Monthly Archives: May 2018

In 2012, the lake flooded and destroyed one of our staff houses. As a solution, the board bought a brand new previously owned luxury 400 square foot camper for me to move into. I LOVED the camper. It had everything I needed- a tiny kitchen, a tiny bathroom, a surprising amount of closet and storage space, and even air conditioning. It was PERFECT for me and 2 fat bulldogs.

The camper had beige carpeting (in what scenario would beige carpeting EVER work in a camper?!). We had a big roll of linoleum, which we put over the carpet and duct taped down. The linoleum was a mess, so this year, I re-did the floor, this time with the plastic that you might use to covers steps (a huge upgrade if I do say so). The carpet was still in great shape, despite years of wet, sandy dogs living here, so I stand behind the decision to use the linoleum, even though everyone gives me a hard time about it looking janky.

3 years ago, we took the table and chairs out to make room for a crib. The crib has a mosquito net around it and curtains to make it somewhat dark and quiet.

The camper came with a big old tube tv. That also got removed and became the changing table area. Last year, we took out one of the recliners to make a play space for Xander’s table and toys. I still love the camper and I can’t remember what it was even like before all the changes we’ve made since that first year when it rolled onto camp and into my heart.

This summer, we’ve added a baby and approximately 700 toys because toddlers have a lot of stuff! But yesterday, I was an organizing madwoman and I’m still feeling good about our tiny home. I was a little nervous about the bathtub situation, in that there isn’t one. We have a makeshift tub, but Xander loves bath time, so I wasn’t sure what he would think of the baby tub.

I’ve spent the last week building up camp bath time. Every night at bath time, we talk about how, at camp, he will use a very special tub and then use a sprayer (the shower head detaches) to shower off “just like Daddy”. I bought a Paw Patrol bathmat and Xander said, “time for a bath in my Paw Patrol tub”. I’m not sure why it’s a Paw Patrol tub, but I went with it. He sat in the little tub and looked a little apprehensive but he LOVED the sprayer and by the time we were done, the tub was filled all the way and overflowing and he was having a blast.

A woman, a toddler, a baby and an old bulldog go into the woods to live in a camper… sort of sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but no, this is our life.

We are here and summer has officially begun. For the past week, we’ve been watching the camp promo video. Xander has been saying, “Xander go to camp, watch big kids jump in the mud” because that’s his favorite part of the video. We’ve been talking about all the fun things we will do at camp. On Friday, I spent the day packing. Xander was a big helper- he touched every single piece of clothing I packed. He kept unpacking the boxes of toys I had packed. And at one point, he packed his own bag (he included a stuffed animal, 3 socks, a too small shirt, and his toy pup pad).

 On Saturday, Nate and I loaded Nate’s car with bags and boxes and groceries. Xander was adamant that he would help, so we gave him all the lightweight things to carry. I hope he always thinks helping is fun. He kept saying, “I need to go with you!” But that wasn’t the plan.

I arrived at camp in the early afternoon. The traffic had been terrible so it took me an extra hour to get here. The power was out when I arrived and it was about 80 degrees and humid as I unloaded everything… pretty typical for camp. I scrubbed the inside of the camper, fixed the floor, unloaded and organized all of our stuff and then took a very cold shower because the hot water tank wasn’t working. Summer is here.

Today, Xander, Augustus, Nate and Olivia arrived in a van bursting with the rest of our stuff. We unloaded and organized everything and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring camp, driving the jeep and playing with all of the toys Xander hadn’t seen in 24 hours. We ate dinner, had baths, played a little more and now 2 boys are asleep.

Our summer has officially begun!

When I imagined working at a sleepaway camp, I always imagined the movie the Parent Trap (the original one from the 1960s). CYC is a 71 year old, rustic, traditional camp. I wasn’t too far off thinking it was like the movies, and much of camp hasn’t been updated, so we are still living in another decade.

Check out CYC here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC30XuLb0r0

Here’s what the summer calendar looks like-

Pre-Camp 

• May 26/27- Nate, the boys, Olivia and I will cram the van and Nate’s car FULL of stuff and head to camp.
• May 28-June 1- pre-camp prep- I’ll answer a lot of emails, meet with Meghan and the other lead staff, plan staff training, review curriculum, order supplies, organize buildings, settle in, and get ready…
• June 4-8- Lead Staff Training- Meghan is the year round program director. September-May, we work in the office on fundraising, program planning, marketing, event planning, and everything else. During the summer, we have  additional staff who help plan and run programming, oversee staff, and run camp. Julia is returning from last year to help out for the first few weeks. Amanda will be here all summer. This week will be lots of planning. 
• June 10-13- Lifeguard training- I am a Red Cross lifeguard instructor. I have 6 staff training this year and we will go to the hotel in town to use their pool each day. 
• June 14- CPR/First aid- I will certify the rest of the staff in CPR and first aid on this day.
• June 15-22- Staff training. From 8am-9pm each day, we will lead the staff in roughly one hour sessions, preparing them for camp. These sessions include emergency procedures (what to do if there’s a tornado, fire, etc), how to teach activities, behavior management, what to do if a kid is homesick, team building, etc.

Camp Overview
June 24-August 18 are the 8 weeks of camper sessions.

Campers arrive Sundays at 3pm. Some kids are dropped off by their parents, some ride a bus that we charter from Roseville. On Sundays, kids arrive, get divided into cabins, tour camp, sign up for activities, have dinner, and then we have an opening pepfest before they all go to bed.

Monday-Thursday, they are in activities all day (see below). Activities include archery, slingshots, throwing tomahawks, canoeing, paddle boarding, paddle boating, kayaking, arts and crafts, fishing, swimming, drama, sports, outdoor skills, as well as all-camp activities like group games, scavenger hunts, relay races, etc. There are also all camp activities in the evening like a dance party, campfire, talent show, and all camp games.

Friday- after breakfast, there is a closing ceremony in our chapel, lunch and then a short program for parents. Kids leave camp by 1pm.

Friday afternoon-Sunday morning is free time for staff.

Daily Camper Schedule
Everyone at camp follows the same schedule-

Hello and welcome to our summer blog- the best way to keep you updated on our adventures at camp. I’m Natalie- wife to Nate, mom to Xander and Augustus, camp director, and the crazywoman who is taking 2 toddlers to the woods to live in a 400 square foot camper.

Nate is the patient man behind the scenes, holding down the homefront in St. Paul.

Xander will be a little over 2.5 years old when we get to camp in June. He’s obsessed with all things Paw Patrol, cars, swimming, Grandma and puppies.

Augustus will be almost 10 months when we start the summer. He is the happiest baby on the planet and loves kisses, hugs, giggling, watching his brother and chewing on things.

Olivia is a 10 year old english bulldog. She is the most wonderfully patient dog when it comes to kids and this will be her 10th summer at camp. She is the only dog I’ve ever seen roll her eyes in annoyance and yes, she is judging you.

Catholic Youth Camp is celebrating it’s 71st summer of camping. It is a resident camp for kids in 1st-9th grade. Kids come to camp for one week- Sunday-Friday and live in cabins with 12 boys or girls and 2 counselors. CYC has 8 sessions of camp this summer.

A brief personal history in case you need some background-

I have been the executive director of CYC since 2008. I was hired as the program director and then promoted the first week when the director unexpectedly left at the beginning of the summer. The board asked if I could run camp and I responded with, “how hard could it be?” and the universe has been proving just how hard it can be since that day.

When I started at CYC, I was 26, single and this was the DREAM job. That first summer, I threw a few tee shirts and a few pairs of size 4 shorts into a duffle bag and headed off to the woods. I had 2 roommates who took care of my house and I spent three months running around, singing camp songs, eating s’mores and having the time of my life. But CYC was also a failing, rundown mess and I spent a lot of that summer googling plumbing how-to videos and crying, but I survived and I’m still here 11 years later.

In 2009, I added a fat bulldog puppy into the mix, but life was still relatively simple.

In 2010, I had been dating Nate for about 5 months when I headed off to camp for the summer. He was surprisingly easy going about it and made the 2.5 hour drive many weekends to visit. As our relationship got more serious, it got harder to leave each summer, but we managed.

At the beginning of camp 2010 (at the last minute, without any planning), I adopted a special needs bulldog and spent that summer (and then the next 6 years) fighting fate to keep that dog alive. He was the happiest, most trainwreck of a living thing, who stole my heart and prepared me for motherhood.

October 4, 2014, Nate and I got married at camp. Nate was VERY unsure about dragging all of our friends and family to the woods, but I’d wanted a camp wedding longer than I’d known Nate and he went along with my dream (just one of the many reasons why I married him). So on a beautiful 37 degree day, we got married in the CYC chapel and partied the night away in the dining hall, and then collapsed in exhaustion in the camper turned honeymoon suite.

2015- I spent that summer driving home every 2 weeks so my doctor could monitor my high risk pregnancy. The campers guessed if it would be a boy or girl and we did a gender reveal at the campfire.

In 2016 Xander was 8 months old when we arrived to camp that June. We squeezed a crib into the camper and put a highchair at the staff table in the dining hall. That summer was a challenge as I had to adjust my roles, my expectations and mourned the loss of my days spent running around carefree. That summer was definitely the hardest yet.

 2017- I thought being pregnant at camp was hard the first time. I thought having a baby at camp was difficult. But then I rolled into camp 7 months into another high risk pregnancy, toddler and bulldog in tow. I’d gained about 50 pounds with baby #2 and it was approximately one million degrees and humid every day. I was hot, uncomfortable and because Xander had surprised us 6 weeks early, my doctor, the camp staff, my family, and I spent a lot of time staring at my bulging stomach, willing it not to explode. My doctor told me I had to come home the first week of July in case a baby came shooting out without warning. I taught lifeguard certification, staff training and then made it through 2 weeks of campers. And then I went home to wait for a baby. I called Program Director Meghan 10 times a day to check in and I cried every day as I looked through the daily photos and videos of my beloved camp. 

Which brings us to this summer.

2018 is here. The camper seems a little smaller each year and everyone I know keeps giving me the same skeptical, surprised, confused look that suggests perhaps taking 2 toddlers into the woods for the summer isn’t as normal as I thought.

Summer #11 will certainly be the most interesting yet. Thanks for joining us on our adventure.