Ooh, chilly mornings... but the families have been really awesome!  I never know what to think with a retreat of mostly new volunteers but this crop has been exceptional.  Everyone gets along and everyone pitches in!  My DTD family is once again expanding!

Overall, MS may be a pain to have, but all the families seem to have pretty great attitudes for kicking this disease which has no cure, and have quite supporting caregivers too!

The FFA Camp itself is so nice.  The wildlife we have seen is tiny frogs, wild boars, turkeys and even an alligator!  It is so peaceful here - no city distractions. I just love DTD!

-BR

October 9, 2010

At breakfast we assisted the families with the kids. They noted how helpful the volunteers were and how it was a relief to be able to enjoy a meal. After breakfast all the volunteers took the kids downstairs for the wish boar craft. The older kids painted their own boats and the volunteers painted ones for the infants. A lot of kids thoroughly enjoyed the arts and craft. We then split the kids into groups – the younger kids went to “Kids Korner” while the children did activities based on their ages. Throughout the course of the morning all the kids went on a GPS scavenger hunt. We then had lunch and the Outdoor Extravaganza with a bounce house, kites, tie dye and more. Dinner was excellent! Family fun night was fun with bingo, Wii, board games and an ice cream social. It was a busy day but everyone made many memories.

~Anonymous

October 8, 2010

Friday morning we all woke up after going to bed rested. We had breakfast and then split the young children for kids corner while the adults enjoyed the outdoors and Artworld.  Artworld was a great experience for the families. They were able to play games, bond with other children and families as well as be able to enjoy art time where they used magazines, pens, markets and stickers and other things to decorate a paper about their life. Then we had free time! It was a perfect time for the children and parents to take a load off and relax. After dinner was the dance party! The children absolutely loved this. Some brought costumes from home while others used the costumes provided. They danced and loved switching from costume to costume. While the children were enjoying that the parents enjoyed a dessert party. The children also enjoyed Hope the Bear tuck-ins!

~Anonymous

October 7, 2010

The families arrived today, and everyone was on time. I was very excited when I met my family. After dinner we did ice breakers and got to know one another. What I enjoyed the most today was the campfire! The family I was with absolutely loved the s’mores! I did too because I had like three! There were some people who were at first nervous and shy about singing but before I knew it everyone was singing!

The volunteers then got together and recapped for the day. We switched some activities around, but in the end we were prepared for tomorrow’s adventures!

~Anonymous

August 12, 2010

Volunteers arrived and had lunch, icebreakers and orientation then we all met our fabulous families! We had dinner together and played some games,

~Whitlee

August 14, 2010

Today was jam packed, but a little more relaxing. We did wish board and had various group talks. My favorite part was the bird show. And the best part was the tie dye. All the families had so so so much fun. Then the families and volunteers had free time and we ended the night with the family game night. Some won awesome prizes at Bingo while some rocked the mike at karaoke. There was an intense UNO battle and Wii games going on. We even got a little twisted up with Twister.

I had an amazing time on the retreat and hope I have the opportunity to do it again. The volunteers, coordinators, staff and families are all amazing. I hope all the bonds and friendships made over the weekend are lasting

~Whitlee

August 13, 2010

Work up bright and early to go fishing (no one had any luck L). After breakfast we headed down to the rock wall. Everyone had an awesome time giving it a try. After lunch we went to Artworld and I took my two youngest boys to the playground and to see the snakes. After dinner was the super pumped up costume dance party and we all boogied until there was no more boogie left in us.

~Whitlee