CDR Baby Round Up 2010

This past Sunday was just too much fun! The first every Camp Deer Run Baby Round Up was a wonderful success, and everyone who attended seemed to have a great time. Over the past several years it seemed that a large number of former Deer Runners were having babies, so it was decided that we needed to get all of the babies and their mommies and daddies together. Hopefully this is only the first in what will become a long-lasting CDR tradition. The intent was to honor all the babies 3 years or younger and their parents. There were a few kids that might have been a little over 3, but we didn't mind letting that slide. All total, there were 28 kids that showed up with their parents for this great day.

The day started with class and then all of the campers and staff worshipping with all of the visitors. The official count had 572 people at worship, although there are many people who said it was the largest crowd they had ever seen and were convinced there were well over 600 people in attendance. Here is a picture of how some of the little ones spent worship. It was much more peaceful this way.

After worship was over, the ones there for the Baby Roundup got to skip to the front of the lunch line and eat first. We all went and ate in the Rec Hall where the kids could run around and everybody could visit without worrying about having to be in the way of the campers and their families.
We had to take a group picture to document this event. Of course, this picture will be very fun to look at in 15 years when all of this kids are working together on staff at Camp.

We had to take a silly picture too!

You cannot go out to Camp this summer and not take a dip in the pool. That's exactly what we did next. Everyone went and changed into their swimsuits and hit the pool. It was a completely different type of swim time from what normally goes on in the pool, but it was easily one of the most fun I've ever been a part of. There were so many little kids in there having the time of their lives, it was just fun to watch that and be a part of it. The time spent in the pool was one of the highlights of the day. (Warning, there was mixed swimming going on.)
You can tell from all of the smiles in the pictures that this was such a fun day. There were many people who hadn't been to Camp in over 5 years, some 10 years, that came out for this special time. It was great to see all of the little ones together, but what made this day so special was seeing all of the old friendships being rekindled. Everyone knows that Camp is a special place where you develop relationships that will be special for a lifetime. Days like this prove that years apart don't do much to hamper those friendships. It will be exciting to watch all of the little kids who were there grow up and develop friendships with each other over the years. In a few years they will be camping together, then will be on staff together, maybe go to college together, and there may even be some weddings some day between two little kids that met each other on this day. You just never know what God has in store for these kids. But you know with parents that put God first, these kids have a terrific life ahead of them. They are the future of Camp Deer Run, and the future looks good.

The Baby Round Up was a day that many people had been eagerly anticipating for several months, but now it is over. Luckily, we are in the works to do many more things to bring Camp Deer Run Alumni together again. The next Baby Round Up will be in 3 years, when there will be another batch of babies running around Camp. Within the next month, I will be posting details of several planned CDR Alumni Events that will be happening during the year. We want to get the dates of these events out as soon as possible so that everyone can get them on their calendars first before other activities. Camp Deer Run means so much to so many people, and its time that we start focusing on bringing as many of these people together as possible. As soon as dates are nailed down, I will make sure to share details with everyone.

Hail, Dear Ol' Deer Run,

Sparky