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It felt like only yesterday I moved into Cabin 2 and prepared for 3^rd session. Now, what feels like just a few days later, it is all over. The campers have surprised me this session for sure. Everyday this session somebody got a home run, a bullseye, or accomplished something they never would have at home, like tube without falling off, or win “it” which I’m sure your kids will explain to you when they arrive home.

Yesterday alone, Meier Parr won a game of king of the court and jail, Noah Gross bowled a 138 at bowling (the best score of any camper…and some counselors…including me). Cabin F survived a bee apocalypse in Challenge Course. I recently discovered that many of the scenarios in Challenge Course are fictional. Ashley Stern and Sofia Gonzalez-Kosasky won games of team jail. Additionally, the juniors had a very successful night bowling where everyone’s score in their second game was higher than that of their first.

But, alas, as much fun as these two weeks have been, it has to come to an end. Each session seems to have a few moments that stick out. Cabin 2 dazzled the camp with a well-choreographed dance to “The Show Goes On” only to be robbed (I’m still a little bit bitter) by an even better dance by Girls Tents. Teddy Geis flaunted his comedic talents at the talent show. Stevie Nocket and Catherine Ni Dhroighneain tried to coach Boys’ League teams. Jake Welfeld did a backflip at the first campfire. And despite numerous people telling me it would never happen, my brother returned to counseloring to become my co-counselor.

Even the day-to-day aspects of camp have been memorable. Everyone who tried, climbed the climbing wall, tubed, or shot a gun. As I write, campers are zip-lining right now for the first time, mastering their putting skills, and canoeing faster than ever before. I especially enjoyed how many kids improved their fishing skills from class to class. For as long as I have been here, I have never seen a group of kids adapt so well to Camp Tall Timbers. A special thanks to CIT2 extraordinaires Simon and Nathaniel Schwartz for being the best counselors-in-training ever in all my years at CTT.

So with my last bit of space, I want to thank all of you at home for reading. I hope the blog has kept you updated on your incredible kids and amused you from time to time. 3^rd Session 2011 has been a blast and I’m very excited for these kids to keep coming back and maybe attend 1^st or 2^nd Session. This blog has given me an excuse to eavesdrop, ask questions, get to know your incredibly awesome, hilarious, and witty kids better, and really remind me about how much I love this place. These past two weeks have been magical and I am very grateful to have had an audience (so to speak) for my first year of counseloring. I am sure that your kids will come home with significantly more stories than I have been able to give you and for that, I apologize, but with so much fun here, it is hard to report it all. In conclusion, thank you for reading and commenting, and I hope I have served you well.

Sincerely,

Zach Fang

Camp Tall Timbers is beginning to wind down and it is very apparent among the counselors that the campers have learned a lot. Tiffany was really impressed how well her C2 class handled a stubborn horse. Also many campers in Tiffany’s C5 class learned how to untack horses. Tristan Oldham climbed both the hard and easy walls simultaneously. Keegan Morrisroe won a game of knock out in archery. Keegan also won a game of world cup in soccer with his teammate Parker Mitchell. Nick Johnson won a game of jail in tennis. In basketball, Sofia Navas Sharry and Brendan Cutick won games of knock out. Clay Hawkins lost a tooth. Though we are late in the session, campers are still attempting new things. Aaron Rosenthal and Oliver Walke both mountain boarded for the first time and Tyler Mostow zipped for the first time.

The roller rink also allowed for campers to expand their horizons, with someone from almost every cabin skating for the first time. Simon Schwartz rolled skated for the first time and, as expected, was a natural and proceeded to skate around the rink 15 times without falling. Jenna Ross, Hailey Mostow, Taryn Dalton, Carly Dalton, Livia Lampal, Freddi Rappaport, Noah Gross, Aaron Rosenthal, Simon Rosenthal, Teddy Geis, Josh McConnell, Daniel Gonzalez-Kosasky, Quinn Cook, Matthew Van Aken, Ben Olek, Tony Spangler, Cole Williams, Justin Dryer and Meier Parr all roller skated for the first time and Adam Lampal and Oliver Walke roller bladed for the first time. Many of the experienced skaters played games such as tag, which Nate Schwartz claims he won, and had a limbo contest, which was won by Jake Welfeld with Oliver Walke in a close second. Flip Flop tried to slide under the limbo stick on his stomach in a bear costume but was disqualified despite the campers’ protests. The trip to the roller rink is always one of those evening activities that gives the campers a lot of freedom, and I was really impressed how this session’s kids got really into the theme and skating. We all had a great time and enjoyed the late wake up this morning.

Many of the older campers went go-karting yesterday morning. This allowed the younger campers to have a lot more interaction with the counselors. For example, Andrei Ross was the only member of his climbing class and climbed the hard wall twice and the easy wall five times. Hunter Morrisroe and Nick Johnson each won two games of jail. Hunter also canoed around the lake multiple times. In archery, Sofia Gonzalez-Kosasky won a game of knock out. The baseball class turned into a home run derby with Nate Schwartz, Oliver Schwartz, Meier Parr each hitting a home run and Sam Greenberg hitting two. Livia Lampal lost a tooth. Also, during third period, it happened and Matt Van Aken won twice and Chet Stein won once.

Last night’s evening activity was the talent show. Thanks to tireless promotion by Maya, it was a huge success. We had 25 acts ranging from Jaclyn Welfeld’s growl to Boys Tents 6 song medley. The MCs for the night were Nick, Flip, and Albert. Albert also entertained the crowd with his animal noises in between sets. The vocal and dance classes all did their performances they had been working on in class, but anyone was allowed to enter. Keith made a band with campers and counselors. Daniel Gonzalez-Kosasky performed an acoustic version of “Stairway to Heaven” and his sister, Sofia, did a couple songs on the ukulele. Teddy Geis channeled “a comedian from 1980” and entertained the crowd with some of his own material while Quinn and Holden Cook told some more well-known jokes. Josh McConnell showed off some of the dragons he drew and explained their powers. Jenna Ross and Hailee Williams did a very funny scene about trying to get a mime to share pizza. Jake Welfeld showed off his acrobatic ability by doing such tricks as a backflip and a “kick-the-moon”.

In addition to Boys Tents, Caoimhe Ni Dhroighneain, Shelby Buyalos, and Gentry Stromer did a dance as did Catherine Ni Dhroighneain, Stevie Nocket, and Sofia Navas Sharry. Singing was also a popular talent. Hailey Mostow covered “Love Song”, Taylor Antonis sang Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb”, and Jasmine Williams won the talent show with her version of “Hate on Me” by Jill Scott. Flip Flop and Julie ended the evening on a messy note with a “Special Treat” cooking show that resulted in Julie, wearing a poncho, covering herself in whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and ice cream. Both the campers and counselors were in hysterics. This morning, a much cleaner Julie introduced the theme for this session’s trip to the roller rink: decades. It should be a blast.

Many of the younger campers really took the spotlight yesterday and are showing that though this is their first year, they too can make a major impact on camp. In archery, Daniel Gonzalez-Kosasky won a game of knock out and Tristan Oldham, Ben Olek, Gabrielle Heller, and Max Jagger all got bullseyes. With his cousin Flip Flop’s constant prodding, Jack Morrisroe climbed the wall for the first time. Matthew Van Aken won the chipping competition in golf. Hunter Morrisroe, Daniel Gonzalez-Kosasky, and Gentry Stromer all climbed the wall in climbing, which Julie named “Lord Equinox”. In Julie’s challenge course class, Cabin 2 successfully completed the “Australian Trolley” and went into the “Tricky House”, but has not made it out yet. Down by the lake, Aaron Walsh caught a fish using live bait caught by Nick Johnson. In baseball we had a great game with Oliver Schwartz and Sam Greenberg each hitting two home runs. Sam Greenberg and Noah Braman won games of knock out in basketball.

We also had a number of firsts yesterday. Sofia Gonzalez-Kosasky shot a gun for the first time and her brother Daniel not only rode down the golf hill on a mountain bike, but also tried his first soda… and he really liked it. Sorry Mrs. Gonzalez-Kosasky.

Campers and counselors alike raced around camp last night to try to get to the bottom of the disappearance of one of the camp’s beloved figures, Mark Clark. It was Clue night! The campers raced around from station to station where counselors who might be involved in the crime made them do tasks in exchange for information. Emily’s station taught campers important life guarding information such as how to do chest compressions and when it is not safe to go into the pool. Keith’s station was a big hit. He created a court room environment and made campers debate on the merits of their favorite tv shows and he judged who had a better debate. In the end only Collin’s team correctly guessed the weapon, the murderer, and the location. They received canteen first. Overall another great day at Camp Tall Timbers. Today everyone will be preparing their acts for the 2^nd CTT Talent Show of the summer!

Cheesy Skit night is one of those evening activities that dominates the entire day. Some campers spend all year preparing their skits for cheesy skit night. Nonetheless, campers still participated in their usual activities, using free time and rest hour to prep for their skits. In tennis, Hunter Morrisroe won a game of jail and Sofia Navas Sharry won a game of knock out in archery.

Like MTV night, the cheesy skits were very high quality. Each cabin was assigned a line that had to be included in the skit. Many of the skits mocked the various counselors. Cabin A scored very well with a skit about how Livia Lampal woke up with half a moustache. Cabin 1 worked around the line “fluffy little one” to create a detailed skit about wizards including Gandalf and Merlin. Cabin 2 had the line “why is there a tiger in the bathroom?” and parodied a movie with the counselors as the characters. Simon Rosenthal’s impersonation of Nick was hysterical.  Other notable impressions were Emily Walke attempting a British accent in her impersonation of Sean and Sofia Navas Sharry portraying Fairly Oddparents character Chip Skylark in the Girls Tents skit.

Closing the night was Boys Tents who blew everyone else out of the water en route to a perfect score. With Chet Stein repeatedly saying “mmm that’s some good pudding”, Boys Tents spoofed scenes from Harry Potter, Titanic and Star Wars. Boys Tents won a pool party but the campers have many more opportunities to win fabulous evening activity prizes, starting tonight with Clue.