Day Five - The Finale

Today is the last day up at camp as we make our way back to Boise. Such an amazing year for RFKC Boise as we were joined by a groups of buddies and staff from Montana, Seattle and Australia. 

Here's some final pics and memories from this year.

This is our before camp pic...
It might be kinda interesting to compare to an after camp pic?? Haha

Pastor Sue is the best!

Kid Royal giving out random acts of kindness awards!
He sees you when your sleepin'..he knows when your awake...

The Esther drama was a hit, only one casualty with Haman
Don't worry, he's hangin' in there #Drama

The greatest Grandma and Grandpa EVER!!!

No caption needed haha

Grandpa was full of surprises

Let's call this our after camp pic

Thank you all for your prayers and support for the kids, buddies and staff. God was so faithful and we were so privileged to show the love of the Father this week, believing that He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it and continue to reveal Himself to these kids, leading them by His Spirit everyday for the rest of their lives. Blessings and we'll see you next year!

Day Four - Beads, Bears and Penguins, Oh My

And now for Thursday's Highlights! 

#1: The Polar Bear & Penguin Swim

Thursday morning starts off with a plunge for the courageous. Many polar bears showed up today along with a few penguins and ecstatic fans/paparazzi. At around 7:15-ish the whole crew heads down to the waterfront to either (1) Take their place in the tribe as a Polar Bear: one who fully submerges themselves into the frosty lake, swimming from the dock to the shore or (2) Arise as a penguin, boldy stepping and kicking their legs and feet into the chilly lake, returning to the shore victorious! Buddies and campers overtook the challenge and succeeded make 2015 another successful year for both polar bears and penguins!

The bears have awoken and the battle music begins

The war cry is sounded by the penguins as the army steps up to the front lines 

Veterans, Captains and General walruses cheering on the young recruits 

The mama buddy/staff bears take the leap

Papa bearly makin' a splash...haha lame pun attempt successful (Insert thumbs up emoji)

#2: The Speedboat

Thursday brought something extra cool for the adventurous! During the lake time the kids got an option to take a wild ride on a speed boat, leaving many thrill seekers satisfied. There's nothing quite like the wind and water hitting your face at mach 7... (Ok so maybe we exaggerated a little bit on the speed but it was pretty fun)

#IHopeTheOtherKidsDidn'tBlowOut... #Jk

#SplashZone #LovinLife

#3: Beads

Lizards, turtles and even BSU...there's no limit to what you can do. Just grab some beads and throw em on a string, buddies and campers makin' everything. But seriously, one of the long time favs up here at RFKC. Everyone lovin' them beads!

Bead it...just bead it...It doesn't matter who's wrong or right just bead it...

This is Greek for "God's Favorite Team"!

#4: The Splatter Box

One of the hip, new craft additions. The splatter box was killin' it this year! (In a good safe way)

The beauty is that there is no wrong way to splatter. Just grab some paint and let it go.. let it go..don't hold it back and build a splattericious snowman if you want. The kids loved this and the creative juices were spattering everywhere.

Double fisting 

A true artist always signs his work

Ta-Da

#MindJustBlown

#5: Award Ceremony / Graduation

The last night of camp usually ends off with a ceremony of awards and a graduation. Every camper gets an award. These awards are unique to the camper and are determined by their buddy. Awards such as "Mr. Zip Line", "The Archery Queen", "Fastest Runner at Camp" are given out to recognize all the amazing gifts and talents that these kids possess and made known up at camp. Other awards that are given throughout the night are the Polar Bear/Penguin awards from this morning and we end the ceremony off with a graduation for the campers who will be too old to return next year. The graduates are prayed for, blessed and commissioned individually by their buddies and given the "royal" graduation treatment, caps and all.

Next up is the "no shower award"...

Day Three - Get your Party Pants On!

Today was amazing!!! We've got some awesome shots and highlights so here we go!

#1: Woodworking

Woodworking is always a hit with the campers. Turns out the master craftsman and carpenters can make almost anything the kids can think of! Boats, race cars, tanks, bird houses, doll houses..you name it! Once it's made it's often taken to a painting area where the camper and their buddy will paint it as they so desire. Bryon and Rod have done an amazing job this year!

Miracle man Bryon!

Joyful man Rod!

# 2: The Birthday Party

The presents are wrapped, the dinning hall is decorated, the kids are being distracted with a giant parachute game out side while the staff gets ready for this magical moment! We have our tunnel of joy and cheers constructed by some of the most talented, passionate people on the planet. We open the doors and EXTREME joy, awe and wonder is released as the kids make their way to what may be their very first birthday party EVER!! We wish we could show the look on the faces of the kids opening their presents, wearing their birthday crowns and overwhelmed with excitement! We welcome up the Birthdays by month. Each camper is called upon and heavily cheered as they receive their crown and birthday box. After all the months and campers have received their present, the dining hall erupts with the Happy Birthday song!

The Sign is up!!

The Presents are wrapped!

The Aussies make their way through the Joy Tunnel to take their place at the end of it!

And then the magic begins!!!!!

#3: Games/Activities for down time

There is always something for the kids to have fun with at RFKC. Here's some shots of the guys lounge are that sounds of ping pong ball chatter, fuse ball whirling and an upright piano being tickled with joy and melodies nonstop! 

Who knew Thor did this when he's not saving the world!

Ping pong professionals

Jerry and his buddy James haha

#4: The Face Paint Area

A location that gets frequent attention each day is the face paint. Lions, tigers and flowers...oh my! 

The kids love looking through the face paint example/how-to book and chalkin' up their face and especially their buddy's!

#5: The Have a Go Show

Another magical moment of the night! Music Lady Jenn and Music Man Nate, MC the event that showcases all of the talent only found here up at RFKC. One memorable quote from the night was right at the start when Music Lady Jenn asked, "Hey, what is a great way to open up every special event with?" A camper raises his hand out of the audience and says, "Cheetos!" (We were looking for the National Anthem haha) Thus begins the Have A Go Show 2015! We saw Dancing, Drawing, a Let It Go performance, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle defeating balloon foes, Yoyo tricks, magic tricks, Let It Go again, Juggling Acts, Piano, ukelele, percussion solos, a speech/testimony from one of the campers... too much talent in the room and thats not even half of them! The show was a success and the paparazzi was relentless!

Music Lady Jenn kickin' things off!

Music Man Nate giving a word from our sponsors

The pic says it all!

Even the buddies get in on the fun!

Day Two - Somethin' Fishy

What a beautiful day for sailin', fishin', zippin' and a magician?! Throughout the week we will be sharing with you all the great adventures the kids go on, showcase activities, fill you in on all the highlights and as much of the camp experience we can cram in a few paragraphs. Here's a few highlights from today!

#1 : The Sailboat 

For some this is the very first time these kids have been on a boat and what an amazing day for it too! It's always fun to see kids conquer fear as they step out boldly to the front of the boat!

This campers ready for anything! 

Highlight # 2: The Biggest Catch of the Day

One of the cool new activities as of this year is fishing! We got 300 fish loaded into the camp pond for the kids to catch during their activity time. Girls and boys pulling in fish for the first time and having a little competition as well. One camper told me he caught 2 and a half fish... Not entirely sure where the other half went but he sure was excited (turns out he caught two fish, hook a third and his friend helped him fully bring it in for a complete catch haha). Today the camper below reeled in this beaut.

The biggest catch of the day!

Highlight # 3: The "Scariest" Catch of the Day

While some catch fish, others catch bugs. While some catch bugs, others catch SNAKES! Multiple snakes were caught today. All of which (that we are aware of) were released before bedtime. Many kids make bug boxes up here at camp. The cool thing about these boxes is that they aren't limited to bugs. In fact, if they are well put together with the right amount of staples, they function pretty nicely as a prison for a snake.

#Snakebox #Dinner? #ThingsWeDon'tBringBackOnTheBus 

Highlight # 4: The Magician

Don't worry he wasn't allowed to make any kids disappear, but he had some mind-blowing tricks for the kids. Some of the staff and buddies were trying to make sense of the tricks up into the midnight hours in cabin five. He stumped many with this trick below as one of the campers laid on a table only for him to remove the table's legs leaving it suspended in the air. He also gave a great message of the gospel, ministering to the hearts of the kids.

Oh, oh it's magic...

Highlight # 5: Superheroes invade RFKC

Two things the kids also love, which we might showcase more throughout the week, is dress up and the zip line! Today we got to see a little Thor runnin' around, a couple Spidermen, football players with pads and helmets, princesses, Elsa, superheroes and more. Here's a shot of one superhero ridin' the zip! 

Hang in there man, this world needs your help!

Another great shot of a buddy helping his camper get ready for the zip line.

Tuesday's behind the scenes 

THE BIG SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY IS TOMORROW!!!! Buddies take time to pack their kids' boxes full of gifts bought and donated by people from all over. Here's a shot of one of the buddies getting ready in one of our top secret cabins which protects all of the top secret gifts for the kids.

Boxes awaiting tomorrow's destiny

I believe that's all we got for today. Continue to pray for the kids, buddies and staff. We value and are strengthened by all of your prayers and support!!!

Day One - Beginnings

Royal Family Kids Camp 2015 has begun!!! God has been so faithful! Every year we get to see Jesus wrap these kids up in His arms of love. We've always been blessed with such an amazing team of staff and buddies who the Lord uses mightily to welcome these kids into a place of belonging, family and destiny. Our camp theme this year is ROYALTY and every kid has a destiny, a purpose and a place in the heart of God. We are so excited to see what God does in His princes and princesses this year at camp!

Here's a shot of this mornin'. The team pulls out all the stops. The welcome signs for the kids are amazingly put together by their buddies. The first thing the returning kids look for on the bus is their name, telling everyone what is going to happen before they even turn into the camp. The signs are pretty big deal. "Wow! They actually know my name! I'm important, a celebrity!" You can actually see the red carpet we role out every year that the kids step out onto as their names get called through a mega-phone. The kids were highly welcomed and camp officially begins.

Here's some of the signs a little closer up 

The lion on the far right poster is a 3D puzzle that his buddy put together and pasted on it, complete with 3D glasses! 

We got some amazing new activities and things for the kids to do. Today we want to showcase the new paddle boards!!! These kids are FEARLESS! The kids have to go through a swim test before they can use them, but once they pass the jump from the dock and swim to the shore they get a purple wristband that enables them to bodily step into a new challenge. Pretty legit or as my friends from the 70s would put it...groovy!! Next up, wake boarding?? Haha maybe not.

More of the "activity" side of camp to come, but for now we'll move on to our first night together. We normally end the night off with a service of sorts including worship, drama, gifts and surprises, and "more drama" haha jk but the kids always have a blast. Monday night is super special for our new campers. Every camper on their first year gets a quilt, hand-picked beforehand by their buddies. These quilts are so precious to these kids as many of them hold on to it for the rest of their lives!

The three ladies in this picture were the ones who sewed all of these quilts and have done this for 16 years!!

To wrap things up (no quilt pun intended) we send the campers to bed and all of them get a new stuffed animal of their choice. Pretty awesome!

Here's a shot of the night life of RFKC. The buddies and staff who aren't on guard duty with the kids take it to "Cabin 5". Which is totally top secret and I have no clue why I'm showing you this but this is the opportunity for the buddies to work on their campers scrapbooks which have to be done at the end of camp.

P.S. you can probably tell that none of them are "actually working" haha. This maybe for two reasons: One being, we haven't printed today's photos for them to scrapbook and two being the other great part of Cabin 5 is for the team to just hang, chill, unwind and snack on junk food.

Here's the goods.

Thank you for your prayers and support! Excited what tomorrow will bring!