I can’t imagine a world without hobbies!  I love spending my time crafting, cooking and playing games…many things that I first learned at camp are hobbies that I try to do whenever I get free time.  I’ve blogged about some of these hobbies before, but at the top of the list is the game of MahJongg.  I have taught a lot of people how to play, including the CIT GIRLS of 2011 who are awesome players!  I’m in the process of teaching a group of women who live in the Plymouth Meeting, PA area, and the organizer of the group is Heather Brucker – mother to David Brucker who will be a 2nd year camper in the Lower Inter division this summer.

This is a photo of David and his younger sister Marissa (who might be doing the sibling Tour & More Weekend at camp this summer) helping me setup the MahJongg tiles so I could teach everyone how to play.   It takes a little while to learn, but Heather and her friends are doing great – and our second class is in just a few hours!

While I was over the Brucker household, David and I compared camp photo albums.  This is a picture of him holding the t-shirt covered camp album I made a few weeks ago, and I’m holding the book his family put together of the many photos he was in this summer.  The pictures are incredible!!

Another favorite hobby of mine is crochet, and this is a great activity to do during the winter because you can make things to keep you warm!  I love making blankets, hats, bags, rugs, and anything I can create with my crochet hook…I’m not the best at following instructions, so every time I make something it turns out different and unique…kind of like snowflakes.  I will upload more photos soon…

This is a blanket I made for one of my friends who had a baby boy – I love teaching campers how to crochet too, and I’m hoping it catches on Canadensis this summer!

This is an ear warmer that I made in an hour…just in time to wear it for New Years Eve!  I attached a cute bow.

Another big hobby of mine is playing around with Photoshop.  The best part about this hobby is that I get to use it at work to create marketing materials like postcards, brochures and more.  I just finished working on this awesome photo of Callie Goodman who was a freshman girl at camp last summer.  It was the perfect picture to announce that we are going to the Philadelphia 76ers game on Tuesday, March 1st (email pam@canadensis.com to reserve $30 lower level tickets).  Of course it’s a funny photo because Callie is a funny girl!

I’ve also made about 10 other postcards…including this one featuring 2011 CIT Boy, Matthew “Chipper” Jacobson and Rachael Liberman captures all the spirit of camp during Color War!

In addition to spending time doing my favorite hobbies, over the next few weeks, Brian, Eric and I will be visiting a lot of homes.  We’ll be trying to see every new camper for 2011, and help get them excited for the summer of their life!  I’ll be making a trip to Long Island this weekend, and even seeing some campers on Martin Luther King Day, so I’ll have a lot of new photos to post in my blog next week.  Until then…Think Camp!

Mallory and Sam thought of Canadensis immediately when they saw this ship! The colors are BLUE and GOLD too!

**Hope everyone enjoys their snow days tomorrow! Send in your snow pictures to contest@canadensis.com and we’ll post them.**

We had such a great time at the Reunion on Sunday. Here are a few pictures from the Reunion. More to come throughout the week.

Hello world of Canadensis!

Seasons greetings from beautiful California, and what I mean by beautiful, I mean rain.  But rainy is good, because rain makes snow (and Corn, shout out to Boys Bunk 10) and snow allows me to ski, and work!

So how is life you ask? Amazing!  I am currently waiting for January to begin my teaching credential program at Norte Dame de Namur University and in the mean time I am speading my time either with my lovely fiance, Senior Girls Assistant Head Counselor Alyssa Thibodeau, or working at 2 of my jobs.  The first job is a part time job at a outdoor retail store and the second is coaching a JV team basketball team at Crystal Springs Uplands School.  At work, my job in selling skis and ski related equipment and also doing rentals.  So when it snows, business is good, and when business is good, Mike gets lots of hours, which allows me to suprise Alyssa with random dates!

Secondly, my JV team at CSUS has been more fun than anything else.  The players are great and reminds me of camp.  The has gotten off to a rough couple of games but a win before the winter break will give us some momentum before league play starts in January.

But most importantly I have been watching alot of sports.  Not because I have tons of time on my hands, but I am a life long fan of a certain San Francisco Baseball team, and also my Oregon Duck Football team who will be playing for the national championship the day after the reunion, January 10th!

Lets start in mid September, when my stress levels were way too high watching all the Giants games.  When they finally won the NL West,  I was just happy to be in the playoffs.  I thought we could beat the Braves, but I honestly didn’t think we could beat the Phillies.  Glad I was wrong! I enjoyed Game 1 of the World Series around AT&T Park where the Giants play to a great atmosphere and can not believe they actually won a Championship!  (Good thing we won it this year, now that Philly has gone and bought (and traded) for the best rotation of all time, however, the giants are have the best HomeGrown rotation ever.  Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, and Bumgarner were all drafted by the Giants) What more can I ask for…

Well I guess if that wasn’t enought, the Ducks have been the best football team in the country! I honesty do believe the Ducks might be able to beat the pitiful Niners.  If you have not seen a Duck game (or their amazing uniforms) you will sure be in for a treat.

So wedding planning… I don’t really do much, I just either agree or disagree with whatever Alyssa comes up with (most of the time agree ;).  However, she gets to plan the wedding, I get to plan the honeymoon… seems fair.

How many of y’ll ski?  These cold winter months would go by way to slow if it weren’t for skiing!  The resorts are Heavenly Tahoe, and Northstar at Tahoe, both are free for me due to my position working at the ski shop!While San Francisco is great I keep missing the 18325 and can barely wait another 6 months! Just think in 180 some odd days, you will alll be on buses going up the camp road, seeing all your friends and favorite counselors.  Keep warm this holiday season and look forward to seeing many of you this weekend!

Hello Canadensis!

Happy New Year!  2011 is now officially upon us which means one thing…camp time is getting even closer!  Ha Ha!  It also means that our Annual Reunion is this weekend on January 9 for all those campers and counselors that attended camp last summer.  Can’t wait to see all of you at Jeeper’s in Elizabeth, NJ from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm.

Does anyone have any good new year’s resolutions?  If so, I’d love to hear them.  E-Mail me at brian@canadensis.com.  As for me, one thing I’d like to do is blog more.  I have gotten comments from so many campers and counselors that they enjoy reading the blogs of myself, Eric, Pam and Cara, so we hope to bring more of it coming to you in the months leading up to camp.

I hope everyone had a very safe, fun and happy holiday season.  I have heard that some of you went away on some great trips and vacations.  Hopefully, you brought some Canadensis gear while away.  If so, send us your pictures and we will put them in the next Canadensis Courier newsletter or post them on our blogs.  As for me, I got to get away to San Francisco for a week.  Of course, as many of you know, it was music related.  I got to see The Black Crowes on the final three nights of their Northeast tour at the Legendary Fillmore Theater.  During the time there, Jaime and I did some great things including Alcatraz, Muir Wood, the Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Factory (and ended up spending over $75 on jelly beans, too), Fisherman’s Wharf, Haight-Ashbury, the Castro and Golden Gate Park.  While on the west coast, we had a great dinner with Mike Lindquist and Alyssa Thibodeau.  Here are some pictures of our trip…

Me at Muir Woods in classic tree hugger position. The trees at Muir Woods are over 300 foot tall and 1000 years old. Amazing!

Me and Jaime at Haight-Asbury intersection.

Me and Jaime at the famous "Painted Ladies" Victorian homes. These are the same houses you see at the opening of the show Full House. The dog in the background definitely makes the photo complete.

During the holiday break, I did get the chance to visit a few camp families.  First, in Scarsdale, NY, I saw Jordana and Ben Kaller.  Jordana is returning to camp for her second summer as part of our Upper Inter Girls division.  In 2011, she will be joined, by Ben, who is in the 3rd grade and be in our Junior Boys division.  While at their house, Ben and Jordana talked a lot about Color War and both even suggested some Color War names for this year’s festivities.  They also presented me with a song called “The 14 Days of Camp,” to the tune of the “12 Nights of Christmas,” which goes as follows:

On the 14th day of camp, Brian gave to me…14 CITs, 13 camp fires, 12 chicken fritters, 11 noodles and kick boards, 10 head staff members, 9 pairs of flip-flops, 8 life jackets, 7 lazy Wednesdays, 6 great electives, 5 days of Color War, 4 awesome counselors, 3 bunks per division, 2 Color War teams and 1 long, long, long bus ride home.

Jordana also told me that she and her bunkmates have seen each other several times since camp ended, including her own birthday sleepover.  She is also starring as Peter in her school’s play of “Peter Pan.”  She also wanted to give shout outs to Mara Bernstein and Jeremy Tarica!  She is so looking forward to Summer 2011.  Ben has been busy this fall and winter with fencing and tennis and has even created his own business with a friend.  You can check it out at www.coolpaperplanes.com .  This summer, he can’t wait to try the Hondas and G0 Karts as well as go waterskiing and go on the Summit.  Here is a photo of us…

Me with Jordana and Ben Kaller.

In Springfield, NJ, I met up with the Silverstein Family to see second generation Canadensis campers Josh and Zach.  Their mom, Jodi (maiden name: Shickler), was a camper at Canadensis in the 70s and 80s and she can’t wait to hear about all the camp stories her sons bring home this year.  Josh is in the fourth grade and will be in the Lower Inter Boys Division while Zach is in first grade and will be in our Junior Boys Division.  Both boys are huge Mets fans and I even got to watch a DVD of Mets Opening Day from a few years ago when the boys got on ESPN.  Josh plays baseball, basketball, sledding and has been in a number of musical theater productions including “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “Once On This Island,” “Seussical,” and “The Pajama Game.”  This summer, Josh is really looking forward to being in the camp shows, gaga, fishing, the Canadensis Baseball League and Color War.  His brother Zach plays soccer, baseball, and basketball, enjoys sledding and spending time with his family.  He is really excited to have his birthday at camp along with playing gaga, fishing, kayaking, woodworking, Color War and being on a soccer team.  Her is  a picture from my visit…

Me with Zach (left) and Josh Silverstein.

Unfortunately I don’t have pictures to share, but over the break I also saw Amanda and Julia Mirsky who wanted to say hello to everyone at camp.  At a New Jersey Devils game, I saw Rylie Frieder and her dad Jason.  Unfortunately, the Devils lost that game as they have been losing most games this year.

Speaking of losing, I am ready to take my fair share of abuse from Eagles fans this summer after my Giants blew a 21-point lead to Philadelphia a few weeks ago and ultimately crushing our spirit.  Thanks to all you that chose to send me those “wonderful” e-mails reminding me of the debacle, too.  I really appreciate it.  Not!  With my Big Blue out of the playoffs, my rooting interest will go to the Ravens, Colts, Saints and Packers.

Well, that’s all for today.  More blogging to come.  After all, it’s my New Year’s Resolution!

Have a great day…Brian

I grew up in New York and I had a love/hate relationship with New Jersey for most of my life.  My Mom was born and raised in New Jersey and I was thrilled that my Dad was the one who made the final decision that we would be a New York family.  Throughout my childhood, we would often debate whether the beaches were better in NY or NJ and we’d  discuss the lack of good bagels in NJ on our visits to my Mom’s parents…

In recent years, I’ve started to see the positive sides of New Jersey!  I actually lived there for a few months after Hurricane Katrina when I was evacuated – I was lucky enough to be offered a great job at the Margate, NJ JCC as a Youth Director during the time I couldn’t live and work in New Orleans.  I also must admit that I love watching “Jersey Shore” on MTV and I even spent the most recent snow storm in New Jersey.  I was in an area that got 34 inches of snow – it was crazy!

This is how high the snow was…my feet aren’t even on the ground, and I’m very tall!

That’s my car…it was almost hard to see it!

One of the ways I entertained myself while being snowed in was by cooking!  I made these happy looking peanut butter banana waffles.

Here is video of Annie (my dog) running in the snow!

I also like New Jersey because we have so many awesome campers from there!  One of the newest Canadensis campers is Lilly Checkoff from Cherry Hill!  She is in 5th grade which means she will be an Upper Inter and this will be her first Summer at camp.  She already knows a lot about Canadensis because one of her closest friends is current camper Amanda Seligman and her father actually went to Canadensis when he was 13 years old.

Lilly is a very sweet and very busy girl – she goes to dance class twice a week, and Hebrew School.  She also likes to snowboard and ski and she loves the beach during the summer.  She hasn’t tried waterskiing yet, but since she’s a good skier I’m sure she’ll be able to get up quite easily at camp this Summer.  She likes playing tennis, but is an all-around camp kind of girl and she’ll be excited to do all the activities…even basketball!

On the nights when she is not involved with activities, she has a fun bunch of siblings to hang out with.  She has an older brother and a younger brother and sister.  When I was at their house, I got to see a cool shrinky dink project that they had done, and it totally brought me back to the 80’s when I used to love making them with my sister!  The whole family is very nice and active, so please join me in welcoming the Checkoff Family back to Camp Canadensis!

Welcome Lilly Checkoff!

The whole Checkoff Family

So, I feel the need to say “I’m sorry Mom!” – New Jersey is actually pretty cool…plus you’ve gotta love the cheap gasoline that you don’t even need to get out of the car for!

Heyy Everyone! Greetings from California!

While Forti is away, I get to guest blog for a day and I’m wciked excited to get to make a guest appearance :). As some of you know, Mike Lindquist and I are getting married next October. We met back in the summer of 2007 at Camp Canadensis and have been together ever since. He actually proposed at camp in the summer of 2009 down by Lake Lenape!

So needless to say Mike and I have been busy planning everything. Most of the time though I am the one actually doing everything but Mike has been nothing but a supportive fiance helping make decisions about vendors, color schemes, menu options etc. I’m just the one to actually put everything into action, which is okay with me. We’ve had a long engagement (by the time we get married it will be a little over 2 years since the proposal) so we’ve had a lot of time to think about exactly what we want. The Log Cabin, in Massachusetts near my hometown, will be our ceremony and reception venue. It’s located on top of a hill over looking a valley and with the fall foliage as our backdrop our wedding should make for a beautiful view. We’ve booked our photographer, videographer, officiant, DJ and  florist. We’ve also been looking at rehearsal dinner locations and are just fine tuning the details and save-the-dates have been sent. I’ve also gotten my dress and bridesmaid dresses have been ordered! My family has been busy planning our March couple’s shower. On top of all of that, our color scheme is going to be navy blue and orange. The bridesmaid will where and After 6 dress in a navy blue and each carry bouquets of vibrant orange gerbera daisies and roses. In leiu of favors, we plan on making a donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. For those of you who don’t know who they are heres a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzJR4aRuyU .

A lot of other small details have been falling into place as well. It is all so exciting and we can’t wait to be married! I truly am marrying my best friend. If any of you would like to also follow my personal wedding blog where you can get a more detailed look at the planning process visit this site.. http://alyssaandmike10152011.blogspot.com/. Below are some pictures to give you an idea of the wedding. The first picture is from our engagement photo shoot. The second picture is of the ceremony location for our wedding (imagine fall foliage in the background). The third picture is what the bridesmaid dresses look like (just instead of green and white flowers imagine orange flowers). The fourth picture is the cake that my wonderful campers (shout out to the CIT’s of 2010!) made with JoJo in cooking and surprised me with it in the dining hall!

Well that’s all for now! Can’t wait to see you all in the summer of 2011!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!