What's S'Happening with the Stockwells: Camp Keoka

Back when I first met Ben, there was this thing called "Play Week" at the compound. At the time, there were about fifty little girl cousins and like maybe one or two boy cousins, and so the obvious thing to do was to get all the girl cousins together for a week, and produce a play (not to be completely gender stereotypical or anything). There was singing and dancing and costuming and face-painting and rehearsing, and above all, serious cousin bonding. And the parents (of girls) that lived in that era swear by the wonder of play week.

But the weird thing about Ben's extended family (ok, there may be more than just one weird thing) is that babies appear to be born in gender clumps. This pattern dates back to the "White Sneaker Gang" of boys that dominated Waterford circa 1960. After that bubble of boys came a lady-palooza (otherwise known as "the play era"). Ben is one of only three or four male cousins in his generation. But when those lady-paloozas aged out of summer plays, and the next generation (which, in typical Stockwell fashion, is 95% dominated by members of the Y-chromosome persuasion) emerged, Play Week entered into extinction.

Until 2015. Thanks to one of Ben's uncles (who happens to have five grandsons and zero granddaughters), Camp Keoka was born. Camp Keoka, like play weeks of old, was built to bring cousins together. Rick's vision was to bring all the cousins (boys and girls) together for a week, to play and learn and explore and give back, and to leave Keoka with stronger familial bonds than those they came with.

Mission accomplished.

We kicked off camp week with a family wedding. A perfect occasion to get into our fancy pants...

And make silly faces. Ella's is my favorite.

This lady. Who knew this was the beginning of such a wonderful week together? I think we will forever remember Camp Keoka 2015.

Yup, it was THAT kind of wedding. The kind that makes you swoon, and rejoice, and be grateful, and smile, and love your family in a new way. It was the kind of wedding that reminds you just how spectacularly special it is to say "I do".

The morning after the wedding, Grandpa took Ethan, Adam, and Caz out for a private fishing expedition.

Three happier boys could not be found.

And the fun just kept on keeping on. Finding rocks together a was primary goal of camp week.

Only the bravest made it to Midnight on Stonywood Pizza Night.

New alliances emerged.

New friendships strengthened.

And the days' decisions were as simple as whether to swim, fish, or kayak.

Every day began with a "Minute to Win It" challenge and a recap of all campers' Acts of Kindness and Acts of Bravery.

Someone is just like his Dad in random acts of coordination and concentration.

On the last night of camp week, even the adults got in on the Minute to Win It challenge. The goal here was to get as many Cheetos as possible to stick onto a shaving-creamed head.

Lots'o boys set out in search of the Greenwood Ice Caves. Spoiler Alert: we never found them. Doubler Spoiler Alert: everyone was surprisingly okay with the wild goose chase.

While Big Brother got to go on an "8 and above" trip to Step Falls, Little Brother got an intimate tour of Waterford.

The "Waterford tour" included a trip to the local bison farm, complete with an introduction to the newest bison calf.

One of my favorite parts of camp week was watching the bonding between the "bigs" and the "littles". Here are Caz, Ella, and Adam with their big cousin Riley after he spent several hours helping them build a sand castle.

And then, of course, there was Storyland.

Here we are, terrified, waiting in line for Storyland's newest roller coaster. It was, in our defense, terrifying.

Learning opportunities abounded during Camp Keoka. Here, Adam and I are about to enter Bumpus Mines in search of barrel crystals, after hearing a full geology lesson from our knowledgable tour guide.

And while I wish I'd had a shot of the magical result instead, here are some boys creating luminaries that were then set afloat after our "campout" on Stones Cove Beach. Watching the lit luminaries float across Keoka Lake after singing songs and hearing stories on the beach at sunset is a sight I will never forget.