Author: Elissa

There is just no better way to wake up than hearing reveille. And as the bugle rang throughout camp, all our campers popped out of bed knowing that today was the first full day of activities. It was electric. The biddy courts on boys side was packed with basketball games before breakfast and girls were on their porches and playing tetherball. The sun was shining and everyone was eager to start the day.  We all joined together in The Lodge and had a delicious breakfast together. The most important meal of the day to start us off right for the activities we all were ready to begin.

The sun was shining and the temperatures were raising and we could not have asked for a better day to take our swim tests. The lake was packed with happy campers, as the water trampoline was the place to be. The pool was full and kids were loving zipping around Fiddle Lake as we water-skied and experienced tubing on the Great Big Mable. It was an absolute awesome first day of water activities to cool off.

The waterfront wasn’t the only thing popping. It was a full day of team tryouts. The courts and fields were packed with campers trying out for their favorites sports.  This is where playing sports is the way it was meant to be, to have fun playing a game you love. Even if you never have played before, you learn here without any pressure, just pure joy and love to play. There was a new Freshman girl who tried out for the basketball team here and has never played before. Her smile told a story that makes it all worth it. She picked up a ball and as our amazing basketball staff taught her how to shoot, she made a basket after trying the whole period long. You could hear her little voice tremble with excitement as the ball made it in the hoop. “I did it, I made a basket” As the activity period ended, you saw her run to her new friends and share her accomplishment. That one basket she made brought her so much pride. A little girl who did something she never had done before and the pride she felt ran deep. Those moments happened all over camp today. That is the magic of this place.

Our actors and actresses auditioned for the play today and boy do we have talent. We sing, we dance, we act and these groups of thespians will soon wow us as they put together Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory.  Can’t wait to see them in the spotlight.

We all rocked out tonight with Julius C on stage as each division sang with a full rock band behind them. There was dancing and singing in Shields Hall tonight and it was loud and it was insanely fun.  We just rock out here at CAW.

Our first day of full activities was a success and everyone is soundly sleeping from an amazing day. The greatest part is we get to do this again tomorrow. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Chenny out

We have waited all year long for this day to happen and it’s here. There are no more countdowns or marking off days on our calendars. There are no more Wanda Wednesday pictures that remind us of where we all want to be. We are actually here, in camp and our summer has begun. There is no place we all would rather be. Even through all the nerves, excitement and anxiousness, we all did it. We loaded those buses and headed to Camp Chen-A-Wanda, our home for the next 51 days.

The weather was ideal and as the sun shinned down on all of us, you couldn’t help feel the love here at CAW. Watching old friends reunite with pure joy just to see one another is a sight to see. It warms you from the inside out. And as our new campers walked out of the bus, some nervous, most excited but they too saw and felt the love they were walking in to. There were counselors waiting for them with open arms, smiles on their faces and an excitement that was off the charts. Today was perfect in every way.

The afternoon was spent playing icebreakers and group games. As you look all around camp, you plainly see why we are all here. There was so much laughter, there were tons of piggyback rides, there was hand holding, there were friendships that started today and there was a feeling of being home.

It was off the The Lodge to have our first meal together. The energy could have blown the roof off the building. It wasn’t too long before we all sang on the top of our lungs and danced to the rockin’ music that was played. From the Freshman to the Wandereres, we all sang and danced together as if we have been doing this forever. If you ever have sang in unison with packed house, it’s quite overwhelming and awe-inspiring. We all became one tonight at dinner. The bond began and it’s just the beginning. Nobody walked out of The Lodge without a smile on his or her face.

We all loaded into Shileds Hall tonight as we watched a video of highlights from last summer. It was sneak peak to what amazing things lie ahead. We will make new memories and we cannot wait to get started. It was an ideal first day. Everyone is fast asleep and we cannot wait for the sun to rise so we can play all day tomorrow.

Thank you for sending us your children. It is them that has given this camp its heartbeat.

Chenny Out.

It’s so hard to believe that it’s that time to say goodbye. The last 50 days have been amazing and we cannot thank you enough for sharing your kids with us. We have watched them grow over these last seven weeks. We have watched them accomplish things they thought they couldn’t. We have seen them make lifelong friends and watched how they have made Chen-A-Wanda their summer home. As you sifted through the thousands of pictures and watched endless hours of video from this summer, we hope you got a sense of what amazing things your children did this summer. It has been our priveledge and honor to care for your kids.  Thank you again for trusting us with your kids and believing in the magic of Chen-A-wanda. We read the following letter we wrote to your children tonight just before memory night.

Enjoy them tomorrow and know we will miss them dearly.

Jon & Elissa

Dear Chen-A-Wanda Campers,

Fifty days ago you all arrived here, excited for the journey that you were about to embark on and here we sit, just having spent the most amazing summer together at Chen-A-Wanda.

We have seen you all grow tremendously in these past 7 weeks. It has been a true joy watching you make new friends and as we all can admit that and that alone is the magic of this place. It isn’t the soccer field or the water trampoline or the trapeze that makes us all come back here. It is the friends we have made along the way and knowing that we have created a true summer family. In these walls, we take care of one another, we celebrate together, we inspire one another and we lift each other up. That is what we do here.

We have seen you work through conflicts and become closer to one another with a true understanding of what the word friendship truly means. We cannot truly express the feeling we get as we watch all of you take care of one another. When one of you is sad, you have a group of people who will instantly come to your rescue and wrap their arms around you until you feel safe and better. That doesn’t exist in the real world but it does here at Chen-A-Wanda.

There is no facebook, no twitter, no computers to occupy us here. There is face to face communication. We are forced to talk things through, to work things out, to face our fears. And you have done this for 7 weeks beautifully. You should be so proud of what you have done here and what each one of you has accomplished. You have been a part of something pretty spectacular and this will stay with you forever. The summer is now gone but 18465 lives on in every one of us.

We have a philosophy about living our lives as the river rather than the rock. The ultimate goal is to be able to flow through life’s challenges rather than getting stuck in one place.  The Blackout showed us how we all were the river and dealt with a situation where we had no control and we even had fun with the lights out. Continue to be the river. It will make all the difference in your world. That we promise.

We built the Lodge for you but it was you who gave it its’ heart and soul. You sang on the top of your lungs and you danced as if no one in the world was watching you. Where else can that happen? Oh how we will miss singing and dancing at every meal with all of you.  The food filled our bellies but the energy and love in the Lodge filled our souls.

We are so grateful to each one of you in this room. YOU have made summer 2012 magical and from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you!!!

We all enjoyed some extra sleep with a lazy morning wake up followed by a delicious brunch in the Lodge. It was the perfect morning to recharge after five days of Color War.  The afternoon was beautiful so there was no better place to be than the waterfront. We all know there are only a few more days left here so everyone is enjoying every second and not wasting a minute.

It was a perfect day for our Doppleganger contest. So many of our campers look like one another on girls side, we had to come together and have an official contest. They dressed alike, they walked the same and they were just adorable. It was fun to see how much we all look a like. Make sure to look out for the pictures from this camp favorite event.

The night was all about Late Night with Leahy and the buzz was in the air. It is an amazing culmination of great videos and presentations delivered by our Boys Head Counselor extraordinaire, Brian Leahy. It was hilarious and referenced everything funny about camp. This evening’s activity is a camp favorite and even our counselors that were off duty, stayed to watch because it’s just that entertaining. Campers absolutely went crazy for the hilarity of what they witnessed. It was a perfect way to end a perfect day.

Everyone is looking forward to banquet tomorrow. It is the best celebration and we do it in style. We dine on amazing cuisine as we are all dressed up in our best duds. Then it’s back to the bunk to get on comfortable clothes and shoes for one amazing night of dancing and celebrating. Best night of CAW is just around the corner. Can’t wait!

Chenny out.