparently.

We didn't get much liquid sunshine (aka rain) this summer, but when we did there was always a rocking rainbow right after. 

We even had a triple rainbow one evening but of course my camera was clear across camp and I missed the shot.

This summer we shot a new promotional video. For a month a production crew of six guys came in to get the footage. The guys were really cool and I tagged along a lot. It was really cool to see how they worked and learn about their different cameras and lenses.

Anyway, we had a helicopter come in one day and then another day they brought in a mini-helicopter to get some different angles. The mini-helicopter was about four feet long and remote controlled. We even brought it out on the lake and had it land on the pontoon boat. 

Last but not least, momma and baby loon. Loons are huge, like a big goose. They're great swimmers and can dive under water for over a minute, then resurface clear across the lake. We have several pairs of loons on the lake and every now and then they'll have a chick. This little guy went from riding around on his momma's back to diving and fishing all in the span of a few days. The best part of loons are their calls. When it is quiet and still at night you can hear them singing all the way down the lake.

Okay! That's it. No more talk about the summer.

Soon enough we'll be talking about snow. God help me....

A Day in the Life.

As you know I just returned from my 8th summer working at a camp in Maine. TC and I like to spend our summers there because, frankly, it works out well when you're in the education world. We're not counselors, and haven't been for years. We run the waterfront, try to guide a staff of 40 waterfront counselors, live in our own cabin and also try to help out in other random/behind-the-scenes parts of camp. Its a tough life but somebody's got to do it.

I thought you'd like to see what a typical day is like for us. It's a bit crazy so hang on to your hat.

Camp is a busy place and every day is completely different than the one before it. That being said, there is a general routine that I follow every day. It just doesn't really work that often.

Most days TC and I wake up around 7:15am. We are tired and not ready to open our eyes. We were usually up until 1am the night before and after a while six hours of sleep starts to catch up.

We walk across camp to the dining hall where we can finally get a cup of coffee.

Coffee in hand, I go to my morning meeting in the Arts and Crafts building. TC and I are what we call Area Directors, which means we are responsible for an area and activity of camp. TC and I run the waterfront but we also have an athletics director, a theater director, tennis director...you get the idea.

Anyway, we all meet every morning to go over the day, work out any kinks and get everything organized.

From there I head to breakfast with the other 599 people on camp. I try to eat Cheerios and banana every morning but mostly I end up with eggs or a bagel.

That could explain the ten pounds I've gained...

After breakfast I write the daily blog for camp. I write it from the perspective of our mascot, the moose. Usually I go up to the only place on camp where I can get some peace and quiet - the maintenance shop.

While I'm there I usually have something for Gene to fix. On this particular day I needed to cut some plywood to make into plaques for a swimming trophy.

When I leave I head down to the lake. First, I check in with Marcus, who runs the swim beach. 

He's wonderful and I never, ever want him to leave.

Then I meander on down the shoreline and find TC who is working with one of our crew counselors to fix up the oars. 

We're pretty hard on the equipment here and it takes a lot of mainenance to keep it all in working order. Maybe if we didn't have 400 children using it everyday we wouldn't have these problems. But then again, I'd be out of a job so I guess these aren't bad problems to have.

Next I usually head out on the lake to check in with everyone and say hi from my jet ski or pontoon boat.

After a few hours of working on the lake, it's time for a mid-morning snack that we call Fruit Break. Yes, we even have a song about it. It's titled, Fruit Break. Shocking, I know.

This day was a treat - pears. Peaches? A real treat. As are plums. But mostly it is apples. It's always at least a ten minute discussion to try and guess if it is going to be red or green that day.

Oh, this is what I look like every day. Pink flip-flops, Nike shorts, a bathing suit, a grey staff t-shirt, a SeaDogs baseball hat, a life jacket, and a walkie-talkie. 

It's really a good look, I know.

We also take quick breaks to reapply sunscreen while eating our fruit.

About this time the boss man usually walks by to say hi. He's friendly as usual. Kidding! I'm kidding. He's wonderful and I couldn't ask for a better boss man.

At 1:00 its time for lunch. Lunch is buffet style and most people eat outside. I've baked in the sun all day at this point so I eat inside where I can finally get some shade while enjoying my salad.

After lunch, I head back out on my old busted jet ski. I like to leave the shiny new ones for the counselors to drive. Every day I take Ellyssa the photographer out with me so she can grab some good shots for the website.

We swing by my beloved MasterCraft ski boats to make sure all is well and everyone is behaving themselves.

Next up, I get in the new big-boy pontoon boat and take out a photography class that has requested a tour of the lake.

When I get back I discover that someone has decided their walkie-talkie was hot and wanted to cool off in the lake. I try to take it apart to dry it out but am unsuccessful so I call in TC because he is much better at these things than I am. We make a good team.

At this point the wind is picking up and it is a guarantee that all 14 sail boats are going to be going in eight million directions. Therefore, I grab my favorite sailing director and head back out to try and keep all the boats from capsizing.

While I'm out with sailing a ski boat radios in that their boat won't start. So I go out and have a look. Sure enough, it's dead. I call TC and he comes out to bring in the skiiers and then comes back out to tow me back to the dock.

Once I get the boat to the dock I climb in it to have one last go at starting the engine. As I climb in I manage to step on a wayward upholstery staple that goes directly into my heel. Deep. I scream in pain, am totally freaked out and then ask a counselor to pull it out because I can't stand the though of it in my foot. What if it hits my bone?! 

When I manage to walk myself to the health center, that is manned with plenty of nurses, I see my boss and he hands me a delicious soda as a treat. That and the band aid helped dry my tears.

Then I go to the office and call the mechanic so that we can get the boat up and running by the next morning.

After activities are over for the day the whole camp gathers at a place we call Cove where our director greets everyone, announcements are made and songs are sung.

From there we all adjourn to dinner. Most nights are normal dinners, like spaghetti or baked chicken. This night was special and we had a lobster and steak feast. As always, it was delicious. 

To end the day we have evening programs. Some night the programs are divided by age groups and they do different activities like Capture the Flag, Name that Tune or something else that probably wouldn't make sense to you. This particular night was a dance, or as we call it, a Social. The counselors always dress up in themes and the younger boys counselors had a gladiator theme going on that night. 

At the end of the night, around 10pm, when all the kids are snuggled in bed a crew of staff stays on duty to make sure all is well. That leaves the rest of us to have the evening to ourselves until 1am. When TC and I aren't on duty we head out to a local dive that serves some of the best adult beverages this side of the Mississippi. We enjoy our evening with out friends, chat about the day, catch up on the gossip and just relax.

Then we wake up the next morning and do it all over again. But with different issues. 

And no staples in my heel.