Author: Elissa

The excitement was in the air with the anticipation of a visit from Nets star Brook Lopez and he delivered BIG. I think all our Knick and Heat fans are now big fans of this Nets player. A super great guy and the kids loved him. He spent all day at camp interacting with the kids.

We all gathered at the new court for a skills and drills session with some selected campers. Brook walked around giving pointers and high fives to all the kids. Then we had upper camp play a scrimmage as Brook watched and guided them with suggestions on their game. The morning ended with a Q&A  session as the kids asked him everything from his favorite player block to what is his favorite food is. He was gracious, open, funny and ended the session with how he wished he could be a camper at Chen-A-Wanda. We blew Brooks mind as he entered our typical rockin Lodge for some amazing lunch but what was spectacular is his choice to sit right in between and amongst the Freshman girls. He was rockin out and singing along with the entire camp. Can’t tell you how great it was to see a 7’ tall NBA player singing along to Justin Bieber songs right with our smallest campers.  It was a sight to see. (video and pics will be up soon). To end his visit, Brook went to each bunk and took pictures with each group. He signed an autograph for each and every camper. The day was amazing and we all became huge Brook Lopez fans. What a treat and what a class act he is.

We played some great sports today. Here are the scores to todays games:

Boys 5th Grade Basketball – CAW 27 vs. Tioga 6

Girls 6th Grade Soccer – CAW 2 vs. Trails End 0

Girls 7th Grade Tennis – CAW 3 vs. Wayne 2

Girls 10th/11th Grade Softball – Wayne 16 vs. CAW 2

A perfect summer night for a swim party and that is exactly what we did tonight. There couldn’t be anything more fun than swimming at night with our friends. There were beach balls and diving contests, cannon balls and just hanging in the pool tubes. The music was pumpin’ and the energy was insane. An awesome day and an incredible night. This will go down in the books as one great Chenny Day!!!!

Chenny out

 

We had another amazing day and even though it’s only been five days, we have truly formed a family up here. Eating all together, singing all together, playing all together have made these past five days remarkable. Can’t quite explain the feeling of how much support we give one another and how great it feels.

A new camper hit a homerun over the Big Red Monster today at Wiffle Ball and when you do that at camp, you get to sign the wall. It’s not an easy thing to do and when this camper hit that homerun, his entire division cheered him on as if he were in Yankee stadium and hit a grand slam. He only met these boys five days ago and you could hear them all say how proud of him they are. It was pure elation for not only that camper who hit the homerun, but for all who witnessed this great accomplishment. We lift each other up here. Each individual highlight is celebrated by all. We truly love to see each other succeed. What can be better than that?

We are so proud of our 8^th grade Boys baseball team who played their hearts out vs. Poyntelle with a 15 – 1 victory. Great job boys.

The evening was all about Sign and Song and the show didn’t disappoint. Each bunk presented their plaque as the judges scored them on creativity, uniqueness and artwork. Girls’ side blew us all away with their amazing dances. What made tonight so special was after each performance, Boys’ side gave every group a loud cheering and supportive standing ovation. The spirit and camp pride was off the charts tonight in our Rec Hall. It’s contagious and it feels awesome.

Congratulations to the winning bunks !

Lower Camp Plaque – Girls Bunk D and Boys Bunk H

Upper Camp Plaque – Girls Bunk W and Boys Bunk W

Lower Camp Dance – Girls Bunk D

Upper Camp Dance – Girls Bunk R

Life is so great!

Chenny out.

 

A cold front blew into camp today but that didn’t stop us from playing and having the greatest day. It was a day full of regular activities and games. Girl’s side was perfecting their dance for tomorrows Sign & Song and all of camp was putting on their finishing touches to their bunk plaques (which look absolutely amazing by the way).  There is so much spirit and camp pride here. We all feel it from the Lodge to Wiffle Ball. We are only four days into camp and it’s as if we’ve been here for weeks. We are in the swing of things and it feels so great.

The cast has been selected for our production of The Wizard of Oz and all our actors have started rehearsals. We have some amazingly talented actors, singers and dancers who are excited to walk down that yellow brick road and perform for us. Congratulations to the cast!

Today was our first day of Wayne County games. It was a valiant effort from our athletes who had a ball playing their sport. We are so proud of our athletes who showed great sportsmanship.

Boy’s 3^rd/4^th grade Hockey  – CAW 7 vs. Trails End 2

Boys 6^th grade Tennis – Weequahic 4 vs. CAW 1

Boys 7^th, 8^th & 9^th grade LAX – Trails End 10 vs. CAW 4

Girls 9^th grade Basketball – Weequahic 26 vs. CAW 20

Boys 10^th/11^th Tennis – Wayne 3 vs. CAW 2

It was movie night at Chen-A-Wanda as all our campers relaxed in their cozy comfortable clothes, blankets and pillows and watched a movie. We have been running on high speed since they arrived on Saturday so it was a nice downward shift to relax a bit. A great night watching a movie, having a snack and being with our friends. It doesn’t get better than that.

Chenny out.

 

We woke up to a chilly brisk summer morning and everyone rolled into breakfast in their cozy jammies. It was that kind of morning. After we ate our delicious breakfast, it was time to get down to camp business and get outside for some serious fun. We had a few sun showers throughout the day but that didn’t stop the action. The Cookhouse was cooking some amazing desserts and the School of Rock was just rockin’. The fields were full of active kids and when the sun stayed out, we were flying on the trapeze. Walking around camp its truly an awesome site seeing our campers hit homeruns over the Big Red Monster at Wiffle Ball while kids are getting blobbed off the water trampoline in the lake. Its nonstop fun from dusk to dawn.

With all we have here, the most important components are being able to do these things with our friends. There were two campers in ceramics that were building a bowl together. They called it their friendship bowl. It started as a chunk of clay and ended up as a beautiful symbol of what happens here everyday. There are no cell phones to text each other here. There are no computers or facebook to occupy us. We are face to face, we are communicating with one another and we are making friendship bowls. This is the magic that happens here on a daily basis. How lucky are we to have these moments to connect, truly connect with one another.

Everyone was looking forward to tonight’s evening activity, the Dating Game. Each division had a bachelor or a bachelorette asking questions to the three potential dates behind the curtain. It was hilarious, it was fun and everyone had a ball. There is so much support and encouragement to everyone of our campers who gets up on our stage. Can you imagine being applauded by a packed house for just answering a question about what your favorite ice cream is and why? It happens here. We are a family who plays together, who supports each other and who are all experiencing this crazy fun together.

Today was a perfect example of why life is great at Chen-A-Wanda.

Chenny out.

 

 

Thank you for sharing your children with us this summer. We had the best time together and words cannot fully express the experience we all just had together. We hope that the following letter we read to your children at memory night will help explain our gratitude for how lucky we feel being able to experience summer camp with your kids.

 

Dear Campers of Summer 2011,

We have watched you over the past 51 days and we are so glad that we got the chance to spend this summer with you. It has been pure joy as we get to see first hand how you all have embraced this place and love it as much as we do. It’ s hard to explain to people what goes on here. How can you possibly use words to describe what happens at boys line up and why they always shout out SAFETY and DOORKNOB! And just how awesome it is to cheer for your favorite Gladiator as they battle in an intense tetherball match. Would anyone outside Chen-A-Wanda truly understand why we have to sing at the top of our lungs while standing on chairs and rocking out in the Dining Hall at every lunch. Where else does that happen? What are the words we can use to fully explain Color War and that feeling of pride that goes along with it.

We are all so lucky to get the chance to be part of this spectacular experience. We have watched you make friends that will last a lifetime. There is this comfort we know you get by being with your campies and living together makes that bond unbreakable. You are sisters and brothers to one another and that doesn’t end when we leave this place tomorrow. We all bring it home with us.

The connections you have made with your counselors will stay inside of you forever. They have given you a piece of themselves and we know that no matter how far away they live from you, they too will always be with you. That bond you made is real for them as well. They too will have hard time leaving you tomorrow. It hurts to leave to the people you love.

We have seen many of you try new things this summer and accomplish goals you set for yourselves. You have been brave, you have been confident and you are all leaving here a little more independent than when you came.

We have seen many of you beat homesickness and the feeling of great pride as you have overcome something you thought you couldn’t. You have worked through arguments with friends and got closer because you spent the time trying to understand each other better. You flew on the trapeze when at first look you were terrified. You did it because your friends and counselors believed in you and then you believed in yourself.  You celebrated together as you won and you picked each other up when you lost.

There is just something that happens here that is simply magical. It’s a place you can be exactly who you are, without judgement, and without criticism.  It’s a world like no other and that’s why we all keep coming back again and again and again.

We will miss each and every one of you and as you head home and start your school year, know that we will be busy making plans and preparing for an awesome summer 2012.

Thank you all for making this summer the best one yet.  It takes each one of you to make this place a home. You give it a heart and give it soul. From the bottom our hearts, we thank you.

Life is Great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda.

Sincerely,

Jon & Elissa