Hooser Burn Camp Winter Gathering. This is a wonderful gathering time for Burn Survivors and their families and the staff of the Hoosier Burn Camp to come together and get to know each other and just have fun!
We stayed at the University Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in West Lafayette, IN. The food, hotel and activities are all paid for by the Hoosier Burn Camp (a not-for-profit organization).
Saturday we arrived just in time for lunch. The room was so full of people that we had to split up and didn't get to sit together but Katie and I sat at a table with a family we had never met before and Beth, who is a camp counselor and part Riley Child Life Center. I'm not sure if she is an employee or a volunteer at Riley but she was one that came to visit and bring Ellie games and surprises when she was in the hospital. Beth is a joy to know and it was fun to see her again.
The two girls on the left of Ellie are burn survivors that were in her cabin at camp last May.
At the skating and game center. 
Girls like their hotel room! Gee, getting them to take showers was no problem on this day!
This is the view right outside or hotel doors. (since we were special and got 2 rooms!) LOL
View from the pool.
After lunch we had a large group picture (there were about 150 -170 people there). Then some Ice Breaker games. 1-4 was Swimming and free time in the hotel and we got to see our rooms. They were so nice! We got 2 adjoining rooms - one for the kids with 2 double beds and ours had one king size bed. I love the pillows at hotels! They are the best.
5:15: Everyone was transported to a skating rink with laser tag and Arnie's salad and pizza for everyone! 3 large buses were used for transportation but our family was assigned to ride with HBC Director Mark Koopman's wife in her van. We felt special!
At the skating party, I got to talking to a lady whose daughter goes to my old high school and her nephew married the daughter of some people I used to know. Small world! This lady was into photography and had a new camera with a fancy lens so she had fun trying to take pictures of Joel and me skating. In a few days, she is going to email me the pictures!
The evening finished back in the conference center with the staff putting on a cute program to show us what the campfire programs are like when the kids are at camp. Then we finished by all holding hands in a large circle and singing this song that made me cry every time: Friends, I will remember you, think of you and pray for you. And when the day is through I'll still be friends with you". (not sure if I got it completely correct but mostly)
