Kanakuk Family Kamp - Day 3

Well, it was the beginning of day three of our experience at K-Kauai.

We were having fun, BUT I could still see a teeny bit of "I can't believe we still have 5 days left of this" in Tom's eyes. Everytime the staff broke out into a silly, cheesy song, I kind of cringed.

There is one thing Tom has none of, and that is cheese.

We began our day with breakfast at 8:30. And at breakfast, they served a lot of cheese.

If someone has a birthday, the whole staff stands up and dances to this crazy fun song. (below)

Of course, the kids loved it. I thought it was pretty cool myself. It grew on Tom. It really did.





After our session with Mark and Susan Merrill (marriage), we had a little adult free time and then picked the kids up from their activities.

After lunch, we headed down to the "lower fields" for the activities of our choice. Kami, (Ms. I Want To Take On a Challenge) wanted to try the jumping off of brand new 31 foot platform. She has this expression on her face because the water was COLD. They said it was around 47 degrees cold. Would she do it?

Tom climbed the ladder.and jumped!And after a few, long minutes, Kami did it too! Did I do it? Absolutely NOT!!!! I attempted a cannonball off a 3 foot high diving board about 3 years ago and I think it almost killed me. I am almost positive I got a concussion.The celebration picture. On the left is Will Cunningham, the director of K-Kauai. On the right was one of our buddies, Nick.

More water fun! This is the new slide at Hana Bay.Luke rocketing off the slide.Scooter taught Luke a little archery.It didn't take him long to get it!Night 3 was the Rave. We all wore neon; as they said, "If it isn't neon, it should'nt BE ON!" It was a totally fun night! The music, the dancing, the skits; it was all tons of fun. I even noticed Tom tapping his toe a little.
The rave ended with some awesome praise and worship.And finally, Ellie and Clare caught a frog. That pretty much covers it for Day 3!!!

Kanakuk Family Kamp - Day 2

Day 2 at K-Kauai found us excited but a bit wary. We had a SCHEDULE in front of us. Every part of our day was programmed. And there was some kind of pirate party going on in the evening. Hmmmm.
One thing the kids enjoyed right off the bat were the colorful hammocks all over the camp. After listening to our speakers, Mark and Susan Merrill of familyfirst.net, talk about marriage for about an hour, we went off to an "adult only" activity, monster golf. This is a famous golfer (he won the Master's twice!) playing monster golf. He and his family were at camp with us all week and in my eyes, radiate the love of Christ!
This is the jumping pillow. Never seen one like it, but it was a lot of fun for kids AND adults. (See Tom jumping?)The cool sand on the side of the jumping pillow.
On the first night, we met Scooter at dinner. Every meal, a staff member asks to sit with your family and eat with you. This was one of our favorite things, and Scooter was one of our favorite Kanakuk people! His job was to run Diamond Head, the awesome ropes course. Here we are all cinched up with our harnesses and other gear. Can you tell I am barely breathing?
Diamond Head looks over Lake Taneycomo. Ellie and Luke noticed."Smuggler's Cove" was our first themed night. The kids ate it up!..but guess how long Tom wore his pirate wig/hat. Just long enough to take this picture. Ellie and her friend Molly look cute in matching bandanas.Here is one of the "real" pirates who led the evening activites which was a treasure hunt around the "island" for gold. We had to complete and complete certain activities for gold coins.One of the challenges was to go down the zipline and drop a tennis ball in a row boat. They called it "Bombs Away" and we had a blast trying it, even though none of us hit the mark.Away they go, down the zip line!!!! Day 2 is through. Tune in tomorrow for Day 3!

Kanakuk Family Kamp - Day 1

We just returned from Kanakuk Family Kamp, otherwise known as K-Kauai.

When we enrolled a few months ago, my husband was quite skeptical.
You go to camp WITH your kids????
You eat IN the dining hall?
You DON'T have a TV or phone in your room?
You listen to a speaker EVERY DAY?
Hmmmmmm.
But there IS air-conditioning?

He agreed to try it. One time, he said.

I am not going to give you his final opinion about this camp until the end of my posts.
I will show you day by day exactly what we did and how each of our days went.

We arrived at K-Kauai last Sunday. It was about 5 PM. This was Day 1. I was so overwhelmed at the prospect of family camp that I totally forgot to take any pictures until we arrived at the evening activity. Gasp! Can you believe that I forgot to take pictures?

Anyway, here are a handful of pictures of what they called "Tropical Follies," kind of a variety show put on at one of the pools, Hana Bay. It was a fun way to begin the week. The kids swam afterward and competed in silly competitions, such as "smallest splash" and "craziest dive." We had no idea what the rest of the week would bring!

Totally Tahlequah

You woulda thought we had taken them to DisneyLand.

But it wasn't Disney.

It was Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

We went to Tahlequah with Granny to visit the cemetery where her son Jimmy is buried. It is an old and intriguing cemetery where the kids enjoy reading the gravestones, making gravestone rubbings, and walking the grounds.

I personally become obsessed with exploring the late-1880's family plots, like the one of James and Leila Staples, who had 5 children in 8 years, only two of them making it to the one year mark. It sure makes me appreciate antibiotics and modern medicine. I only need think of the Staples babies next time I become impatient in my doctor's waiting room.


"Fire-powa!" (You'd have to have seen Night at the Museum to get this one.)
Then, we spent the rest of the day at the creek that runs through Tahlequah.
The water was blue blazes cold! But once our feet were numb, it didn't matter anymore.
We caught minnows and crawdads and looked at all the wonderfully and crazily shaped rocks.

Granny's comment? She looked at me with a smile and the sun shining in her eyes and said, "It's a beautiful world!"
We discovered a tire swing down the way that we had never found before. It was a fun surprise.



We had a great day with Granny, Nana, Papa, Kiki, Ronda, Ana and all the kiddos.
It was a totally Tahlequah way to start the summer.

Even if it wasn't Disney Land.

We Don't See This Too Often...

Ellie in a DRESS with her sweet friend Brooke on the way to a birthday party. They both look beautiful!!!!Then THIS busted out of the front door. This is a look we DO see quite a bit! :)