Week ONE! - What happened to your Orange Shirt? You jumped in the river, you jumped in the river!

I think I am the luckiest Site Director on the Sr. Staff team this year. FOR REALZ!! The Helping Hands team this year is mind blowingly awesome. MIND BLOWLINGLY! So mind blowing that Matt even bragged about us to his family during supper one night. Supper time conversation?.....I believe, folks, that is what you'd call "hitting the big time". NBD ;).

Anyway, the best part of this first week of camp 2011, besides my ridiculously phenomenal staff team, was that all persons, children and staff alike, made it from Monday to Friday with all body parts still attached (albeit, some were a little bruised :S) and all belongings in tow.

The week started off in a way that was VERY hectic. After 6 consecutive days of training for general staff training immediately followed by site specific training (I think I talked more in those 6 days than I have in my entire life combined!), everyone was friiiiiiiied. But that didn't matter, because 250 kids were coming at 9am Monday morning, with more energy than we could likely handle. But we did handle it.

This week I was reunited with some of the best kids I've ever met, and then introduced to some new kids I have come to adore just as much. Joseph, Nathaniel, Emily, Candace, Wilson, Lorena, James, Michael, Alex, Josh, Nolan, and Rebekah (of previous blog fame!) will forever be remembered by me as the first week of campers I have had the privilege to coordinate. A whole year had passed before the last time I had seen them (actually, that's a lie.... I saw Emily multiple times throughout the year for work, as well as James), and it was sort of exciting to see how much they had grown and developed over that time. Seeing and interacting with them was exactly that I needed to get excited for the next 9 weeks. They reminded me why I love this work so much. They inspired me to be the best site director I can be.

The highlights were high and the challenges only minimal this week. Everyone was with their group the majority of the time, which is the best of the highs! Also among the highs: Joseph and Emily being in love with one another (you SERIOUSLY needed to see them!), Rebekah getting to use our new accessible canoe chair for the first time!, learning that Alex and I have the same Tinkerbelle towel, Josh making a "cool" friend!, James being himself, Lorena wearing an LIT shirt, Wilson getting out of the water with virtually no challenges all week (!!), Candace styling my hair for the Site Director's meeting on Wednesday, Mikey being social, Nathaniel's NBC Peacock skit, and Nolan having an amazing week downtown! The challenges? Just some bus loading complications which, one day, came to my face in the form of a punch, a couple leg bruises, and a smashed toy school bus. But that was just 2 days.

I am so proud of every single one of my staff members this week. And now, for the kudos' which they deserve:

Kudos of the week:
1. Kaitlin - for having to be the only one not at Chip, and for having such an amazing week with Nolan and the downtown staff. They want you to stay there you know... It's not an option, we love and need you too much up at Chippewa!
2. Jackie - for being so brilliant with Wilson this week
3. Chaylene - for getting Candace to participate with her group so much!
4. Tasha - for being such a strong advocate for our kids
5. Danny - for being the best choice we made for staffing this summer. You blew me away watching you work with Mikey!
6. Lindsay - for rising to the challenge of Monday and really bringing it Tuesday through Friday
7. Michelle - for being so patient with James
8. Sarah - for wiping Joseph's nose so many times... hope your throat feels better soon!
9. Alex - for watching the NBC Peacock Skit what I estimate to be 700,000 times... in one week
10. Joanna - for nearly completing that High School Musical puzzle on Friday ;)
11. Laurie - for tolerating all those grabs and hair pulls!
12. Christina - for pushing that chair EVERYWHERE!!
13. Andrew - For being an AWESOME break person this week, and for being so flexible when I needed you to be. You were right, you CAN make any activity exciting and fun!

I also need to extend appreciation to all the extra support I had from other staff this week. Christina, Jenn, Area Heads, Karen.... THANK YOU! You definitely contributed to a very successful week one!!

Ok, here goes week 2!