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It was trip day today at Chenny and all our campers had the absolute best time as they ventured out of camp for their adventurous fun day.

Our youngest and most adorable 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 the awesome things they bought today 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 a movie all cuddled up any cozy in their pi’s. They were exhausted as many of them fell asleep before the movie ended. All you could see were their counselors carrying sleeping kids back to their bunks. Couldn’t be a cuter and more fun day for our Freshman.

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. Some watched Despicable Me 3 and the other kids enjoyed Spiderman. Our kids munched on popcorn and goodies and had a great time being together doing what friends do best, having fun with friends. When they got back to camp after their fun day, it was a pizza party of them too. To end their perfect day it was hanging out in the canteen, watching the MLB All-Star game and playing cards and jacks before it was bedtime for this group.

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. They came off the bus exhausted and happy. They headed to their bunks for showers and sleep. Just an awesome time for our Mohican campers.

Navajo spent their day at Dorney Park and LOVED it. Nothing is better than amusement parks in the summer with your best friends. It was a day full of roller coasters, log rides, park food, belly laughs and memories that will last forever. What could be better than that? The kids rolled into camp late tonight and got off the buses with huge smiles and even bigger stuffed animals they won at the park. There are some things that truly define our summers and experiencing amusement parks with your campies is one of them.

CIT’s started their day at a local breakfast joint that is so famous and so delicious, all you gotta say is Bingham’s and everyone knows you had the best breakfast in town. Then it was off to Cornell University to tour that beautiful campus and the surrounding area that is breathtaking. They even got to go to a movie to end their day of fun.

All the campers are safe and sound back in their bunks, all exhausted from an amazing day out. Sleeping peacefully and all excited that tomorrow is Brunch day which means they get to sleep in until 9:45am, which was received with giant cheers and many “thank you thank you thank you”. 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

We all got some needed extra sleep this morning after the past 2 ½ days of Olympic fun. It was a lazy late wake-up morning and then off to The Lodge for a delicious breakfast.  We’ve been on high gear since the Olympic games started so our lazy morning was so very needed.

We got right back into camp action this afternoon with regular activities. The weather was perfect and the mood was ideal. It was great getting back to our regular schedule. We went right back into our Wayne County Tournaments.

Collegiate Girls Soccer – CAW 10 @ Island Lake 3

Senior/Super/GC/CIT Girls Tennis Tournament @ Indian Head – Jayden Bier WON Singles/ Corrine Packel & Arielle Ashkenase played in Finals but were defeated (Doubles)/Kylie Gorsky made it it Semi Finals

Middy Boys Baseball – CAW 9 @ Westmont 13

Collegiate Boys Basketball – CAW 88 vs. Poyntelle 15

Senior/Super Boys Hockey – CAW 5 vs. Lavi 2

Senior/Super Boys Basketball Tournament @ Towanda – Game 1 CAW 20 vs. Towanda Game 2 CAW 15 vs. Island Lake 30

At evening line-up we announced our Camper’s of the Week. There is nothing quite like hearing your name being called knowing that you have done a great job this week. These campers earned it and deserve it. Congratulations to these outstanding campers!! We are so very proud of you.

Freshmen                        Hayden Garland                                     Bennet Hamuy

Juniors                             Remi Zaben                                            Owen Isaacson

Middies                           Alexa Galan                                              Austin Levitz

Inters                              Jessica Jaffe & Haylin Roth                  Derek Satz

Collegiates                     Nikki Heifler                                             Josh Baum

Seniors                           Jackie Marpet                                           Mason Berlin

Supers                            Jordan Katz                                               Alex Rosenbaum

GC’s                                Emily Sobel                                               Emery Cohen

CIT’s                               Arielle Ashkenase                                    Joey Block

When you say Nancy Tucker to any camper anywhere, they start to smile, jump up and down and say, “I Love Nancy Tucker”. Everyone loves Nancy Tucker. Nancy is an old school folk music singer that entertains us with her FAMOUS songs like, One Meatball, Jellyfish, Buttons Buttons and her most popular Habitat.. Each one comes with its own hand movements that everyone knows and if they didn’t know it, they do now. I truly can’t explain what Shields Hall looked like tonight with every camper singing along with the very famous Nancy Tucker at Chenny! Such a fun night and one that wont be forgotten. No matter how old our campers get, no matter where their lives take them, they will always remember those nights that they sang along with Nancy Tucker.

Chenny out.

 

It was another intense day of competition as the campers got into their games.  Our camp was a sea of Blue, Red and Gold. Faces were painted, tutus were in full force, tube socks were a plenty and spray painted hair was all the rave. The race was so close that only 50 points separated the first and third teams as the morning began. Every camper was giving it their all.  It was all about the TEAM today. After a morning of games, it was off to song practice. The teams practiced their Cheer, March and Alma Mater and you could hear these homegrown songs in every corner of camp today.  Mid afternoon it was off to the track field for an afternoon of races.  The campers poured their heart and soul into every competition, every race, every softball throw and their spirit was intense. All three teams wanted the win today and it showed. After all the physical competitions were over, we all entered the Lodge for what was to be this summers INSANE dinner. Every single person inside the lodge was singing on the top of their lungs for the biggest karaoke sing-a-long party of this summer. Don’t get me wrong, we sing and dance at every lunch and dinner but tonight was incredible. We all let go tonight and it was a party like no other. Every song was better than the next and after 2 and half days of intense competition, we all had the absolute best time singing together at the very top of our lungs. The kind of singing you do in your car or in the shower when you think nobody is listening, it was that kind of singing but instead of nobody listening….everybody was listening and there was absolutely no fear of letting go and being in that moment. We all shared that moment together tonight and it was AWESOME. One that I know nobody in the lodge tonight will forget.

The Olympic games ended as all three teams presented their songs, banner and plaque inside Shields Hall. Each team presented their Cheer, March and their Alma Mater and the words of Blue Dominican Republic said it so beautifully in their Alma Mater…. ” Freshmen to CIT’s…Time Flies so fast…Wish we could stay all year, make moments last. Ill alway’s need you here, right by my side. I wanna stay with you, never say goodbye. Chenny 17 – Forvever you and me..Forever you and me..”

Now it was in the hands of judges as the decision of who would win Olympics 2017 was about to be announced. Shields Hall was packed with our campers dressed head to toe in their team colors waiting on bated breath and all at the edge of their seats. The time had come and the judges raced on scooters to a photo finish as Blue crossed the finish line. It was Blue Dominican Republic who took the Gold tonight!!! This was one close race.

Final Scores:

• Blue Dominican Republic – 2036
• Gold Sweden – 1998
• Red Mongolia – 1827

 

What we learned from these games were that we all played hard, respected the game, supported each other and believed that in the end it wasn’t just about getting the win but being there for one another. Two and half days ago, we began as Red Mongolia, Gold Sweden and Blue Dominican Republic and tonight we are back to One Camp Family.

Chenny out.

What an incredible day we had today. The sun couldn’t have been brighter and everyone was feeling the rays of sunshine that covered us all from head to toe. Faces were painted, hair was sprayed, tutus were on in full force. The spirit on this camp was off the charts and our campers were in it to win it. It was a full day of Olympic games and activities and the competition was fierce, fair and fun. Every camper pushed themselves and pushed their friends to be the best they can be today. Just when you thought you gave it your all and you may have felt you were running out of steam, your entire team was cheering you on from the sidelines letting you know , YOU CAN DO IT!!!! That is what happened on every field and every court today. You CAN do it – That made all the difference. Our campers and staff dug down deep today and pushed harder then ever before.You saw it on their faces and in the grit of their effort.  To see the encouragement we give one another can move mountains. It’s the best part of our Olympic games. To watch a camper who thinks they can’t go one more step and see them get lifted up and encouraged by their team and that is where they soar higher than they ever thought they could. We become champions for one another and we learned how powerful we are together.

The night belonged to the Apache Relay and everyone had a part in the ultimate goal. Regardless if you leaped frogged from the lake to Chenny Central, threw 5 cards into a hat or had to sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame, we all mattered and everyone counted.  The Apache Relay is an incredible race of teamwork, endurance and an enormous amount of fun. The entire camp is used from top to bottom and everything in between. To participate in Apache is something that you will never forget and is a constant reminder that every single person on this campus, is important and an integral member of the team. Tonight, Gold Sweden crossed the finish line first followed by Blue Dominican Republic with Red Mongolia just a few minutes behind. After the first full day of competition it’s too close to call. There is another full day games tomorrow and as we all know it all comes down to SING!!!!!!!

I saw something tonight at Apache that literally took my breath away. As each camper got into position for their Apache event, there was GC boy up at archery who is on the Red Mongolia team and this camper happens to be very talented at this sport. Archery comes so easy to him and he loves doing it. He noticed next to him was a girl on the Blue Dominican Republic team, who was getting upset as she has never once shot an arrow at archery but yet was chosen for this event. She kept telling him that she couldn’t do it and she knows her team will be upset with her as both her competitors were pretty great at this event. With tears welling up in her eyes and defeat written all over her face, this GC camper spent the 30 minutes teaching her how to do it. He said, “I can help you, but first believe you can do this and then you will.” I couldn’t believe I was there to hear this exchange. He taught her how to hold the bow, he encouraged her to stay calm and then he was by her side until she hit the target. It was an incredible exchange to witness. He was selfless and kind to someone he didn’t know and it was to his competitor. When she hit the target, the look on her face was priceless and she ran over to the boy that helped her and jumped into his arms with a giant hug and thanked him for his help. He said in the sweetest way to her, “You just needed to believe in yourself” This is why Life is Great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda!

Chenny out.

The vibe on camp today was all about Olympics and if today was the day.  Lot’s of chatter at line-up,  in the Lodge, down at waterfront, inside the bunks and just about everywhere. These kids wanted to dig their teeth into some serious competition and the energy was electric. Every song that played in center camp, every bugle that blew may have been a sign and the Olympic spirit was strong at Chenny today. These long standing camp traditions are the heart and soul of our camp experience. Olympics, Color War, Girls Sing, Boys Lip Sync – they are events we can count on and look forward to. They tie us to those Camp Chen-A-Wanda campers who have walked before us and have done what we are about to do. Entering into an experience that stands the test of time and when so many things change all around us, our camp traditions stay the exact same. We can count on them. We need them and thank goodness, our campers wouldn’t have to wait too much longer.

Before we broke Olympics, our fields and courts were full of Wayne County Tournament games.

GC/CIT Girls Tennis CAW 2 vs. Starlight 3

Inter Boys Soccer – CAW 9 @ Tioga 4

Senior/Super LAX – CAW 14 vs. Island Lake 12

GC/CIT Boys Basketball – CAW 45 vs. Westmont 13

In true Chenny form, we love to fake-out our kids and just when they think they know when and how a break is happening, we give them a FAKE and today was so much fun. The word out in camp was Olympics is DEFINITELY breaking at snack call so as the campers munched on their cookies, fruit and water anticipating something…and then…the Olympic theme started to play, followed by screams and cheers. Everyone was looking around and going nuts and just then out came Brian Leahy dressed head-to-toe in Red, White and Blue with flags waving high. He was perched high on top of the Beast as it jetted past center camp and the kids following directly behind when it stopped at the pool and Brian walked straight off the diving board right into the pool (fully clothed). It was hilarious and the kids loved it though this was was not the time for Olympics to break at Chenny.

The bugle rang and it was off to activities. You could see the disappointment and hear the angst as our campers wanted Olympics. They wouldn’t have to wait too long as just an hour later the Olympic Fanfare song played loud and clear. Where to go? Where was it breaking? The campers scattered around trying to find the location and word quickly spread that Shields Halls was where to go. The energy was intense and the spirit was high. 3..4…5…6… We Want OLYMPICS…. was being chanted by all in Shields Hall and our kids were so loud , I am sure the camp down the road heard us. A video was shown, with highlights from last years battle and it gave everyone in the Hall goosebumps on their goosebumps. It is intense, it is  fierce, it is pride, Olympics is here!!!!

Red Mongolia, Gold Sweden and Blue Dominican Republic are taking battle in Olympics 2017!

The first Olympic event was tonight and everyone gave their all at Tugs of War. Your kids dug down deep and showed their grit and determination. When our campers tug on that rope that feels like it is attached to a brick wall and they dig down deeper to find that strength to pull harder, it exemplifies the will they have to give it everything they’ve got. You see it in their faces, you can hear it when they grunt on every pull, you can feel it when wont give up. Every single one of us has fire in our hearts for something, and it’s our goal to find it and keep it lit. Let the Games Begin.

Chenny out.