Sugar Camp started because my daughter and her two friends wanted to go to camp. They were excited to be shipped off and experience “camp”. Prior to Camp, they had sleepovers at each other’s houses that included making forts out of blankets and chairs, they took baths together in their swimming suits, they biked, scooted, rollered, and skipped the neighborhood. They were ready for venturing out into something more — together.
And then we had a pandemic. The girls were expressing their disappointment that they couldn’t go off to camp because everything was shut down. They embraced the recommended separation by having a hatch-back sleepover in our vehicles in one of the drive ways. We backed three vehicles into a circle so the girls could remain in their own hatch-back to visit, laugh, and do whatever middle school girls do. They brought battery operated candles and all the blankets and pillows to make it cushy fun. They made it through the night despite the crispness that happens with a Minnesota spring.
But that wasn’t enough. They were heartbroken on not getting to go to camp.
So, I stepped in.
I asked the parents if they were cool with me hosting a camp at our cabin and they were all in.
I didn’t want the camp to just be another sleepover event, though. The girls had done that (and will continue to do that). I wanted to deliver a different experience for them.
So, step one was naming the camp. …Because I name things. It was my husband, actually, who immediately suggested the name be Sugar Camp.
You see, since the moment these girls became friends (in elementary grades — they are each one year apart), they skip around laughing, teasing, making noises like they have a constant feed of sugar being pumped into their veins. Thanks to that joy-filled (and silly) friendship, my husband started calling them the Sugar Sisters. It stuck.
So, duh. Camp needed to be named, Sugar Camp.
I went to work on a logo and the tag line (because I can’t help myself): Anchored in sweet friendship. I used that tag line as the fuel to create a camp agenda and even camp rules. I wanted — for them — the opportunity to leave behind distractions (i.e. phones) so that they could fully immerse themselves into their friendship, learning, and fun. That meant camp would be an experience where they got to have deep conversations, the opportunity to learn via various experts that lived in proximity of our cabin, and certainly to be their authentic, raw selves.
This last summer was the fifth year that I got to serve as Camp Counselor Case. As Triple C, I serve as the chaperone, driver, boat captain, teacher, therapist, chef, fire builder, and sometimes-maid. Our camp themes were focused on friendship, strength, empowerment, leadership, and values. We’ve had lessons on self-defense, money, business, creativity, vehicle maintenance, work ethic, farming/milking, and even small engine repair. They got to visit with artists, ranchers, small business owners, restauranteurs, and financial professionals. They fixed a four-wheeler, learned to build a fire then cook over it, built a full fire-pit, and put together kits for sick children in the hospital and separate kits for women having experienced sex trafficking. They got quiet and learned about themselves as individuals, developing vision boards, I AM statements, personal goals, and they gave themselves grace and burned their limited beliefs.
Over the five years, I’ve watched their friendship remain consistent and intentional. I’ve listened to them continue to be silly and free with each other. I’ve experienced their growth in what they share and in what they desire for themselves, their families, their future, and their friendship.
There is joy in junk.
Five years ago when we were living in the scary unknown world that had a sweeping, disastrous virus consuming the world, I got to pull three girls together and continue to create a space for them to anchor their sweet friendship — and to personally grow into what they know matters most.
I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to start Sugar Camp if there wasn’t a pandemic. The three girls would have been shipped off to camp somewhere in Minnesota. They would have had a grand time, I’m sure. But I wouldn’t have been part of all the pieces, the conversations, the growth, the intention.
I won’t sugar coat it (see what I did there?), it’s hard work putting a camp together. Sure, it’s only three girls, but when it’s just you creating a meaningful agenda that hopefully serves who these girls are today and that will serve who they become tomorrow, it’s a ton of work. First, getting a date for camp that works for everyone — they participate in sports, travel with their families, have jobs — is the first trick. Then, creating an agenda that includes field trips, a coordinated and theme-based lesson plan, meals, Sugar Shack (Yeah! When you have Sugar Camp, you need a pause in the day to get to shop the sweets!), lake time, intentional quiet time, crafts, and insight sharing, is very time-consuming.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a labor of love. I now that’s cliché, but I got to be the one to pump something into their lives that will hopefully sit with them forever. I got to arrange the teaching of lessons that they’ll need now and when they’re off on their own. I got to share much of my life and the lessons I’ve learned, I got to share sides of me that many parents don’t typically get to (or choose to) share with their kids, I got to be their listening ear to hear their concerns, their loves. I got to love on them in a way that will forever fill my heart.
Getting to do this also taught me to be more vulnerable and intentional in my own life. Watching these girls grow, both individually and in their friendship, inspired me to reflect deeply on my own journey and the friendships that shape me. It drove me to put the same effort into my relationships and personal growth that I put into creating Sugar Camp. I found myself revisiting what I would have wanted at their age — and what I wish for my child to learn about herself and about life. It’s a continual journey of growth, both for them and for me, and I’m profoundly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it.
When I write, I like for readers to feel like they have specific takeaways. (“What the heck do I do with this, LeAnn?”) This article is different. I simply wanted to capture the joy in the overall opportunity and richness of our experiences — from the profound moments to the unexpected ones, like exposing the girls to cows getting inseminated 😉. I am incredibly thankful that the Sugar Moms (and Dads) trusted me for five years to take care of their daughters and introduce them to new ideas, deeper thoughts, and intentional living. I want to thank our three Sugar Sisters for opening your hearts, diving into challenging projects, and recognizing the bigger lessons — and applying them.
Side note to the Sugars:
Sugs, on our last morning of Sugar Camp, after you set intentions during our early morning paddle board to the channel Lilly pad sanctuary, you were rowing back into the big area of the lake and into the sunlight, side by side by side. I couldn’t help but pause and watch you.
You have the world in front of you and you have each other at your side. You have the light shining down on you. You are each a beautiful soul with greatness that I have seen you embrace. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn and appreciate my own greatness right with you. You have taught me that silliness, authenticity, intentionality, appreciation, and wonder can be applied at any age, at any moment. You have helped me to embrace all things with all those qualities.
Eep. Eep. 😉
This year, after five years, Sugar Camp has sunsetted. My daughter is the oldest of the three and would be going off to college. On our last morning together, the Sugars set an intention to keep their friendship alive in all the ways our phones allow, but to also continue to get together each summer for at least a couple of days. They are realistic and they are true to their sweet friendship.
I love that for them. I love that for all of us.