Nooooooo, it’s not opening day yet.

C’mooooooooon . . . guess again!

David’s put the 2012 Calendar on the website!

Christmas in July is on there . . .

And Medieval Weekend . . .

Halloween One and Halloween Too!

And Super Hero

And Pirate Weekend, and the Bouncy House and My Birthday and the Ice Cream Parties ~

and sooooooo much more!

Go ahead!

Check it out!

I know you want toooooooo.

I asked Tami on Sunday if she was suuuuuure Santa knew where to stop.

“He does,” she replied, rubbing my antlers.

I asked again Monday morning before she went to work.

“No worries,” she said, as she quickly packed her school lunch.  “He’ll be here.”

When she tucked me into bed last night, I asked again.  I think it might have been one too many times, ’cause she exclaimed, “Maax!!  You know Santa and I are very good friends.”

“I’m sure he’ll remember you . . .if you were a good moose, that is.”

Ummmmm. I think I was a good moose.  I mean, I didn’t stick my butt in the ice chest too many times . . .

and I was really, really polite to all my camping buddies . . .

and I thanked Santa for my books on Christmas in July . . .

But still . . . you never know . . .

I tiptoed out of bed, and snuck into David’s office.

“What’s up, Maax?” he asked.

So, I told him my Christmas worry.

Dave smiled.  “I have just the thing!  I picked it up today for Christmas in July next summer, but you know . . . it’s never too early to set it up.”

WOW!  I think Santa will be able to see this decoration from the moon!  There’s no way he’s missing our house now!

Thanks David!

Hmmmm . . . what kind of cookies do you think he likes best?

One of our seasonal campers, buttoned up tight

the tree that Ed planted . . .

The lakeside trail . . .

The wind was blowing pretty hard . . .

The island with the house . . .

The Eagle's Nest

A splash of color

The ice is forming

A tipped picnic table in the 60's

Interesting . . .

We aren’t sure yet if this round of snow will melt . . . time will tell!  It was a pretty snowfall, to be sure.

Don said their coon cat loved being on the water.   At one point, they came upon a squirrel swimming across the lake.  Funny enough, they were the second family to report seeing it.  Both times it was in the exact same spot, so it very well could have been the same squirrel.  Do you suppose he thought the acorns on the other side were browner?

Tami loves to get photos to share with other campers.   So if you have a great one you’d like us to post on my blog, send it in!

Tami says it’s the only day between May 1st and Columbus Day, where she can actually close down the store to hang out with all the seasonal campers and on-site employees without fear of being interrupted.

The phone doesn’t ring . . .

no one is looking to check in . . .

99.9% of the campground has checked out.

There’s always lots of laughter

and “remember when’s.

Everyone brings a dish, or appetizer or dessert to share, so no one walks away hungry!

We even celebrated a very, very special birthday this year.

Lee Wight turned 80 on Monday!  So if you see her, wish her a very, very happy birthday!

The Wight Girls

A big shout out to the Walker family for lugging all the cans and bottles to the redemption center, which helps to pay for a portion of the dinner.  And of course, we couldn’t do it without our “chefs”!  Thanks a bunch everyone!

I LOVE Labor Day Weekend, but it always makes me a little sad too.

On the one hand

We had all these cooooooool activities like Egg games

Carrying the egg on your head

Egg Under the Chin race

and a scavenger hunt, horseshoes, and the water balloon slingshot on Saturday.

And if you thought the day was done, think again!

We also decorated our bikes and made noise makers for the bike parade

Debbie made all the bikers raise their right hands and swear not to run her over . . .

had a seed spitting contest . . .

played Ultimate Frisbee with the teens and adults . . .

Uh-oh! What'd B do?

Aaaaaaand, played Candy Bar Bingo!!

with lots and lots of happy winners!

On Sunday we had Story time with Moose Mix, Relay races in the pool, Waterballoon target practice, jewelry making, Bubble Play and we created pin wheels at Arts and Crafts

Awww! Her pinwheel matches her shirt!

How clever is that? She attached her pinwheel to her bike handles!

Purple! My favorite color!

I was so proud of my little campers . . . many of them were waving the old red, white and blue!

I felt like a real, live, rock star all weekend, hanging out with my little campin’ buddies.

So I bet you’re sitting there, in front of your computer, shaking your head and saying, “Maxwell, Maxwell, Maxwell.  With all that cool stuff going on, how on earth could you be  so sad?”

It’s really simple actually.  It’s Becauseit’stheverylastweekendofrecreationandI’mgoingtomissitsomuch!

SOB!

Sniffle, sniffle.

Tami says they’re still open ’til Columbus Day though.  And there’s tons of people who love fall camping because they get to go out fishing and kayaking and canoeing and wildlife watching.  And the kids still get together to play ping pong and manhunt and stuff like that.   Tami has a whole list hiking and geocacheing trails . . . oh, and there’s the cool nights by the crackling campfire to look forward to . . .

Okay, so there’s a ton more camping season left.

What are you waiting for?

I’m very sad to say, Tami fibbed to me.

Yep.  She fibbed big time.

She told me Halloween Too was exactly like Halloween One.

WRONG!

I mean, suuuuuuure, we had horseshoes and a scavenger hunt and story time and jewelry making and Halloween relay games.  I’d argue they were the same ~ but different too!

We had a mummy wrap contest:

and a witch’s stew eating contest!

Those were NOT on the schedule last week.  Uh-uh.  I checked. Twice.

This week, we made ghosts at Arts and Crafts for the campers to hang at their sites.

My little camping buddies went on a hayride too!

and I hung out between hayrides with some different campers . . .

than I did last weekend.

I suppose there was one thing . . . make that TWO things, that stayed the same.

One, the wait to trick or treat was just as looooong, if not longer!  It’s a good thing my little camping buddies and I had lots and lots to do.  Maggie and Debbie worked really, really hard all day to keep us busy!

and two, Tami gave the same booooooring, blah-blah-blah rules as she did last week.  The whole time she was talking, all I could think about was candy, Candy, CANDY!!

I bet that’s what the rest of these trick or treaters were thinking too!

This time, the party was up at the office!

Every single game was different from last week

K with Shoot the Jack-O-Lantern's Nose

K2 with the Balloon Walk

Maggie with the Sponge Toss

Alex with her famous Tattoos

S with the can pyramid

J with Spider Fishing

and then there was  Trina and Joanne with the treat . . .

Fruit Kabobs!!

There were cool prizes – but my favorite was  . . .

vampire teeth!

Sally ran the office

while Tami, Debbie and I circulated, checking out all the awesome costumes.

and the smiling faces

But you know who wasn’t smiling when it was time for the haunted house??

Tami.

As she cowered behind the reservations desk, I asked her, “What’s there to be afraid of anyway?  I mean, it can’t be all that scary if the campers are lined up  way to the back of the playground . . .

All she did was show me this picture.

Hmmmmm . . . I think maybe Tami needs a helping hand closing up the office.  I’ll just get busy sweeping the floor . . . .

I can’t wait to watch the jousting, and the porridge eating contest, and see the fairy houses!

Do you remember last year when the Red Knight and the Blue Knight fought? They had an epic battle on the hayride – all over a googly band in the shape of a crown. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself by clicking on this photo.

In the end the Red Knight won!

This year, the Steelgraves are coming Saturday night to perform some magic. I can’t wait to see them! Last year, I heard he tried to eat a dove!

The weekend after, is Halloween Week! That’s right! Week! I can’t wait for all the candy, and the costumes, and the candy, and the parties, and the candy!

Did I mention the candy?

I know, I know . . . I say that about ALL the theme weekends.  But this time it’s true!

We had so much fun doing the usual Christmas-y activities.  I especially liked the Santa dress up game

Don’t they look exactly like the big guy, himself??

My little campers made elf hats and stocking bags at arts and crafts.  We played Christmas games on the playing field too!  There were horseshoes, the snowball slingshot, a Christmas caroling hayride, ice games, a snowball hunt and lots, lots more!  The whole place was decorated, and even some of the campsites too.   My favorite Christmas decoration was one of those really big, blow up decorations . . . it was a camper, and Santa poked his head out the door to wave!  Very cool.

I hung out with lots of friends during hayride time . . .

Of course, all that other cool stuff combined couldn’t compare to the Christmas Party Saturday night!  We all waited patiently for Santa to arrive . . .

and then the games began!

Tami had lots of awesome volunteers to run tables for cookie making

and carnival games like “ring the bottle”

the duck game, the balloon walk

the “snowball through the wreath” game, and of course,

meeting Santa

Some of the campers even dressed up in their Christmas Best!

Finally, it was time for

PRESENTS!!

I waited kinda-sorta-patiently while my little camping buddies were called up one by one

and I wondered if I’d been a good Moose this year.

Then I heard it . . .

Maxwell Moose!

That’s me!

and I got exactly what I wanted!  Books!

How’d he know???

Every weekend, the activities are themed.  And we started off the season with Chinese New Year!

Maggie and Debbie slung water balloons  in the rain,  then moved the Chinese New Year games inside  the Rec Hall

There was arts and crafts in the afternoon . . .

and jewelry making and horseshoes and a chinese noodle eating contest!

Here I am with one of my favorite girl scout troops . . .

And with camping buddies who were waiting to get on the hayride

everyone told me they were having a great time!  I asked one little buddy what he liked best.

“It’s all good!” he exclaimed.

I think that says it all.