Author: Elissa

We and another outstanding day here at Camp Chen-A-Wanda and before lower camp headed out to watch the Scranton Yankees  (AAA baseball team), our kids got a few games in.

Collegiate Girls Basketball – CAW 27 vs. Poyntelle 8

Collegiate Boys Basketball – CAW 39 @ Nesher 48

Super Boys Soccer – CAW 2 vs. French Woods Sports 1

Barsel Cup Hockey Tournament @ Camp Lokanda (For Boys up to 6th grade) –Game 1 CAW 0 vs. Timberlake 8 / Game 2 CAW 5 vs. Equinunk 8

Lower Camp boarded the buses this afternoon and and headed out for an awesome night at the ballpark. It was a perfect night watching baseball, eating hotdogs and popcorn and sitting in the stands doing the wave with your best camp friends. There is something pretty special about summer nights at the ballpark. It defines summertime and we had a ball tonight. It started out incredible as Evie Glickman and Austin Bernstein got to throw out the first pitch tonight. The sea of Gold and Red shirts were cheering in support of our 2 campers who represented Chenny on the mound. There was lot sod laughs tonight and a great time had by all. Another perfect summer night.

Our Seniors, Supers and CIT’s had camp all to themselves tonight as they ran the Chenny Color Mudder. These campers couldn’t have had a better time running a challenge course that included getting soaked in the slip and slide, running in the mud pit challenge course, being doused with colored powder and then jumping into the lake. They go town and dirty and had a ball. After their evening of mud and mess it was off to the Lodge for a pizza party followed by movie night. Our Navajo campers are having the summer of their lives and we couldn’t be happier for what an incredible experience they are having.

The GC’s have arrived in Las Vegas and are truly speechless from the adventures they are experiencing. It is a trip that keeps on getting better and better with every day. To be able to share this experience with their camp family is undeniably an experience they are loving. We have some very happy campers and that makes us smile from the inside out.

Chenny out.

 

Who would have thought a deck of cards would be able to fully entertain a group of active 11 year olds? A simple deck os 52 cards that allowed 4 boys to sit around a tree and play for an hour. I was watching this group of kids who weren’t interested in going in the lake during general swim today and instead played cards. I thought, when was the last time at home any of these kids played card games with one another. They were sitting around the base of the apple tree at center camp, laughing, strategizing and talking to each other and playing cards. If you brought out a deck of cards at home when they have a play date over, they would most likely look at you with a look of disgust or as if that may be the most ridiculous suggestion they have every heard but why here? Why does a simple game of cards make so much sense? Sometimes less is more and this card game was just that. It was so much more than sitting side by side playing video games and not talking. It was so much more than mine craft and candy crush. It was an hour of 4 kids playing a game of cards and probably having more fun than they ever thought possible. So when your kids get home, pull out the cards and give it a try. They really do enjoy the simple things…There is just no denying that.

The fields and courts were full of hard working happy athletes today. So proud of our kids.

Collegiate Girls Basketball – CAW 46 @ Shoshanim 14

Middy Boys Tennis – CAW 0 @Wayne 5

Middy Boys Hockey – CAW 8 @ Starlight 3

Inter Boys LAX – CAW 11 @ Westmont 4

Collegiate Boys Tennis – CAW 1 @ Tioga 4

Senior/ Super Boys Volleyball Tournament @ Towanda – CAW Supers Boys Won 1st Place & Senior Boys Won 3rd Place

Our GC’s are still wandering In LA as they enjoyed a Sony Lot Studio Tour. They were on TV sets and spent the day enjoying the magic of Hollywood. Then it was back to the hotel to change and have dinner before they headed to Universal Studios for the night. It’s a trip that just keeps getting better and better. Our GC’s are loving every minute and taking it all in. Not a moment to waste as they experience an absolute trip of a lifetime.

Two Words… Nancy Tucker!!! Ask you children about Nancy Tucker and they will tell you that she is AMAZING!!! The fun we had in Shields hall tonight was absurd. If you can imagine an old school folk singer, singing songs like One Meatball, Jelly Fish, Habitat and Scallywag and our entire camp standing and singing along with her at the top of their lungs, you can envision a room full of happy campers. It was a total throwback to good old fashioned camp songs and we loved it. Everybody was up on their feet, moving to the beat and every song had hand movements that took about 2.2 seconds to catch on. We looked like a scene right out of the movie, Meatballs and it was AWESOME. This squeaky clean show was a crowd favorite and just when we see our kids as moving too fast, too mature, too old for their age, they go and totally enjoy a show that was clean, pure and right out of the 1970’s. Nancy has been singing these exact songs for decades and your kids loved it…So all you gotta say is One Meatball….No Spaghetti and your kids will smile and sing along!

Chenny Out.

 

The fun just continues here with our divisional day trips today. Everyone enjoyed their day out of camp.

Our adorable freshman campers had just about the cutest day ever as they went to Claws and Paws Zoo. They saw cool animal exhibits and went on an animal scavenger hunt. They got back to camp and couldn’t tell us fast enough about how great their day was showing us their cool shark tooth necklaces they got and the minerals and rocks they collected too. It was back to camp for a pizza party and into the Chen-A-Plex to watch The little Rascals (which they LOVED).

Juniors & Middies had a ball at Leahy’s fun park playing in their giant arcade and mini golf course. After an afternoon winning prizes and having a great time, it was off to the movies to see this summers blockbuster. Our kids munched on popcorn and goodies and watched some fun summer movies. When they got back to camp after their fun day, it was a pizza party of them too. The night was beautiful and it was outside playtime for these campers as the Junior and Middie boys battled it at the Wiffle Ball Field. Middie girls had their own fun in a giant dodgeball game while the Juniors spent t heir night playing kickball.

Mohican Camp (Inters & Collegiates)  spent their day at Camel Beach for some fun in the water park. It was great way to beat the heat while having the time of their lives.  They swooshed down the toilet bowl, got lazy down the lazy river, slipped down the slip and slide and got bounced off the giant bungee blob. They had an absolute awesome day.

Seniors and Supers had an absolute blast at Aquatopia, a giant indoor water park that took them to new heights. They park was empty and the kids went on ride after ride after ride and had an absolute incredible day.  It was a full day in the water and our campers spent their day loving it. Just another great day for our Navajo kids.

The GC’s had the most amazing day at Santa Monica Beach. They shopped, they ate, they played in the Pacific Ocean and they are having a trip of a lifetime. Then it was back to the hotel and out to City Walk for a movie. They are living the dream. It’s good to be a GC.

CIT’s spent their day at Syracuse University. They shopped, toured the school and had a perfect off day. They came back to camp ready for another incredible day of CIT’ing.

All the campers are safe and sound back in their bunks, all exhausted from an amazing day out. What a successful  trip day, full of memories that will last a lifetime. Your children were absolutely fantastic and every place our Chenny kids were today, we received praise on how well behaved and respectful our campers are.  Gotta love that. We sure do.

Chenny Out

When we talk about teachable moments, they happen every single day here and today a few of our boys learned a life lesson that will forever impact them. We had a team out playing baseball at a nearby camp today and as Chenny was easily winning and the boys were feeling pretty confident, a few comments were made to the other team during the game that made one of the opponents feel pretty bad about himself. The comments were made in jest and never truly intended to hurt anyone but none the less offended a player on the other team. As group mentality would have it, making a negative comment or two was intended to get a laugh and the boys who made it had no real idea the effect it had on that player of the opposite team. We were made aware that these comments made this boy feel so bad it brought him to tears. Now these comments that were made regardless how benign the intentions were, made another human being not feel so great about themselves and their abilities on the field. We told our kids how disappointed we were and how their words effected another human being in a negative way. They truly had no idea how much a comment said even under their breath would effect someone else so deeply. These boys felt instant remorse and realized instantaneously that they have to make this wrong a right. They asked to go back to the camp and apologize in person to this boy they had unintentionally offended. The way in which they made this wrong a right was what made this moment so powerful. As they sat in front of this boy they did not know, they asked for forgiveness and apologized for their behavior. They only wanted to make their friends laugh without truly having regard for another’s feelings. One of our kids said, “This will forever change how I try to impress my buddies at the expense of another.” They showed empathy and compassion and the boy from the other camp, graciously accepted their genuine apologies and said to them, “If this game allowed you guys to see that words can hurt, maybe it happened for a reason.” Our kids won the game today but that took second place to the teachable moment it presented. Our kids walked away with a lesson in empathy and understanding that will forever stay inside of them and be part of who they are. It was real and it was raw and the lasting effects of facing a mistake, dealing with it head on was a lesson they will never forget.

Todays Games:

Inter Girls Softball – CAW 14 @ Westmont 7

Super Girls Basketball – CAW 20 @ French Woods Sports 22

Middy Boys Soccer – CAW 5 vs. Lavi 4

Senior Boys Baseball – CAW 15 @ Tioga 5

Super Boys Basketball – CAW 33 @ French Woods Sports 28

Simon Says we had a great evening activity tonight. It was optional evening activity for Navajo and they all wanted to relax in the Chen-A-Plex and watch a movie. But for Cherokee and Mohican, it was an incredible night of Simon Says. They were trying so hard ti beat the best, Steve Max as he dazzled our campers with the hardest game of Simon Says anyone has ever played. It was boys vs. girls and it was fun. Not a camper could resist trying to win this game but had a ball in the process.

The GC’s are wandering on the West Coast and loving  it. Their first stop was touring UCLA followed by dinner at City Walk in Universal City. Lots of fun so far and it’s only day 1. Life is Great if you’re a Chenny kid!!!!

Chenny out.

 

 

 

What an absolutely incredible day we had with all our families here at camp yesterday. It was spectacular day and we love showing off our summer home but today it was back to camp and everyone was ready to play. I rarely get the opportunity to sit and watch the kids play but I took some time today at the waterfront and it was mesmerizing. Fiddle Lake was glistening and all I saw were happy kids playing in it. I walked down to the dock where two boys were contemplating jumping in. One was a bit more tentative than the other and without missing a beat, he reached out to his buddy, held his hand and said,'”Let’s jump in together” and that is exactly how one camper encouraged his friend to jump in the lake. They did it together and then swam off in that glistening inviting lake. I was so happy I was present for that moment. The tentative camper took his hand, literally and jumped in literally. If you could have seen the happiness on his face, it was priceless, truly priceless. Then I just sat and watched all the kids in the lake. I turned off my walkie, sat back and watched what was right in front of me. A lake full of happy kids without a care in the world. Being up here in this little secluded space allows us to breathe, to play, to not worry, to live in the moment, to let go, to be brave, to cope and to appreciate the simple things like jumping in a lake with a friend. For 7 weeks, there is no Breaking News Story that our children see on the news of some horrible shooting we try and shelter them from and have difficulties trying to explain why they happen in the first place. I truly believe that is why they are so free here. So I sat and watched your children play so fearlessly and full of life. It is a joy I cant quite explain and a privilege I treasure.

Our GC’s are going out of their mind with excitement as they are within hours of leaving on their West Coast trip. The buses pull out of camp at 2am heading to JFK for a trip of a lifetime. We sat with the GC’s today going over the itinerary and all the amazing things they are going to experience for the next 11 days. An absolute trip of a lifetime. My exact words to them were, “Enjoy every minute, treasure every experience, keep your eyes wide open and appreciate that you will never ever again travel with 50 of your friends the way you will for next 11 days.” Every single camper in that meeting had a smile on their face and excitement in their eyes. This is the ultimate best of both worlds. They are a true camp family and they have grown closer and more inseparable over the years but this trip bonds them together forever in a away that no teen tour can ever do. It is they own teen tour as a group of 50 incredible positive, happy Chenny Kids!!!!! Off they go to have the trip of a lifetime…

I must apologize but i don’t have any scores form todays games. I will post them in the morning.

Tonight brought a whole new level of greatness as our Head Staff battled on the stage with a camp favorite, Lip Sync. It was incredible. The lip syncing, the choreography, the entertainment, the costumes and the sheer brilliance of how much fun they all had. Each competitor involved the campers of the division they were representing. It;s a must watch when the video comes out. The kids LOVED tonight’s evening activity and 9 acts went down to 5. The Lip Sync Finals are going to be one amazing show. Chenny Head Staff  brought it tonight.

Chenny out.