Week two of Summer 2026 was another awesome collection of events, activities, and endless fun. We got through the beginning of the week’s heat wave by spending lots of time in the water – swimming, sailing, paddling and sliding on the lake, plus jumping in the pool and playing all day.
The heat broke just in time for the 4th of July. We started celebrating America’s 250th B-day with our annual Tough Mudder. The 3.5 mile obstacle course is comprised of 45 different stations, all covered in mud. The bunks complete the course as a unit – each member must finish the task before they can move to the next one. Challenges included a wall climb, a huge tire drag, an army crawl in the mud, various sprints and dodges, a baby-pool jump, beach-ball-rolls, tire jumps, hammering nails into logs, and more. As the big finale, each kid gets to run and “slip and slide” to the finish line.
From the Tough Mudder, everyone headed to TJC field for our Carnival! The fun-filled afternoon included lawn games, a wet sponge throw, and yummy carnival food like snow cones and cotton candy, fried oreos and more!. We had a silent auction that night, where kids used their carnival tickets to bid on special prizes like a campus leader cleaning their bunk, director for a day, omelets with Rachel, and more!
After such an action-packed 4th of July, we enjoyed a couple of days of regular summer camp fun, playing Tramp Ball and dodgeball, fishing on the lake, traversing the ropes course, and more. Some campers went to tournaments at other camps like basketball and baseball, and our intensive tennis program played on indoor courts to dodge the rain one day. We also watched the World Cup all together as team USA sadly lost. Meanwhile, our eldest campers, the Senecas, left for their weeklong trip to Costa Rica.
After a couple of rainy days, then segued to our special event day – one for each age group. TJC enjoyed “Minecraft Day”, which started by building and decorating their emblem and their armor, slaying dragons, and doing Minecraft activities throughout the campus. LSR had “Survivor Day”, and they indeed had to outwit, We had a couple of rainy days, then segued to our special event day – one for each age group. TJC enjoyed “Minecraft Day”, which started by building and decorating their emblem and their armor, slaying dragons, and doing Minecraft activities throughout the campus. LSR had “Survivor Day”, and they indeed had to outwit, outplay, and outlast each other. The tasks included a boat-building competition, a scavenger hunt, capture the flag, and tribal councils along the way. USR had World Cup Day – they played a big soccer tournament, then moved on to Slip and Slide kickball. The Upper Seniors said, and we quote, “It was the most fun they’ve ever had at camp.”!
The end of the week was a hugely exciting moment – our official Green & White (Color War) breakout. The campers had gathered on the field for what they thought was our afternoon assemblies, snack and a sporting event, when suddenly, the Senecas (our eldest campers) ran onto the field carrying flags, surrounded by smoke machines and bagpipe players. The G&W team captains appeared on the Kruger roof, shouting and cheering, and everyone knew what was happening.
From there, we had two special guests ‘enter the chat’ – college basketball players Lenny Tangishaka (to lead the Green team), and Tayeshawn Pemberton (to lead the White Team). The special guests paired up with the Senecas from each team, and our first official G&W event was underway. After a tight game with both teams cheering from the sidelines, the Green team were the big winners of that event. You can follow along here on our “2026 Green and White” totem page to learn more.
That’s it for Week Two. Don’t forget, you can get MKN news every day on MKN Today. Be sure to create an account and see/read all the daily happenings at camp!