Can it be summer already?

Nice to write for you again, McGovern Family! It's been a long year of counting down to camp (we still are, 40 more days until campers arrive) and the staff team has been working hard to get everything ready. A BIG thanks to all that came up to camp on the weekend to organize program areas and beautify McGovern. Hoola, Linoleum, Spinach, Twist, Marvel, Strum, me, and some new friends that have yet to be named all spent two nights cleaning, playing Settlers of Catan, and singing camp songs. 

The Masons dedicated their time to building picnic tables, fixing up the canoe trailers, repainting buildings, and they made us an AMAZING new stage. This group of hard working individuals come to camp each year and we are so grateful for everything they've done. 

We got a ton of work done this weekend! One of the LEAD2s from last summer that's on our staff team organized the tuck room while I made sure the Utility room was full of supplies for Sparkle Time. Strum was reunited with Veronica the compound bow when taking stock of the Archery shed and a group even spent some time testing out their skills as Merry Men on the Archery range.

Several people sorted the laundry room and made sure we had enough towels for the summer, but we need to seriously restock on Tide Pods. No stinky socks at McGovern, no matter how many times we sing Black Socks! Thankfully Boost doesn't have that problem, as he runs around in flip flops all the time. If you ever hear the sound of flip flops at high speeds, just know Boost is on a mission. Gotta go fast!

Twist, two new friends, and I drove to Owen Sound on Saturday to meet three new campers who were full of energy and questions about McGovern. Their faces were full of wonder when I told them about Attack of the Intergalactic Space Chickens and Stick It To The Pie. One of them spent the entire time chatting about Harry Potter with a new friend, and she showed us some amazing HP themed artwork she'd painted.  

​​It's always very exciting to tell people about all the ways that McGovern is special, but most of all I love telling campers the silly things we do. I put on one of my camp bracelets from 2016 last week and promised them that there is always bracelet making going on in the Activity Forest, cabins, and Crafts. 

Saturday night we had a spaghetti dinner - using regular utensils, sorry Greyjoy but you and the whisk will meet your fate soon - and without Nightwing in the kitchen to oversee everything, some pasta ended up sticking to the bottom of the pot. Lino still enjoyed it, though!

We had some keys lying around in a bucket waiting to find homes and I spent most of Saturday and Sunday morning sorting them, putting new key fobs on them (Spinach and I love colourful keys), setting up key rings for staff that need them, and trying out different locks. "D for Door," as the previous Director Summit used to say. Whenever I found the right lock, I shouted "Yahtzee!"

When all the work was done on Saturday, Strum took some friends to the Hanover drive-in movie theatre to see a couple movies while the rest of the group stayed at camp to have a campfire. Our new friend, who I have affectionately called Sogknees over the weekend (he misheard me when I said "Saugeen bees," but the naming ceremony isn't for a while yet), made an incredible fire. We roasted s'mores in the same spot where S'Mores got her name and sang camp songs like The Banana Song, The Penguin Song, Land of the Silver Birch, An Old Austrian Man, Gather, and The Camp McGovern Song. Hopefully Ohana and her ukulele can make an appearance at campfire this summer.

The s'mores we roasted had maple marshmallows in them and it was delicious; like a maple sugar candy but gooey, coated in melted chocolate and graham. They looked like fluffy little hockey pucks and you can't really get any more Canadian than that, can you? We like to give our International staff members an authentic experience!

Speaking of International, we had a Skype call with one of our friends from Australia, with the whole group crowded around Twist's laptop to get in the camera. The game of Catan from the night before was still sitting on the table and I was chastised heavily for any interference with the board. We all got a turn to say hello to our new friend and get to know another addition to the Australian roster at Camp McGovern. Here's some you might remember from past summers: Dingo, Lollies, Tusker, and Spiderpig!

On Friday I went in the river with a friend and it was maybe colder than early morning Polar Dip. Despite the chill, we swam around and marvelled at the beauty the Saugeen gives Camp McGovern. 

It was an amazing weekend of bonding, fun, and hard work, but camp is never the same without campers running around. I have to buy sunscreen still, I got a little pink while I was there. Week 1 is so close and everyone is buzzing with anticipation for the McGovern Family to come home. 

Get your packing list ready and roll up your sleeping bags, I'll see you all soon!

Your favourite soda pop, 
Pepsi