Tag: countdown to camp

Even More to Be Excited For!

Posted on by PineForest

In LESS THAN A DAY we’ll be back in Greeley. And it’s not just reunions that we’re looking forward to!

Here are just a few of the things we’re counting down to:

THE FRESH MOUNTAIN AIR. Is it just us, or is it easier to breathe at camp? Why is it so hot in the city? How do people take this heat? Take us to Lake Greeley!

A WORLD WITHOUT RINGING and BUZZING! Listen, we love our phones during the year too. But you know what? We can’t wait to get away from them. Enjoy the break! You know what doesn’t need a filter? #PINEFORESTCAMP

FACE TIME. No, not the kind you’re thinking. When’s the last time you had an uninterrupted conversation with your friends? No phones. No TV. No homework. We can’t wait to SEE you and TALK to you and spend time with each other! It’s what makes camp friends the closest kind of friends. It really is!

CAMP FOOD. No, really. Is it just us, or do you miss it too? Maybe you’re a hard-boiled egg for breakfast, chicken curry salad for lunch, vegetarian meal for dinner kinda kid. Maybe you love grilled cheese on whole wheat bread and tomato soup on the side as much as we do! Maybe it’s just that freshly baked Friday night challah. No? How about bug juice? Admit it. We had you at “bug juice.”

FREEDOM. INDEPENDENCE. FUN. Hey, what do you want to do today? Swim, bike, canoe, climb, dance, run, act, paint, cook, serve, hike, read, write, shoot, score, draw, sing, perform, photograph? Oh, all today? With your best friends? From morning till night? Really? NO PROBLEM! Ya know, why? Because it’s camp, and that’s what camp is all about.

See you in 12 hours, happy campers!

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Hiding Behind My Sunglasses

Posted on by PineForest

Yes, that will be me on Saturday, hiding behind my sunglasses, holding back my tears.  Me, who promotes camp to other parents and me, who believes whole-heartedly in the lifelong benefits and pure and simple fun of overnight camp. But, still, that’ll be me.

It doesn’t matter how much you know they’ll love it, it doesn’t matter that you know they’re about to make friends and memories that will last for a lifetime.  It doesn’t matter that you know they’re about to have more fun than they ever thought imaginable.  The bottom line is, letting your child go, allowing and empowering them to spread their wings without you is hard.  Really hard.  I think of this as the most selfless act we, as parents, have probably ever done to date.  Putting our needs and wants second to what we know is best for our children. It’s something we do everyday, but this is the granddaddy act of them all.

But, I find all the comfort and solace I need knowing my children will be safe, loved and cared for by some of the most amazing people I know.  That they will be making friends and living with other amazing children who, like them, just want to have fun and take in all that camp has to offer.  I will, like you, pour over the posted pictures each night and hang on every word that comes to me in letters. All the while, reminding myself how lucky we all are…The kids who get to go, and we as parents who get to send them. Their summer ahead at Pine Forest Camp is going to be incredible. For all these reasons, I truly can’t wait for my children to get started.

Good luck, Mom and Dad. I like to keep the morning short and sweet and without a lot of fan-fair.  That’s my advice. And, of course, don’t forget to wear your sunglasses.

Hillary Slovin

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Signs It’s Almost Time for Camp

Posted on by PineForest

1. You begin almost every sentence with, “at camp I…”

2. You have a pile in your room for “camp stuff.”

3. You’re having dreams about that amazing moment on the first day of camp when get out of the car or the bus and smell the Greeley air for the first time!

4. You are doodling “18425” on your papers at school.

5. You and your camp friends have started guessing Color Days themes and breakout options.

6. You’ve already made your Visiting Day list in your head.

7. You’ve already made a playlist of potential songs for MTV Night.

8. The smell of bug spray makes you happy.

9. You know exactly what you want for your first canteen.

10. You check the weather in Greeley daily.

11. You post weekly countdown photos of your camp friends.

12. You sing camp songs and cheers at the kitchen table (sorry, moms and dads!).

13. You check the camp website or app every day to see the countdown to camp number get smaller and smaller!

14. You already know what you’re wearing to the first social.

15. You’re making room on your arm for friendship bracelets! That camp arm will be here before you know it!

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Countdown to New Family Weekend!

Posted on by PineForest

New Family Weekend is just one week away! The comfort and excitement of our new campers and their families is a top priority, so PFC opens its “doors” just three weeks before opening day! It’s our official start-of-summer!

To truly experience camp life in all its glory, each new camper family gets a cabin to stay in overnight. It’s really a perfect way to see the facilities, experience the activities and get a taste of bunk life. This weekend is also a perfect opportunity to meet new friends, their families and our awesome camp leaders.

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There is nothing like these first sounds of summer: children’s laughter echoing throughout camp, balls bouncing on the courts, crickets chirping at night and even the sound of the cabin doors opening and closing. It’s a right of passage for all PFC campers to smell a campfire and taste a s’more. And there is nothing that brings the day to an end like breathing in fresh mountain air, gazing up at millions of stars in the sky, singing “taps and friends” arm-in-arm with incredible children and adults, all with the same goal in mind: becoming acclimated and excited for the best summer ever.

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I attended New Family Weekend last year with my son, my second PFC camper. Having this inside perspective and first-hand experience of what camp is truly like was incredibly valuable for me as a parent. The weekend gave my son (and me!) that extra bit of confidence and comfort, and he made his best friend of the summer that weekend (I made a few new friends as well)!

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Created so that each new camper’s first night at camp, is not actually his or her “first night at camp,” this weekend is truly such fun and so very special. Wishing you a great first camp adventure!

Hillary Slovin
Camp Mom