Hello Canadensis…
First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that everyone had a wonderful time with their family and friends during the holiday season. And, since we have now officially entered 2013, we can start actually saying that camp is THIS YEAR! Woo Hoo!
Next, I wanted to say how great it was to see so many of our campers and staff at our ANNUAL REUNION at Funtime America. When totaling up the numbers, it looks like we had 300+ campers and 50 staff in attendance. We know that many of you have very busy schedules so we really appreciate that you carved out some time for your camp family by joining us at this wonderful event. Trying to get around the room to see as many people as possible, it was great hearing about what everyone has been up to since we last left camp in August. At the same time, we hope everyone had a good time playing the games and going on all of the rides and amusements. If you haven’t checked out the pictures on our Facebook page, click here. Furthermore, it was so nice to hear that many of the campers in attendance planned other activities around the reunion such as lunches and even sleepovers. As always, if you have pictures of these get-togethers, be sure to send them to us so we can post them.
As I usually like to do on this blog, I enjoy sharing what I have been up to in my time away from camp. Back in December, Jaime and I kept up with our annual tradition of visiting one U.S. city every year. This year, the choice was Atlanta, Georgia for a 5-day getaway. While there, we visited the World of Coca Cola Museum and got to drink over 60 different coke products from around the world, spent a day at Stone Mountain Georgia for some outdoor activities, attended the Giants-Falcons game with Lower Boys Head Counselor Roy Kaplan (loved seeing Roy; the game I’d rather forget), went to the Georgia Aquarium and did some shopping in cute towns called Little Five Points and Virginia-Highlands. It was a great trip! Here are some pics…
Me and Jaime at the World of Coca Cola. That's the couch from the red room on American Idol. No Ryan Seacrest, though. Oh wait! There he is right behind us. Ha Ha!
Here were at the top of Stone Mountain. We took a skyride up the mountain, but then chose to hike three miles down the mountain.
Me and Jaime with Lower Boys Head Counselor Roy Kaplan and his friend Dana before going into the Giants-Falcons game.
In the Georgia Dome for the game. Giants got crushed 34-0. Can't remember a time we got beat so bad! I guess all the games can't be Super Bowl victories.
Me and Jaime at the Georgia Aquarium. What a cool place!
On New Year’s Eve, Jaime and I went to see one of our favorite bands, Phish, to ring in 2013. It was a blast! Here is what our night looked like at midnight…
Like most blogs, I use this space to tell you about all of the campers I meet throughout the year. Here are some visits to tell you about.
In River Vale, NJ, I got to hang out with Jeremy Lesserson, who is currently in 6th grade and will be spending his first summer at Canadensis as part of our Freshman division. In the winter, Jeremy plays in a basketball league and in the spring, he plays in a baseball league. He also takes tennis lessons and plays the drums. Jeremy is a big Mets fan, an avid baseball card collector and loves reading Sports Illustrated. During football season, he enjoys playing fantasy football. When I was at his house, Jeremy also shared with me that he is involved in fundraisers for his school. This summer when he gets to camp, he is excited for all of the lake activities, including the water trampoline, the Summit, waterskiing and banana boating. He also can’t wait for choosing his own electives, swimming in the pools and his trip to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Here is a photo…
Me with Freshman boy Jeremy Lesserson. We are pointing to an autographed photo of the famous David Tyree catch from Super Bowl 42! You know I loved seeing that in the Lesserson home!
In Montville, NJ, I spent some time with Lindsay Axelrad, who is also joining the Canadensis Family for her first summer. Lindsay is in the 5th grade and will be an Upper Inter in 2013. Lindsay is a big time soccer player for her team, the Montville Power, where she plays forward and midfield for the team all year round. In the winter, she also is on a basketball team, the Montville Lady Broncos. On top of all that, she does hip hop dance, loves to ski in the winter and enjoys cooking. She also told me that she is starting a newspaper at her school. This summer, she is really looking forward to the high ropes course and zipline and waterskiing. Here is a picture…
Me with Upper Inter Girl Lindsay Axelrad.
In Bala Cynwyd, PA, I had a blast with the Rosenau Family, who will now have three kids at camp! Julia (7th summer; Super Senior Girls) and Emma (4th summer; Freshman Girls) are happy to introduce their brother A.J. to camp for his first summer as part of the Lower Junior Boys. Now in 2nd grade, A.J. plays striker on a travel soccer all year long for an 8 and Under team. He also plays basketball during the winter months. When not busy with those two activities, he also takes a hip hop class and plays the piano. Now in 6th grade, Emma is playing in a winter basketball league. In the spring, it will be onto playing both softball and lacrosse. Emma showed me that she is always keeping in close contact with her camp friends on Instagram. In fact, she told me that she wanted to give a shout out to the Girls of Bunk 12 from Summer 2012! Julia, who entered high school this year, has been actively involved in Build On, which is a non-for-profit organization for building schools in third world nations. She has been doing community service and fundraisers to help this great cause, putting in hundreds of hours of service. For more about this, and to even make a donation, you can go to Julia’s webpage by clicking here. In the fall, Julia played soccer on the high school JV team. In the spring, she is going to try out for the school softball team. Julia also wanted to give a shout out to her camp sisters of Girls Bunk 20 from Summer 2012 as well as to Jessie Thick and Dani Corradetti. Here is a pic…
Me with Freshman Girl Emma Rosenau (left), Super Senior Girl Julia Rosenau (center) and Junior Boy A.J. Rosenau (right).
In Warren, NJ, it was great to be with the Cohn girls, Sydney and Darien. Sydney is back at camp as an Upper Inter for her 3rd summer and is excited that Darien is coming to camp for her 1st summer as a Lower Junior. Sydney, currently in 5th grade, is taking tennis lessons and starting to play in USTA matches, loves riding her bike and doing art projects. Sydney told me that she likes nature as well. She has also been into some of her favorite TV shows, “Toddlers and Tiaras,” “Dance Moms,” and “The X-Factor.” Just recently, she also hosted a sleepover for all of her camp friends at her house. In the blog, she told me to make sure to give a shout out to the Girls of Bunk 7 from Summer 2012. At camp, she loves it all and once again can’t wait for the triple dare, waterskiing, the Summit, sailing, glass fusion, woodworking and soccer. Darien, who is in 2nd grade, also takes tennis lessons, enjoys riding her bike and doing gymnastics. She is also involved in hip hop dance and will be performing in a recital in the Spring. Finally, she also loves nature and animals. At camp this summer, she is looking forward to kayaking, the Summit, banana boating, swimming, the Art Shack and making new friends. Here is a photo…
Me with Lower Junior Girl Darien Cohn (left) and Upper Inter Girl Sydney Cohn (right).
In Westfield, NJ, I got to know Ryan Borak a whole lot better. Now in the 4th grade, Ryan will be part of our Lower Inter Boys division for his first summer at Canadensis. Ryan is a boy with many varied interests. He plays the trumpet. He is entering his second year of wrestling. He is a big Legos builder. He loves to read. His current favorite books are the nerds series by Tom Engelberger. He loves to play on the Wii and WiiU. His favorite games these days are Nintendo Land and Skylanders. Ryan is also a member of his school’s student council, which ran a canned food drive for Thanksgiving. Ryan also volunteered his time making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for victims of Hurricane Sandy. When he comes to camp in 2013, Ryan is ready to try the quads and hondas, all of the lake activities, mountain biking, glass fusion and the Canadensis Today Show. He is also looking forward to making new friends. Here is a picture…
Me with Lower Inter Boy Ryan Borak.
In Jericho, NY, I got to be with Mandi and Jamie Kurtz and talk about camp. Mandi, in 4th grade, returns for her 2nd summer in the Lower Inter division while Jamie, in 2nd grade, will be at camp for her 1st summer as a Lower Junior. Now in 4th grade, Mandi has been busy with her competitive dance team performing hip hop, jazz, lyrical, ballet and tap. When she returns to camp, she will be excited again to try cooking, the Summit, banana boating, art, dance, gaga, gymnastics and glass fusion. Jamie, who is in 2nd grade, also dances and is active with jazz, hip hop, tap and ballet. Jamie also takes piano lessons, does gymnastics and is part of a Girl Scouts troop. At camp, she ready to do glass fusion, go waterskiing and having fun with all her new camp friends. Here is a pic…
Me with Lower Inter Girl Mandi Kurtz (left) and Lower Junior Girl Jamie Kurtz (right).
In Merrick, NY, it was great to see Hannah Samuels, who will be at camp for her 1st summer as part of our Lower Inter Girls division. Hannah, who is in the 4th grade, plays basketball and soccer. She is also extremely creative and showed me several of her art projects, including a sculpture she made from the bon bell cheese wax packaging. It was awesome and something I had never seen before! Hannah is also a big animal lover and showed me her pet lizard Tootsie and her tortoise Tortellini. Hannah plays the saxophone and enjoys snowboarding in the Winter as well. In Summer 2013, she is very excited for activities like fishing, glass fusion and Color War. Here is a pic…
Me with Lower Inter Girl Hannah Samuels.
Got some great pictures of campers e-mailed to me. And, if you send me pictures, I will post them here…
New camper and Junior Boy Jesse Shogan proudly shows his Canadensis T-Shirt while on vacation in Florida.
Lower Inter Boy Marshall Greenspan shoots a bow and arrow in his Canadensis while in Costa Rica.
Lower Inter Boys Brett Tomback (left) and Justin Green coincidetally saw each other at the Fort Lauderdale airport on their vacations.
Some of the Girls from Bunk 5 in 2012 had a sleepover after the Reunion. They were Jordan Plant, Avery Shaw, Mackenzie Fuerth, Joey Dallow, Julie Pulewitz, Bailey Germain and Ilana Miller.
The girls went swimming on their sleepover as well.
This painting was done by Senior Camper Alexa Binday. How awesome is this?!
Well, that’s all of the blogging for now. I will be up to camp several times in the next few weeks and my next blogs will have some pictures of camp in the winter and will update new projects we are doing.
Have a great day!
-Brian
