Survivor: Wyoming: Kidz vs. Me

I am a Survivor Champion. I did not come home with a million dollars but I survived. I'd really like to see how any of the contestants on Survivor would have held up this week. Kidz Kamp '08 was a wild ride!


It all started on Monday, June 16th at 8:30am. Excited, ready-to-go 3rd-7th grade kids gave their last hugs to their parents (who gave their last reminder to brush their teeth and wear sunscreen). We loaded the hoards of sleeping bags and suitcases into the trailer and the hoards of kids onto the 1988 school bus. Off we went.

Around 4:30pm we arrived at the Wyoming State Fair Grounds. The dormitory was divided to house girls on one side, boys on the other. Extra bunk bed mattresses became projectile objects while crazy, bus-weary kids created their "homes" for the week.


Remembering things from that point on is pretty blurry....it was non-stop until we pulled back into the church parking lot last night around 8:30pm. I will put together information in categories from here on out.


Here are some camp stats:

80 kids

4 girls cabins
5 female counselors


20 girls showers
8 girls toilets
6 girls sinks


3 boys cabins
8 male counselors


5 days
4 nights
11 camp meals
8 chapel times


Long days
Little Sleep
Lots of coffee


Too much time on a bus
Lots of pit stops


Horses, river floats, BB guns, crafts, faith colors, hikes, field trips, Big Toys, field games, camp fire, songs, prayers, life decisions, cabin times, snack shop, cabin clean ups, water bottles, sunscreen, bug spray, whining, crying, clapping, laughing, screaming, puking, bruises, bloody noses, hugs, and much, much more!


Here is my group: Kidz Kamp '08 Cabin #2





Here are some things that built (and thankfully didn't break) my character this week:

- 1988 school buses top out at 60 miles per hours and do not have A/C
- eating, breathing, and sleeping with 11 3rd-7th grade girls builds LOTS of character

- 11 girls being my responsibility 24/5 with no co-counselor

- whining

- absolutely no privacy

- kids who create lots of unnecessary drama

- telling a child what to do and being ignored....over and over again
- accompanying a crying, screaming girl floating down a river in an inner tube for an hour and a half (funny, the first hour and a half we floated she was fine!)

- sleep deprivation

- dealing with, and eventually sending home, a counselor-in-training for inappropriate behavior

- getting the song "I know a Wiener Man" stuck in your head

Here are some fun/good things from the week:

-camp food can be very good

- sleep deprivation does lead to silly camp counselors

- sleep deprivation also leads to silly decisions: like trying to look up a word in the phone book, thinking it is the dictionary

- the really old but spunky camp nurse passed gas loudly in front of me and a camper and her response was "I always say better out than in!"

- a pair of little girl undies somehow ended up on the dining hall floor and created some fun reactions. Poor kid...I doubt she was ever brave enough to collect them from the lost and found table!

- adults that are willing to be camp counselors are tons of fun to hang out with!

- tubing rivers is a blast

- you really get to know each other when you spend time like this together

Here are some fun pics from the week:

3rd-7th grade girls love to scream and literally hang around These are some of the girls from our church
This is our church's fearless Children's Pastor and the new Camp Director
Camp isn't camp until you've sang and acted out silly songs
Kids love to be grossed out and listen well during "live heart surgery"

Girls beating each other with foam sticks is quite entertaining!

Arts and crafts...a camp necessity
" Lean On Me" is a classic
Dodge ball is still completely acceptable in Wyoming
Big Toys prove to be big fun
Kids are eager Girls are great BB gun shooters What kind of camp would this be without horses? Ayres Natural Bridge is one of Wyoming's best kept secrets

I had a hearing impaired gal from my church go with this week. She was in my cabin and this was interesting but really fun. What I didn't know going in was that even though she is 12 she doesn't read well, write well, or sign well. I learned that I know much more sign language than she. I was blessed with her awesome attitude, adaptability, flexibility, and contagious and continual smile. I know she is living in a really rough situation and has had to learn to just survive but she has done it with more grace and perseverance than almost anyone I know. We were able to find ways to communicate surprisingly well and many of the other girls enjoyed hanging out with her. Here is a picture of this wonderful girl enjoying camp more than anyone else I spent the week with:

Overall, it was totally worth every bit of sleep deprivation, whining, lack of privacy, etc. Am I glad to be home? You betcha. I cried when I got to wrap my arms around The Prairie Kid again. Would I do it again? You betcha. But I would do my best to recruit more adults to help because we were short on staff and that made it a much harder week.

Now I get to regroup here at home and make up for lost time with my family.

I am a Survivor Champion.