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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.

Yesterday it happened. Many campers experienced the longtime CTT tradition that is only known as “it” for those who have not played before. All I can say is that the game takes place during free time behind closed doors in the gym, is open to anyone interested, involves a lot of clapping, and my kids keep asking when we’ll play “it” again.

Up at mountain boarding, Jake Welfeld, Brendan Cutick, Tyler Mostow, and Justin Welfeld all nearly made it down the challenging hill. Keegan Morrisroe and Shelby Buyalos won knock out games and Noah Braman and Ashley Stern shot bullseyes in zombie survival 102. Archery’s sister class, zombie survival 101 (riflery) saw Parker Mitchell and Simon and Nate Schwartz get head shots on paper cut-out zombies. Ben Olek, Shelby Buyalos, Ashley Stern, Taylor Antonis, Anja Schempf, Josh McConnell and Taryn Dalton all made it up the wall in climbing. Keith noted that Josh and Taryn were the youngest people to not only climb to the top but even attempt that wall all summer. Julie’s challenge course class “made it out of the bad house”. My goal for the end of the summer is to figure out what actually happens in challenge course. Taryn Dalton, Jaclyn Welfeld, Carly Dalton, and Livia Lampal all fished for the first time. I was psyched how they all picked it up really quickly for campers that young.

Jerry Smith received a special announcement for beating golf master Sean in a putting competition. In basketball, Holden Cook and Matthew Van Aken won games of knock out. Albert’s soccer class saw Jake Welfeld and Keegan Morrisroe win World Cup playing as the country Israel.

The evening activity was home alone night. The counselors created a variety of scenarios that kids would do while home alone. The activities included throwing pudding at Ethan, pillow sumo wrestling (something that Alex and I still do while home alone), writing on the walls, balloon toss, a fashion show, “trash the yard”, make-your-own-ice cream, and a dance party. Oliver Schwartz and Meier Parr won the balloon toss and Justin Welfeld dominated any challenger in pillow sumo. Tonight is cheesy skit night. After narrowly losing to Girls Tents in MTV night, Dan and I will be working with my kids all day to take home the victory.

We had our first trip yesterday as Camp Tall Timbers spent an afternoon and evening at Cacapon State Park. The day began as they always do, with campers going to their usual activities in the morning such as riflery, fishing, archery, and Boy’s League. After lunch and rest hour, we all boarded the buses and headed off to Cacapon lake.

At Cacapon, the campers and counselors spent the afternoon swimming in the water, making sand castles, or just chilling out and enjoying the nice day. The campers built a number of sand castles. Cabin A girls built a huge Chinese themed sand palace and Cabin G worked with some of the younger girls to build another large sand castle. Hunter Morrisroe and Jerome Williams both dug large holes big enough to sit in. Tristan Oldham found a baby turtle and most of the Cabin 1 and 2 boys spent a good part of the afternoon trying to convince their counselors to let them keep it as a cabin pet (they were unsuccessful). The boys of Cabins 34 and 56 spent a good portion of the day playing a water game they came up with called “Categories” and trying to tackle Flip Flop. Jake Welfeld received a special shout out from Flip Flop by successfully doing a backflip off of his shoulders. Tony Spangler and Josh McConnell spent much of the day looking for fish in the quieter shallows. Many of the other counselors and I spent a large portion of the day running away from campers who tried to drag us into the water in all our clothes. The kids were having so much fun that we decided to cancel the organized evening activity, a sand castle contest, and just let them play until we left at dusk. After a fun day in the sun, the counselors had little trouble getting most of their kids right to bed so they could get a good night’s rest before another busy day at CTT.

Yesterday campers were active outdoors not only all day, but many all night as well. During the day we had a number of athletic accomplishments. Simon Rosenthal was named the MVP for Collin’s Boy’s League team. Aaron Rosenthal and Noah Gross won the longest drive competition in golf and Sofia Navas Sharry and Stevie Nocket hit golf balls for the first time. Jacob Welfeld, Justin Welfeld, Brendan Cutick, and Tyler Mostow all mountain-boarded for the first time. Jenna Ross hit almost every pitch that came her way in softball. Finally, Lori Belt won the basketball competition.

A number of other campers participated in other outdoor activities. Jerome Williams rode a horse for the first time. Freddi Rappaport and Taryn Dalton kayaked for the first time. Holden Cook and Carly Dalton made it to the top of the climbing wall. Emily Walke caught a nice bass. Simon Schwartz and Aaron Walsh had head shots in riflery (zombie survival 101). Catherine Ni Dhroighneain and Hunter Morrisroe won games of knockout in archery and Anja Schempf sniped a bullseye. During lunch, Flip Flop lead the boys side in the first “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” of the session. For those at home who don’t know, “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” consists of all the campers going to an empty table in the back, banging loudly, and singing a song with nonsensical phrases such as “where he at/ there he go/ peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat.” It is one of the most popular of the many camp mealtime traditions.

The evening activity last night was cabin night where campers are given the option of sleeping under the stars and building a campfire at a designated location. Quite a few cabins chose this option including Cabin B whose campers had never slept out before. The cabins were located anywhere between the lake and the golf course. I was with Cabin 2 which was located at the top of the golf course. We began the night by getting dried grass and logs to build a large fire. We then went for a lengthy hike through the woods on horse trails so it was dark when we lit the fire. After lighting the fire, we let it die down a bit and began to roast marshmallows. The night ended with my co-counselor Dan and I telling the campers funny stories and discussing our experiences with camp as the campers slowly faded off one by one. We woke up with a thin layer of dew on our sleeping bags and lugged our stuff back to the cabins to get ready for breakfast and another busy day at Camp Tall Timbers.

When a camper does something notable at Camp Tall Timbers, they receive an announcement at lunch time. Counselors relish in making these announcements and quite a few make one nearly every meal time. Yesterday was no exception with announcements ranging from the lake at one end of camp to the rock wall at the other.

Yesterday morning we saw our first fish of the session with a nice size bass caught by Ashley Stern. Alec Geis, Sam Hu, Simon Schwartz, Noah Braman, and Jack Morrisroe all won contests in riflery, also known as “Zombie Survival 101”, because in addition to learning how to shoot guns, Ethan teaches campers facts about how to survive a zombie apocalypse. Ethan’s follow-up class, “Zombie Survival 102” (archery) also saw quite a few snipers with Adam Lampal, Harry Kaplan, and Julia Trice all winning games of knock out. Up at the tennis courts, Parker Mitchell, Noah Braman, and Justin Dryer won games of jail. The rock wall continued to be a hot spot for campers testing their courage and braving it to them top. Jaclyn Welfeld attempted the wall for the first time and Sophie Delta climbed to the top in her very first attempt. Nate Schwartz received a special shout out for climbing the wall faster than anyone had seen in a very long time. Not all announcements involve an individual accomplishment. Flip Flop gave all of cabin 1 an announcement for “finding the Holy Grail behind the spiderweb” during their challenge course session with him. I’m not sure what that means but cabin 1 claims they had a blast doing it.

Yesterday’s evening activity was the first skit competition of the session, MTV night. My first year at camp was 2003 and this was one of the strongest and closest MTV nights I have ever seen. Cabin A started things off with their rendition of “Circle of Life”. Everyone was quite impressed that girls that young could choreograph such a complicated dance for the entire song. Other highlights included Cabin B bringing back some of the favorite dance moves of the summer, Cabin F’s reenactment of the Taylor Swift song “You Belong With Me”, and watching Emma return to being a counselor and help the Cabin G girls during “I Want It That Way”. The night resulted in a three way tie between Cabin 2’s version of Lupe Fiasco’s “The Show Goes On” which the judges commented “felt like a real music video”, Girls Tents’ rickrolling the audience during their 80s Mash Ups, and Boys Tents’ hilarious delivery of a number of Boy Band songs. After a series of dance offs, Girls Tents came out the winners of the night. Overall another excellent busy day.

Welcome to the Third Session! My name is Zach and I’m picking up where my brother left off. I am an incoming senior at American University studying political science and a former camper at CTT. Third Session has been an absolute blast so far. We have a number of kids who are new to camp and many are trying activities for the first time.

Up at horses with Tiffany and Dan, Jaclyn Welfeld rode a horse for the first time. Alec Geis, Livia Lampal, Margaret Rappaport, Jasmine Williams, Freddi Rappaport, Taryn Dalton and Caro Lipsitz all shot guns for the first time with riflery experts Ethan and Erin. Keith and Julie’s climbing classes saw Livia Lampal and Freddi Rappaport try the wall and Freddi made it all the way to the top. The lake also gave campers the opportunity to try many new activities with Taylor Antonis and Lori Belt tubing for the first time, Sophie Delta, Hailee Williams, and Gabby Heller canoeing for the first time and Hailee Williams and Jenna Ross kayaking for the first time. Even the older campers were trying new activities. Tent boy Nate Schwartz attempted mountain boarding for the first time, and did quite well according to Rachel. Much to the excitement of Emma, Dippies have become very popular this session, especially with the younger ladies of Cabins A and B.

In addition to attempting new things, a number of CTT campers exceled in their activities yesterday. Sam Greenberg hit a home run in baseball. Matthew Van Aken won the accuracy contest in golf. Caoimhe Ni Dhroighneain and Jasmine Williams won soccer world cup. In hockey, Holden Cook won a game of world cup and Quinn Cook and Justin Welfeld won the 2 on 2 game. The Cook brothers also won a game of jail in tennis as did Jake Welfeld.

At the campfire, each cabin had to come up with a cabin cheer. Cabin 56 wowed the judges with their creative cheer and backflips by Jake Welfeld. The campers also learned numerous camp traditions and songs such as Boom-Chicka-Boom, “The Friends Song”, “Lion Hunt”, “Herman the Worm”, and “Boomba”. The evening ended with the entire camp roasting marshmallows by the campfire and making smores.

Who knew CTT would have so many future stars on Broadway?!

Last night’s musical, Everything Is Groovy, featured over twenty campers singing and dancing to a tribute to the American 1960s. The show starred Spencer Leibow as Travis, a young hippie that is putting on a Woodstock-esque festival entitled Music, Beads, and Flowers. Travis and his friends Muriel (Erin Smedley) and Alice (Hayley Sanders) work together to put on the festival and get the biggest rock stars in town, The Lemonbugs (Sydney Sachs, Jack Parr, and Ian Osterman) to perform. Trouble hits, however, when Mrs. Porter (Justin Leibow) and the local sheriff (Mike Springer) appear and try to shut down the festival. Despite these speed bumps, the show goes on and Music, Beads, and Flowers occurs and it is a humongous success for the hippies.

But, alas, as much fun as the past three (and for some, six) weeks have been, it ends in a few days. Like many of our campers, I too leave at the end of this session. Today, Camp Tall Timbers begins my favorite two days of every year, Color War, and I will not be writing as the White team needs my help to cheer us to victory. I want to take my last post to sincerely thank all of you for reading the blog throughout the past few weeks. It has truly been an honor to keep all of you updated and I am very thankful for the positive feedback you have given me (even though the website says Emma is the camp blogger and a lot of the feedback is complimenting the fact that every blog title is a song by rock ‘n’ roll messiah, Bruce Springsteen.) The 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 six 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 teary as I type this so I just want to say thank you once again, I hope that you have enjoyed the blog (or have at least found it amusing), and I hope to communicate with you once again further on up the road.

Sincerely,

Alex Fang

The judge has spoken. Last night, the CITs turned into ghosts and their souls went to the Camp Tall Timbers Ghost Court where they tried campers for crimes that they have committed against CTT, and Judge Flip Flop revealed to them their punishments. Ian Osterman took the stand for thinking he is the ladies’ man (though he is quite adorable) so his punishment was to dress up like a girl. Justin Leibow followed for thinking the weirdest things in life were the coolest, so now he must walk around discussing the finer things in life such as cheese and caviar. Up next was Brady Osterman who always seems to be at the scene of a crime, but never at fault of said crime. Because of this, he must present five reasons at lunch as to why the conflict in the Middle East is his fault. Hayley Sanders took the stand for always spilling her drink at meals forcing her to ask others to pour her drinks for her. She must also drink through a straw at all meals to ensure that she does not spill. Back to the boys’ punishments, Spencer Fields was charged with always sleeping in late so today, he had to attend Dippies and give five reasons as to why Dippies is better than sleeping in. The last individual punishment of the night went to Vance “The Boss” Pallone for being such a gosh-darn cutie-patootie so today, he dons a bear suit and some ratty clothes and now is a hobo and whenever somebody tells Vance that he is cute, he must reply with, “Well, I was…once.”

After the individual punishments, cabins were tried at the Ghost Court. Boys and Girls Tents were charged with being too messy so Boys Tents has to carry toilet paper all day offering to pick up any mess they see whereas Girls Tents must compose a cheerful cleaning song to sing for the entire camp to hear at lunch. Cabin H was obsessed with painting their nails so now they must set up a manicure station at the pavilion and offer a manicure to anyone who would like one (I am so excited!). Cabin 2 was accused of waking up so early (like 6 A.M. early). Since they are up this early, we might as well put them to work so at breakfast, they were handing out spoons, knives, and forks when people arrived.

We have our last full day of activities today. Campers in challenge course are going on the zipline, arts and crafts campers are tie-dyeing their shirts, and CTTFFL is ready to conclude with its Super Bowl. But perhaps most importantly, the musical is tonight! Many campers have been working hard running lines and dancing during their free time to prepare for tonight and I’m sure that it will be a show you do not want to miss. During the intermission of the play, we have our Art Show so the talent of CTT’s artists can be displayed. Let the curtains go up!

If there is one thing I have learned at Camp Tall Timbers in eight years, it is that CTT can always help you step out of your comfort zone and try something new. That was proven yesterday with our camp-wide trip to King’s Dominion. Brett Richardson and Jake Gutman had never ridden a roller coaster before, and intended to only ride water rides for the day. But, after some encouragement by their counselor, Zach Fang, they rode every roller coaster, even the ones that went upside-down. Brady Osterman thought that arcade games were rigged, but he knocked down cans with a baseball and won a giant Jamaican banana. Grant Leibow was the shining star of the day as he competed in four different basketball competitions and won five giant stuffed animals and a Duke University basketball. The trip ended with a quick eat at McDonalds before we returned tired from a fun day of rides.

Today, we have the scintillating playoffs of Boys’ Leagues with Easy-E’s Barbie Princesses in first place and the CTT Fantasy Football Darft where the counselors and CITs (with help from the campers) have an intense fantasy football draft that is played throughout the year. It is these last few days at Camp Tall Timbers that are the most memorable so we’ll look ahead to tonight’s scavenger hunt and the last fun-filled days of our time here at good ol’ CTT.

What a fast-paced weekend at CTT!

The fun began on Friday with Cheesy Skit Night. Each cabin got a phrase and prop that had to be used in the skit and each cabin was very creative with how they used it. Cabin 4 utilized a Chuckie mask and scared people prompting their phrase, “You Reptile!”. Cabin H was given a broom and the phrase, “The hills are alive with the sound of music” and did a skit where Casey and Reece Dennison used the broom as the camp goat, Goatee, and went to adjacent camp Sandy Cove where their campers were singing the phrase, “The hills are alive with the sound of music”. Boys Tents told a tragic love story where Grant Leibow fell in love with their prop, a hairbrush, and said to it their phrase, “hold my hand.” The drama increased when the hairbrush’s father, Riley St. Aubin, arrived to take it back from Grant leaving him heartbroken (and the audience a bit confused why a hairbrush had a fourteen year old human father).

While not the winner, Cabin A had my favorite skit. Over the course of the summer, I have had the issue of some campers calling me Little Fang and my brother Big Fang despite my many announcements suggesting otherwise such as Alex and Zach, Fang and Zach, or Fang and Big Fang. Though I make many announcements, some campers still do not abide by my recommendations. This controversy was addressed by Cabin A in their skit. Gracie Esherick, the shining star of Cabin A, led the cabin in a skit defending my honor as they said “I am not little Fang, I am Fang or Alex!” Even though my vote would have been casted for Cabin A, Cabin 5 was the champion with a hilarious skit about various cheeses.

The fun continued into Saturday. After a late wakeup and cinnabons for breakfast, the camp went to services led by Girls Tents. The theme of the service was friendship and many campers embraced that theme through poems or songs. Once the services ended, Camp Tall Timbers quickly turned into a scene from Camelot and we began Medieval Day. The teams had to embark on a scavenger hunt throughout the camp and then went to a jousting ring with inflatable bats to joust with and then had a canoeing race. After the busy day of screaming “huzzah” and “myargh”, the campers relaxed with a camp dance.

Today, we went back to normal activities, said goodbye to our Wet Your Feet Week Campers and Tryout Weekend children who will be missed dearly, and prepared for the week ahead. We also had our CTT Talent Show to exhibit the talents of the rising stars of CTT. The night began with a dance by Riley and Mayson Smith and then was followed by Spencer and Justin Leibow and their cousin, Noah Hayes, where the Leibows sang “Don’t Stop Believin’” and Noah accompanied them on guitar. The musical talent continued where guitar veterans Ethan Polk-Trauman and Matthew Kasoff performed a duet of Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” Sydney Sachs, Sydney Alloy, Hayley Sanders, Taylor Dennison, Reece Dennison, and Caoimhe Ni Dhroighneain performed a dance to a medley of Bruno Mars’ “Grenade”, Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”, and Cee-Lo Green’s  “Forget You”. Sydney Sachs stayed on the stage where she sang “My Happy Ending” as a duet with counselor Maya Grodman. Vance Pallone then took the stage where he performed an original (but untitled) composition about how whenever you want to, you can throw your hands in the air. Jake Abel exhibited his athletic prowess with some very fancy basketball drills. Matt Kasoff brought us back to musical talents where him and counselor Tim McCarthy improvised the blues with guitar and harmonica respectively. While all the talents were fantastic, the winners of the night were Maddie St. Aubin and Gracie Esherick, who beautifully sang “Tim McGraw” by Taylor Swift.

The last week of camp is a bittersweet one. Some of the best aspects of the CTT experience come in the last week like the playoffs of the many leagues and then the Musical – ‘Everything is Groovy’ and on to Color War. After living together for two weeks, campers are closer now more than ever before and relationships are hitting their peak, but now everyone is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Tomorrow Camp Tall Timbers heads to King’s Dominion for a fun-filled day at an amusement park. These last few days are cherished by all and I know that they will be extraordinary. Let’s come on up for the rising of the last week of 2^nd Session.

Tubing, Water Polo, Climbing, Archery, Frisbee, Tie-Dye, and more.

It’s no wonder with choices like those that Choose Your Own Adventure Day was so much fun yesterday. In addition to the activities above, campers also could have played soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, and dodgeball. After three periods of choice, we had a whole-camp campfire with the story of the camp demon, Cropsey, and the story of the new camp shark, Gibson. Each cabin then had to produce their own sound and we had a camp-wide beatbox and then ended the campfire with a rock-paper-scissors train and some s’mores.

Today, we prepare for a fun-filled weekend ahead of us. Tonight the cabins put on their creative hats and prepare for Cheesy Skit Night where the cabins make the funniest possible skit to present to the camp. The fun will continue into Saturday with Medieval Day where CTT goes into a time machine back to the Middle Ages. Let’s see who is the most gallant knight of them all!

Only CTT campers can be brave enough to take on the wilderness. They fought the elements and won.

Last night was Under the Stars night and after a big camp cookout, cabins went to their areas around camp to start the camping. The campers went deep into the woods to get firewood and then worked together to build a fire to warm them for the night. Once the fire was built, we got our s’mores sticks and roasted marshmallows and each cabin had a fun night sleeping under the stars. The stories from Under the Stars night are some of the most memorable and lead to bonds between campers that last a lifetime.

Under the Stars night marks the halfway point in our 2^nd session. Everything is in full swing now with CTTFFL playoffs coming and the doubles tennis tournament beginning. The campers are showing that in just a few lessons, they can master any activity. Hayley Sanders caught her first fish and Scott Franklin, for the first time in eight years, caught his first fish, and Melorie Jenkins caught two fish. Michael Springer climbed the wall in twenty-three seconds and Laz Friedberg made it up the wall for his first time.

After a morning of regular activities, we shake things up for the afternoon with Choose Your Own Adventure Day where the campers get to pick their activities from a tye-dye session, a hike to a river, water polo, dodgeball, and other fun activities leading to a great day.

Any night where Jake Abel dons a Mohawk, Ian Osterman and Laz Friedberg spike their hair, turn their t-shirts into girls’ clothes, and wear their underwear over their shorts, and Carl Lasker and Josh Arnold turn into desert wanderers is a good night at Camp Tall Timbers in my book.

Last night, CTT went to the Winchester Skating and Family Fun Center for a few hours of skating, arcade games, and socializing. The theme of the night was twins and the campers took that to a whole new level. ­Other than the previously mentioned groups, there were many sets of twins that made the night very entertaining. Scott Franklin and Grant Leibow went as twin lax bros, Justin Leibow (despite having his own twin) and Vance Pallone went as nerds, and Brett Richardson and Brendan Arnold were twin superheroes. While the costumes were entertaining, the best part of the night was watching the new campers leave their comfort zone and learn how to skate. Jack Corby, who swore that he could never learn to skate, made it one lap around the rink without falling and Laz Friedberg, who has never skated before, made it two laps without falling. The campers stood tall (for the most part) and made our skating night a blast.

By the halfway point in camp, everyone has learned something new. Jesse Alloy learned how to restring a guitar while John Fortney, Greg Sheyn, and Laz Friedberg learned their first chords. Cari Farmer, Katherine Kearns, Courtney Clark, and Grace Barnes got their first bullseyes in archery. While some campers are learning things for the first time, others are perfecting their skills. Veteran campers Spencer Leibow and Ian Osterman caught fish. Erin Smedley won a game of knockout while Brett Richardson and Jake Gutman shot bullseyes. In the CTTFFL, my Purple Nurples defeated the Orange Crush thanks to touchdowns by Scott Franklin (who claims that sports are not his thing), Adam Tommer, and Jake Gutman as well as the playing by the game MVP, Justin Leibow, who was our quarterback and intercepted the Orange Crush twice. The Yellow Polka-Dotted Hippopotami defeated the Red Bulls due to two touchdowns by Grant Leibow and one touchdown from Jake Abel.

Tonight is my favorite evening activity Camp Tall Timbers has to offer: Under the Stars Night. The whole camp has a cookout and then cabins go to different camping spots around camp where marshmallows, chocolate, and matches await them. The cabin works together to make a bonfire to sit around and cook s’mores. The night leads to a great bonding experience for the cabin as stories are told, games are played, and relationships are made for the rest of the session and even for the years to come.

Time to go be brave and sleep under the stars!

Only at Camp Tall Timbers can a green aluminum building be a gym by morning and Atlantic City by night.

Last night Camp Tall Timbers had its very own Atlantic City night with a casino, jail, wedding chapel, high rollers club, and beach. Each camper received a credit card with $1000 and was able to play in a variety of games such as blackjack, CTT craps, Texas hold ‘em, Roulette wheel, arm wrestling, and the traditional ‘guess which cup the ball is in’ game. In addition to the games, the campers could also pay to get married, receive a massage, or go to the bar for juice, soda, or, if they had $1500 or more to be in the high rollers club, a ‘margarita’. The night led to a fun time on the “boardwalk” for all of Camp Tall Timbers.

Yesterday also featured the accomplishments of some of our Wet Your Feet Week campers. All of Cabin 1 hit the target in archery which is particularly special considering it was their first time at the archery range. Rachel Heinemann (with assistance from Jake Abel) won a game of Frisbee golf and served overhand in volleyball for the first time. Katherine Kearns and Tasha Pressler learned their first guitar chords.

While the Wet Your Feet Week campers have been thriving, our veteran campers have been successful as well. Ethan Polk-Trauman caught a fish. Vance Pallone won the choomster (biggest potato chip) contest for Boy’s side. Grant Leibow made a basket from the free throw line on the other side of the court! In Boys’ Leagues, Easy-E’s Barbie Princesses defeated Albert’s Glitter-Consuming Unicorn Warriors in hockey thanks to double hat tricks from Jack “Vito” Parr and Kyle Solomon and Sean’s Team Domination defeated Sam’s Better Team Team twice.

Today, the CTTFFL continues and Camp Tall Timbers heads to the Winchester Skating and Family Fun Center for a few hours of skating, arcade games, and socializing. If you want more updates on CTT life, be sure to like the Camp Tall Timbers Facebook page and watch GMTT.

Well, International Night took a very different turn last night. The night was scheduled to be a celebration of cultures but while the teams were meeting, there was a gunshot. All the sudden, I had died and the campers were then faced with the task of figuring out who my killer was. They had to go to stations around camp where philosophers, clowns, jocks, nerds, preppies, and wannabes gave the campers clues as to who the killer could have been. Suddenly, counselors Ethan and Sam died as well and all signs pointed to Flip-Flop as the killer, but right as the night was ending, Flip-Flop was mysteriously murdered and now the campers realized who the killer was. It was Glenn! Upset that I took announcements from him at lunch, he shot me. Then, Sam and Ethan were snooping around and realized Glenn killed me so Glenn had to kill them. Lastly, Flip-Flop, being the good friend that he is, was tragically upset that the JCs had been killed so he confronted Glenn, but Glenn was victorious. Thankfully, this was all acting and I am still able to write the blog to you today.

In addition to Murder Mystery Night, the CTTFFL began yesterday. The Yellow Polka-Dotted Hippopotami defeated the Orange Crush with touchdowns by Grant Leibow, Kyle Solomon, and two touchdowns by Ethan Polk-Trauman and the Red Bulls defeated the Purple Nurples thanks to a touchdown by Jordan Abel. Today, we turn the gym into a casino and have our very own Monte Carlo Night! Time to put our poker faces on.

What an exciting weekend at CTT!

The weekend started with Game Show night where cabins competed against each other in Family Feud, Jeopardy, Minute To Win It, and Deal Or No Deal. The campers worked hard together but in the end, Cabins G and H were the winners of the night with the most points and they won an ice cream party for rest hour today.

The fun continued into Saturday. The day began with a late wake-up and a sweet breakfast complete with Cinnabons and donuts. After the sweet breakfast, we had friendship-themed services where Vance Pallone read his own poem about his friends at CTT then Cabin 5 got up on stage singing their version of “Baby” by Justin Beiber, but it talked about their friends more than Justin Beiber’s love interests. We then had a whole-camp pool party before going to lunch.

While the pool party and services were fun, the real entertainment of the day came when the bell rang and the campers saw a full carnival at the lower fields. Some of the games include a hula-hooping contest which Spencer Leibow won by hula-hooping over fifty minutes, a softball hitting game where a softball is dropped from a pipe and you have to hit it (it is a lot harder than it sounds), a traditional knocking down cans game, and the always beloved dunk tank and moon bounce. When a camper won a game, they got a ticket to put in the raffle to compete for prizes. In addition to the raffle, there was a jar of 724 jellybeans that Scott Franklin won by guessing that there were 722. At dinner, we  had the big raffle drawing with big prizes like a game of ping-pong with camp director Glenn that Ethan Polk-Trauman won, seven free sodas which was won by Nora Siegle, an extra fifteen minutes to stay out at night which Cabin 2 won, a Pack Attack (it’s like a McFlurry but way better) which Adam Fiergang won, a super special surprise at Cabin Night that Matt Kasoff won, and a pizza party for his cabin which Jake Gutman proudly won. Needless to say, the Camp Tall Timbers Carnival was one of the best ways to spend a Saturday, but that was not all.

After dinner, CTT boarded buses and went to see the Winchester Royals take on the Front Royal Cardinals. I do not know what has changed with the Winchester Royals as in my eight years, they have won a game maybe once, but just like last session, the Royals were victorious and beat the Cardinals 11-6. Maybe it was the help of Camp Tall Timbers cheering for them, but that victory allowed the Royals to clinch the second seed in the playoffs.

Today is also slated to be a great day. The Camp Tall Timbers Flag Football League (CTTFFL) begins today! In addition to the CTTFFL, Camp Tall Timbers greets nineteen new campers for our Wet Your Feet Week and we are all very excited for their arrival. With the weather cooler, today will surely be another fun day at CTT.

Yesterday, most of the camp went to Cacapon State Park. After a game of “Bury Flip-Flop” where everyone but counselor Flip Flop won, the camp had a competitive game of Beach Ultimate Frisbee where Ian Osterman was the MVP. The day ended with a cookout and a chance for the camp to unwind from a fun day at the beach. While most of the camp was at the beach, some of our older campers took on the Shenandoah River for a day of white water rafting. They paddled their hearts out and after conquering the class three rapids, the older campers had a buffet at the Butcher’s Block where they were able to eat as much as they could (much to the delight of all the campers).

Today, Jesse Alloy has already caught three fish and Michael Springer, Erin Smedley, Ryan Berman, and Jake Abel successfully ran to the boundaries of camp and back for an early-morning workout. Tonight, Camp Tall Timbers has its very own Game Show Night where we all compete in various game shows for prizes and tomorrow we have our Camp Carnival where we turn CTT into a Carnival complete with our moon bounce and dunk tank before heading to see the Winchester Royals play that evening. Time to play ball!

The relationships you make at CTT last a lifetime. Some of my best friends are people I met here eight years ago and are going to be some of my closest friends for the years to come. Last night was Cabin Activity Night and it gave the campers a chance to build on those bonds or, for some of our new campers, make the bonds that will last a lifetime.

Each cabin or tent group got their own area of camp to utilize for the night. Cabins 3 and 4 occupied the upper fields and basketball courts and played sports for hours before heading to the horse barn and the petting zoo for some relaxing animal time. Cabins A and B changed things up from usual and instead of going swimming in the pool, they went swimming in the lake and had a fun night. Cabin 5 had a very competitive and intense game of Ultimate Frisbee with touchdowns by Brett Richardson and Ian Osterman. Cabin G had a dance party at the pavilion while Cabin H spent time watching Mamma Mia before playing card games. Boys Tents, a group that has been together for years, occupied the gym for dodgeball and scooter games. The night allowed for the cabins to spend some time together as a group and reinforce the friendships made throughout their summers at CTT.

Yesterday also featured the start of Boys’ Leagues. Camper-turned-counselor Ethan Ebinger’s Barbie Princesses defeated Sam Friedman’s Better Team and Albert Oriol’s team defeated Sean Vinten’s Domination. The teams have another two hours of play today. Also, Melorie Jenkins won the first game of Zombie Knockout of Second Session (it’s like knockout in archery but now we have zombie silhouettes to hit) while Jonah Gutman and Grayson St. Aubin got bullseyes.

Today, Camp Tall Timbers heads to Cacapon State Park for a fun day at the beach with sandcastle building contests and a cookout. Let’s go to the beach!

Another skit night at CTT, another night of fun. Every cabin and tent spent hours perfecting a dance to display to the whole camp and nobody was disappointed. First up were Cabins A and B where Hayley Sanders led the girls in a dance to “Somebody to Love” by Justin Beiber. One of the most interesting skits of the night was Cabin 3. Rather than using an iPod to dance to, Ethan Polk-Trauman performed a Beatles medley on his guitar that the rest of the cabin danced and sang to. Girls Tents did a very well-choreographed dance to a series of songs by Beyoncé wowing the whole audience with what they could do. But, though all the dances were great, the winner of the night was Cabin 4. Jordan Abel took the stage first in an extravagant suit, lip-syncing “The Time (Dirty Bit)” by the Black Eyed Peas with the rest of his cabin behind him looking down. When the female vocal part came up, however, Jake Abel appeared in an orange wig and short pink dress to dance in front as well. The true talent of the cabin came in the chorus of the song when the whole cabin began dancing “The Bernie” and after achieving a near-perfect score, Cabin 4 had won MTV Night.

Yesterday also featured the campers beginning to excel in their activities. Ian Osterman and Jesse Alloy caught some of the first fish of the session and Spencer Leibow won the first ever CTT game of tennis ball machine jail. The big accomplishments of the day were from Brady Osterman who won a game of knockout, shot two bullseyes, and caught a fish. While some campers were building on the skills they learned in past years at Camp Tall Timbers, others are learning new things at camp for the first time such as Spencer Fields, who learned his first four chords on the guitar.

Though we are only a few days into Second Session, some of Camp Tall Timbers’ wonderful traditions have begun. The battle between Dippies and Sleepies is in full swing. For those who do not know, Dippies is when the proud and brave campers and counselors run to the pool right after the wake-up bell rings, scream “Good Morning Ladies” followed by “Dippies”, and swim a lap in the pool. Sleepies, however, is Dippies arch-nemesis. Sleepies is when the wake-up bell rings and campers scream “Sleepies” and sleep for another seven minutes while others are at the pool. Another camp tradition, Boys’ Leagues, led by camper-turned-counselor Sam Friedman, begins today. In Boys’ Leagues, the male campers are split into four teams and compete in a variety of sports for at least an hour each day led by the same coach and CIT2 assistant coach for the whole session.

As Camp Tall Timbers gets into full swing, be sure to watch the brand new “Good Morning Tall Timbers” posts on the Camp Tall Timbers YouTube and Facebook pages.

Well it is only the second full day here at Camp Tall Timbers, but the energy is high and the memories are being made. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alex Fang. I am a senior at the Gilman School in Baltimore, this is my eighth year at CTT, and I am one of the counselors in Cabin 5. My favorite thing about the first couple days of camp is the reunions. Friends of all ages come from all over the country to reunite at their favorite place to be: Camp Tall Timbers. Last night, we had our welcoming campfire. After a review of CTT Traditions such as the CTT Hug, the CTT song, “Friends, Friends, Friends”, and the somewhat fictional story of the camp’s creator, Billy Mathis, the campers created skits using a TV character and a prop and how that character saved Camp Tall Timbers. The winner of the night was Team Oprah where Alec Marks (as Oprah) saved the goat (Corrine Polk-Trauman) from villains trying to attack CTT. The campfire symbolized the start of new beginnings at Camp Tall Timbers and the start of a fantastic three weeks.

Tonight, we test the campers’ creativity with MTV Night. Each cabin or tent group is assigned an artist or genre and has to do a dance or music video to a song by that artist or genre. For example, Cabins A and B have to dance to Justin Beiber. Cabin H, who was enamored by Cody Simpson last session, gets to dance to a song by him. In a humorous twist, Boys Tents must dance to “Female Vocalists of the 1990s”. Tonight will surely be the start of a very fun and entertaining summer for the whole camp.

Be sure to “like” the Camp Tall Timbers Facebook page and to follow @camptalltimbers on Twitter so you at home can feel like you are right here at camp. Also, be on the lookout for broadcasts of “Good Morning Tall Timbers”, a camper-produced webcast reporting on events at Camp Tall Timbers, on the Facebook page and the camp Youtube channel, CampTallTimbers. If you have any ideas for the blog, please feel free to contact us here and I will try to get back to you as soon as I can. Let’s have a great summer!

The judge has spoken. Last night campers were tried at the Camp Tall Timbers Ghost Court where counselors gave Judge Flip Flop crimes that they have committed against CTT and revealed to them their punishments. Cabin H was tried first for their obsession with Cody Simpson and their punishment is to read ten reasons why CTT is better than Cody Simpson. Next were Jacob Langer, Theodore Kling, and Noah Schweitzer who loved rap music too much so they must do a choreographed dance to Wicked’s “Defying Gravity” at lunch today.  Sam Audia, Sam Blum, Jesse Alloy, Jakeabel, and Matt Kasoff were the next ones in court for their constant playing of Pokémon and their punishment was to dress up as a Pokémon character and list ten reasons that camp is better than Pokémon. Going back to the girls, Jessica Hymer, Nicola Lee-Oesterreich, Ashlyn Morrisroe, and Catherine Ni Dhroighneain were ghost courted for being too sassy so now they must walk around camp today like polite country girls with pigtails, a country accent, and with no sass.  Cabin B was next and they were tried for always wanting others to fill their water bottles. Their punishment was that they must go around to every table at dinner and fill cups of water for anyone who wants some. The full cabin punishments continued with Cabin 5 who is known for being too loud so their punishment is to dress up as mimes and whisper all day. Girls Tents (a group with several international campers) was tried for never speaking English causing the punishment of writing poems in English about why they like it (except for fluent English speaker Ashlyn Morrisroe who must write about why she likes Spanish and French, in Spanish and French).

After whole cabin punishments, Max Penn went alone to Ghost Court for procrastinating at bedtime so now he must shower during rest hour, both free swims, and before bed before he does anything us. A punishment for brothers is rare at Ghost Court but the Balaban brothers were next to be punished for spending too much time in Cabin 4. They must now list ten reasons at lunch why Cabin 4 is the best. Jacob Blitz and Ethan Weinstein were tried for always asking counselors to run lines with them for the upcoming musical so now they must speak in Shakespearean English for the day. The last single punishment went to Matthew Ziegelstein who for the umpteenth time was tried for never wearing any clothes. His punishment was that he had to be dressed up by his counselors who gave him a bedsheet, Indiana Jones replica hat, coconut bra, and some leaves that he must now wear all day.

Today, the CTTFFL had its Super Bowl with the Jerry Smith trophy being awarded to the Purple Nurples thanks to two touchdowns by Jacob Langer and the winning field goal by Theodore Kling. Ethan Harrison and Zach LaPorte caught fish. But perhaps most importantly, the musical is tonight! Many campers have been working hard running lines and dancing during their free time to prepare for tonight and I’m sure that it will be a show we do not want to miss. During the intermission of the play, we have our Art Show so the talent of CTT’s artists can be displayed. Let the curtains go up!

The last week of camp is a bittersweet one. Some of the best aspects of the CTT experience come in the last week like the playoffs of the many leagues, the camp musical, the art show, and last but certainly not least, Color War. After living together for two weeks, campers are closer now more than ever before and relationships are hitting their peak, but now everyone is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Just because we are reaching the end however, does not mean that the fun stops! Sunday night was Murder Mystery Night where counselors and administrators were mysteriously murdered and campers were divided into detective teams to figure out who the killer was. After a thorough investigation, they discovered that Glenn, Mark, and Keith were the murderers. Yesterday, Camp Tall Timbers boarded coach buses and went to King’s Dominion. Younger campers rode roller coasters for the first time while the older campers tried to see which ride they could ride the most. Michael Balaban competed in basketball challenges to win a giant stuffed dog named Carlos and Ryan Kalata knocked over bottles to win a giant Jamaican banana. The boys of cabin 4 took on 3-point challenges to win University of Maryland basketballs. The trip ended with a quick eat at McDonalds before we returned tired from a fun day of rides.

Today, Boy’s League playoffs begin with Sean’s Team Outrageous 1^st in the standings. The CTTFFL Super Bowl is tomorrow morning with the Yellow Polka-Dotted Hippopotami competing against the Purple Nurples. The 3 v. 3 Basketball tournament ended with counselor Nick Zmuda, Jacob Langer and Ethan McCann as the winners and with that ending, the Ping-Pong tournament starts today. We have our last all-camp campfire tonight and the Musical – ‘Everything is Groovy’ tomorrow and on to Color War. These last few days are cherished by all and I know that they will be extraordinary.

What a fantastic weekend at CTT!

It started Friday night with Dance Thru the Decades. Cabin B had to perform a  2000s pop song and featured Hayley Sanders reprising her impression of me (which admittedly is kind of funny…okay really funny), Sage Jacobson singing an incredible version of “Rolling in the Deep”, and the whole cabin dancing to Rebecca Black’s “Friday”. Cabin 3 followed with a medley of 80s pop with Joseph Balaban, Jacob Blitz, and Noah Schweitzer as the “friends of Eileen” leading into a dance to “Come on Eileen” before Jacob Langer came out as Michael Jackson and stole the girls away by singing “Man in the Mirror”. In 2^nd place, cabin 4 did a medley of 80s hair bands with Matt Kasoff, Sam Audia, and Matthew Ziegelstein in full makeup as members of Kiss. In 1^st place (not to brag) was cabin 78 who did an eleven song medley to 50s music with Constantin Emeury as the leading lady. Sam Brami and Theodore Kling played themselves while Aaron Morris, Javier Sanchez, and Tristan Cabotin mocked the boys of cabin 4 with some…um…interesting dance moves to “Under the Boardwalk” and “Blueberry Hill”. The skit ended with the French boys (Theodore and Sam) stealing the pretty girl away from the cabin 4 boys and the skit received a perfect score for the night.

The fun continued into Saturday. After a late wakeup and cinnabons for breakfast, the camp went to services led by Girls Tents. The theme of the service was friendship and many campers embraced that theme through poems or songs. Sydney Laporte and Taylor Kasoff sang Flight of the Conchords’ “Sellotape aka Pencils in the Wind”, Samantha Swindell did a poem about friendship, Jakeabel and Max Penn did haikus, and Steven Meree composed his own song about his friendships at camp. As the service was ending, we all heard a noise and then counselor Oli Knowles came out dressed as a Dalmatian and announced that it was Disney Day.

The camp was split up into the Red Mickey Mouse team led by Collin and Breanna, the Blue Donald Duck team led by Tim and Keith, the Yellow Pluto team led by Zach Fang (still no relation) and Rachel, and the Green Goofy team led by Ari, Emily, and myself. The teams were in charge of decorating a float, making a skit, and doing a dance to Disney music. After the teams worked on their creative performances, they went to The Gauntlet (a game similar to dodgeball) and Disney trivia and after a quick popsicle break, the teams went to army dodgeball and pool activities giving each and every camper a chance to show off their talents. After a hard day of competition, it was time for a Disney parade with Ashlyn Morrisroe, Taylor Kasoff, Sage Jacobson, and um…Ramon Ramirez as the princesses on the decorated floats. During the parade, each team performed a dance. The Mickey Mouse team danced to “Party in the U.S.A”, The Donald Duck team danced to “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”, The Pluto team danced to “What Time is It?”, and the winner of the dance competition (again not bragging) was the Goofy team with a medley of “Circle of Life”, “Strangers Like Me”, “Let’s Get Together”, and “Breaking Free” choreographed by Samantha Zerwitz. The day culminated in a Princess Ball where the tent boys danced to techno and cabin G and H danced to Backstreet Boys and N*Sync and the night ended when the judges announced that the Green team was the winner (not bragging I swear).

As the Wet Your Feet Week campers have left and they will be missed, a new group of campers have come for a tryout weekend at CTT and are having a great time before they leave today. They have already climbed and fished and enjoyed almost every activity Camp Tall Timbers has to offer. Today, we are preparing for our last week of 1^st session here at CTT. The 3 on 3 basketball tournament is ending, CTTFFL playoffs have begun, and the amusement park trip is just around the corner. Let’s have a great last week.

Well, the parents are back and Home Alone Day has ended, but it was still a very fun and successful day. The day began with an obstacle course where the kids had to go from the upper fields to the gym without their “parents” seeing them and then had a “food fight” in the form of dodgeball. After a quick break, the kids got to go to their parents’ closet to get clothing and make-up to dress up. Once the kids got a new wardrobe, they had to prepare for a fashion show and Ryan Bernstein, Taylor Dennison, Max Penn, Jakeabel, Christian Guilloty, and Ashlyn Morrisroe were the fabulous and elegant models of the day. With their parents gone, the kids had a game of Hide and Seek throughout the whole camp and ended the night with a big pool party before the parents got home.

Today, the campers practice their skits for Dance Thru the Decades night. Each cabin is assigned a decade and genre within that decade and has to perform a dance or skit to a song from that decade and must also feature a special guest from that era. Let’s see what crazy skits come up tonight!

Yes we did! All of CTT successfully took on the wilderness and defeated it. We took our tarp and box of supplies and food and proved that CTT campers can survive outside. Cabin 2 and 5 played basketball and cabin B had card games going all night. Counselors Zach Fang and Ethan Ebinger led cabins 3 and 4 on a hike in the woods while cabin 78 played soccer and told scary stories. As the sun went down, cabins made their way to their campsites and began making a bonfire to keep them warm throughout the night and to roast marshmallows. With a clear and starry sky and a night that was not too hot and not too cold, Survivor Night 1^st Session 2011 was a big success and allowed the cabins to bond over a cookout and s’mores.

Survivor Night marks the halfway point in our 1^st session. Everything is in full swing now with CTTFFL playoffs coming and the 3-on-3 basketball tournament in its second round. The campers are showing that in just a few lessons, they can master any activity. Aaron Forest won a game of knockout. Pablo Heredia caught a fish and Ethan Weinstein continues holding the title of most fish after catching another one yesterday. New camper Riar Schell caught his first and second ever fish yesterday. Noah Schweitzer won a spinning target competition in riflery. The girls of cabin B served a volleyball over the net for the first time yesterday and Taylor Kasoff served over the net for the first time in three years.

After a morning of regular activities, we shake things up for the afternoon with Home Alone day where the campers do things that they would not normally be able to with their parents home like draw on the walls and get (temporary) tattoos. It’s a good thing this is only for the afternoon!

Any night where Paul Holtz wears a shirt that says “Duh, winning!” is a good night at Camp Tall Timbers.

Last night, CTT went to the Winchester Skating and Family Fun Center for a few hours of skating, arcade games, and socializing. The campers and counselors took the theme of superheroes and supervillains to a whole new level. Morgan Giles wore a full vampire costume. Ethan Weinstein donned a green outfit and used his signature cricket noise to create a new supervillain: Cricket. Paul Holtz made a shirt covered in Charlie Sheenisms and went as the warlock that is Charlie Sheen.  Counselor Julie Clark painted herself green and went as Green Lantern. But perhaps the best part of the night was Justin Kagen, who while was not in a villain costume, learned how to skate for the first time last night and successfully skated two laps without falling.

While some campers are learning things for the first time, others are perfecting their skills. Veteran campers Ethan Harrison, Ethan Weinstein, and Noah Schweitzer caught fish yesterday and Ryan Kalata caught two. Martin Babinet learned “Sweet Child O’ Mine” on the guitar, and shot two bullseyes in archery. Sam Audia also shot a bullseye in archery. Tyler Costopoulos and Aaron Morris made it up the hard side of the climbing wall for the first time and Tyler set a record for making it up the wall in thirty-six seconds. Miller Friedman and Michael Balaban won a game of Frisbee golf. Miguel Guinea completed the football course in the fastest time and Jacob Langer won a game of 500 in football. While not an activity offered at CTT, Ethan McCann and Jakeabel both lost teeth yesterday.

Tonight is my favorite evening activity Camp Tall Timbers has to offer: Survivor Night. After the last activity of the day, cabins go to different camping spots around camp where bags of frozen hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers await them. The cabin works together to make a fire to cook the food and later makes a bonfire to sit around and cook s’mores. The night leads to a great bonding experience for the cabin as stories are told and relationships are made for the rest of the session and even for the next few years.

Time to go survive!