Bike Hike & Cook-out!

Ojai Bike Trail

Tuesday, August 25th

Over forty boys joined us for a cook-out / bike hike to the Ojai, CA area. We enjoyed grilling bacon cheese burgers at the tree lined "foster park". After the picnic, 17 boys and 2 counselors rode to Ojai in the bus. After our arrival at Ojai, we got out the bikes for a 10 mile mostly downhill ride back to Foster Park. The scenery was spectacular!

Soap Box Races!

6-8th Grade boys finish in 2nd place!

The day of the "big race" finally came. Over 200 boys and girls attended camp to witness the first soap box race in Faith Baptist Day Camp history! Four cars competed in the race. Our car got tangled up with the 3rd grade boy's car in the first turn. This was not good! By the time our boys got our car rolling, they were half a lap behind the 4&5th grade boy's car. The lead proved too much for us to overcome. The 4 & 5th grade boys finished in first place, 6-8th grade boys ended up in second, 4 & 5 th grade girls finished third, and 3rd grade boys took 4th place. Everyone had a great time. We have already discussed our plans for the car we will build and race next year.

California Adventure

We had a great time @ California adventure. My favorite ride was "soaring over california" . Our group of six boys and one J.C. was rather small - but that didn't bother us at all! For us, it was . .

Fishing at "Troutdale"

Hey Mom, Look at what I've got!

What can be better than catching a fish at Troutdale? How about catching three fish! That is what this boy did today. We took 23 4-8th grade boys fishing to troutdale. Troutdale is a fish farm located on Kannan Rd. half between hwys 101 and 1. It was so much fun watching the boys put worms on their own hooks and put their bait into the water. One boy described the feelings he had as he felt the fish bite onto his line. "It was the best!" he said. The boys returned to camp to enjoy swiming in our pool. After the refreshing swim, we played "Kick the Can" (a favorite game of day camp boys).

Link to more fishing pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/fourmusicians/Troutdale2?feat=directlink

Knott's Berry Farm

Knott's Berry Farm was "Fantastic"

We went to Knott's Berry Farm last Thursday. The boys rode many rides including "Silver bullet, Jaguar, Montazooma's Revenge, Boomerang, Bigfoot Rapids, Ghost Rider, the Log Ride and the Mine Ride". We enjoyed a delicious meal @ "Johnny Rockets". We arrived back at camp at 11PM, then had a midnight swim and toasted marshmallows over a camp fire.

Link to Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/fourmusicians/KnottSBerryFarm?feat=directlink

Waterslide Day - July 27th

Waterslide days are the best!

It has been a while since I've updated the blog. This is mostly due to my misplacing my memory card adapter. "- Oh dear, what has happened to my memory!" Mrs. Sturm has found my adapter and now we are back in business.

We had a great water slide a few weeks ago. It really was a combination obstacle course/waterside. The whole contraption was about 45 feet long. It required 3 separate gasoline powered air blowers to operate. It was FUN, (as you can see by the picture above).

Here is a link to more pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/fourmusicians/WaterslideDayJuly27?feat=directlink

Week # 6 Summary

Mini - Golf: We had a great time golfing at Castle Park Arcade in Sherman Oaks. (I had 7 birdies on the first 9 holes!)













Rain Gutter Regatta: We made paper boats out of oragami, then raced them in a rain gutter. This was great fun. The boys had to propell their boats by either blowing their breathe on them or by using a balloon. Nathan Burton won first place with a time of 15 seconds.

Camper of the Week: Nathan Burton!

Waterslide Day - (sort of)

Today we made "Origami airplanes" in craft time. Snowcones were awarded as prizes to the planes which flew the farthest as well as the plane which showed the best design. Michael's plane won the far distance prize. Ethan, Joseph and Ekene won design prizes. Later in the day, we worked on our push car design. Boys rode in and pushed the car for the first time. Everthing worked well. Now we will add the steering apparatus!

We had problems getting the waterslide to work properly . . . it just would not stay up! We decided to watch films in the gym basement instead of watersliding. We watched all of "The Incredibles" and half of "Toy Story 2".

Tomorrow we will be ice skating at "The Valley Ice Center". Be sure to bring a warm jacket. See you tomorrow!

Camper of the week #4 - Cole Lobdell

We are proud to announce that Cole Lobdell has been chosen "Camper of the Week" for (July 6-10)

Push Cart Competition

We have recently learned that there will be a "push car" competition @ camp this year. Each of the Jr. age classes are to design a build a car which will hold one camper and be pushed by a second camper. We have accepted the challenge and work has begun! Here two of our boys are mounting a wheel onto the body. Let the competitive juices flow!

The race will be on Monday, August 24th. We will keep you informed about our progress.

Marshmallow Guns

Ready, Aim - Fire! One day, we broke out the marshmallow guns. It was exciting shooting at the targets shown below. You could eat the amo if even if you missed the target.

Unbirthday party - July 10th

Happy Un-Birthday!

Mrs. Sturm, our "craft lady" was away to a choir director's convention. She left lots of cakes for us to enjoy as we celibrated our un-birthday! Everyone enjoyed the sillyness. "Happy Unbirthday everybody!"

Kite flying @ the beach / July 8

Kite flying was fun!

We had lots of kites in the air! It was great fun watching the kids have fun - sometimes the lines got snagged, and sometimes the kites broke free and flew away! We even saw kites along the bluff a week later.

Montasia - Tuesday, July 7th

Today, because of Michael Jackson's memorial service, we had a change of schedule. We stayed away from downtown LA and went to "Montasia" in Santa Clarita instead!

There are lots of fun things to do at Montasia like miniature golf, go-carts, bumper boats, batting cages, arcades, wall climbing and a "Farrell's Ice Cream" shop.

Our boys really enjoyed the go-carts. Many of them got to drive by themselves. Others were just a little bit too short to drive alone, so they went with a Jr. Counselor instead.

Tomorrow we visit the beach - Can't wait!

Ice Skating

We went ice skating at the Valley Ice Center in Van Nuys, CA. It doesn't matter how warm it is outside - you had better bring your jacket when you visit the Valley Ice Center. Boy, am I ever glad I don't have to put all of those skates away!

Camper of the week awards

Thomas Perez

Camper of the week - week #2 (June 22-26)

Ekene Akapti

Camper of the Week - Week #3 (June 29 - July 3)

These two boys were recognized as "Camper of the Week" while I was away. Both boys are deserving of the recognition - Way to Go Thomas and Ekene!

Bowling

We went bowling on Thursday, July 2nd. About 127 campers and counselor's went to Woodlake Bowl on Ventura Blvd. Each camper bowled two games. The highest score that I heard was 142. Everyone had a great time. After the bowling, we went to McDonald's for a cool ice cream cone.

Surfing Camp

History was made on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 when 5 boys attended the first "surf camp" ever! Everyone had a great time. More than half of the boys were able to stand up on their boards. The boards and wet suits were provided by the camp. We can't wait until next time.

Trip to Michigam

Grandpa Strauel, Caleb & Philip

I will be away from daycamp from June 25 through June 30, 2009. Beth's mom, Beth and I will be traveling to Fostoria, MI to honor and bury Beth's dad (Doug Strauel). Doug went to heaven to be with his Saviour on March 5, 2009.

Zuma Beach

Today was a cold day at the beach!

We enjoyed the beach inspite of the cool temperatures.

Some of the bravest in our group went boogie boarding.

Others took advantage of the blustery weather to enjoy kite-flying!

Still others sought shelter by burying themselves up to their neck into the sand. Whatever the pursuit, the results were the same - lots of smiles and great memories-.

Link to all beach pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/fourmusicians/ZumaBeach?feat=directlink

Tuesday - Museum of Science and Industry

Today we made bedroom door signs in crafts- Left is a sign advertising the Lakers - Right is a warning to all intruders!

Crafts are the first thing in the morning followed by swim lessons and Bible time. That afternoon we went to the museum of science and industry. Unfortunately, my camera battery went dead. There are no more pictures to enjoy.

Water slide day

"I've got joy like a fountain in my soul."

Today was our second waterslide day of the summer. It was also the first day for the summer schoolers to join the fun! Our morning craft was "bag puppets". We made the puppets out of brown paper bags. The boys enjoyed cutting out decorations and attaching them onto the puppets. Our morning game was "Capture the Flag". After lunch, we went to the pool, played "1-2-3 American Eagle". (To play this game, boys have to run through "catchers" to a safe zone without being caught - great fun-). We then enjoyed the giant water slide - then ended the afternoon by watching "Looney Tune" cartoons.
Tomorrow we will go to the Museum of Science and Industry. This will be an afternoon trip. It is important that we get to the bus for a 12:30 PM departure. Our return time may be a bit late because of traffic. Be sure to wear your day camp shirt. See you then!

Link to today's pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/fourmusicians/WaterslideDay?feat=directlink

Camper of week - June 15-19, 2009

Congratulations to

Chuy Garcia - Camper of the Week!

Water Wars!

Friday was water wars day - the boys brought the appropriate weapons and "had at it" on the elementary playground. Fun, fun, fun! We also enjoyed Friday "food-crafts". Today was "worms-in-mud". This is a pudding with gummy worms mixed in (delicious). The afternoon was spent watching films (A Gift of Love) and swimming at our pool.

About 16 6-8th grade boys carried the battled and claimed "victory" over the 4-5th grade boys class.

The pool is fun, but tiring

Link to all Friday Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/fourmusicians/WaterWars?feat=directlink

Fishing is fun!

Troutdale and Hurricane Harbor

Today our boys chose to enjoy either Hurricane Harbor or fishing @ Troutdale. Nine boys went to Hurricane Harbor water park while eight boys went fishing at Troutdale. The 4-5th grade boys joined forces with us to bring the total number of fishermen to 19 boys, 2 Jr Counselors, and 4 Adults. Troutdale is located on Kannan road about half way between Agoura and Zuma beach. We were uncertain about the prospects of our day's activities as we left camp and headed to the bait shop since last year our boys didn't catch a single fish! It didn't take too long however before Evan caught the first fish of the day. Once that fish was landed, we knew that everything would be OK. By noontime we had caught 10 fish and were ready for the sandwiches which the kitchen staff at camp had prepared for us.

Fish being stocked @ Troutdale

After lunch, the boys were delighted to see a fish hatchery truck restock the ponds with fresh rainbow trout! We had caught a total of 24 trout by the time we left for camp. Once we arrived at camp, it was time to change into our swimsuits and enjoy the camp pool all by ourselves. The boys enjoyed playing water basketball with Mr. Harold while I taught others how to clean their fish. Moms and Dads were delighted to see our catch. We can hardly wait for a return trip to Troutdale later in the summer.

Link to all fishing pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/fourmusicians/Troutdale?feat=directlink

Beach Day!

Friends @ Zuma Beach 6/17/09

Today we returned to Zuma beach for the first time in 2009. The weather was beautiful, clear and sunny. The water was rather cool, but it will warm up as the summer progresses. We saw dolphins, and sea lions.

Link to more photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/fourmusicians/ZumaBeach?feat=directlink

Tomorrow: Fishing! 6-8th grade boys will be visiting "Troutdale" to fish. All tackle and admission is paid by the camp. Boys will need to pay for any fish which are caught. Fish cost between $7 - $11 depending on size. When we return to camp, we will swim at our Faith Baptist pool.:-) See you tomorrow!