It’s 2014, and that means camp is only months away!  I celebrated the new year out in Arizona where my parents live, and I enjoyed all the amazing weather and outdoor activities.  One of the highlights of my trip was getting to visit the awesome family above!

This is Dylan, and he’ll be a Lower Junior Boy at Canadensis this summer.  He’s currently in 1st grade, and has SO much energy…his bed time is later than mine!  I brought them the Canteen on the Fly shirts, and he did an awesome job designing and coloring his in.  Dylan loves having sleepovers with his friends, and he can’t get enough soccer!  He even has a remote control soccer ball, so he can play indoors.  He’s up for any sport and really likes basketball and baseball too.  He’s excited for all of the food at camp, including noodles in the dining hall – but he’s most excited for the candy at the canteen!  I told him all about the special days like carnival and super hero day and he’s excited!  He won’t be sleeping late on special days though – he gets up early!

We ate M&M cookies, and played this super fun game called “Boom Boom Balloon”.  It was so much fun – you roll a dice, and then have to push a certain amount of sticks into a balloon without popping it – so silly!

It was wonderful catching up with his big sister Jaden, who will be an Upper Inter Girl at camp, and this will be her second summer.  Things are very academically challenging in 5th grade at the Phoenix Country Day School, but when we hung out she had just gotten back from a vacation in NY (where she saw some camp friends!) and a cruise to the Caribbean.  Thoughts of school work were far from her mind, but she showed me a video for the school and it looks like they have an amazing art program and beautiful campus.  Jaden was one of the stars of our Seussical the Musical production, and since camp ended she was in a production of Law & Order: Fairytale Unit.  She has so many great memories from the summer, and can’t wait to be back!

In the midst of all the fun we were have in Phoenix, Dave and I took a trip down to Tucson, Arizona – we went hiking and visited the Biosphere 2.  Along the way we also stopped at an ostrich farm that had a ton of different animals to feed and interact with.

Of course, they had a lot of ostriches – I learned a ton about them, and I was most impressed with how strong their eggs are.  You can stand on one without it breaking!

I gravitated towards the deer in the petting zoo – the ones that live at Canadensis during the summer always run away, but these guys were all excited to have a snack with me.

My favorites on the ranch were definitely the goats!  I know this photo looks quite strange, but I’m a HUGE animal lover, and I promise that the goats were really happy and able to go wherever they wanted…they just stick their heads in these holes to try and get a treat from you!  Now, I can’t believe I’m posting this next photo…but you are encouraged to feed the goats by putting a pellet in your mouth and leaning in…it’s called a goat kiss!

Another trip highlight was playing bingo with my parents!  I blog about my love of bingo pretty frequently, but it was so fun to take my mom for her first experience.  She is a dedicated, life long mah jongg player (she let me play with her group of friends for the first time ever this trip!) and although we didn’t end up winning at bingo, we still had a lot of fun and some heart pounding moments when we were one number away!  I don’t think she’s as hooked as me, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be going back on my future trips!

One last thing I have to share…at the New Years block party we attended, they had motorized stuffed animals you could rent and take on a spin.  They are just amazing!  Happy New Year everyone, can’t wait to see you at camp later this year 🙂

Hello Canadensis!

As I write this blog entry (probably my last of 2013), I get the impression that most of you are already enjoying your holiday break!  We hope that the next few weeks brings everyone an opportunity to relax and be with family and friends.  When I was a kid, I got so excited for this extended time off from school and would have sleepovers with friends, have movie marathons in my pajamas and hopefully go sledding if it snowed.  Of course, it was also an opportunity to play with all of the new presents I got from the holidays, too.  Whatever all of you end up doing over the holidays…enjoy!  As always, if you are away on a destination, be sure to pack your Canadensis clothes and take a picture wearing them on your trip.  Then, send them to us so we can post them on our blogs and Facebook pages.  Here was a great picture we received very recently of campers that coincidentally met at the airport before leaving for their holiday break…

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had some great opportunities to catch up with some of our amazing staff members from summers past.  In some cases, I got to sit down and have dinner with them.  In Lebanon, NJ, I got to see Jared “Groundhog” Katzman (former Director of Media) for our annual get-together the night before Thanksgiving.  The next week, in New York City, me and Alex Feigin (former Counselor and Group Leader) got to hang out and talk camp.  After that, I saw Jake Kohler (former Counselor and Group Leader) in Plymouth Meeting, PA for a great meal.  Finally, in Newburgh, NY, I celebrated the birthday of Chandler Evans (Theater Technical Director in 2013), who was in town while on tour for his show “The Man of Lamancha.”  Here are a few pics (my apologies to Jake and Chandler for not taking any photos while we were enjoying our time together)…

The new year will bring an opportunity for me, Eric, Pam and Matt to meet more staff (returning and new) in the upcoming weeks as we hit the road on our annual staff hiring travels.  As of now, here is where we are headed…

We have gotten some really great feedback from the Canadensis Cares Mystery Boxes since they were sent out at the end of November.  We are so glad to hear that everyone liked them.  Here were some great photos that were sent to us from the Finkelstein Family and campers Luke and Sammy enjoying their Canadensis surprise…

Here is a great home visit to report since my last blog!  In Plainview, NY, I had an awesome time getting to know Marissa Halpern, who is in the 3rd grade and will be an Upper Junior in her first summer at Canadensis.  Marissa likes to do a little bit of everything.  She has been taking karate lessons for four years and is currently a blue belt.  In January, she will be playing in a basketball league.  She likes to go snow skiing and has even been to the challenging slopes of Vail, CO to ski.  She has a lot of fun making jewelry on her Rainbow Loom.  She enjoys spending time and playing with her dog Hyland.  And, she can’t wait to go to Canadensis this summer.  In fact, she told me that she wishes she could go to camp in January.  Although she will have to wait a few more months until June 28, Marissa is looking forward to activities such as waterskiing, tie dying, the climbing wall, mountain biking and the Canadensis Today Show.  She is also excited to make a whole bunch of new friends!  Here is a picture…

The holiday season for me and Jaime has once again brought us the gift of music, one of our favorite things to do with our free time.  A few weeks ago, we saw Steve Winwood and Rod Stewart at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.  It was  good show and proof that you can still rock-n-roll when you are in your late sixties (ha ha!).  In fact, here is a video clip from the show of Rod kicking soccer balls into the crowd while singing his hit “Hot Legs”.  Click here.  This past weekend, Jaime and I saw a little known band that we absolutely love called God Street Wine, who were celebrating their 25th Anniversary of their very first show.  Back in college, I saw God Street Wine play a number of times and I think they just amazing.  If you are interested, you can see a clip from the show here.  Finally, the final week of 2013 will find Jaime and I at Madison Square Garden to see one of our favorite bands, Phish and will be ringing in the new year just like we did last year.  It looked like this.

So, what are your New Year’s resolutions for 2014?  For me, I hope to spend more time with my family and friends.  And certainly, to make Summer 2014 the best summer ever!

Well, that’s all the blogging for now.  Looking forward to a great 2014!  Have a great holiday break everyone!  See you soon (only a month away until our camp reunion on January 26)!

Have a great day…Brian

This past weekend, Matt Unger (operations manager at Camp Canadensis) and I decided to hit the slopes and go skiing.  This was the first time either of us had put on ski’s in about a decade…needless to say it was a bit scary at times, but we had a great time going down the green circle (easiest!) slopes at Bear Creek, and I’m proud to say that after almost 10 runs, we both ended the day injury free!

Here’s Matt mid-run on the Broadway trail.  He was much faster than me, but always waited at the bottom so we could take the lift back up together.

Our matching green jackets and black pants were just an accident!  We had an awesome time getting back on the slopes, and we are both hoping to take advantage of the many ski destinations close to us in PA this winter – I’m actually hoping to get back out there this weekend!

In addition to enjoying the winter sports you can do with the tons of snow we’ve been getting in the Northeast, there are ways to enjoy the cold weather while staying inside.   I recently had a Soup-A-Thon with Cara Corradetti (our CIT Head Counselor at Camp Canadensis) where we made endless soups over the course of three hours in her new Vitamix blender (a similar version is pictured above).  This machine is amazing, and can blend smoothies, nut butters, dips and even puree and heat up soups!

(Of course I was cooking in my favorite Canadensis sweatshirt!)

By the end of the night, we had made 9 different soups – the perfect thing to add to a meal during the chilly winter.  Brian Krug (director at Camp Canadensis) has recently gotten in on the blender craze too…he’s recently starting making fruit smoothies, and I’ll bet he’ll be blogging about it soon!  The green smoothies were a big hit with campers this summer – we made them during Free Play with the “Avocado Aficionado” club and it was also a fun prize bunks won at the end of the summer!

Hi All from a snowy Philadelphia! I feel like our winter office has become more like the Poconos, as we have had so much snow around here the past week! Snow, ice, and cold temperatures makes me excited for the upcoming Winter Break, when Robin, myself, and Carli are headed to ARUBA! Will you be in Aruba? Let me know so we can meet up on the beach!!

The last few weeks have been full of travel for me. For Thanksgiving, we took a quick trip to see my in-laws down in Florida. It was a short trip and Carli didn’t do so well on the airplane this time around. She has flown tons of flights before, but it used to be easy. This time the flights were full and she was quite restless! Oh well, at least it was warm down in FL. The following week, Matt Unger, Jcal, Sam, and I went to Las Vegas for a quick vacation with “the boys”. We had a great time and got to see the Criss Angel Cirque Show. It was awesome and he even did a regurgitation act, similar to what our visiting magician, Brad, has done in the past at Canadensis!

Following Vegas, Matt and I went straight to NY, where we met up with Chef David for a food conference. The name says it all- the best one of the year! We got to taste food from 19 different vendors, ranging from cookies to tuna fish (at 9AM!) and everything in between.  We took in many new ideas and even met with the Asian Company that came to camp last year and helped cook dinner the first time we did Asian Night. They have promised to return, and they have reformulated some of their products based on the feedback WE gave them! How cool is there. One new idea we learned about is a Fry Seasoning Station. It may not sound so cool right now, but I bet you will LOVE it this summer! We will be doing this as part of a New Special Night in the Dining Hall for dinner this coming summer!

Chef David is doing well down in FL and enjoying some rest and relaxation before returning to camp for his THIRD season! He was just on a cruise and is headed on another one in January. He sends his best to everyone at Canadensis. He will be back up at camp in late April, to get the kitchen setup and ready to go for Summer 2014!

I know this is now old news by now, but I hope everyone who participated and purchased a Holiday Carewear Box enjoyed the gift! Pam worked really hard at setting up such a great gift, and not only was it great for everyone to receive, but it also helped raise over $2,500 for Canadensis Cares!, which is a scholarship fund to help families at Canadensis. Head on over to Pam’s blog for more info on what was inside this First Annual Mystery Box! And don’t worry if you missed out on it this year, because it will definitely return for Chanukah 2014, with new surprises for all of you.

http://www.canadensis.com/2013/12/07/coming-to-you-in-the-mail/

Hopefully by now everyone has received the 2013 Summer Yearbook DVD in the mail. Special thanks to our incredible media team for an awesome production! It’s nice to be able to relive Summer 2013 by watching a DVD at home, although of course nothing is as good as being up at camp.

Coming Up

Special congratulations to former counselors Jared Sorin (my cousin) and Kayla Chambers (my soon-to-be cousin), as they will be getting married in NYC this coming weekend! Jared and Kayla met at camp during the Summer of 2010 when Kayla worked in cooking and Jared was a LAX instructor. Yet another Canadensis wedding and I am honored to be a Groomsman. Looking forward to a beautiful weekend in NYC and I hear the weather is going to warm up into the 50’s!

Following their wedding, we headed to Aruba for Christmas Week and hope to see some of you there. Please email photos from your vacation to us (info@canadensis.com), Tweet them to us @Canadensis, or post them on our FB wall so that we can see where you are! Don’t forget to pack a Canadensis shirt.

And then in early January, it’s off to Australia/New Zealand. I am going to be in Melbourne, Sydney, Sunshine Coast, Auckland, and Christchurch recruiting the best counselors for Summer 2014. If you live there…I hope to be seeing you!

I hope everyone has a great Winter Vacation and make sure to send us your photos!

I haven’t been crafting nearly enough lately, but I thought I’d post some photos of recent projects over the past month.  In the photo above, you can see the 2013 Canteen on the Fly t-shirt.  It was a mostly blank canvas, and at each ice cream shop location, we setup a bunch of fabric markers to let kids create!  I got in on the fun, and colored mine as shown above – I love pink and orange together!  At the Westchester location, it inspired new Lower Junior Girl, Juliana to create a similar masterpiece!  I’m excited we can match at camp this summer!  Check out some awesome creations below…each one was totally unique!

 

Sisters Anna (3rd summer, Upper Inter) and Lindsay (2nd summer, Lower Inter) made multicolor creations on the Mainline

Dylan is a new  Lower Inter Girl, she went for a tie-dye look on Long Island.

Noah is a 2nd year, Upper Junior Boy from NYC, he took a minimalist (maybe cubist?) approach.

Hannah is a new Upper Inter Girl from Blue Bell, I love the way the black, pink and yellow look!

New Upper Junior Girls Samantha & Sydney met at the Mainline event and colored together.

New Upper Inter Boy, Noah went for a striped motif in Westchester.

Last week while I was interviewing Art Students at Temple University, I happened to be there during a community event while they were making gifts for an after school program, and a senior center.  In the photo below, balloons were used to make stress balls (which also happen to be great for students taking finals!) – how cute is the Minion stress ball?

This next project used an easy to follow template to weave two pieces of felt together into this adorable heart purse with a small wrist strap.  It was fun to mix and match different color combinations.

Recently, 2013 Girls Bunk 6 had a reunion where they got crafty…they went to Make Meaning in NYC – a place that has soap, candle, ceramics , jewelry and tons more projects to enjoy!  In the photo above, the girls have the candles they created in the polka dot bags.

The parents of Girls Bunk 6 had a great time getting together as well, and one of them is super crafty in her own right!  Above is a photo of Jordyn, who will be returning to camp for her 3rd summer as an Upper Inter Girl, with her family.  Her brother Jared will be a new Lower Junior Boy this summer, and he can’t wait!  Every summer while Jordyn is at Canadensis, her mom Wendi takes some of the photos she’s in on the website and creates a unique way to show them off in her room, and it’s a surprise when Jordyn gets home!  This year, Wendi made a #18325 (our camp zip code) full of photos to hang above her bed…so awesome!

 

 

The 2013 yearbook DVD was mailed on Friday afternoon, and will be arriving in your home soon!  Here’s a sneak peak at the front and back of the case, featuring our amazing 2013 CITs!  Pop some popcorn, and enjoy the summer memories!

Also, the Canadensis Carewear Boxes arrived two weeks ago, and we are hoping everyone has had a chance to open it up by now!  I wanted to show everyone the awesome stuff inside.  Above is a sample girls box, and here’s what was in it:

A- Camp Canadensis 9-inch wall clock

B- Package of stickers, 4 lollipops, pen and car magnet

C- Canadensis overnight duffel bag – this is the perfect item to bring on a sleepover with friends!  We have 6 different colors of bags so even siblings got different ones!

D- Canadensis sunglasses, imprinted on both sides.

E- Deck of Canadensis playing cards

F- Canadensis tumbler, packed with candy

G- Girl also received this adorable and soft Teddy Bear wearing a Canadensis t-shirt

The boys package was really similar, but a lot of the colors were different.  Also, the Teddy Bear is swapped out for a mini-basketball hoop!  We hope you all loved it!

I recently got to spend some time with Sydney, a current 3rd grader who will be a new Junior Girl this summer.  She lives in Delaware, which was the very first state in the US, and as far as I know, she’s the first Canadensis camper from Delaware!  She is so excited, and ready for camp.  She had her first sleepover with a friend when she was 5 years old, and she’s loved it ever since!  Sydney had tons of questions about camp, and even though it was late at night right after ice skating practice, she didn’t even need to write them down, she remembered them all!

She goes to Tower Hill school, and they run on a 6-day schedule…just like camp!  Her favorite special subject is arts and crafts, and a big reason why she picked Canadensis is because of our art center.  In her school art class, they are learning about the Van Gogh “Starry Night” painting, and making their own version in ceramics.  Although she likes art, she is a well-rounded girl – and likes just about everything!  Sydney’s favorite sports are soccer and tennis.  She’s excited about being on the swim team at camp this summer, and he favorite stroke is backstroke.  She’s taking piano lessons at home (maybe one day she’ll play as well as her dad!), and she also LOVES roller coasters – she’s not afraid to go upside down, or backwards…the bigger the better!

Sydney can’t wait to try horseback riding at Canadensis this summer.  When we looked through camp pictures, she was also really excited to see the tent the campers use on the overnights – she can’t wait to sleep outside!  (She’s a little nervous about where she goes to the bathroom and changes…but I told her we have a plan for that!)  She will be turning 9 years old right before camp ends, and she thought the pizza party sounded great, but the Sprite soda will be the highlight for her!  She was disappointed that we don’t have sushi or Indian food at camp, but she loves sloppy joes and Mexican food, so we’ll find plenty of options for her in the dining hall each day!  Before I left, I gave her a copy of the 2013 Video Yearbook DVD – she was the very first camper to receive it this year, but all of your copies went in the mail this afternoon! 

Earlier in the day, I was on the University of Delaware campus interviewing new staff members.  I very lucky to get a tour from the guy in the photo above…2013 Upper Senior general bunk counselor, Matt Bibby!  Matt is a Senior, education major and he’s about to spend all next semester student teaching.   In addition to being in Lamda Chi fraternity, he’s also a coordinator of the Blue Hen Ambassadors, the group of 200 students that give tours to prospective High Schoolers.  It’s a very prestigious organization, and I was glad to have him show me around campus.  It seemed like Bibby knew EVERYONE on campus -and he’s full of facts and info about the school, it was a great tour!

I also met up with Dana Aronowitz, a CIT of 2009 and someone who spent many years at Canadensis as a camper and counselor.  She is now a Junior at University of Delaware, and is studying Engineering.  She is also a member of AEPhi (LML to all my AEPhi’s out there!) and through them gets involved with a lot of things happening on campus.  She hasn’t made it up to camp on a Visiting Day recently, but hopes to be back in 2014.  She has been spending her summers working for a Engineering firm and last summer traveled to Israel.

Overall, it was a great to see all of the extended Canadensis family members in Delaware, and we recruited some new staff members to join us!

I’m wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving today – and hoping you get spend it with loved ones, friends and family!  I’ll be spending the day with some of my wonderful extended family members in NY, but unfortunately I won’t get to be with my parents or my sister because they’ll be in Arizona and Texas.  I feel so lucky to have a family that loves and supports this crazy camp thing I do year after year, and I just wanted to express my thanks, and share a photo of me with my parents at camp in 2013!

Below is a collage of photos from the 2012 Levi Family Reunion held at Camp Canadensis – it’s an every 3 year tradition, and has become something I am constantly thinking about and looking forward to.  I thought you might enjoy seeing how we used camp as a beautiful setting for quality family time…which for us includes kickball, archery and of course gathering around a table to share a meal.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Hello Canadensis…

I hope this latest blog finds our Camp Canadensis family in the thankful spirit with Thanksgiving upon us.  For many, this Thanksgiving is a two-holiday-in-one occasion as it also marks the first night of Chanukah.  I’ve had heard many people starting to refer to this event as Happy Thanksgivukah, which apparently combines the celebration of the first harvest for settlers in the New World with that of the celebration of lights.  So, I guess it is time to bust out your turkey menorahs and dreidels…

In all seriousness, I hope that everyone takes some time over the next few days and reflect on how thankful we are for those that we have around us, whether it be your family, friends or camp family.  This time, last year, it seems like we all knew someone that was affected by the work of Hurricane Sandy.  With that, it was our ability to be there for others that got many through this trying time.  A year later, so many are still so very thankful for the support they received.  So, this Thanksgiving, I hope that everyone will spend some time reflecting a bit and truly give thanks to those around them.  For me personally, I have a lot to be thankful this past year; the biggest being the marriage to my beautiful wife Jaime.  I am thankful that she has made me a better person and in turn has allowed me to see what the best things in life truly are.

A few weeks ago, Jaime and I were finally able to “complete” our wedding rituals by taking our long awaited honeymoon since being married in May.  We had two glorious weeks in Hawaii on the islands of Oahu, Kauai and Maui.  And, I must say, it was truly paradise.  During our stay, we saw Pearl Harbor, went on several catamarans and did some snorkeling, flew in a helicopter, went hiking, took a motorboat raft up the coast, drove the Road to Hana, relaxed on several beaches and ate a lot of really great food (some of the freshest fish I have ever had).  After our trip, I came up with the idea that we need to open up Camp Canadensis Pacific in the winter time.  What do you think?  Canadensis, PA in the summer and Kauai, Hawaii in the winter?  Here are a few pictures from our honeymoon vacation…

Upon our return from Hawaii, it was great to get right back into the mix of camp life as we hosted five our our Canteen on the Fly events over the course of two weeks.  In all, it was great to see the turnout from campers and staff and to catch up with everyone and see what they were up to since camp ended.  T-Shirts were once again the give away item for this event and the campers that came had a blast coloring them in.  Special shout outs for some of our amazing staff that took time out of their busy schedules to attend, including Melissa Torban, Shari Tavroff, Heather Fisher, Robin Forti, Steph Vorcheimer, Pete Tarnoff, Sam Ginsburg, Matt Manglona, Will Wekesa, Dann Restrepo, Brooke O’Donnell and Michael Klein.  When our staff attends these events, you make it even more special!  And, thank you to all of the parents that took time to drive their campers to come and see us.  Special recognition goes out to former camper and now mom Laura Giobbio (maiden name, Willensky), who drove her kids Luca and Stella to both the Westchester and Northern New Jersey events in the same day!  Awesome job, Laura!  Pictures of the Canteen on the Fly Events can be found on our Facebook page by clicking here.  After eating so much ice cream, frozen yogurt and ices at each of these locations, I must say that my favorite goes to Swede’s in Livingston, NJ for their salted caramel pretzel flavor.  Good stuff!

Last week, it was really exciting to be down in the Plymouth Meeting office with the team to wrap and box all of the Canadensis Cares Mystery Boxes.  We were really happy with how this came out and hope that all that ordered the box can’t wait to see what is in it.  There are some really cool, one-of-a-kind Canadensis items in there that we know you will think are pretty awesome!  Let us know what you think of them when you get them.  In the end, this venture helped raise over $2000 for the Canadensis Cares program.  That is the really awesome part when you think of it!  Special thanks goes to Assistant Director Pam Levi, who thought of this terrific idea.

I’ve been able to see some of our campers over the past few weeks as well.  In Bala Cynwyd, PA, I met up with the Rosenaus for our annual get-together.  It is hard to believe that Julia will be coming back to camp for her CIT summer and 8th year.  Her sister, Emma, will be back for her 5th summer to get her honor jacket as part of our Lower Senior division.  Finally, youngest brother AJ will be an Upper Junior for his 2nd summer.  For several hours, we laughed about camp experienced while everyone told me what they are looking forward to next year, in addition to all of the activities they have been doing since they left camp in August.  Now in 3rd grade, AJ has been busy with his travel soccer team called the Swarm.  He plays left midfield and left defense and he told me that their team won both the Columbus Day and Thanksgiving tournaments.  Pretty soon, he will begin the Penn Valley basketball league.  He also takes piano lessons.  AJ wanted to give a shout out to the boys of 2013 Bunk 3.  Emma, currently in 7th grade, has been busy attending many bat mitzvahs of home and camp friends.  Her own big day is coming up in January and it will no doubt be an amazing affair.  Emma is also active, playing for her school’s teams in basketball, field hockey and softball.  She wanted to say hello to all of the girls in Summer 2013 Bunk 15.  Julia is now in her sophomore year of high school.  In a few weeks, she will be going to Israel as part of her confirmation class’s trip.  She will be playing varsity softball this year as well.  Julia also volunteers at a center for autism.  Julia just cannot wait for her CIT summer to arrive and wanted to tell the other 2014 CITs to get excited for an amazing summer!  Here is a pic…

In River Vale, NJ, I got to hang out with Alex Rothenberg, who is currently in 3rd grade and will be an Upper Junior in his first summer at Canadensis.  Alex likes to play catcher in baseball and will be trying out for a Spring team in addition to playing for his town team.  In the Fall and Winter, he is busy playing on a basketball team.  On top of that, he also plays center on a flag football team.  Alex is also really good at computers and is a master robot builder.  I saw some of his work and it is really cool.  Alex is a big fan of the New York Giants, too.  This summer when he comes to camp, Alex is really excited for the quads and all of the activities at the lake.  He cannot wait to try waterskiing.  Alex’s sister Gaby will be a future Canadensis camper one day.  She enjoys baskeball, singing, fashion design and American Girl.  Here is a picture…

I always love to get e-mails with bunk reunion and get-together photos attached to them.  A few weeks ago, my inbox had several great pictures that I wanted to post.

In late October, Andy Rhodes hosted a sleepover for the boys of 2013 Bunk 4 at his house.  From all reports, the boys stayed up really late and had a blast hanging out with each other since they hadn’t been together since mid-August.  Here is a picture…

Summer 2013 Girls Bunk 6 met up in New York City on Sunday, November 17, where they all went to Serafina for lunch.  Then, they  headed over to Make Meaning, where the girls made candles.  Finally, they capped off their day with dessert at Sugar and Plum.  Here are few pictures…

Girls Bunk 9 from Summer 2013 also made their way into New York City for a sleepover hosted by Michelle Garten.  Here is a photo from that get-together…

Finally, something cool to end the blog with.  A few weeks ago, Harlem Globetrotter Thunder Law set the Guiness Book of World’s Records by recording the longest basketball shot…109 feet, 9 inches.  Check it out by clicking the following link…

LONGEST BASKETBALL SHOT EVER!

Well, that’s all of the blogging for now.  More to come!  Have a great day!  And, Happy Thanksgivukah!

-Brian

If you ordered one of our Carewear Holiday Mystery Boxes, it is officially on it’s way to you in the mail!  The winter team spent most of the day in an assembly line wrapping, packing, and sealing up the 131 boxes that were ordered – an amazing number for our first year offering these gifts!  It was a group effort, and we are so excited for you to discover all the surprises inside!

I’ve been sworn to secrecy, so I cannot reveal any of the items in the box.  But, in the above photo, you can see how it will arrive.  The box is ready to give, and wrapped in Blue & Gold tissue paper.  As soon as you open it up, you’ll see a letter that explains all the goodies inside, and thanks you for helping us raise more than $2,000 for the Canadensis Cares Scholarships!

Each box was packed with the recipient in mind, and even if you and your sibling both received it, you’ll have slight differences between your goodies.  Because some people might not open up their box until the later nights of the holiday, we ask that everyone try to help us keep the secret, and not post their mystery box items on social media.  On December 6th, we’ll be posting photos showing all the items, so if you don’t have a box arriving on your doorstep, you’ll still get to see what was in the surprise!

There go all the boxes…it filled up the entire USPS truck!