Summer Camp + Bonfire Cake

Happy Summer!!

I hope you are having an amazing summer so far. I feel like it has gone by rather quickly. This is my first summer with a child in summer camp and I feel like I have been running around like a crazy person. 

I’m sure most moms feel this way during the summertime, but I truly have felt like I can barely keep up with the scheduling. My husband is busy with work and traveling, I work full-time, I have this lovely website that I don’t like to call a “job” even though it is (and I LOVE it), I have some major projects going on with this site that also include video, I am doing some really fun and BIG projects with Home and Family that include an inside look on the magic of Hallmark (more to come this winter), and now I am just listing my “to do” list for you! On top of that I have a household to manage (and feed) and kids to raise and schedule. It becomes a lot. 

I know ALL of my other mom friends feel the same. We send each other messages about how some days we aren’t sure which way it up! We all try to keep our kids busy and happy, but that means we are running around like crazy, and if we don’t do that then we hear about how bored they are at home. We also are trying to keep up on all the things they learned during the last school year so that they don’t get behind. Phew… 

All of this “summer stress” got me thinking about summertime when I was a kid. I’m sure my mom felt the same way, but all I remember was having so much fun! One of my greatest memories was summer camp. Not just the day camps where you swim and do all the games, which are great as well, but there was (and still is) a summer camp in Northern Michigan that will forever have a special place in my heart. The camp is called Camp Daggett. Every memory I have at that place is special. 

I remember my experiences there so vividly and the feeling of unconditional happiness. This camp is a week long and all you do is swim, sail, craft, play, hike, canoe, and do ALL of the super fun traditional summer camp things like sing songs, sit by the bonfire, have a crush on one of the boys in camp, camp out, get insanely dirty, have mosquito bites, and truly live in a time of pureness. No cell phones or computers, no crazy school drama, no parents, no teachers…just fun!! 

I loved camp so much that I became a counselor the following few summers after my last year as a camper. I truly hope that my kids get to experience it as well. There is just something so sacred to me about camp! Camp Daggett was a place that supported creativity, effortless learning, fun and happiness. I am going to Michigan in a couple weeks to spend some time with my family by the lake, and I cannot wait to smell the fresh lake air, eat fresh white fish, and swim in the fresh water lake. I so badly want my kids to experience the pureness of Michigan, which is why it is called “Pure Michigan,” because it really is a state that has a down to earth, welcoming feel that leaves it’s mark on me every time I go back. 

I have been thinking of summer camp so much lately because of my oldest son, Grant, who is doing is first round of day camps. He is having a blast, but when he is old enough he will go to Camp Daggett as well and get the REAL camp experience. This also inspired me to relive some of those memories on my website! It isn’t summer camp without a bonfire, and last year on Home and Family I made this really fun bonfire cake that is really fun to make. Click here for the recipe and keep an eye out this week for other fun summer camp inspired posts.