Beebs and Nic here! We’re taking over tonight for Jami who is making the rounds (including to cabin 3 who are stargazing right now with their counselors.)

We cannot believe we only have two more sleeps at the best place ever with your girlies. We’ve had the best summer with them watching them grow, making new friends, giggling about the silliest things, and making the most of their time on Meta Lake. This week at camp marks that time of the summer when the girls (especially Senior Cabin) start noticing the “lasts” until next year; Our last red and white events yesterday, our last chicken patties at lunch today, you get it. It’s also the time when they reflect on the impact camp has made on them, and the impact they have made on camp. We are so fortunate to have this Marimeta community that the girls make their own each summer: putting their unique stamp on traditions old and new here. Take for example, today’s takeover of camp by Senior Cabin in the morning, and CITs in the afternoon. Senior Cabin planned and led camp in Human Fortnite, which is a game they played when they were younger and wanted to bring back to share with everyone here. The CITs planned and led a Superhero afternoon, culminating in Gunk Game with senior cabin, a very messy and very fun activity that Senior Cabin look forward to each summer.

Speaking of time-old traditions, we participated in the AC relay on Sunday, and wow what a relay it was! The event came down to the string wire at the Captains Event with a once-in-a-generation comeback in the fire-building event. The support each team showed for each other during this event emphasized our moral of cheering on our friends. Every camper put their heart into that relay, and we are so proud of the red and white teams and their dedicated captains. At campfire last night, we heard from the little captains and co-captains how they’ve grown and what they’ve witnessed as leaders. One of the co captains said it best, so we’re just here as her messengers: “Realize the value of female friendship. When you throw a bunch of girls in one cabin, drama will of course appear. But what else appears is the understanding of how women behave together. Women have the ability to lift each other up and empower each other. Growing up in an all girls camp helps you truly grasp the power that women wield when we support each other.” That power was on display yesterday, and again today, and is woven into the fabric of Marimeta.

After we pack up in the morning and do some final cabin and camp activities, we look forward to banquet tomorrow, where we will give out awards for achievements in activities, celebrate our overall achievements for campers and staff, and hear speeches from the Overall Captains. Omar and his team in the kitchen have already been preparing for an incredible meal of prime rib, roasted potatoes and sauteed vegetables. The awards ceremony at dinner will culminate in the announcement of red and white winner for 2023. We have no doubt that win or lose, everyone in the mess hall will cheer on the winners, because, well, that’s what we do here!

This summer has gone by in the blink of an eye. We are so grateful to you for sharing your girls with us this summer as we continue to benefit from this supportive community in such a special place. We will keep everyone posted on timing and travel on Wednesday, and until then we are signing off!

Love the happy times,

Beebs and Nic

We are in our final weekend of 2023 but there’s still plenty of camping left!

Yesterday started off with egg frittata and sausage for breakfast. We then went into our final day of K-Day activities! During this time, our ski team headed over to Kawaga to compete in their annual ski and wakeboarding competition! Our girls did well placing first in wakeboarding and third in waterskiing! We are so proud of them! For lunch, we had ciabatta sandwiches and for dinner, we had turkey with veggies and tiramisu for dessert. For evening program we played our last rounds of capture the flag for the summer. Red and White spirit was brought and left on the field!

Today was a big day for our campers, The Sing! The day started with croissants for breakfast, for lunch, we had loaded baked potatoes, and for dinner, we had quesadillas with homemade churros for dessert. During the day, campers participated in their last day of G-Day activities as well as sing practice during general.

This evening is one of my favorite nights of the summer. Watching the entire camp come together on their teams to partake in The Sing is a highlight and represents exactly what makes Marimeta so special. Our senior cabin campers work so hard throughout the session to bring planning, organization, and creativity in order to craft their songs and costumes for The Sing. Through this tradition at camp, our senior cabin campers teach their teams three camp songs and write a new song aligned with their theme. This year’s themes were Red Magic School Bus and White Birthday Party. Campers practice throughout the entirety of the session, make costumes, and learn choreography. The program is entirely camper-led and directed, no staff is involved in the performance. Every single camper partakes in this event together and it represents the leadership and collaboration that we strive for girls to learn while they are at camp. In the end, the Red Team won the Sing with a very close margin of points. It brings me to tears every year how proud I am to be a part of a community that fosters the drive and creativity that we see from these young women! As soon as we are able to edit the video, we will post it on YouTube for you to enjoy at home!

Tomorrow will be a lazy Sunday with our All Camp (AC) relay in the afternoon. Campers will participate in various events competing for their team in a relay that will take up the afternoon!

Love the happy times,

Jami

It’s been some fabulous days here at Marimeta! We are making the most of every moment.

Monday began with English muffins and eggs for breakfast. We then went into our normal K-day activities following our new schedules for the session! For lunch, we had chicken fingers with celery, carrots, and dipping sauces. Dinner was beef fajitas with all the toppings and cookies for dessert! For evening program we had rounds of team competition for Red and White. Campers left if all on the field competing against other little teams and earning points for their red and white teams in events such as steal the bacon, sideline basketball, kickball and more!

Tuesday was our town day, a very exciting day at camp! In the morning, campers were able to swim the lake if they wanted to supervised by our amazing group of lifeguards. For breakfast, we had pancakes and sausage and for lunch, we had macaroni and cheese! After lunch, campers boarded the busses to head to downtown Minocqua! Campers were given a few hours to shop around at stores and enjoy some treats from town such as candy from the fudge shop or ice cream! After shopping, the whole camp gathered in a pavilion to enjoy Domino’s pizza for dinner before we headed to the Lumberjack show. The whole camp then took the busses to Woodruff to enjoy the Fred Scheers lumberjack show. Campers were able to watch lumberjacks compete in wood-chopping competitions, tree climbing, log rolling, and relays. It was such a fun show and we cheered our Lumberjacks on the Marimeta way—nice and loud with some YO HOs thrown in there!

Yesterday, we had our regular K-day activities! For breakfast we had French toast, for lunch, we had Italian beef and for dinner, we had Dirkee Chicken (which is chicken coated in French fried onions). After taking showers during general, we boarded the busses after dinner to head to Camp Menominee for a social! Upon arrival, the boys had planned many different stations for the girls including pop-a-shot, palm reading, bowling, shaved ice, popcorn, trampolines, and funnel cake! The girls had a blast socializing with the boys at Menominee!

This morning started off with a sleep-in as we have had some late nights over the past few days! It was backwards day so campers were woken up by the sounds of Taps! Breakfast (or dinner) was chicken and waffles with cookies for dessert. After that, our rancher cabins all went to town on a rotating schedule to play laser tag! They had a blast! Our dudes played at the waterfront as it was a very hot day today while our pioneers played slip and slide kickball where each base was a kiddle pool at the end of a wet tarp and when running to a base they had to slide into the pool! For lunch, we had grilled cheese with tomato soup! After lunch, we had a normal rest hour followed by waterfront general and then our 4th and then 3rd-period G-day activities. We raised the flag before dinner (walking backward of course) and then indulged in breakfast for dinner of bagels, eggs, bacon and cereal! Of course, we also had our yogurt and fruit bar too! After dinner we played a camp favorite; chaos vs control! During this game campers dress in all white and are chaos while staff dress in all black and act as the control. The goal is for campers to get a slip of paper they are carrying to a collection point without getting tagged by a counselor. If they get tagged, they have to give up their slip of paper and head back to get another one outside the mess hall. It’s a lot of running and fun and friendly competition between staff and campers!

The next few days will be packed in with fun including the Sing on Saturday, our last game of capture the flag, our all-camp relay, a theme day, banquet and final campfires!

Love the happy times,

Jami

This will be my last recap email of July and we have been busy savoring every moment here on Meta Lake!

Yesterday was a very special day at camp, Manny and Pan’s Treasure hunt. Throughout the day, campers partake with their red and white teammates to solve riddles and puzzles that lead them to clues around camp. There has to be a lot of problem-solving, brainstorming, running around camp, and searching high and low! It is engaging and so fun to watch the teams work together to solve the clues. Our campers were fueled with French toast for breakfast, tacos for lunch, and steak K-bobs for dinner with ice cream sandwiches for dessert! After dinner, Camp Horseshoe came over for a social where campers were able to see and meet friends, dance, play lawn games, and snack on popcorn and freeze pops!

Today, we started the day with our Sunday sleep in where campers could sleep in or hang out until 10 am. After that, we had Sunday clubs while some of our campers played against some of our staff in a Staff VS Camper Tennis Tournament! In the end, our staff won 31-20. There were campers on the sidelines cheering on their fellow campers and it was a great joy to watch! For lunch, we had lox and bagel with eggs and oatmeal cookies for dessert! After lunch, campers participated in activities, changed beds, and had cabin meetings. This led us to dinner which was a cookout with burgers on the grill and lemon bar, raspberry chocolate chip, and vanilla ice cream for dessert! As we do every Sunday, for evening program, we gathered around the campfire to sing songs, listen to speeches by Cabin 11 about doing the right thing, and have a Key Log ceremony.

The story goes that way back when, before camp was founded, in order to move wood across the state, lumberjacks would harvest trees and float them down the river to get them to major cities. During this process, one log would get stuck and cause a jam and pile up for all the other logs. That log was called the “Key Log”. The lumberjack who had to climb atop all of the other logs to unstick the pile-up was brave as it was a very dangerous task. To unstick the log, the lumberjack would risk his life for the greater good, to allow the logs to continue to flow down the river. So in our Key Log ceremony, we throw in a Key Log (a piece of wood) to thank someone for doing something for us. It is heartwarming to hear our girls recognizing each other for the ways in which they have been helped thus far at camp. Campers were thanked, counselors were thanked, and we lived by our Marimeta moral to thank everyone who has helped us along the way.

Tomorrow will start our new activity schedules and we will have team competition for evening program! It is sure to be another great day at camp!

Love the happy times,

Jami

Despite the storms last night, it has been another fantastic two days at camp.

Yesterday started with donuts for breakfast. For lunch, we had chicken patties and for dinner, we had spaghetti bolognese with cream puffs for dessert! Yesterday was our day for Red and White water relays! Campers participated throughout the day in various water-based competitions such as water balloon toss, greasy watermelon, log rolling, swim races to fill a bucket with a pitcher, and more! The relays lasted throughout the whole day and it was a perfect, hot day to be in the water! Around dinner time, storms started rolling through so we proceeded with dinner and then had campers return to their cabins. Fortunately, despite the power outage, our campers had a fun night with evening treats of Oreos and Cheez-Its, creating skits in their cabin, playing games, and spending quality time with their cabin mates. The power was restored and campers were able to go to bed with the peaceful sound of rain on the roof!

For breakfast today we had cheese quiche with our always-present yogurt bar and cereals! For lunch, we had grilled cheese and tomato soup, a camp favorite, where many of our campers try to compete to see how many grilled cheeses they can eat! For dinner, we had Chicken Tika Masala with naan, rice, and cheesecake for dessert. Today for activities we held “Al Lewis” sign-ups where campers can pick their activities each period based on what is offered! We often like to do this mid-session to switch things up and allow campers to have more choice over their daily schedule. It was a gorgeous day full of lots of waterfront activities, tennis, high ropes, and more! Tonight, campers played capture the flag, as we do every Friday for Red and White! It was a competitive and fun time on the field with many exciting captures!

Tomorrow will be a special day at camp with Manny and Pan’s treasure hunt! Our incredible tennis pros, who have been coming to camp for 23 summers, plan an incredible day of puzzles, riddles, and more to challenge the girls into solving their treasure hunt! It will be an all-day extravaganza filled with many brain teasers that the girls are sure to love!

Love the happy times,

Jami

It’s hard to believe we are just two weeks away from the end of camp. This session is flying by!

Yesterday we started the day with pancakes and sausage! After that, we jumped into our normal G-day activities! It was a hot day at camp and campers enjoyed their activities for the morning. For lunch, we had a soup bar including options of broccoli cheddar, chicken and rice, and vegetable soup. In the afternoon, we had some storms come through so during the storms our campers partook in Sing practice! For dinner, we had BBQ chicken with tater tots and broccoli! Last night for evening program we held MetaPalooza which was a blast! For MetaPalooza Vibe Entertainment, an interactive DJ company came and held an epic dance party for the whole camp! Girls got to dance their hearts out and left with amazing new t-shirts as well! During this, our counselors in training planned very fun stations including pie a lodgie, a photo booth, and more! It was an amazing, high-energy night that was an incredible party at camp!

This morning for breakfast we had English muffins and scrambled eggs, for lunch, we had chicken patties and for dinner, we had meatloaf with mashed potatoes, spinach, and zucchini with cookies for dessert! Today started off with a big storm passing through so campers were able to watch the Incredibles in the rec hall. After the storm passed we were able to resume our normal activities. Unfortunately, camp was too wet for us to hold our intercamp competition with Chippewa safely so we are working to reschedule our tennis tournament with them for a later date! This evening we had our talent show! Campers got up on stage to sing, dance and perform skits they had planned! It was a blast and amazing to showcase the various talents of our campers.

Tomorrow we will have our red and white water relays! It’s going to be a beautiful, sunny, hot day on Meta Lake!

Love the happy times,

Jami

We have been having so much fun at camp! Yesterday was our first Sunday of the session where campers were able to sleep in, partake in Sunday clubs (including bracelet making, letter writing, reading, language club, and more), and have some down time in the morning. During the afternoon we held our regular K day 4th and 5th periods due to the fact that they had been rained out the previous two K days! We started with lazy breakfast, had potato bar for lunch, and for dinner had a cookout with burgers on the grill! For evening program we gathered around the glowing campfire. The theme of this week’s campfire was Sportsmanship. Cabins 5 and 6 gave wonderful speeches about how they have learned sportsmanship at Marimeta. Through Red and White or their activities, our campers learn to cheer each other on and be good sports, win or lose. We also sang camp songs and more!

 

Today was our camp photo day! During the morning our campers took photos with their cabins and individual portraits for our second session campers! We also took an all camp photo. We then continued with our regular activities and it was a gorgeous day at camp! The sun was shining all day! For breakfast we had egg casserole with sausage, for lunch we had BLT sandwiches and for dinner we had lasagna (regular, veggie and lasagna roll ups). For evening program, we headed over to Camp Timberlane for Boys who welcomed us in for a social! The girls had a great time seeing and meeting friends!

 

Tomorrow will be another amazing day of regular activities!

 

Love the happy times,

 

Jami

It has been another amazing two days up at camp! Yesterday started with avocado toast and eggs for breakfast followed by our regularly scheduled K-day activities. For lunch, we had quesadillas with all the delicious toppings and for dinner, we had Greek chicken with pasta, veggies, and chocolate cake for dessert! Yesterday we started our practice for The Sing during general. The Sing is a performance that has been a Marimeta tradition since its inception. Our Senior Cabin campers teach their teams three camp songs and write a new song aligned with their theme for this summer (which is still a surprise and we will reveal to you at a later date!). Campers will practice throughout the session, make costumes, and learn movements. The program is entirely camper-led and directed. The creativity, planning, and collaboration are admirable and is one of my favorite things about Marimeta. The way that our oldest campers step up to lead the entire camp is a special thing to witness. Our youngest campers all look up to them and cannot wait to serve in that leadership in the future.

For evening program last night we had our first night of Capture the Flag. Capture the Flag is a Red and White event that is played each Friday at camp. Little teams face off in some epic games and while campers are on the sidelines, they cheer their hearts out supporting their friends in their play on the field. This all contributes to our philosophy around competition and sportsmanship. We have a saying at camp that on the field we are Red and White and in the cabin we are pink. Girls give their all on the field and at the end of the day we recognize that the games and competition are all for fun and that we leave it all on the field! In the cabins, we support and congratulate one another, regardless of the outcome.

Today was a gorgeous sunny day on Meta Lake! For breakfast we had French Toast with fresh blueberries, for lunch, we had chicken wings and for dinner, we had steak with potatoes and spinach as well as lemon pie for dessert! We had a normal day of G-Day activities! Campers enjoyed being on the waterfront and playing at their land activities today with the beautiful weather. During general, we had a small storm roll through so campers headed back to their cabins to play a rainy day activity called “Music League”. Campers were given the theme of “Best Songs to Play in the Shower” and each cabin had to submit a song to the playlist. We then played the playlist for the whole camp to listen to and enjoy! We ran out of time to vote as it was time for dinner but campers were supposed to vote on the best song from the playlist! The rain cleared up in time for evening program and we were able to hold our first team competition rotations of the session. Campers play on their little teams in various activities such as sideline basketball, steal the bacon, soccer, softball, and more!

Tomorrow will be our first Sunday, or lazy day, of the session. Campers will have the opportunity to sleep in or enjoy free time in the morning until 10 a.m. We will then hold a large cabin clean up, and have Sunday clubs such as Reading, Bracelet Making, letter writing, yoga, and more! After lunch, campers will partake in activities, switch beds, and have cabin meetings. In these meetings, we reflect, share, collaborate, and problem-solve. For your campers, this meeting is an open forum to discuss what is going well, what has been challenging, and how we can work together to support each other in reaching individual and shared goals. We place a large emphasis on open communication and believe strongly in teaching your girls how to celebrate achievements, address stumbling blocks, and move forward together.

Love the happy times,

Jami

It has been another wonderful two days at camp! Yesterday was a normal K day of activities in the morning after a breakfast of eggs and sausage! For lunch we had pita sandwiches! In the afternoon we had some storms roll through Eagle River and so we pivoted to have cabin Lip Syncs. During cabin lip syncs, each cabin works together to choreograph a dance and perform it in front of camp (with costumes of course)! They also lip sync along with the song! Luckily when we finished cabin lip syncs, the rain had blown through just in time for us to have our regularly scheduled general period with the sun shining.  For dinner we had chicken cacciatore with rice and broccoli! Our evening program was age group night in which each age group had their own activities! Our ranchers played Marimeta Bingo, our Dudes partook in activities for camp kindness day such as writing kindness notes and creating posters, and our pioneers went go-karting in town!

This morning was a bit chilly on Meta Lake but it didn’t stop us from having so much fun. We started the day with donuts for breakfast with egg casserole, had Italian beef with French fries for lunch, and spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. We had a normal day of G day activities with a sweet day at the canteen. For evening program we started our competition for Red and White! Our first two events were the T-Shirt relay and the red and white hunt. During the red and white hunt, red and white pieces are spread throughout camp and the goal is for each team to collect as many of the pieces as possible. The twist is that only captains of the team can pick up the pieces and the members of the team cannot talk to the captains. Instead they have to use animal noises such as “oink” and “moo” to alert their captain that they have found a piece! It’s a fun and silly game!

Tomorrow will be a normal day of activities with tons more fun packed in!

 

Love the happy times,

Jami

It has been a wonderful start to second session! The energy has been flowing and we’ve had an amazing two days on Meta Lake.

 

Yesterday was our safety day and orientation, otherwise know as “Tasty Day”! Campers rotated through rotations of tennis, health checks, swim tests, s’more’s making and more! Throughout the day they also got to know their cabin mates and counselors. For evening program we played Staffingo! During staffingo, campers dress by cabin in various colors and run around (holding hands as a team) to staff stationed around camp. When they arrive at a staff member, they have to guess a fact about them on their bingo board! The first team to match all the staff to their facts wins!

 

For breakfast yesterday we had blueberry muffins, for lunch we had sub sandwiches and for dinner we had lettuce wraps with turkey and rice pudding for dessert!

 

Today was our first G day of the session! For those who don’t know, G day stands for gratitude day. Campers got to start their normal activities schedules and it was the first full normal day! For evening program, campers partook in Lodgies Last Laugh. During this program, campers work as a cabin to make members of our lodge staff (who have water in their mouths) laugh. If they can make a lodge member spit out their water and laugh, they have accomplished the goal!

 

For breakfast today we had pancakes and bacon, for lunch we had chicken fingers, and for dinner we had ribs and tatertots!

 

Tomorrow will be our first regular K (kindness) day of the session!

 

We are so excited about the fantastic start to the second half of the summer!

 

Love the happy times,

 

Jami