Woah. Camp is 2 weeks away. REALLY?!?!?!?!

This is too crazy for me to handle! Our staff start arriving for orientation as early as next Wednesday, and by next weekend all of our counselors will be in attendance… this is WILD!

So much has been going on in the office. Today I sorted and checked all the 5, 8, and 10 year jackets to make sure they are set and ready for Visiting Day! I returned a lot of  phone calls and have been putting the finishing touches on our trip information. Earlier this week, Terri and I took a road trip to do some research for one of the new trips this year… I can’t say too much more about it, but I’ll post some pictures soon…

Last weekend was our annual Open House, and while I know Eric wrote lots about the beautiful day we had, I’m going to leave you with some pictures of the staff party we had the night before! The theme: 90’s Television Stars:

Getting ready for 90's TV Jeopardy

The Magic School Bus Arrives!

Steve Erkel and Topanga

Alex Mack and Kimmy Gibler

Baywatch!

Everyone!

WE ARE SO EXCITED!

Brian enjoys his Cowboy Cooler at Texas Roadhouse!

Hi Canadensis Family!

I can’t believe it’s only been a week since I arrived at camp, it feels like I’ve been here forever. On the other hand, it feels as though the last few days have flown by! The crazy camp time warp is upon us…

I’ve really been enjoying my time at night getting to know the new  counselors and catching up with friends from last summer. The new staff lounge has been amazing for movie nights and video games, and there was even a “Jazz Night” mixer last week, hosted by Group Leader Levi Smathers. Of course it wouldn’t be a night out of camp without a trip to Wal Mart, so we’ve made sure to stop by a few times and pick up some camp essentials:

We really wanted to buy these toys...

Bridget really LOVES her ranch dressing!

Bridget Haley told us all about her love for ranch salad dressing, ESPECIALLY for the kind from Hidden Valley. We found HUGE tubs of Ranch at Wal Mart for her and she agreed to pose for that picture!

Other than mixers and shopping excursions, we’ve been keeping it rather low key here at pre-camp, enjoying a good game of basketball after dinner, sitting around the campfire at night, and listening to Steve Scott rock out on the guitar. Silly nicknames and jokes are tossed about and everyone is really just counting the days until the first day of camp.

Happy 33 days!

I’ve officially arrived at camp for the summer!

At this point, you’d never believe this was a summer camp, I’d be more easily convinced that we’re a winter ski resort- IT’S SO COLD! I got to camp Sunday around 2 in the afternoon, and luckily Eric Forti and Matt Unger had already turned on the heater in my house. I unloaded my car and began the long long process of unpacking. I’m still not completely unpacked, but I figure I’ve got a few weeks until you all arrive…

It was great arriving at dinner to three tables full of pre-camp counselors, many of whom are returning from summer 2008. We had a fun dinner together and then everyone headed to the office courts for some basketball. The guys (and Bridget!) played a great game and I had tons of fun catching up with friends on the bleachers. When the game was over everyone went off to shower and get ready for an evening out, and I went back to my cabin for some more unpacking. I made some significant progress and then decided to start watching “The Parent Trap” while I was waiting for Tony, the newest addition to our pre-camp staff, to arrive at camp. Once he was here and settled in I made a quick stop in the dining hall for late night coffee and then snuggled up with my million blankets to watch “My Best Friend’s Wedding”.

When I woke this morning it was only slightly warmer than yesterday, but I hear there’s warmer weather on the way. A pre-camp group was arriving as I made my way to the office, where I’ve set up my desk for the summer. Now I’m here in the office with Rita taking calls and working on summer schedules all while enjoying being back in the 18325.

I really can’t wait for this month to fly by! Before we know it summer will be here and we’ll be running around camp as if the past 10 months were just a blur. Until then, you can enjoy one of the songs I have been playing on repeat, an original from our own camp musical genius Steve Scott:
02-summer-sun

And for all of you out there who are as addicted to “Gossip Girl” as I am, I hope you enjoy tonight’s season finale! I’m hoping for a Chuck and Blair reunion, how about you?!?!?!?!

xoxo, Cara.

18325

Rachel Bachman is so excited to share her starbursts!

Soon all of the 2009 CITs were accounted for and and we spent the day jumping in the foam pit, playing volleyball, and exploring all the new additions around camp. We had a few CIT meetings to make plans for the upcoming summer and had fun just being together.

Some of the 2009 CITs

Forti gives some CIT driving lessons...

CIT Meg gets a lift from CIT Rachel

Some of the girls by the lake...

General silliness...

After a fun filled day and a custom cake from Eric Forti, the CITs got the chance to do some night climbing at the climbing wall.  Martha Archer drove all the way from Ohio just to help out this weekend, and she showed off her wild wall skills! After a fun night climb, everyone headed over the the fire pit outside the health center for a late night campfire, complete with s’mores and campfire songs. Camp musician Steve Scott performed some of his amazing original songs, and then I joined him in some fabulous guitar improv that had everyone singing along, and eventually laughing hysterically.

CITs around the fire!

CIT Meg and I show off our crunchy s'mores!

CIT Danielle, CIT Jess, and CIT Rachel go on an extreme golf cart ride!

We finally decided it was time to head back to the bunks for bed and the girls made their way back to our temporary home in the field bunk. The next morning we enjoyed Sunday morning breakfast (bagels!!!) before packing the cars and heading back home. This weekend was just a small taste of what’s to come this season, and judging by the fun we had, summer 2009 is going to be the best ever!

CIT Meg and CIT Mara never want to leave...

CIT Weekend Sunset

Hi Everyone! It’s been a busy few weeks here in the winter office and it just keeps going! I cannot believe I’ll be living up at camp so soon, it’s only about a month away!

I’ve been doing LOTS of spring cleaning in my room, trying to decide what I’ll be bringing with me to camp and what will stay behind in my closet at home. I have all my camp shirts clean and folded and ready to be moved right into my cubbies, and I climbed through boxes in our shed to find my other camp essentials; my fan, duffles, plastic drawers, you know the drill! I’m also in the market for a very large Zac Efron poster for over my bed, so if anyone has any suggestions as to where I should search for such things, please let me know 😉

Last Wednesday I got to spend some time with JC Becky Jacobson as we shared a delicious lunch of coffees, cookies, and hot fries, eating our last taste of bread for the week! Then I picked up my sister from school and we hopped on the train to New York City. After passover dinner we saw Guys and Dolls on Broadway, and it was amazing!

Over the long Spring Break weekend I spent lots of time at home but I also made sure to visit with some friends! JC Rebecca Waxman joined my sister and I for a full evening of shopping, dinner, and a movie, and it was a great time! Of course, it’s not easy to go out to dinner during passover, but together we managed, and even got to experience some new things we might never have tried before,  especially  the Goblet of Fresh Strawberries!

This week I’ve got a few last interviews for counselor positions, but (scary as it may seem) the staff is pretty much hired and ready for camp! I love browsing the staff message board and seeing how excited everyone is for the season to arrive! Some of our new counselors have some crazy talents and amazing ideas for new games, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what they come up with for activities this summer!

I’ve got lots to do in the next few days and on Thursday morning I’ll be hopping on a plane at JFK and heading to Burlington, Vermont for a weekend with my sorority sisters. There’s going to be so much to do, so many people to see, that I’ll be there until Sunday night! We have a hotel room booked down by the lake, and I’m looking forward to lots of shopping and relaxing!

I guess that’s it for now. I hope everyone is having a great passover! We’ve been really into making some crazy matzoh creations this year, so if you have any good ones please pass them along!

That’s right, 53 days until I move up to Camp for the summer!

I’m really excited for the summer to start, but there’s still so much to do before I leave town, it’s crazy! I spent my ride home from the office yesterday on the phone with my BFF, Color War Counselor Captain 2007, Group Leader 2009, Lacrosse Enthusiast, and all around amazing  human being, Moira Donohue!!! We chatted about how mutually pumped up we are for the summer to arrive, and even talked about some new ideas for the summer. Moira and I have been camp friends for a long time, even before we were Canadensis counselors, and some of my very favorite camp memories are with Moira! Maybe when I get home tonight I’ll add a few pictures of us in our old camp days for you all to giggle over…

Over the weekend we (Matt, Brian, Eric, and I) went off to New Jersey for another installment of New Camper Bowling! We were greeted by a very enthusiastic Pete Tarnoff and got a surprise visit from Brett Levine who accompanied his sister. My team of bowlers were so much fun and we got to talk about all the fun camp activities the girls were looking forward to most! We had some serious laughs over some of the silly bowling styles the girls created and there were a few hilarious incidents in which the bowling balls ended up in back hallways. I can’t wait for this wonderful group of new campers to join our summer family!

Time seems to be flying by as March comes to a close. I honestly cannot believe that April is next week! I’m 110% ready to pack all my winter sweaters away in a box, bring out my summer clothes, and most importantly, start wearing flip flops!!! But for now I’m staying inside on this rainy day, drifting off into thoughts of warm weather, sunshine, and fruit on the fly…

Hey Camp Family!

Over the last few days I’ve been in Atlantic City at the American Camping Association’s Tri-State Camp Conference. (Phew! That’s a lot to say!) It’s basically a great big group of people who work for all sorts of camps coming together to share ideas and listen to speakers and basically get really excited for the upcoming summer! Most of my sessions were geared towards learning fun new games for staff orientation, building strong CIT and JC programs, and some new tips and ideas for working with counselors and campers. I learned a lot, and at the same time I felt like I shared a lot of great insight with other camp staff!

One of the sessions I went to dealt with camp online safety. You’d be amazed to hear how many questions people had about Facebook safety and policies, and about how they could use social networking (a great big term for things like Twitter and Myspace) in a positive way. So one of the facilitators says that there are two camps out there that have GREAT examples of good social networking. Guess who one of those two camp was…

CAMP CANADENSIS!!!

And what was the one social networking tool that Camp Canadensis has that makes them amazing?

THE BLOGS!!!

That’s right! Our blogs were the topic of discussion in the class! I raised my hand and said “That’s MY blog!!!” and everyone turned to see who I was. I got to tell everyone about the blogs, how Eric and I both write on them and keep you all updated with all the latest camp news, and how I like to write about the fun I have with my camp friends in the off season. So I just want you all to know how famous you are…!

The convention was a really great experience and I’m so excited to bring all the new things I learned with me to camp this summer and use them to make this season the best it can be!

After work today I’m going to head home and try to catch up on the piles of laundry that are growing in my room, and hopefully tomorrow will be a relaxing day off! Sunday I’m off to New Jersey again for another installment of New Camper Bowling!

In other news I’ve lost my Blackberry and I’m now in the market for a new phone. I think I’m going to jump ship and hop on board the iPhone craze. Anyone out there have good phone advice?

…that means camp must be close!!!

While most of you are counting down the moments until opening day, most of your counselors have been counting the days until the annual Staff Message Board is up and running! The staff message board is a place counselors can go to ask questions about what it’s like to come to Canadensis for the first time, with many of the same questions YOU all had when you were new to Canadensis. Returning counselors who are coming back for summer ’09 can log on, introduce themselves, and answer camp questions for all the new staff. It’s a great way for the counselors to get to know each other ahead of time, and many of us look forward to it all year!

In other news, it’s been a busy week here in the winter office.  Over the weekend I helped out at a Purim Carnival where we talked to kids who were interested in coming to Camp Canadensis. I spent the afternoon with the Sukonik family, and got to talk camp with Mel and Carly Sukonik. Towards the end of the carnival Rebecca Waxman and Jess Cook dropped by to visit, and we went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and did some shopping for posters and decorations to bring to camp for our bunks this summer! Rebecca will probably have a lifesize cut-out of Audry Hepburn over her bed, while I think I’ll fill my bed with Ugly Dolls.

Ugly Dolls!

Anyways, last Thursday Matt Unger and I took a drive up to Camp. YES, to CAMP!!! We did some inventory counting and Matt took me on a Winter Version of a camp tour. I stopped to take pictures of the CIT Girls Bunk, covered in snow, and I brought up a few boxes of camp things to drop off in my cabin for the summer.  It was really neat to be in camp when it’s covered in snow, but it definitely made me miss the summer, and now I’m more excited than ever for May to arrive.

Alrighty, today I’m working on some filing, I’ve got a staff interview later this afternoon, and I just found out that a certain camp Soccer Director (TIM PENROD) will be stopping by the office to say hello… exciting!!!

Hi Camp Family!

So it’s been a while since my last post, I’ve been crazy busy wrapping things up from my trip and getting back into the swing of things in the office. The stack of papers on my office desk is slowly shrinking back to the normal amount of clutter and the file of New Staff Hires is growing by the day! Which is exciting, because it means camp is seriously only a few weeks away!!! Okay… for me it’s more like 10 weeks, but that’s still SO close!

This weekend was amazing and I got to see so many camp friends and celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of Miss Charley Paston! The whole evening was wonderful and Charley looked absolutely gorgeous! Super-Counselor Erica Carey met me at my house to get ready and then we drove off to Long Island! The Amazing Jacki Beckerman was also in attendance, and spent the whole night tearing up the dance floor with us, especially with some stellar dance moves from Olivia Wind and Dani Schapiro! We took goofy pictures, sang crazy songs with glittery microphones, and of course gave out LOTS of hugs! Here are some pictures from our amazing night:

Jackie, Me, and Erica

Erica and I with our girls!

With The Beautiful Bat Mitzvah Girl!!!

After an AMAZING night I took Erica on a short driving tour of Long Island. I spent my first year of college on the island, so I showed her my old dorm and some pretty buildings, and then we went to my favorite bagel shop, A&S Bagels – Open 24 hours a day, and bought some delicious late night snacks for the ride home. On the way home we entertained ourselves with some good CDs and a phone call from Becky J.

So I spent Sunday relaxing after the busy weekend, and on Monday I enjoyed the snow day just like most of you! I made all my camp calls from my bedroom! Now I’m back in the office and back to getting things ready for summer 2009. I might be taking a trip up to camp this week with Matt Unger so perhaps I’ll post some cool videos or pictures from our excursion. I should also make a shout out to one of my most dedicated blog readers, Adam Scharfberg. He sends me funny messages while I’m in the office about delicious salads he bought at Wawa and how excited he is to visit me at camp this summer. Crunch!

Until then I hope the weather gets warmer and melts all this ridiculous snow! It was just starting to feel like Spring…