Good morning from the happiest place on earth! We all slept with happy hearts and restful minds as we were so excited to all finally be in a tribe! Our newly initiated Merri-Mac girls woke up with their initiation paint on (part of the Merri-Mac tradition) and greeted the day with huge smiles, proud of their new camp families! They are officially Merri-Mac girls, and we couldn’t be happier!

This morning all of our girls greeted the day with energy that was contagious. Today is the first day of camp! A day we have been counting down for since closings last summer! We jumped out of bed as soon as we heard the bugle and began to clean our cabins. We headed to breakfast where we shared baked oatmeal, bacon, and orange blueberry coffee cake. We headed up to chapel where our very own Adam Boyd gave a message on Hebrews 1.

Today in Dance, our girls practiced their floor work and perfected the “chasse” and even learned leaps! They took turns leading stretches and sharing their favorite moves! In Archery Counselor Madi S. taught the safety rules and helped our girls find their inner “Katniss”. In Fencing they practiced footwork including forward and backward lunges. In Cooking, Caroline D. said her favorite safety rule was “Its not safe to touch electrical equipment with wet hands”.

For lunch we had a camp favorite, “Taco’s In a Bag”! This delicious meal consisted of taco meat and toppings that were all mixed into individual Frito bags! We had sugar cookies for dessert. After lunch the girls searched for the “hatchet”. The Legend of Indian Running Deer says that the tribe that digs up the buried hatchet shall win the banner! Choctaw Chief Anne Dillon L. found the hatchet and lifted it up to the sky with a great battle cry, thrilled for her tribe! (Pictures of this moment are on the Merri-Mac Face book page as well as Instagram and Twitter!)

In knitting our girls learned how to make headbands and rock climbing girls practiced tying knots. Morgan P. and Jess T. are working to earn their gold bars in Climbing this summer! In Backpacking, our girls hiked up the Tomahawk Trail and shared what they are most excited about in backpacking for this summer. Emma H. said, “I’m excited about backpacking because I have never done it before and I am excited about a new experience”.

Down at Lake Dorris, our Competitive Swimming girls worked on their bars! In Canoeing they learned the parts of the canoe and paddle, how to paddle backwards, and how to paddle forwards. In Diving they learned the 4 step approach and the proper form of a front dive. Down at the Barn, Counselor Lillie K. helped the girls onto their horses, where they spent the afternoon riding and feeding the horses sugar cubes! In our new Puppy Training Class, “P.A.W.S.” the girls learned how to take care of our new camp puppies! They learned how to clean up after them, how to bathe them, and also walked them throughout camp! The puppies also made it into our camp picture we took this afternoon!

In Do It Yourself Crafts, our girls made friendship bracelets and began working on a new craft in which they would create the state of North Carolina with string and nails. The finished product will have a heart over Black Mountain, so that the girls will always have a picture of camp to keep with them.

For dinner we had spaghetti and meatballs with garlic biscuits. We shared a dessert of ice cream pops! The girls headed out to evening activity where they played the new camp game of “Smugglers and Spies”. Our girls went out to Macky’s Green decked out in their tribe colors ready to bring home the title for their tribe! The cheering could be heard all over camp and we are excited to see who wins! The results will be announced tomorrow at lunch!

Thank you for sharing your daughters with us this summer! They are a joy and we can’t wait for the days and memories ahead! We can’t wait for another perfect day tomorrow!

 

Goodnight and Dream Big!

Madi C.

12th year Merri-Mac Girl

Tweedle Dum Counselor

Proud Seminole

DSCN6158 (640x480)