KANAKUK 2011...Game On!

The boys just got back from a week at Kanakuk Kamp. It is a Christian Sports Kamp in Branson, MO. It was one of the best weeks of their lives! I feel so blessed that they had the opportunity to go.....

When the kids get there, they introduce each of them and make a big deal about them being there. Each kid feels so special. Then, they tell them what barn they will be in and their counselor comes up and gets them!

Here you can see Jackson being carried off to Barn 7 by his counselor!! He can't believe it!

Here is Drew being introduced....they told him they had been waiting all summer for him to get there and NOW camp could start!! He was carried off to Barn 5!

Each child picks a specialty sport that he will do all week. Jackson picked basketball. They do this sport

each morning and then in the afternoon, they are able to choose different things to do. At the end of the week, they put on a clinic for the parents to see what they did all week. He was showing off some of his new skills :)

Drew chose soccer of course. During the week, the camp posts pictures online of your children doing things, so you can see how much fun they are having. I got this one from their website. He looks serious!
All week, I never saw the boys wearing shirts and the outfits that I packed....forget it! They chose whatever they wanted and I had to let that go :) Drew is playing soccer in his bathing suit....whatever works!

This picture was also from the website. This was one of Jackson's favorite activities. It was "Man Day" at camp and they had to do manly activities. This is apparently the "hygiene challenge" They had to run and put shaving cream on their face, soap in their hair, brush their teeth with their finger, and gargle with mouthwash....then, run and put on a tie and sports coat....I thought Jackson had baby powder in his hair, but he assured me that was shampoo. Not very much of it....kind of like he does at home, I guess! He looks like he's in it to win it!

Another Man Day activity........I know it's upside down....but I don't know how to scan it differently and believe me, I've tried..........anyways, grilling was a must on this day and the boys had a grill off. The teams had to decorate a hot dog with the ingredients available.......marshmallows, pickles, chocolate sauce.....etc.....then, they had a taste tester who made the final judgement. Jacksons team designed a "TNT dog"...apparently spicy, and Drews team designed a "military dog"....they said both the other teams won on that challenge..........notice how everything is a challenge!

On the final evening, the parents get to come and see all that the kids have done all week. One of the best parts is hearing what these college counselors have to say about the boys. These counselors are the neatest Christian guys and great role models for the boys.
Jackson got the Leadership Award in his barn and was also given the character qualities of "Tenacious" and "Flexible"
His counselor Adam goes to Baylor and Andrew goes to Colorado State.

Drew had wonderful couselors as well. At Drew's age, there is a lot of homesickness and Drew experienced that. His counselor told me that he would go out on the porch with Drew at nighttime and pray with him. That helped Drew a lot. One of his counselors, Ryan, goes to Arkansas, and Sam goes to Auburn. Guess who wants to go to Auburn now????? Drew got the "Faith on Fire" award and his character qualities were "Persevering" and "Compassionate". They got it right :)

This is when we were reunited with the boys after a week. They both broke into huge smiles and then Drew started crying.....I think he had been holding a lot of his homesickness in all week, and when he saw us, he couldn't hold it in anymore. But Jackson, he wouldn't stop talking telling us about all the things he did........zipline, canoe trip, blob, pool trapeze, ropes course, water slides...the list goes on!

The theme this year was "Game On" Here are the boys just as we were heading out to drive back to Texas. It's been a week now and we are still hearing them break into song or a funny chant or hear another story of something that happened when they were there. Most importantly, they both told me that they became closer to God....I'm so proud of them and we can't wait until next summer!