I’ve been on the road for camp a lot lately, but before I left I got to meet some awesome new campers that I can’t wait to introduce you to!  First up from Blue Bell, PA is Lily, a current 4th grader who will be a new Lower Inter Girl this summer.  She cannot wait for her first summer at Canadensis, it’s a family tradition!  Her father went to Canadensis for many years, and her cousins Alex & Valerie are currently campers too!  Here’s what you need to know about Lily:

• She loves animals and would want to get a dog.  She currently has a fish, but if she could pick any animal in the world she would get a teacup pig (never heard of it before, but they are super cute!!)
• The best thing about living in her neighborhood is getting to hang out with all of her friends, and they have tennis courts which is one of her favorite sports.
• She plays basketball at school, even if it’s just her with the “guys” because she really enjoys it!  She’s also on a softball team.
• She has been horseback riding in Arizona on a family vacation, and wants to take lessons at camp this year.
• She goes hiking as a family, and she’s going to love going on the overnight the summer!  She collects snow globes and has them from some of her vacation spots.
• She showed me some of the arts and crafts in her room – she had a whole drawer full (that was very organized).  She’s made clay coasters, bracelets with beads, and things she’s created on the ceramics wheel.
• She’s likes paddle boarding, so I told her about the Macarena game that girls bunk 3 taught me to play on the boards last year, so fun!  She wants to also try waterskiing this summer!
• She can’t wait to go zip lining and try the summit on the lake.  Her cousin Valerie told her that she is going to absolutely love cooking!  She’ll probably choose glass fusion for an elective, and maybe quads too!
• Her favorite subject in school is math…really!
• She knew the blue team won cw were last year… it must have been a lucky guess!?
• She came to camp on Fourth of July for her tour last summer, and she got to have the cornman – YUM!  She also spent time looking for her father in pictures in the dining hall.
• Lily thinks she is going to sign up for a medium group at Dorney park – which means lots of rides, but nothing upside down!
• She’s started planning how she’ll decorate her camp walls.  I won’t give it all away, but it involves posters of Luke Bryan (country singer) and Taylor Lautner’s abs!
• Lily is pretty much ALWAYS in a good mood – she has a daybed so it’s not even possible to wake up on the wrong side of the bed!

Finally, you should also know that Lily has an “unnatural sibling” at camp!  This is a game we play at morning line-up at Canadensis, where you look similar to someone who is NOT a relative.  It’s hard to tell with the sunglasses on, but former camper & counselor Sammi Goldberg and Lily look A LOT alike!! 

I also spent some time in Lafayette Hill with Alexa, a current 3rd grader who will be an Upper Junior Girl this summer!  She greeted me at the door wearing an “I <3 Canadensis” – so she has a TON and excitement for the upcoming summer!  Here’s what you need to know about Alexa:

• She is a very good student!  She knows how to speak a little bit of Chinese, Spanish, and is learning Hebrew.  She also knows how to count and French!
• Alexa loves Justin Bieber…really loves him!  When we up in her room, I counted 10 Justin’s in her room but I’m sure there are a lot more!
• She likes a lot of different kinds of music.  She has gone to a lot of concerts, including Hannah Montana, Justin Bieber and Jingle Ball.  And a Madonna concert too!
• She’s actually named after a Billy Joel song…”The Downeaster Alexa” – and even his daughter is named Alexa.
• Alexa loves to read…she can’t get enough of it, there were tons of books in her room!
• Her favorite sports are kickball and gaga – she will get to play a bunch at camp!
• Alexa goes to gymnastics and really loves it!
• She currently takes hip-hop dance and wants to also take lyrical next year.
• She’s a big dancer…we even played “just dance” video game during my visit.
• She is an older sister to two brothers Ari and Max.
• I was there the day before her birthday – and she showed me the cupcakes that she decorated herself that her classmates got to enjoy!
• At her birthday party, they did airbrushing (see below) and learned how to play the cup games that we do in the dining hall!
• She likes to vacation both in Colorado to go skiing and down the shore at the beach.
• She is definitely going to be signing up zip line and glass fusion electives this summer.  She also can’t wait for cooking.
• She had a lot of ceramics projects that she has painted in her room.
• She likes carrots and cucumbers but maybe we can introduce her to some new vegetables too?
• Her mom went to summer camp and had so much.  She’s still really close with a lot of camp friends, and Alexa can’t wait to have that at Canadensis!

At Alexa’s birthday party, showing some Canadensis spirit!  Marissa, Kylie & Alexa will all be Junior Girls!

Here are some other photos I’ve recently received from Canadensis Campers…if you are meeting camp friends, send photos to pam@canadensis.com!

Some girls from last years Bunk 7!  Abby, Maddy, Samantha and Alexandra!

A brother/sister meet up!  The Amanda’s will be new Junior girls, and their brothers Jordan & Jeremy will be Upper Inters.

Brett, looking dapper!

Name: Brett Levine

Years at Camp: 7 going on 8!!
Hobbies When You’re at Home: Singing, Acting and Hanging out with my friends.
Secret Talent: Has yet to be discovered…
Favorite Camp Activity: Definitely cooking.
Funny Camp Memory: loosing battle of the sexes and having to sing with my division at lineup.
Advice for a First Time Camper: Live every moment to the Fullest and try everything! Enjoy your time at camp because it goes by so quickly!!!
Something You Learned at Camp: I learned that I could still have an amazing time even though I was away from home and didn’t have my parents with me.
I never leave for camp without my… iPod.
If I could have any job in the world it would be… Either performing or a job at camp!!
My favorite place I’ve traveled is… Disney.
One thing my campers will learn about me is… I love listening to music.
One fun fact about me is… I have two dogs and a sister who is going to be an upper senior this summer!

It’s the winter, and that means travel season for all of us who work full time at camp!  I wanted to tell you about some of my recent journeys, and I hope you’ve been following along through the facebook group, twitter and instagram as Eric & Matt went to Eastern Europe, Brian & Cara went to Michigan, Ohio and Western PA, and Eric went to New Zealand and Australia!

My first trip was to Maryland for a camp fair.  We offer bus transportation from Bethesda to camp, so we went down to spread the word!

Jason “JCal” Calabretta is a Senior at Geroge Washington University in D.C., so I got to spend a bunch of time with him.  He came to both days of the fair, and showed me around D.C. at night.  JCal is an amazing volunteer, he worked so hard at the fairs!

The highlight of the weekend was getting to see our existing Canadensis families in Maryland!  Pictured above from left to right:

Lauren, Freshman Girl, 2nd summer at camp.

Emily, Freshman Girl, 2nd summer at camp.

Dani, Junior Counselor, 10th summer at camp.

Haley, Upper Inter Girl, 4th summer at camp.

Ben, Super Senior Boy,2nd summer at camp.

Marshall, Lower Inter Boy, 4th summer at camp.

Jes, Lower Inter Girl, 2nd summer at camp.

We sort of turned it into a Maryland Canteen on the Fly, and decorated t-shirts!

On the second day of the fair, Pete Skurman came to volunteer as well…he was a huge help, especially when he used his Spanish skills to speak with an interested family – muy impresionante!Volunteer all day, and get some t-shirts!  Here are some “new” vintage shirts I found for Pete & JCal as a thank you for spending their weekend with me!

The next big trip for work was to Paris for more camper recruitment! We attended 3 camper fairs at bilingual schools.  Having a small number of French campers at Canadensis each year has added an exciting dynamic to our program.

Liam has been at camp for the past two summers, and it was so great to see him and his mom!  He is currently in 7th grade, and his Bar Mitzvah is only a few weeks away.  School is incredibly busy for him, but he’s still finding ways to have fun!

Dave came on the trip and was a huge help navigating a foreign country, and talking to interested parents where there were 5+ families waiting to get information about all the activities we have at Canadensis!  When we weren’t at the fairs, we walked a lot – we trekked over 20 miles exploring Paris, and it was great to see the city on foot!

Later today I’m off to Arizona for staff recruitment…can’t wait to see our 2012 staff members, and find awesome new people to join us in 2013!  My travel isn’t even halfway done, so stay tuned!

I recently got to spend some time in Rye Brook, Westchester, NY.  I was visiting with Zoe, a current 3rd grader that will be an Upper Junior Girl this summer.  She’s really sweet, and although she’s been at camp for the past two visiting days – I really first got to know her during the Tour & More Weekend last summer, check out her photo above.  Here are some things you need to know about Zoe:

• She is a good writer will write many more letters home than her brother – her parents agree!
• Zoe’s favorite color is red (maybe she’ll be on the red team for Revolutionary War Day on July4th?) and for Color War she wants to be on the blue team…because it’s harder to find gold shirts!
• She plays soccer every season – winter, spring, fall, and of course she’ll be playing at camp this summer!  She just started playing in a new indoor winter soccer league.
• She has a seashell collection in her room.
• She had lots of books in her room, including a collection of  “summer camp” books.
• If she could redecorate her room, she would paint animals all over her walls.  Her favorite animal is a monkey, but right now the only pet she has are the fish that have a tank in her room.
• She’s a good cook, and her specialty is cupcakes!  She once was trying to decorate cupcakes like a soccer ball, but it turned into a smiley face 🙂
• Zoe is excited for the lake activities at camp!  She has been on the water trampoline and water mat in the lake, and is excited to do more activities.
• She is a snow skier, she’s gone skiing in a lot of places, including Colorado.
• She loves 1D (the band One Direction, in case you didn’t know the lingo…)
• She plays the guitar (awesome!)
• She plans on choosing glass fusion for some electives this summer!

Her older brother Zachary is a current 5th grader, who will be an Upper Inter Boy this summer.  Zachary started at Canadensis with the Tour & More Program in 2010, but I won’t post a picture since it’s not “Throwback Thursday”!  This will be his third summer at camp, and he’s been enjoying spending time with the Bunk 9 guys, especially at the camp reunion.  He had great stories about last summer, including a few about his CIT Jordan “JMitch” Mitchell – it’s always great to hear the impact that our oldest campers have on Lower Camp.  During the winter, Zach has been playing basketball and soccer.  He also really loves roller hockey at camp and can’t wait for CHL (Canadensis Hockey League) this year.

Always love to spend time with returning siblings too!  In Short Hills, NJ, I caught up with Sam, a current 7th grader who will be a Lower Senior this summer – first time on Senior Side!  Lots of new things are in store for Sam, (and all the Lower Seniors) at camp this year.  He is in the process of preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, he’s listening to the parsha once a week on his iPhone (my how times have changed, I used to have to pause and rewind it on my walkman!).  Sam has also been seeing lots of camp friends this year has also started taking tennis lessons because he liked it so much at camp!  He’s a busy guy, doing lots of homework – and he’s looking forward to baseball league this Spring.  He saw the custom iPhone case I made (see below) and said he’d want to make one with the Geico Gecko!

Lexi is a current 5th grader, and will be an Upper Inter this summer.  I can’t believe it’s already going to be her 3rd summer at camp!  She loved soccer at camp this summer so she started playing in the fall and really enjoyed it – she was excited to hear that “the Smasher” was returning and thought that my upcoming trip to London to hire staff was really cool.  Lexi had a great time at the reunion, all of last years Bunk 9 decided to work together and won more than 2000 tickets in the arcade!  They decided to get a bunk prize, so they all got rubber ducky’s – hers is orange, so cute!  She’s been busy taking dance lesson, and spent winter break in Los Angeles visiting her family out there. One of her favorite memories from last summer was the “HCM”…Hot Chocolate Mission…I can’t give you too many details, but let’s just say it sounded awesome!!!

Here’s a picture of my current cell phone case…it’s just a clear case, but I used the Silhouette tool to cut out some paper with my name.  I put it between my phone and the clear case, and it looks awesome – plus I can easily change it daily based on my mood!  This is just one of the different types of projects we can make in the new Stationery elective this summer!

Hello Canadensis…

I write this blog on a Friday afternoon with a threat of a blizzard in my area!  It’s already been snowing since 8 am this morning and anywhere from 6-10 inches more are soon to follow.  Sure does not feel like it is anywhere near summer.  Anyway, a good blog writing session will help melt the snow (at least in my mind).

As is usually the case, this is the week when I really start to set my sights on the next summer.  Maybe it has something to do with my other love of football season being over?!  Another exciting Super Bowl!  About five minutes before the game, I officially decided that I was rooting for the 49ers, but was not disappointed at all to see the Ravens win.  I’m sure our Maryland campers and staff were super excited as well!  As many of you know, I treat the Super Bowl like a National Holiday and of course invited some of my closest friends over to watch the game and eat tons of food.  By halftime, my belly was super full!  In the second half, when the stadium black out hit, I found myself even eating more!

As for the camp side of things, we are now really busy into our staff recruiting season.  Currently, Eric is in Australia hiring new Aussie counselors, Cara and I will be hitting the road to Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania next week and Pam will be leaving on a plane to go to Arizona.  While on the road, it is always great to see all of our returning and former staff at these colleges.  We will be sure to include pictures in our future blogs.

In a few weeks, we will have our Winter Leadership Meeting in which our Head Counselors, Administrative Staff and Programming Staff all join together to talk about the upcoming summer, including summer scheduling and new ideas to make Summer 2013 better than Summer 2012!  A hard task, but we always want to top the year before!

For all of our Super Senior Campers, we hope you received our recent e-mail, which asks for your input on the 2012 Super Senior Trip.  This year, you will determine where we  go on your 4-day out of camp trip.  Exciting!

For all those that have been to camp in the past few summers, this blog is about “Campers!  Campers!  Campers!”  And, when I write this, I hope you can picture Nurse Freddie saying it over the camp P.A. system.  “Campers!  Campers!  Campers!”  That is, over the past few weeks, a good portion of my time has been spent seeing so many of you.  It has been great to hear what everyone has been up to since camp ended and what you are all looking forward to in 2013.  So, here we go with all of the campers I’ve seen recently…

In Livingston, NJ, I met up with a whole bunch of Canadensis campers! First, I saw 2013 Lower Inter Joey Dallow.  Now in 4th grade and back for her second summer, Joey told me that she is constantly connecting with camp friends on Instagram and is already counting down the number of days until Summer 2013.  She also wanted to give a shout out to the Girls of Bunk 5 from Summer 2012!  Since last summer ended, Joey has been taking boxing classes, working out, playing on a basketball team and playing lacrosse.  This summer, she is looking forward to everything, especially canteen!  Here is a picture…

Me and 2013 Lower Inter Girl Joey Dallow.

That same night, I saw Stella and Oliver Scheier, two second generation Canadensis campers as Mom Mindy (maiden name: Menkowitz) is a long time alumni of camp.  Stella is back for her 4th summer as an Upper Inter Girl while Oliver is coming for his first summer as part of our Junior Boys division.  Now in 5th grade, Stella filled me in how she plays soccer in the Fall, Winter and Spring as a midfielder on the Livingston Flight team.  She is also currently in basketball season.  Stella wanted to give a shout out to all of her camp friends and cousins who are also at camp!  In a few weeks, she is really looking forward to a bunk sleepover that she is hosting.  As for brother Oliver, currently in 2nd grade, he plays tennis and soccer.  He also takes acting and hip hop classes as he is a big fan of music from Katie Perry to Taylor Swift to Victoria Justice.  Now that its Winter, he also spends time skiing.  When he gets to camp, he is definitely ready for Crazy Night, tennis and making new friends.  Here is a photo…

Me with Upper Inter Girl Stella Scheier and Lower Junior Boy Oliver Scheier.

Continuing on my Livingston journey, I got to hang out with Samara and Andy Rhodes.  Samara is back for her 2nd summer and will be an Upper Inter Girl as she is in 5th grade while Andy will be in our Upper Junior Boys division for his first summer now that he is currently in 3rd grade.  Samara continues to be very active in gymnastics as a member of her “Go For The Gold” team, competing as a Level 5 gymnast.  These days, her favorite part of competing is when she is doing her beam routine.  Recently, she competed in the New Jersey states meet.  Since last summer ended, she told me that she has had several get-togethers with camp friends and wanted to say hello to the Girls of Bunk 8 from Summer 2012.  She also mentioned how she can’t wait for Color War this year.  Andy Rhodes is currently playing in a basketball league and was happy to let me know that he scored his first basket a few weeks ago.  He also plays tennis, lacrosse and soccer.  When he comes to camp this year, he is very excited for the water slides at the pool, all the lake activities including the Summit, his camping overnight and making new friends.  Here is a pic…

Me with Upper Inter Girl Samara Rhodes and Upper Junior Boy Andy Rhodes.

My final stop in Livingston had me meeting with the Bustin Girls, Zoe and Cate, another set of second generation Canadensis siblings as mom Dina (maiden name: Willensky) spent many wonderful summers at camp.  Zoe, back for her second summer, is now in 4th grade and will be in our Lower Inter Girls division and she is excited to introduce her sister Cate to camp.  Cate is in the 2nd grade and will be a Lower Junior in her first summer.  Zoe let me know that she has seen her camp friends a few times since the summer ended and wanted to give a shout out to the Girls of Bunk 5 from 2012 and Counselor Paige Gindi!  When I asked, “What are you looking forward to this summer?”  Zoe simply replied, “Everything!”  When not at camp, Zoe enjoys hanging out with friends, dancing and gymnastics.  As for Cate, she is currently taking a Future Fashionistas class where she is making her own pajamas.  She is also involved in gymnastics, dance and loves to sing (Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez being her favorite).  Cate told me that she is really looking forward to horseback riding, swimming, rock climbing, ceramics and cooking when she gets to camp.  Here is a photo…

Me with Lower Inter Girl Zoe Bustin (left) and Lower Junior Girl Cate Bustin.

In Summit, NJ, I spent some time with the Ufberg Family.  Lily Ufberg and Cole Ufberg are also second generation Canadensis campers as father Jeff attended camp as both a camper and counselor back in the day.  Lily is now in 5th grade and back for her third summer while Cole is coming for his first summer and is in 2nd grade.  Lily, who will be an Upper Inter Girl in 2013, told me that these days she LOVES TAYLOR SWIFT (she even told me to type it in all CAPS) and is her #1 Fan.  In fact, Lily is super excited to see her in concert when she comes to town in March.  Lily also mentioned that recently she had a sleepover with her camp friends and together, they cannot wait for Summer 2013 to start!  Cole, who will be a Lower Junior Boy in 2013, is busy with a little bit of everything.  He is an avid skiier, who now even does jumps on the slopes, plays football, baseball and lacrosse, and takes a karate class, where he just passed his test for a white and black belt. At camp, he is very ready for the hondas and quads, waterskiing and sailing.  Here is a picture…

Me with Upper Inter Girl Lily Ufberg and Lower Junior Boy Cole Ufberg.

In Gladwyne, PA, I got to share a lot of laughs with twins Sammy and Luke Finkelstein, both who will be back for Summer #2 in our Lower Inter Boys division as they are now in 4th grade.  Both Luke and Sammy have had several opportunities throughout the year to see many of their bunk mates, which they said is always a good time.  Both also told me of their recent trip to Vermont, where they skied on black diamond slopes.  As for Luke, he is playing alto sax and piano.  He is also on a swim team at Friends Central Aquatics because of his experience of being on the swim team at camp.  Sammy is playing travel soccer all year long and currently also playing basketball.  In school this year, he also took up playing the viola.  Both are very much looking forward to another amazing summer at camp.  Here is a picture…

Me with Lower Inter Boys Sammy Finkelstein (left) and Luke Finkelstein.

In Merrick, NY, it was time to see Alex and Josh Michals.  Josh is ready for his third summer as part of our Upper Inter Boys and will now be joined at camp by Alex, who is starting his first summer in our Lower Junior Boys division.  Now in 5th grade, Josh has been very busy playing point guard on his travel basketball team, the Merrick/Bellmore Cougars.  He also just recently went skiing.  Currently in 2nd grade, Alex plays baseball in the fall and spring, soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter.  He also enjoys playing X-Box, exercising and going skiing and snowboarding.  This summer, he is very ready for all of the activities on the lake, all the sports at camp and being away from home.   Here is a pic…

Me with Lower Junior Boy Alex Michals (center) and Upper Inter Boy Josh Michals.

In Bellmore, NY, I loved spending time with the Levien Girls, 2013 Freshman Girl Alexis and 2013 Upper Junior Girl Jordan.  Now in 6th grade, Alexis has been singing a whole lot.  First, she is in her all county chorus group at Shore Road Intermediate School, where she also just sang a Taylor Swift song in the school’s talent show.  Recently, she starred as Lumiere in a production of Beauty and the Beast.  In the Spring, she will also be auditioning for other upcoming musicals.  On top of that, she also plays in a basketball league and takes tennis lessons.  This summer, which will be her third at camp, she is pumped to be able to have cooking as an elective and her trip to Hershey Park!  Jordan, who is in 3rd grade, is busy with her hip hop dance competition team, which just recently won first place in a competition.  In addition to dance, she also takes gymnastics classes, plays in a basketball league and takes tennis lessons.  When she gets to camp for her first summer, she is looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends.  Here is a photo…

Me with Freshman Girl Alexis Levien (left) and Upper Junior Girl Jordan Levien.

In Merrick, NY, I got to know Ethan Lowenstein a lot better as he will be joining us for his first summer in the Upper Junior Boys division.  In 3rd grade, Ethan likes playing sports.  He plays center forward on a soccer team and is on a swim team.  He enjoys riding bikes and swimming and boogie boarding in the ocean.  Ethan also showed me an original comic book that he and a friend wrote called, “The Adventures of Captain Underpants and the Zombie Robots.”  In Summer 2013, Ethan can’t wait for a whole bunch of different activities, including soccer, swimming, the zip line, rock wall, lake and water skiing.  Here is a picture…

Me with Upper Junior Boy Ethan Lowenstein.

In Newtown, PA, it was time to chill with the Robinson boys, Logan and Chase.  Logan, who is in the 5th grade, will be back for his second summer in the Upper Inter Boys division while Chase, in the 3rd grade, will be starting his first year at camp in our Upper Junior Boys division.  Logan is playing travel soccer this year on his team, the Newtown Patriots.  He is also playing in a flag football league.  When not busy with those activities, he enjoys playing Call of Duty on the X-Box.  He told me that after camp, he traveled to Italy, where the highlight of the trip was eating a lot of gelato.  Logan is once again ready for all of the sports this summer and wanted to give a shout out to the Boys of Bunk 7 from Summer 2012.  He also had a secret message for them…squat thrust!  Chase also plays travel soccer for the Newtown Patriots as a midfielder, plays in a basketball league and flag football league.  His X-Box game of choice is FIFA ’13.  Chase said that he is looking forward to the sports at camp, making new friends and eating as much as he can.  Here is a photo…

Me with Upper Junior Boy Chase Robinson (left) and Upper Inter Boy Logan Robinson.

In East Brunswick, NJ, I got to hang out with 2nd grade girl Ella Simmens, who will be at Canadensis for her first summer in our Lower Junior Girls division.  Ella is very active on her “Encore Dance Team,” which competes in all kinds of dance, including hip hop, jazz, ballet, tap, lyrical, acro and tumbling.  She also plays on a soccer team and will soon be trying out for a travel soccer team.  She is a big fan of music, with some of her favorites being Justin Bieber, One Direction, Nicki Minaj, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry.  She also likes dancers Bella Thorn and Zindaya.  When she comes to camp in a few moths, Ella will be all about trying horseback riding, the lake activities, basketball, the banana boat and making new friends.  Here is a photo…

Me with Lower Junior Girl Ella Simmens.

Also in East Brunswick, NJ, I saw Joey and Andrew Ziets and Camp Nurse Joanna Ziets,  all who will be back for their second summer at Canadensis.  Joey is now in 5th grade and will be an Upper Inter while Andrew is in 3rd grade and will be an Upper Junior.  They filled me in on a recent trip to Florida for some fun in the sun.  The Ziets Family also just recently added a new member to the family, a dog named Riley.  Both Joey and Andrew told me that they have been practicing their musical instruments in the past few months; Joey on piano and guitar and Andrew on piano.  Both say hello to their bunk mates from last summer and both think that the 130+ days until camp is way too many.  Ha Ha!  Here is a pic…

Me with Upper Junior Boy Andrew Ziets and Upper Inter Boy Joey Ziets.

As you can see, a lot of miles put on the car in the past few weeks, but all well worth it!  I love seeing all of our camp families!  More blogging to come after the snow melts!

As always, for the most updated Camp Canadensis news, visit our Facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/campcanadensis .  Always good stuff posted there!

Have a great day!

-Brian

It always awesome spending time with new campers!!  Annabelle is a current 3rd grader, who will be a new Upper Junior Girl at camp this summer.  She lives in Philadelphia, and without a doubt they are the Canadensis family that lives closest to me, so I just walked over to visit!  Here’s what you need to know about Annabelle:

• She has an awesome bedroom, with an antique doll house that once was her moms!
• She’s an artist, in the photo above she’s holding a cool stuffed animal with a roll out tongue that she made at Handworks Studio.
• She’s already climbed up two of our rock wall paths on visiting day, can’t wait to see her master all of them this summer!  (she even had a broken pinky at the time!)
• Annabelle once camped out in her backyard, and can’t wait for the overnight!
• She loves Grease, and thinks we should do it as the camp show – I’ll definitely suggest it!
• She has dressed up and performed as Katy Perry in a talent show.
• She can’t wait for Glass Fusion, and might also big the ceramics wheel as an elective.  She has her own ceramic wheel at home, so she’ll be ready to try our big ones this summer!
• She likes our surfboards, and is excited to do more activities on the lake.
• She wants to be on the Gold Team (in part, because she has blonde hair).
• Even though archery was hard for her at day camp last summer, she’s still excited to do it at Canadensis!
• Her guinea pig is named “Sarah” and her dog is named “Jordan”.
• She is a Yankee’s fan (in Philly!) – just like me!
• She loves crafting so much that she was on her way to A.C. Moore after I left!

Annabelle’s big brother is a returning camper.  Eli is a current 5th grader who will be an Upper Inter Boy this summer.  Since I visited on Martin Luther King Day, he was having a sleepover with one of his bunkmates.  Lucas is also a 5th grade, Upper Inter Boy, who is excited to return to Canadensis for his second summer.

Next up was a trip to Penn Valley, where I visited with Lindsay, a current 3rd grader that will be an Upper Junior Girl.  Lindsay is SO ready for camp, she’s watched Today Shows, seen tons of pictures, and even spent two nights at camp!  She has done Tour & More for the past two summers, and above is her picture from 2012.  Here are some things you need to know about Lindsay:

• She loves the banana boat and rock wall already – has already tried both!
• She loves basketball, soccer, gaga, gymnastics and dance.
• She is also very artistic, she showed me an awesome pillowcase she made at handwork studio – it was blue & gold and embroidered with “Canadensis” – amazing!
• I was also impressed with the beads she wove together to spell out her name, and the bracelets she made.
• She loves to be on stage, was just recently John Valjean in Les Miserables.
• She is reading all of the Harry Potter books, for the second time!
• Lindsay loves riding her bike at home, and makes her bed (most of the time!)
• She can’t wait for all the activities at camp – we are going to have to make sure she gets enough sleep!
• She’s a big snow skier (can’t wait to see her on waterskis!) and she has a whole scrapbook of all the vacations she’s been on.
• She wants to be on the blue team so she can use the color hairspray, and was wondering if she’ll be on the same team with her big sister.  (FYI, only CIT’s are guaranteed to be on the same team as their sibling – but if siblings end up on opposite teams, they can share blue & gold items, and celebrate whoever wins!)
• She’s already planning what kind of water gun she wants to use for the HUGE after visiting day water fight!
• She is outgoing, fun, and ready to try anything!
• Lindsay is going to be missed a lot at home…especially because she has great eyes, and her parents loved that she could pick out her older sister in every single picture on the website, no matter how small!

Which brings me to Anna, a current 4th grader that will be a Lower Inter Girl, and this will be her second year at camp!

It was so good to see her, and talk about last summer!  She said her favorite place in camp was the rock climbing wall… or the summit – she couldn’t decide, but said both were even better than cooking!  She’s been busy doing a lot of reading, including a set of books sent to her as a gift from Jen Romberg, her group leader and counselor last summer.  It was such a kind and unexpected surprise, and Anna’s been loving the Lemony Snicket series!  Anna was in the camp show Annie last year, and she suggested The Music Man for 2013…great idea!

Younger brother William has started kindergarten, and he was building legos during my visit.  He very quickly put together a model car without any help!  We all posed for this fun and silly photo above.  Lindsay loaned me a clown nose, while she used a balloon as a mustache!  Anna has an awesome blonde curly wig, and all the “props” in the photo are great examples of some of the fun and silly things that are good to pack for camp!  Always think about how things can serve double purposes at camp, the wig is great for dress up evening activities, and will come in handy for gold team during color war!

Check out some of Anna’s camp memories from 2012!  She has a box full of letters and awards from camp (she received the Fabric Arts award!), and she used stickers to spell the names of all her Bunk 4 camp friends.  The poster on the right is some of her favorite pictures from last year – awesome!!

Name: Mel Sukonik

Years at Camp: This is going to be my 8th summer at camp.

Hobbies When You’re at Home: Lacrosse, running, eating, sleeping, being with my friends.

Secret Talent: I can touch my tongue to my nose.

Favorite Camp Activity: Tennis!

Funny Camp Memory: Making up songs with my bunk.

Advice for a First Time Camper: Laugh with your bunk! The little fights are unimportant and not worth your time. You will end up laughing about them later on anyway!

Something You Learned at Camp: Don’t forget to ask if anyone needs anything! (D.A.N.A)

I never leave for camp without my… DS. You never know when you want to play an intense game of mario cart!

If I could have any job in the world it would be… A singer (if I could sing…)

My favorite place I’ve traveled is… St. Thomas.

One thing my campers will learn about me is… I love to be active! Camp has so much to offer each day and I love every part of it.

One fun fact about me is… The first and only time I’ve been stung by a bee was on my eyelid!

Name: Maddie Hecht

Years at camp: This will be my 8^th year at camp!

Hobbies when you’re at Home: I play soccer, I hang out with my friends and I love to eat

Secret talent: I am really good at impersonating movie characters

Favorite camp activity: Canacapella

Funny camp memory: THE HIKING TRIP

Advice for a first time camper: Make every second count. Where else would you be able to have a sleepover with 12 of your best friends for seven weeks straight?

Something you learned at camp: Don’t forget to ask D.A.N.A (does anyone need anything?)

I never leave for camp without… my blankie 🙂

If I could have any job in the world it would be… a famous person that can sing and dance!

My favorite place I’ve traveled is… Bermuda

One thing my campers will learn about me is… I’m always enthusiastic and I love camp so much!!!

Mindy gets ready for a camping trip!

Name: Mindy Rosenthal

Years at Camp: 8th Summer
Hobbies When You’re at Home: Canteen on the fly hopping & singing acapella in frozen yogurt places with other members of Canadensis.
Secret Talent: Can hike to camp site one while blind-folded.
Favorite Camp Activity: Lake Boats
Funny Camp Memory: We were on the sail boats with our CIT, Jess, on a not very windy day. Grama wanted to jump in the lake to cool off. Then all of a sudden the wind picked up and carried our sail boat into shore. Grama was now stranded in the middle of the lake and the lake staff had to rescue her.
Advice for a First Time Camper: Enjoy every second of every day. You can never have too much time at the best place on Earth with the best people on Earth.
Something You Learned at Camp: How to form friendships that will last forever.
I never leave for camp without my… Extreme amount of blue and gold accessories.
If I could have any job in the world it would be... Acapella instructor at camp.
My favorite place I’ve traveled is... London
One thing my campers will learn about me is… I love camp more than anything and I hope they will learn to love it as much as I do.
One fun fact about me is… I was one of the original Canacapella-ers to perform on the amphitheater stage!