Hey CBR friends and family! It’s Taylor here, and I am about to fill you guys in on the latest CBR scoop! Summer 2016 has been going GREAT so far! You know what, scratch that, it has been going AMAZING!! From the very moment camp started, the campers have had the biggest smile that goes from ear to ear plastered across their face 24/7!! Every inch of camp is filled with laughing and ecstatic children that never want to sleep(literally)! Coming from someone who was a camper at this breathtaking place for five years knows that there really truly is no other feeling on this planet that is as wonderful as the feeling of being at sleepaway camp. Seeing the kids have as much fun as I did and knowing that they never want to leave makes me happier than words can ever express. I am extremely happy to be able to spend yet another summer at my favorite place in the entire world, with all of these HAPPY AS CAN BE campers!

So, you’re probably wondering what these guys do all day that causes them to never want to  leave? Don’t you worry, I got you! Let’s start with climbing. Taylor Edelson(G19) completed the green challenge on the climbing wall, a very hard task to accomplish, and Daniel Torres(B22) conquered the green AND red challenge successfully. Congrats to those two climbers. Catch you guys on Mount Everest! Vroom Vroom. Get out of the way because go carts are coming on through. Here are the fastest times so far: Aiden(B20) 25.5 seconds, Alex(B19) 25.6 seconds, Aiden(B15) 26.1 seconds, Jayden(B16) 26.3 seconds. Maybe a NASCAR career is in these campers future? Flip, Flop, Flip, Flop. Alex from B19 and Sam from B19 both mastered their backflips perfectly in gymnastics the other day! Haley from G16 mastered her cartwheel on the beam as well! Go you guys!!! Brenna Russak, Jayden Pickard, Anthony Petrucelli, Noah Brock, Vance Workley, and Jacob Stangle all did the dizzy paddle challenge, the boat crossing challenge, the water balance challenge, the boat flip and boat rescue challenge, and the PFD 30 second challenge in boating! Brennan Malone and Elias Matute completed all but the boat flip and boat rescue challenge. Finally, Blake Aversa, Brett Barber and Alejandro Blandon finished all of the challenges except the boat crossing challenge and the boat flip and boat rescue challenge! For all we know, the next Christopher Columbus may be setting sail soon! BANG! BANG! BANG! Riflery is making a very loud statement at CBR this summer!!!  These campers shoot, and they sure do score. Pace Nelson, Matti Taylor, and Tyeler Shevchuk all did an INCREDIBLE thing and made ALL SHOTS ON THE TARGET when they were shooting. Cody Beanblossom and Nathan Eccher each had the 4 inch grouping and Cody had the 2 inch grouping as well. Tara Peart(G13), Brennan Malone(B14), Elias Matute(B14), Ethan Peart(B14), Matthew Laor(B14), Hunter Thomas(B20), Vance Worley(B20), Brandon Gerardi(B22), and Daniel Torres(B22) were totally into Outdoor Skills this past week. Every one of these adventurers completed a fire triangle and 5 kind with match. In addition, Brennan, Vance, Brandon, and Daniel completed the 5 kind with F+S as well. We love outdoor skills here up in your mountain of fun! Lights, camera, action. Roll the red carpet out please. Paparazzi gather around. The one and only Camp Blue Ridge superstars are putting on the production of the Jungle Book next Thursday. Auditions were held this past week, and the parts have been given. I, as well as the rest of CBR are super excited to see what these future Tony winners have in store for us.  Ready!? 5,6,7,8! Shake and shimmy, shake and shimmy. Our CBR dancers have been learning a few dances that will be performed at the end of this session. They are moving and grooving all day, every day. To wrap things up, let’s establish one thing before I check out for the week. Each week there will be something called the “night activity of the week”. Soooo, the winner for this week is….drum roll please….MISS CBR!!! Once again, Miss CBR was a HUGE success. I, in fact, was a part of it this year. I never wanted the night to end, and I can tell the campers did not want it to either. Miss CBR is a competition where the male counselors dress up as a girl and compete in various events like swimsuit, question and answer, and talent! Miss CBR is basically a beauty pageant, with a Blue Ridge twist to it. Tonight is the first social of the summer!!!! YAA!!! The theme is western. Yeehaw CBR! Well, my time here is done for now. I know you guys will miss me until next week:) I hope you all enjoyed my first blog entry! Lots of love CBR friends and fam. XOXO, Taylor Goldman.