The Chumee Checkers had an exciting activity this morning baking pizza with chef Reuven. Reuven gave each camper a ball of dough which they had to roll out. Once it was a flat circle, they were given sauce and cheese which they carefully spread on the dough. There were even other topping like mushrooms and onions if they wanted. Everyone enjoyed making the food they love so much. Rivka Bracha and Leah’s favorite part of pizza-making was getting all full of flour!

Bang, bang, bang is the sound of the hammers from the leather workshop. Inside, campers are making headbands, bracelets, bookmarks, and journals. First, the campers wet the leather with a sponge. Then, they use a mallet to engrave various designs or letters on their pieces of leather. After they paint the leather, they can adorn it with sparkly gems! Abby’s favorite part of the leather workshop is making the headbands and engraving her name. Heads of the leather workshop, the two Shira’s, said that they love working in the leather room even though it’s noisy because they know the girls are having a great time.”

What’s that flying so low over Camp Simcha? It looks like a helicopter, it sounds like a helicopter, it is a helicopter! This morning, campers are being treated to special helicopter rides. They’re able to see the entire Glen Spey from an aerial view. The pilot points out all the landmarks in and around camp; there is a lot of greenery, and they can even see the Delaware River. Campers look great in their new Camp Simcha helicopter t-shirts. Everyone has been waiting anxiously for this activity! Malka Bracha says it was the most fun thing she ever did. Blimie was so excited and she loved every minute of it!

The Bungee Jumpers are a group of girls who jump rope professionally; these girls are anywhere from 3rd grade to 10th grade and some have been jumping rope for 5 years. There are sixteen girls on the team, and six of them joined us for tonight, with two assistants. They started with a basic routine and then went on to really cool things. They did partner tricks like jumping together in the same rope. After came the super-advanced jumps: they jumped with the rope between their legs while they crossed in the back. They jumped with one hand on the rope in the front and one in the back of them. They jumped rope while hopping on a pogo stick without hands. They really jumped rope in any way you can imagine! They showed us jump rope double-dutch, which is jumping through two ropes, and the girls even did some tricks in the double-dutch. The Bungee Jumpers ended with all six girls jumping through the same rope! Everyone was really entertained by the show!

Today we celebrated the wedding of Sora Katenellabogenstein and Schmendrick Cohen! After hours of preparation, we were finally ready. Everyone gathered in the Camp Simcha Grand Vestibule to meet the bride and groom. Then we went to the Social Hall for the wedding ceremony. The parents of the bride and groom walked down the aisle. The Chumee Checker flowergirls also walked down in their pretty gowns, tossing flowers elegantly. Finally, we were waiting for the bride to walk down the aisle to meet her groom. We waited a while, and realized that something was wrong: the bride was missing! Oh no, where was she? Luckily Inspector Specty was around and began investigating the scene! She interrogated all of the wedding guests to find out who was the culprit. Was it the bride’s single best friend? Her mother-in-law? Maybe it was one of the little cousins? After extensive research and detective work, the truth came out. The kidnapper was John Ferrera (aka Malka)! We were able to get back the bride and continue the wedding as normal. Mazal Tov to everyone!

We’re getting ready for the Camp Simcha Mock Wedding which is taking place soon! All the campers were given invitations and were told who they would be at the wedding. There are the family members, friends, photographers, celebrities, a rabbi, and more! The Chumee Checkers are being the flower-girls. The dining room has been transformed into the the dressing room, and there are costumes for everyone. Between dresses and suits, hats and accessories, everyone is going to look great!

Behind the gate of the pool, campers and staff members are splashing away, having fun in the pool. The slide is a popular attraction, and the cool water is a relief from the heat. Great things are accomplished at the pool every day. This year in Camp Simcha is the first time Chana has ever been in the pool, and today she went to the deepest part of the shallow water section! Chaya Liba went all the way to the bottom of the pool. Samara walked four laps in the pool. Sol learned how to float on her back and she kept her head under-water for a few seconds! We are so proud of everyone! Enjoy your swim!

In arts ‘n crafts, the project is making Marionette Puppets. Campers have a choice of making a girl, a boy, or a clown. They get the head of the puppet, on which they color eyes, eyebrows, and a mouth. They choose the hair style of their puppet, too: curly, or straight, brown or blonde. Clothing for their puppet is made from cloth of felt, and the campers design it on their own. When the doll is all finished, they’ll put strings on it and learn how to use the puppets. The most exciting part of this whole project is that there’s going to be a Marionette Puppet Show with a contest of the best puppet!

Well, that comes a little later… First, about last night’s presentations: Each team had to present a song, a dance or skit, and a banner. The songs were beautifully sung by campers. The Red team performed a skit, while the Blue and White teams both prepared dances. The banners were designed and painted all by campers.
The judges counted up the score while everyone waited in anticipation. The division heads wrote a song to break out the winners. Yes, the Blue Team did great, and the White Team was top-rate, but the RED TEAM is the winner!!

Teams Red, Blue, and White all decorated golf carts as floats for the Color War parade. Team Red made its float as a tank. The Blue Team’s float was a boat, complete with and fish. The White Team decorated its float in white fabric and ribbon. Inside the floats sat the captains and generals of the team, throwing confetti through camp. The rest of the team marched behind the float.