Moment: Michael and Benjamin, two of our French campers, arrived a full day before the other campers for Session 1. Slater, a first year counselor, took Michael and Benjamin under his wing when they arrived and made sure they were well taken care of. Slater came back early from his day off to be sure Michael and Benjamin were properly greeted. The boys spent Saturday swimming in the pool and even had a private paintball game! Because of the spirit and love Slater shared, Michael and Benjamin wanted to give this same love and energy to incoming campers. Together the three boys made welcome posters for the other campers. A great connection was formed and they are now enjoying being in neighboring bunks with Slater in the Senior Division.

Moment: Missing his 2nd free period in a row for the camper – staff member Switch hung out with the Buckaroo Girls during their trip to What Lake and the new activity – “The Atlantis”. Switch was asked during lunch by the campers to join them during his free 3rd period. Having a tremendous heart for our campers and wanting to make sure they had an amazing time – Switch joined them for some afternoon fun. Thank you Switch!

 

Moment: Spike and Sasquatch have been doing an amazing job with their campers! Their bunk is are truly one of the most spirited bunks in camp. Both Sasquatch and Spike wanted to ensure one of their campers, Reid, knew that he would be truly missed as he had to leave camp before the session ended. These counselors decided to spend their free periods and personal time to make signs and give him a proper River Way send off. In addition they organized Reid a surprise farewell party with balloons, music and games!! Way to go team!

Moment: Amelia Sweet was thrilled to celebrate her 8th birthday at River Way this year! As a surprise from two of our division leaders, Sushi and Bageera, they took her on a private fishing trip to the lake with her best friend Gigi! Amelia had been wanting to fish all week and upon catching her first fish declared that it was already the best birthday ever! Within thirty minutes they had already caught 2 fish each and left with grins ear to ear.

Moment: All session long the buckaroos had been itching to get into cooking class to make some sweet treats. Our fully qualified amazing cooking guru Switch gave up his entire day off so our youngest campers could have the oppourtunity to bake and taste a variety of delicious goodies from cupcakes to brownies!! Then as a group the buckaroos decided to share the leftovers with our hardworking office girls to say thank you; what a great bunch of kids and counselors!!

Moment: When the boys from Bunk 145 were unable to sign-up for Paintball the first week of camp – The One (TO), Paintball Director, hearing the news decided to open up a special paintball experience for them and their friends. Inviting more than 7 camp friends, Bunk 145 received an amazing experience thanks to our incredible staff member. Thank you TO for giving up part of your day off for these campers!!

Moment: When our CEO/President is not assisting with Camp Operations he doubles as the Fire Captain at the County sub-station right here on Camp Property. Roy Oken, Owner/CEO, and Counselor Slash, recent graduate of the New South Wales Fire Academy in Australia – put together a camp activity where they taught campers the basic skills of being a Firemen. With more than 45 enrolled campers, Slash gave up his free period to work with Roy to give these campers an unforgettable experience. Great creative programming by these guys!

Moment: Taking personal time before camp and giving up his day off this past Sunday – Beaver has transformed Minute to Win It as the #1 evening program for campers. Campers get to participate in the activities seen on the popular TV show so they can win great prizes for their bunk! Beaver was so dedicated to the new program that he gave up his night off to ensure that it ran smoothly and that all campers had an amazing time!!! Thanks Beaver!

Moment:Trotter and Camel are having an amazing time with their girls, and their girls absolutely love them to bits! So during rest hour, Trotter helped the girls write their first ever bunk song! The song is about friendships and bonds within the bunkmates and the counselors!

Lyrics
"Without You" Your always their for me, but now its my turn to thank you for turning my life around I was once alone, but thanks to you I've found somebody to help me off the ground
I dont know what I'd do without you I dont know what I'd do without you I dont know where I'd be if you got up and left me Your always by my side, My shoulder when I need to cry I cant live without you.

What a great bunk unity!!

Moment: Scotia, one of our wonderful counselors from Newport Beach, took several of her free periods to plan a secret evening program for her girls! She organized a private spa night which included fun facials, then once they had their green masks on the girls ran around pretending to be crocodiles and scaring counselors!! The night ended up with a kitchen raid!! Amazing fun had by all!!

Moment: Drama Director Reptar threw a cast party for the campers who are in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory tomorrow night. To say the cast was surprised is an understatement. Contacting the premier local cake vendor on his own, Reptar ensured a final day of fun before the BIG performance tomorrow night! Way to go!

Moment: In preparation for tonight’s Homecoming, Moo took time out of her busy schedule to help campers build a float which was used in the opening dinner skit. This piece of art on wheels was the highlight of the week for these 7 campers. Smooth, real smooth Moo………….

Moment: A 6 year counselor, Squid, decided to take a break from his busy life as a photographer in New York City, and spend his vacation as a counselor for one session at River Way! Always popular with all the kids, Squid’s signature activities always had a full roll sheet! He spent all of his free time while being here planning photo scavenger hunts, fun trivia and his signature bad boys basketball which the campers go crazy for!

Moment: Taking time on their past day off - Slash and Schwep practiced and rehearsed a song for Monday's lunch. They serenaded the patio to Bruno Mars - Count on Me. Thank you guys for making today's lunch a memorable day!

Moment: Two campers were not able to sign up for Cruso's hip hop dance class during Rock and Roll sign-ups. Hearing the news that these girls were very sad about not getting in - he set up a special class and lesson JUST FOR THEM on his free time. Needless to say the girls had an amazing time and learned some new moves for the upcoming dance and to take back home to their friends. Thank you Cruso for making this extra special effort!

Moment: Megatron spent all of her free time the last two days planning a special day for one of her campers who has their birthday today in camp. In addition to all the great day and evening plans she has prepared - her bunk spent rest and shower hour writing a special song to sing to the entire camp. The started by serenading several bunks before breakfast and then sang it to the entire camp at breakfast. Dedication and Spirit all the way!

Moment: Buckaroo Miles from bunk 144 dreamed of choosing all of his activities for a day and then having a pizza party with his bunk by What Lake. After a day full of choosing all of their favorite activities, Miles and his buddies were surprised with a lakeside picnic pizza party! The boys and their counselors enjoyed pizza from Sanger’s best pizza establishment as well as soda and treats. Before the night was over, all of the boys made a cheer to “dreams coming true at River Way!”

Moment: Alexa from bunk 153 had a dream that her and all the girls in her cabin would get their own, specialized, camp button which currently only Camp Staff are allowed to have. At lunch the other day bunk 153 was surprised to have their dream fulfilled with each of them receiving the prestigious staff button with their names on them. Another River Way dream coming true……

Moment: Campers were given the opportunity to write down any camp dream they would like to have happen during their 2 weeks with us. We received over 40 ‘dreams’. Camper Aidan wrote that he wanted to throw the first pitch at a Minor League (AAA) Giants game. On Sunday, Aidan’s dream came true. He and his entire bunk got to go to the Fresno Grizzles game where Aidan threw out the opening pitch. 2 other bunks were able to join, one boy and girl bunk. This idea of the ‘River Way Dream’ was thought up by two TC’s, Bageera The Rock. Dedicating personal time to set up the ‘Dream Box and Dream Team’ Aidan was the first recipient of 2011. 3 more dreams will be made true this week. We will have video footage of this day posted soon.

Moment: Spending countless planning hours on their free time to create this 3 hour activity, Sasquatch, Goober, Nala and Schwep created a themed activity based upon Harry Potter! The first part included a sorting hat, which told them which of the four mythical schools they were in, and provided many laughs to the kids! Next they created wands at arts and crafts, complete with sticks, ribbons and brightly colored decorations! Once equipped, all the kids got to play Quiditch on the soccer fields, riding around on tiki torches as their broomsticks!! The event ended with "potion making" which consisted of fresh fruit and ice-cream, a great snack to end the activity! Points were given all throughout and this summer’s Harry Potter champions was team Hufflepuff!! Great work staff!

Moment: Santo and Bravo have been having an amazing time with their bunk and their campers have been great role models to all camp. To reward the kids for being so amazing this session Bravo and Santo planned a bunk night with a mini pool party! The sound system, games in the pool and hot tubbing, mixed in with some great laughs and storytelling.

Moment: Master Chef Switch gives up his day off to fulfill bunk 146 dream of a private pizza party. Their dream was to have Master Chef Switch prepare the ULTIMATE pizzas while being taught how o make them as well. Switch gave up 10 of his 24 hours off to shop, prepare, cook and teach. No dream is out of reach at River Way.

Moment: Bunk 143 was lucky enough to have their dream of having a raging rapids – pizza – pool party for their entire bunk! It just so happened that it landed on Dillon Millers 11th birthday! The boys loved it and it made Dillon’s birthday extra special. After the pool party the boys even managed to go to mini bikes and go carts to complete the perfect "bunk night". Another dream magically came true.

Moment: Luke LOVES 2010 Ski Lake Director, Jaspa, as do all past campers. Jaspa now living at home in Sydney Australia was unavailable to come back for 2011. It was set-up so Luke’s dream could come true - a Skype meeting with his favorite staff member Jaspa. It meant the world to Luke and many other campers stopped by to say a BIG HELLO to Mr. Jaspa. Luke never thought his dream would ever come true.

Moment: Their bunk wish was, "Would love a sunset trail ride with a S'mores party please :).... With Kinder + Sushi". We granted their wish at Lunch and presented them with a certificate that congratulated them on having their dream chosen by the Dream Team. Towards the end of dinner Taffy and some Wrangling staff pulled up on a Wagon and picked up the girls and drove them off into the sunset. Upon arrival back to the ranch they were welcomed by some Polynesian dancers performing on the patio. After the performers showcased their dances from their native countries the girls of 151 entered River Ways Hawaiian themed luau and danced the night away. Nearing the end of the night the Dreamers got their final part of their dream and received a private S'mores party with their counselors. They went to bed with grins from ear to ear and a day filled with fun and laughter.