March "Busyness"

March has been wonderful. The mild temperatures have arrived, allowing for snow to melt and the hope of spring to come. Work has also slowed down as we are heading into the mid season slow time. But, for Greg and I the last few weeks have been busy. Greg's parents came to visit March 7-12. We stayed with them at a beautiful bed and breakfast in Winnipeg over the weekend, explored the forks and the ever exciting Winnipeg and then brought them out to camp. Because the warm weather arrived with them we got to go outside and show them around on x-country skis, take them down the tube slide, go for walks and build/shoot off a potato gun (always an important activity). They also got to see the dozens of snowmobiles in the area get in their final weekend. It was a great visit! (be sure to come again)
Our next big activity was Easter weekend. We drove down to Steinbach for the weekend and stayed with Jeff and Suzanne. It was great to have them fill in as our family for the weekend and feed/entertain us. Most importantly though, it was a great weekend to reflect on what Easter represents. The message on Sunday was a message of the cross and a reminder that God wants us, not what we do or how "good" we are. With life always busy, no matter where you are it is a good reminder and something to make us stop and refocus actions. We arrived back at camp late Sunday evening and then left again Monday for a retreat at Camp Arnes. It was a time for our staff to spend time together without having to work! The retreat was put on by Christian Camping International (CCI) and we had 7 camps represented at the retreat. Now we are back at work-with a newly painted dining hall (it was done while we were on the retreat) I will post some before/after pictures as they come. So, as you can see it has been a busy month of activities...although really not that hard of work....we hope you all had a wonderful Easter!!

In Like a Lion??

Wow! It is March...February did exactly as I hoped it would and ended quickly. Not that I have anything against that month, but with the arrival of March it is getting me one step closer to spring!! January/February has been cold...VERY cold...for what has felt like forever. But about a week ago it finally decided to take a turn for the better and we have experienced somewhat milder temps (today it's still -30, but I'll just not think about that) At the beginning of Feb. Greg and I were able to head home for a few days and fit visits in with everyone and be a part of my Grandma's 85th birthday! It was a break that came at a time when I needed it most, and flying home is so much more relaxing than driving 15 hrs.

As for camp, we have been very busy. We have had excellent groups and it has made work an excellent place to be. Greg has been putting together all the final plans for the climbing wall, a low ropes/challenge course, and finding a contractor for the zip line (which he has managed to secure, yay!) It has kept him busy, but he likes the challenge and the opportunity to dream up exciting new things. Now that it is starting to get a bit warmer it will become work time and he will be able to start the construction side of things. I have been doing the regular, keeping things up in the office and hosting groups. I have also been finding various projects to undertake as I have gotten efficient at my regular tasks and find myself with more free time. I will have to fill you in on those ambitions later.

This last weekend I hosted a ladies retreat. I had been emailing back and forth with this group since December so I was excited to meet everyone and help them throughout the weekend. It went really well, and although I was super busy putting everything together, it was good to know where things were at all weekend. Ladies definitely communicate better than Jr. High students :-) But they sure do require a lot more of the "detail stuff". The lodge had decorations everywhere. Our menu was specialized to fit their group (and was AMAZING) and on Saturday night I put on a chocolate fondue party...mmm mmm!!