My Camp report for Fall 1999


Yeah! I got my dress; it came two weeks before Camp. I tried it on briefly to be sure it fit properly and it did; so I was all ready for Camp. Now that I'm back from Camp I can tell you all about it.

The Wednesday evening before Camp (3, November 1999) I helped Daddy put everything in the car. We went nighty night very early that night because we planned to get up at 5:00 AM and leave for Camp by 6:00 AM. The next morning we ended up just a tiny bit late because I spent some time daydreaming about Camp. We started down the road toward Camp at 6:15 AM. The trip went very well and we only made two short stops along the way. We arrived at Camp at 11:30 AM. Daddy went in the main lodge and registered me and unloaded the car. I usually bring toys to Camp like a rope for skipping, chalk for hop scotch, beads for bracelets, coloring books with crayons, and other stuff that's fun. I also brought a machine for playing music at Ballet class and some music CDs. On the prior trips to Camp I have kept these things in my room, but we thought it would be better to do something a little different this time. Daddy got one of those big plastic storage boxes and I put the toys I planned to share in it. When Daddy unloaded the car he put the toy box in the lobby of the main lodge so anyone could get out toys whenever they wanted. Some of the other girls brought toys this time too so there were lots of nice things to play with.

Along the way of unloading the car Daddy met Taffy, Darlene, Melissa, and Sussie who had arrived at Camp before us. Daddy also got to meet some of the other Daddies too as they were checking in. By 1:30 PM I was visible and went to the main lodge. Some of the other girls had become visible too and were ready to go to Ballet Class. At Ballet class we started with our warm up exercises as usual. Ms Farida says they are very important so we don't get hurt during the lessons. We had a wonderful class. I think I'm getting a little better 'cause I was able to start doing the steps in the lessons more quickly than I did at the first class during the last Camp. About half way through the class the big brothers of Arcee, Catrina, Sarah Jayne, and Suzy arrived. They stopped in at the class to say hello. We were sitting on our towels doing some stretching exercises; so we couldn't greet them properly. Arcee is learning Japanese too so when she walked by I greeted her and told her who I was in Japanese. I must have done a terrible job of it because she didn't understand a word I said. I guess I need more practice.

After class everyone hurried to get ready for our Dolly Tea Party at 4:00 PM. I had brought my dolly Michelle with me so I ran back to my room to get her. I stopped at the playground for a few minutes on the way back. I took Michelle for a ride on the swings. Michelle had never been on a swing before. She really seemed to like it; I'm glad 'cause I love to swing. There were about ten of us that had arrived at Camp so far so they set one big long table in the dining room for us to have our tea party. We had a lovely time introducing our Dollies, sipping tea and having cookies. Some of us were already changed for dinner, but after tea some went to change and get ready for dinner. Darlene, Sussie, and I played a very long game of Chutes and Ladders. Sussie eventually won, but we all slid down our share of chutes and climbed a few ladders in the process. By then it was time for dinner and the other girls were back from changing so we went in to eat at about 8:00 PM. The rest of the night went very quickly. Between talking and eating some of us missed our nighty night time. I'm usually sleeping by 10:00 or 10:30 PM, but I was two hours late Thursday night.

I had planned to wake up at 6:00 AM so I could go for a nice walk before Ballet class, but as it turned out I didn't wake up until 7:30. I hurried and got myself ready so I could get to Ballet Class on time at 9:00 AM. Our Ballet Class was longer than usual. We had a lot to learn because we planned to have a little recital at our Birthday Party on Saturday afternoon. Mr. Frank stopped by our class at about 10:45 to remind us that we were late for breakfast. We did one more practice of the last thing that Ms Farida taught us, then it was off for the dining room and breakfast. We usually take way to long for our meals 'cause we talk about everything. One thing some of us keep saying is that we have to find a way to get done with meals sooner. The idea is that if we finished sooner we'd have more time for play. We're getting better at it though; the ones that want to play leave a bit early and the ones that want to talk stay.

After breakfast it was time for school. Since Aunt June couldn't come to Camp this time I substituted as teacher for the girls over six years old and Melissa taught a kindergarten class. I got to class on time, but only a few girls showed up. I waited to start class for quite a while and a few more girls did come, but we had to get started, because the class hour was half over. First we reviewed spelling words and then our sevens times table. I gave a very short history lesson on the renaissance and school was over for the older girls. The kindergarten children's class ran for about another half-hour though.

A little while after school most of us were at the playground having a great time. At the playground we met a lovely little girl that most of us had been hearing about for a long time, but had never had the chance to meet. Belinda was at the playground; Belinda is Uncle Tom's little girl and we were very happy to meet her at last she was pretty wearing a pink dress she got from one of Aunt Tessy's friends. Taffeta won the hop scotch championship this time. There were several girls skipping rope, but a championship skip off didn't develop. While we were playing several more people arrived including Audrie's big brother and Chrissy's big brother from Cleveland. They hurried off so the girls could become visible.

Later we gathered in the main lodge; it was time for quizzes. Aunt June had sent a quiz for us to do on Thursday, but we didn't get to it. My Daddy had also made a quiz for us to do on Friday; so we had two quizzes of twenty questions each. I read the questions and the girls raised their hands if they knew the answer. I tried to call on the girl who raised her hand first, but I needed help because I was having trouble seeing everyone at once. I think everyone had a good time. Out of the forty questions there were only six that no one could answer. I wrote down the names of the girls who had earned stars by their correct answers. Sussie said she would give them to Aunt June so the stars could be added in her star totals. By now all the girls were at Camp; there were twenty of us this time. Karen had some difficulty in getting to Camp again so she took a little teasing, but we were so glad she made it. The time for dinner was drawing near so many went to change for dinner while the others talked and played games.

At dinner there were so many of us that we took up half of the main dining room. We had a great time talking and eating the delicious food. Again time slipped by without notice and I was once again late for nighty night time.

Saturday morning was a repeat of Friday; I was too late for my walk. I did get to Ballet class about on time. On Saturday I watched Ballet class from the side for a while. Daddy has a hurty that's healing and I was afraid I had hurt it more on Friday. I had brought Michelle with me and I changed her clothes so she would be ready for the birthday party later in the afternoon. I was feeling pretty good though so I went to the back of the room and did my warm ups and joined with the class for the last few minutes of practice for the birthday party recital.

After Ballet class Aunt Tessy substituted for Aunt June as teacher of the class for girls of six and over. Melissa held a class for the kindergarten children too. The weather was lovely so Aunt Tessy held her class under a big tree next to the main lodge. There are wooden benches built around the tree so it was just perfect. Aunt June had given Aunt Tessy another quiz to give during school so we spend most of our class time working on the quiz trying to earn stars. After class we only had a little time to play until it was time to get ready for the birthday party!

This birthday party at Camp was going to be very special for me; it would be the very first time I ever got to wear a Pretty Party Dress. I took extra care with preparations because I wanted everything to be just right. Then the time came at last for me to put on my very first party dress. After I got my dress on I put on the sash that goes with it, brushed my hair, and I was ready! I stopped to look in the long mirror and hardly believed what I saw. I think I actually looked, a little bit, pretty! I sure did feel pretty! My dress is white in twinkle organza over satin. The collar is Peter Pan style with a narrow lace edging. The skirt has four wide ruffles of twinkle organza edged with lace. The sash is pink and is gathered in front with a white and pink set of ribbons tied in a bow with a pink rose bud at the center. The sash has a large pink bow in the back. Each side of the Peter Pan collar has a white and pink ribbon tied in a bow with a pink rose bud in the center. The dress has long sleeves of the twinkle material with three inch cuffs edged with narrow lace.

I picked up Michelle and my purse and went off to the Party. This time, since we had so many girls, they held the birthday party at the nightclub because that gave us more room to play during the party. When I got there the first thing I noticed was how pretty they had decorated the room. There were balloons, streamers, party hats, and all sorts of pretty things to make it very special. All the girls were dressed very pretty also. Ms Farida asked if I was ready for the recital. I hadn't brought my slippers because I didn't think I would be allowed to dance in the recital since I had missed most of practice that morning. Ms Farida said I was welcome to participate so I hurried back to my room to get my slippers. As I was going up the steps to the Cherry House a lady in a little pickup truck stopped, rolled down her window and said: "I just love your dress". That added a nice sparkle to my thoughts as I got my slippers and hurries back to the party.

Once there I just got my slippers on when the recital started. The recital was short, but it was lots of fun! Daddy said he thinks we did as good as any other group our age. Next we played Bingo for prizes and we played Pin The Tail On The Donkey. Everyone had a Great time and then it was time for cake and ice-cream. After we ate we gathered for a big group picture. Everyone handed there camera to Mr. Frank and we gathered ourselves together. As we were posed for the picture we could see ourselves in one of the walls of mirrors. As I glanced in the mirror to see how we all looked Daddy and I agreed that no group of girls ever looked prettier for their group picture.

Before Camp Aunt Tessy had arranged with a lady named Ms Stephanie to hold a fashion show for us during dinner. At the birthday party I noticed that several new girls were there that I hadn't met before. I found out that they know Ms Stephanie and came so they could see what Camp was like and some of them were going to model in her fashion show. After the party I went back to my room to put away my slippers and freshen up.

Back at the main lodge everyone was playing games and talking. We had a great time together. When dinnertime came we were seated in the main dining room and placed our orders. After that Ms Stephanie started her fashion show. The show was fun, but it only took a few minutes and our meals were being served. I wasn't really hungry so I decided to eat just a little then see if I could find someone else that was done that wanted to play. About a half-hour later I saw that some other girls had already left the dining room so I decided to see what they were up to.

I went to the main lobby and Taffeta was there getting ready to play a game. I asked her if she still wanted to sing a song and she said yes. I went back to my room to quickly fetch my Sound Of Music songbook. Taffeta and I had decided before Camp to do "Do Ri Me" together. We practiced through it a couple of times and returned to the dining room. We found a place in the middle of the room where there was a light to see the songbook and we began. Most of the girls knew at least some of the words so when we asked they joined in. That was Super Fun! After that, someone said "Encore!"; so Taffeta and I went ahead and did "Favorite Things". We continued talking and playing for a while, but was determined to go for a walk in the early morning so I did go nighty night on time.

On Sunday morning, I awoke at 6:00 AM. By 7:00 I was visible and ready to go for my walk. I wanted to wait a bit though, as one of my friends had wanted to walk too. I opened the door to my room and sat reading one of my Samantha stories. From my vantage-point I could watch the hallway and outside the window I could see the porch of the main lodge. As the time drew around to 7:30 I decided to start. I put on my sweater, took up my purse, and ventured out into the crisp vaulted air. I paused for a moment to see if my friend was about then set off on my walk.

Each time I go for my walk I take a different path as I enjoy seeing things from different points of view. As is my custom I stopped to meditate along my way. The main reason I walk is to seek a moment of stillness wherein I can know something of my destiny and myself. I concluded my walk with a circuit of Camp Pond; then returned to my room.

After gathering Michelle and some of her clothes together I went to the main lodge where I joined some of the girls in a cup of hot cocoa. In what seemed a very short time it was 9:00 AM and time for Ballet Class. I watched from the side again, as I didn't want to take a chance with Daddy healing properly. As I watched I changed Michelle from her birthday party frock to something more suitable for traveling. Debbie and Karen joined me and we had a nice talk together while we watched the class practice.

Once again it was time for breakfast and the usual last minute flurry of signing memory books. As it turned out very few were in a hurry for airplanes and such so we stayed at the lodge and talked until noon. Then I returned to my room to pack. After Daddy loaded the car he returned to the lodge to say good-bye to some of the other Daddies, big Brothers, and girls that were still there. Then, with the usual mixed emotions we got in the car and started for home.

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