Do you have any good rhyming quotes for this ‘Annie the Dog’ photo?

Annie the Dog, eating some food…

Annie the Dog, sticking out your tongue is rude!

Hello Canadensis!

So glad April is here!  That means we are one month closer to the best summer ever!  And, the month of April got off to an amazing start with our Annual New Camper Bowling Event in North Brunswick, NJ at the Brunswick Zone!  This get together for our new campers and some of our younger returning campers was an unbelievable opportunity for a meet and greet, some games, pizza and bowling!  The event, which was split up into four different meeting times for different age groups in the Junior and Lower Inter divisions, started with each group playing a game of Camper Bingo, which allowed all the campers to meet one another.  Some age groups even played a name dance game.  Then, campers were split up into different lanes for bowling and a pizza lunch.  All campers left with the names of all campers in their division as it is our hope that they will set up get-togethers of their own before the summer begins.  The New Camper Bowling was also attended by many of our staff including me, Eric, Pam, Cara and Matt as well as Girls Head Counselor Robin Forti, Camp Mom Stephanie Vorcheimer, Boys Group Leader Pete Tarnoff and Camp Media Guru Jason “Jay Cal” Calabretta.  Thanks to all of the families that came to the day.  Here are some pictures from this wonderful day…

The home visits keep on comin’ and it’s so great to see all of our campers and camp families.  In East Rockaway, NY, I got to hang out with Mitchell Klee, who is in the 3rd grade and will be part of our Junior Boys Division.  He has been so excited for baseball season to begin.  This season, Mitchell is playing on the RiverCats and will be playing 2nd base, 3rd base, short stop and 1st base.  In the winter, he played on a basketball team.  He also takes tennis lessons.  He is a big sports fan and roots for the Yankees, Islanders and Miami Heat.  Mitchell is also a big follower of WWE and his favorite wrestlers are the Undertaker and Jon Cena.  This summer, he is excited for baseball, boating and meeting new friends.  Here is a picture…

Also in East Rockaway, NY, I got to hang out with the Goldbergs, Robbie and Sammi.  Robbie, returning for his 5 year jacket summer as part of our Freshman Boys Division, is busy playing both soccer and baseball (his biggest passion) while Sammi is working her way through her junior year in High School.  Sammi is now part of our staff as a Junior Counselor this summer, which will be her 10 year jacket summer!  Sammi showed me her room at home, which is basically an homage to Camp Canadensis, including actually lake water and beach sand from Lake Lenape.  Needless to say, she loves camp!  Along with dad Lionel, the four of us got to hang out at one of my favorite places…Ralph’s Italian Ices.  Here is a pic…

In Merrick, NY, I got to see Freshman Girl Sophy Feldman, returning for her 5th summer, and her younger brother Joey Feldman, who is coming to camp for his first summer.  Sophy told me just how excited she is for camp to start, saying that it is one of her favorite places.  In fact, she was hoping to skip the rest of school to come up and help us open camp for everyone in June.  As for Joey, who is in the 2nd grade and will be in the Junior Boys Division, he was starting his baseball season as part of the Blue Jays team, where he will be playing catcher, pitcher and 1st base.  Joey also plays goalie on a soccer team.  He is a big fan of Star Wars and video games, his favorite game being Ninja Garden these days.  He also roots for the Islanders and Rangers hockey teams.  This summer, he is ready to try the batting cages, golf, soccer and making new friends at camp.  Here is a photo…

In Summit, NJ, I spent some time with Lily Ufberg, who will be part of our Junior Girls Division and is currently in the 3rd grade.  Lily is a 2nd Generation Canadensis camper as her father Jeff Ufberg remembers all is wonderful days at camp.  Lily is rehearsing with her hip hop dance team as she has an upcoming performance in the spring in which she will be dancing to the song “My Shoes.”  She is also already skiing black diamond slopes when she and her family go skiing in Scranton, PA.  She loves gymnastics and bike riding with friends.  She is also a fan of the TV show “Zoe 101.”  This summer, she is excited for the activities on the lake such as kayaking and boating, activities at the Art Center like Glass Fusion and Ceramics and making a whole bunch of new friends!  Here is a photo…

In South Orange, NJ, I got to know 3rd grader and Junior Boy Ethan Goldman a whole lot better.  For starters, Ethan is an accomplished piano player and he even played me a few tunes.  That was nothing compared to the recent performance he put on in front of his entire school!  Ethan is also playing soccer on his travel team called the South Orange Fireballs.  He also enjoys rock climbing, tennis and ice skating lessons.  This summer, he can’t wait for all the stuff to do on Lake Lenape including banana boating, waterskiing and boating.  He is also looking forward to the climbing wall, ropes course and zipline and the hondas / go-karts.  Here is a picture…

In Plymouth Meeting, PA, I saw the Brucker Family!  David Brucker, now in the 4th grade, will be returning for his second summer in the Lower Inter Boys division.  David filled me in that he just recently competed with some classmates in the Odyssey of the Mind Competition.  For this, his team had to write and perform an 8-minute skit, which was called “Le Tour Guide.”  His team finished 8th out of 26 teams.  Way to go, David!  David is also playing the oboe (which I initially thought was a string instrument…ha ha!) and is taking tennis lessons.  He also visited the Casino Movie Theater near camp on a recent ski trip in the Poconos.  This summer, David looks forward to the lake activities and waterskiing, the zipline and ropes course and Color War.  He also wanted to say hello to all of the boys from Summer 2010’s Bunk 4.  Younger sister Marissa Brucker, who will be attending our Sibling Sleepover Weekend at camp this year, is now in the first grade.  She is busy with skiing, piano and gymnastics.  Here is a shot…

In Short Hills, NJ, I spent some time with 3rd grader and Junior Boy Austin Peng, who will be joining us for his first summer.  Austin is currently playing catcher, 1st base and 2nd base on his baseball team, the Thunder.  He also likes to swim and build with Legos.  Austin is a pretty good Wii player and Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Party are his favorites.  At camp this summer, he is excited for baseball, go karts / hondas, archery, basketball, climbing wall and ropes course, fishing, mountain biking, soccer, rocketry, lacrosse and cooking.  Here is a picture…

Also in Short Hills, NJ, I saw Mitch Braunstein, who is in the 3rd grade and will be in our Junior Boys division for his first summer at camp.  Mitch currently plays baseball on his team, the Royals.  He also plays basketball.  Mitch loves building with Legos and he showed me a wide assortment of his amazing creations!  He also likes having sleepovers with friends, fishing and candy!  When he comes to camp, Mitch is excited to play newcomb, go waterskiing and banana boating and the hondas and go karts.  Here is a photo…

As someone that “lives camp all year round,” I always get excited to learn about bunk reunions and get-togethers that are planned.  A few weeks ago, the girls from Summer 2010’s Bunk 8 had a get-together in southern New Jersey for a full day of fun, swimming and dinner.  Here are some pictures I received…

Also, I got a great picture from Lauren “L-Mac” Mcguire of a recent trip she made to the Midwest to see other camp staff.  Here is the shot…

Finally, thanks to everyone that participated in our First Annual College Basketball Bracket Pool for the NCAA Tournament.  Our camper winner was Junior Boy and first year camper Jake Brownstein.  Our staff winner was our very own year round employee…Cara Corradetti!  Congratulations!

Well, that’s all the blogging for now.  More to come.  Counting down the days to camp.  My count says  74 days!

Have a great day…Brian

Congratulations to my two friends who got married this weekend!  It was a beautiful wedding and a really fun night of dancing with the newlyweds.  The bride has an extremely strong connection to the camp where she went as a child, and many of the friends at the wedding were people she connected with as a child growing up at camp.   Camp even came up during their wedding ceremony!  The Rabbi was attesting to what a great couple they make, and mentioned that they do not even argue about anything, except…where to send their future children to camp!

I have no doubt that this amazing couple will work out the debate about where to send their kids in the future, but it just goes to underscore the important of summer camp!  Mazel Tov!

(The couple cutting the wedding cake)

Over the weekend some of the girls of Bunk 8 got together for a little mini-reunion!

I’ve been privately protesting the cold temperatures for a few weeks now.  I’ve been wearing lighter jackets (or none at all), and although it means I end up freezing sometimes, at least it helps me to feel like warmer temperatures on the their way.  I listened to the weather reports this morning, and by Monday it’s supposed to be 82 degrees in Philly!  Plus, camp is less than 80 days away – and I heard reports from Eric, Matt and Neil who were up at camp yesterday, and they said the lake is already thawed out.  To me, that means we can officially say GOODBYE WINTER!

In order to celebrate the passing of winter, I just wanted to post this photo of Brian that was taken at camp in February when you could walk straight across the frozen lake.  Brian is always starting fun games (or in this case, trouble!) and I caught him in the act of throwing a snowball.  Maybe I’ll get him back next year…

This past weekend was New Camper Bowling – which is a time when we bring all of the incoming campers in grades K-4th together to get to meet and make new camp friends.  It was such an excellent day, and we had nearly 100 kids come through!  Many great photos will be posted in the coming weeks, but here are a few of my favorites…

Some of the “Bunk 2” girls

Some of the Junior Boys for 2011

Last week I got to meet an AWESOME new camper who will be coming to Canadensis for the first time this summer, and will be staring as a Lower Senior Girl. Remy is currently in 7th grade at Masterman, which is one of the best magnet schools in Philadelphia. She is super involved with activities around school, she’s been elected to student council every year, and next year she is planning to run for President of the school! Before the election heats up, she is focused on the upcoming talent show, where she’ll be performing a dance to the Lady Gaga and Beyonce song “Telephone”. She’s also a total athlete who is on the track team and can run a mile in just over six minutes, and she also plays a lot of volleyball.

In her free time (it is impressive that she has any extra time!), she is an excellent big sister to her 18-month old Theresa, and she loves to bake! As you can see above, she makes decorative cakes like you would see on TV, and she’s even made a wedding cake before! While I was over, she gave me an awesome recipe for “Oreo stuffed chocolate chip” cookies, which sounds amazing, so we will have to make them with Jojo in cooking this summer!

Remy is so excited for camp, she can’t wait to try waterskiing, beach volleyball, archery, glass fusion, and many more activities. Please help me welcome Remy to the Canadensis Family!!

New Camper Bowling was awesome. Thanks to all of our new families/campers who were able to make it to north Brunswick, NJ and spend a few hours with us. We had such a great time getting to know many of our new campers and putting faces to the names! Everyone participated in Name Bingo, which allowed us to find out some unique things about people, like their dog’s names, which campers will be celebrating their birthdays at camp, and who has flown on an airplane in the past year, to name a few. Of course I was able to contribute to a few of the clues! Some of the groups also participated in a new game that I called Dance Introductions and each camper had to come up with a short dance to introduce themselves with. Assistant Director Pam now has to remember all of these dances for the first day of camp as the campers come off of the bus!

Of course not all of our new campers were able to join us, as some had Hebrew School and sports games and we have some campers from Florida who were enjoying the warm, sunny, beach weather (who could blame them!). So, we are looking forward to meeting with them as well up at camp and having the greatest summer with our new juniors and lower inters!! If Sunday was any indication as to their excitement about camp, then we are in for a blast.

In other news, I must make a PUBLIC APOLOGY TO CAMP MOM STEPHANIE, who was inadvertently left off of last week’s blog. I mentioned all of the staff who would be coming to New Camper Bowling and in a moment of tiredness (or jetlag, perhaps), I totally forgot about Steph. How could I do such a thing? I am so sorry Steph! Thanks for spending your day with the new campers and helping the parents begin to plan for a much quieter/boring summer back at home, while their kids are having the time of their lives!

While we are on the subject of Camp Mom, you might ask what does she do at camp? Well Steph is absolutely amazing for so many kids, especially if they are having a sad moment.Between helping out with the kids who have food allergies or have alternate meal requests, helping out in our health center, cookies and milk on the back deck with our younger divisions, cutting fingernails (ever wonder who does that at camp!), helping out with our camper phone calls, calling parents as needed, being a mentor to many of our staff, assisting during cleanup of the cabins, amongst TONS of other responsibilities, how does she have time to have fun at camp? Well, Steph can be found on the tennis courts playing a game with campers, up in the arts center working alongside them making projects, or anywhere out and about on camp with a camera taking pictures for all of the parents to see what camp is like! So, thanks Steph for all you do and sorry once more for leaving your name out of last week’s blog.

Matt Unger and I are headed up to camp on Thursday and we will be checking on many of the winter projects, which should be wrapping up soon. The water is also going to be turned on any day now, once the snow melts! So, alot going on at camp to get ready for Summer 2011.

There has been so much stuff going on both personally and in “Canadensis world”, so I plan to blog every day this week!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a creative outlet, but luckily, a lot of my friends have been celebrating Mitzvahs lately, and I’ve had excuses to get crafty!!!! In October I will be a bridesmaid for a close Philly friend, and at her recent bridal shower, each of the guests were assigned a month of the year, and we got to buy a gift for the couple that fit the theme of the month. Luckily, I got assigned June (which is clearly my favorite month because camp starts!), so I fought the urge to get her a crazy creek camping chair, and I got her and her hubby-to-be a nice set of beach towels. I got to decorate the outside of the box, and here’s what it looked like…

I can’t wait for June!!  Also, another Philly friend has recently welcomed the arrival of her first child, and it’s an adorable boy!  She and her husband will be excellent parents, and he has already been such a sweet and calm baby boy, with super cute expressions to match.  Since Sammy is the first born, the date of his birth is extra special, because not only is it his birthday, but it’s also the day my friends became parents!  So, I put together a framed calendar page for them…and another frame with a owl in it (because that is the theme of his nursery).  I also had a neighbor that gave birth to a boy recently, so I framed a calendar page for her too, check it out below!