Right when we arrived we felt welcomed by the staff and the volunteers. They looked after us from the moment we arrived until we left. We checked in and handed over all of Karlee's drugs and then were shown to our room. We had 3 or 4 people helping us carry everything to the room. If I had let them I wouldn't have had anything left to carry at all. We were assigned a volunteer to assist us with any questions or concerns we had over the weekend. Kevin was very helpful as were all the volunteers and staff.
We had a light supper followed by the pie contest. While the parents were getting to know each other the kids were in the basement playing dress-up. Karlee was a little tentative the first night to go get in the middle of everything with all the kids so Ryley stayed with her on the stairs. We all then headed down the hill to the campfire. The staff running the campfire did an incredible job with the songs. Ryley was singing along and doing the actions that he remembered from summer camp. Karlee really enjoyed the songs and was talking about them for most of the weekend. After the campfire we got the kids settled and then went for parent time. Ashley and Kevin looked after all the kids in the dorm and managed to get them all to settle down. Parent time started out with everyone sitting around and getting to know each other a little. Many families have been coming for years so they were just reconnecting with friends they have had for years. They made 2 presentations to us about the KCCFA. The first one was about their bike ride to raise money and how families of children with cancer could assist by volunteering and telling their stories. The second presentation was about the future plans for the camp. Both were very interesting and informative. Most people (us included) headed to bed after this to get some sleep.
Saturday morning all the kids actually slept in until about 7:30. We had 5 kids in our room and they were all between 7 and 2.5 years old. Karlee had 2 little girls to play with and Ryley met Ty who was about a year younger than him. I was very surprised when I heard the first one awake and it was that late. Breakfast was great with lots of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and cinnamon buns. We then had a bunch of different activities we could partake in. Karlee and Mom went and made a beautiful wreath and then headed over to the spa. Karlee got her nails painted and Mom got a massage. Dad and Ryley headed down to the giant swing. It was an incredible rush when they drop you from 53 feet in the air. At the peak of your first swing you are 75 feet in the air over the creek. Ryley was white and looked ready to freak out during the first 2 back and forths. Once he realized he wasn't going to fall off he loved it and was laughing and having a great time. Next we all went to the arts and craft building to make some bracelets. Mom made a hemp bracelet while Dad failed miserably at his attempt. Ryley started a friendship bracelet and Karlee made a beaded necklace.
After lunch the kids went off to their activities and the parents went on a hike with the Camp Director up to the SunSeeker cabin. This is where the older kids get to camp during the summer. They have done a lot of work up there and the view is just incredible. The best part of the hike was again talking to the other parents and finding out what they have been through and how they have dealt with it. There is really no one else that can understand what it feels like to hear an oncologist tell you "Your child has cancer." Everyone there can at least relate to those first 4 words. I was looking forward to the activities, but wasn't sure about the connections we would make. After the first few hours talking to these people I quickly realized that the other parents were the real reason we were there. We met parents and children who were going through exactly what we were, that had gone through very different cancers and that had lost children to cancer. We gained knowledge and strength from everyone and how they had handled everything. We are hoping that some of the connections we made there will last for a long time and will be able to help us on our journey. Of course at some point in the future it would be great for us to be able to help another family on their journey.
We spent a little time before supper making floating lanterns for the Harvest Moon Festival. The kids loved doing the craft and knowing they would get to see their lanterns later that evening. Supper on Saturday was a turkey dinner with all the trimmings served to us by the volunteers and staff. The evening entertainment was DJ Fish (the official DJ of the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta) and a dance in a tent by the camp fire. Everyone had a great time dancing and having fun with the kids. Karlee had a great time dancing with Taelynn and Danika. Taelynn is the same age and has the same type of Leukemia as Karlee and just entered the maintenance phase. Even Ryley joined in with the girls on a number of songs. He made sure to dance with both the girls and was a perfect little gentleman. The kids had a great time and Mom and Dad even got to dance a couple of songs. Saturday night, once the kids were in bed, was another chance for the parents to sit and relax and talk again.
After we left the camp we headed up to Bergen for a visit with Frances and Roland at their Chalet. It was nice to see them again and to sit on the porch out of the rain. We were on our way home around 4 and after a quick supper at McDonald's in Cochrane we got home around 6. It was a great weekend that both the kids and Mom and Dad really enjoyed.
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