Its been a while……

Hey to all my followers,

 

As my cousin pointed out to me, I have not posted here in a long time, so here I am, about to update you all on my life :). I guess instead of going month by month, I will do categories and update like that. So here goes:

School

I went back to school this past September for Recreation and Leisure services. I wanted to go for Educational Assistant, however, money wouldn’t allow me. I am liking the program so far. I have made a few friends, the homework load isn’t too heavy and the courses are somewhat interesting. This semester, I am doing a placement two days a week at a Boys and Girls club. I mostly work with the 8, 9 and 10 year olds, which is the area I like. Umm what else. Oh yeah, on Monday, we have an interview night for next year’s placement. We signed up for 7 interviews and after we have them, we pick our top interviews and hope that one of them chooses you as well. Reading week is in a week as well :).

Family

There have been a few changes in this category over the past few months. My sister has moved to British Columbia with her fiance. They will be back in May for a few weeks to have their wedding.

My brother’s Girlfriend just had a baby, so that makes me an Uncle! Her name is Ryleigh and was born 5 weeks early, but seems to be doing well. Here is a picture of her.

And another picture of her that is a bit closer

Friends

On New Year’s eve, I got to take the bus to New York city and meet a friend and his brother!!!! I have known my friend Justin since 2005 online and we have tried to meet in the past. Finally things worked out. Along with meeting and hanging out with them, I had the amazing opportunity to explore the city. From Times square, to Central park, Brooklyn Bridge to Empire State building, we got to see so much!! We also spent a day in New Jersey visiting their parents. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

My friend Justin with a welcome sign for me

Times square

Me on the Brooklyn Bridge

Coney Island Boardwalk

Justin, Me and Marlon

So that’s my life in a nutshell. Everything seems to be going well at the moment. Have a great day all :)

 

Travis

The results of Summer 2010

Hey all:

Well summer 2010 is quickly coming to an end. Here are some of the highlights:

Camp was pretty good this year! During the first month, I was with 12 boys, ages 8-10. I got to go to Camp Wahanowin again for a week, which was great besides spending 2 days in the health centre. I had a pretty good group of kids and the month flew by. In the second month, I worked with a 10 year old boy who had Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Besides a few meltdowns over the month, this boy was a pretty happy go lucky kid, always looking forward to the new day at camp.

I got to hangout with some friends over the summer. I got to see a few movies, went out for dinner with a few friends, and just hangout.

I got to see a lot of family this summer, which was awesome!! I get to visit my Grandma once a week, as she lives in Ajax as well. At the end of July, we threw a party for my Grampie’s 70th birthday. I got to see a lot of cousins ( some for the first time), saw my Auntie Barb, and was even surprised to see my Auntie Ruth and Uncle Lowell. My Grampie seemed to have a good time which was good.

Right now, I am in Nova Scotia. I arrived on the 29th of August and am here until the 10th of September. I am staying with my cousins Lynda, Rick, Kyle and Nik. It has been pretty relaxing. I have done some swimming, biking, visiting some of their family and just hanging out. My parents arrive on Sunday night and I am hoping to see some other relatives next week.

All in all, my summer  was pretty good. It went by too quickly as it always does. Here are some pictures of the summer.

Me and my Auntie Barb

Me and my Cousin Tyler

Me and my Mommy

Me and my Grampie

Me and my Auntie Ruth

Me with cousins Rick, Kyle and Nik.

Well that’s all for now. Take care

Summer 2010

Its been a while since I last posted on here so I thought I would do a small post. This is the part of the year that I favour the most. This is the time when the days are a lot longer and the weather is nice and warm.

I am looking forward to this summer. I am working at camp again for July and August. We are also throwing a surprise birthday party for my Grampie at the end of July. I am really looking forward to that as I will get to see a lot of family.

At the end of August, I am taking the train down to Nova Scotia to stay with my cousins for 2 weeks. My parents will be coming down for the second week. I will get to see my relatives and will also go camping one of the weekends. On the way home, we are stopping at Magnetic Hill which is where you put your car in neutral and the hill pulls you up.

I will also get to hangout with my friends this summer and see my Grandma and many other things. Hopefully it won't rain too much this summer. Have a great night everyone.

Working at a Camp: A 6 part series

As mentioned in my profile, I really enjoy working with kids. I have my sister to thank for recommending a day camp in Markham, ON. I really enjoyed my first year working there, so I returned for 3 more summers and am going for a 5th this summer. I also decided to work at an overnight camp the past two springs. During the next few entries, I am going to reflect on the springs and summer with the staff and campers. Here goes:

2006-Green Acres Day Camp

As a new staff member, I was somewhat nervous on the first day of training and didn’t know what to expect. My nervousness disappeared within the first 30 minutes and by the end of the day had already made a few friends. The training provided a great mix of social games and getting the “need to know” info. Below is a picture of our unit learning the senior cheer.

At the end of training, we had a meet the parents night followed by an “amazing race” staff rec. I met a few of the parents and campers which was great. The staff rec was awesome! Like the show, we traveled around (not the world though lol) a few cities and had certain tasks we had to complete. Some of these tasks included piggybacking someone around a large track, a few people assembling a bike and finding specific items or signs.

The Summer with the campers was great. I had a good mixture of good and “not so good” campers. That being said, despite the defiance, running around and frustration some of the campers gave for me and my co-counsellor, every one of the campers had good days and great qualities. We had one camper whose Grandfather was one of the owners of the camp. So all summer, he would do things he wanted to and the ones he didn’t want to, would tell us that he wouldn’t have to because of that reason. We also had campers who liked to run to the park randomly, which I found out later it was simply because they liked me chasing after them. Along with all the daily activities, we had 2 overnights, theme days and spirit rallies. Here are a few pictures of the campers.

This is at the spirit assembly. They have a challenge each week with a unit head representing a snack and at the end of the summer, the snack that wins is the snickle snackle(end of the day snack) we get the last day. Ice cream won but what a scary experience. Turns out whoever ordered it didn’t see the label “may contain peanuts” so everyone has the ice cream and starts eating. Well, we get radioed with this news and while we are told to keep the kids calm, I run back to my campers. One of the boys I had has a life threatening peanut allergy and was already crying as he had heard and was scared. I reassured him that nothing was going to happen and that if something were to happen, he would be in very safe hands.

I made some great friends this summer. The camp provided some cool Staff Recs and a few of us got together on a weekend. Some of the staff Recs included pool, roller skating, and supper at kelseys. The big Staff Rec of the Summer was the boat cruise. On a friday night in August, we got to cruise around the Toronto Harbourfront for 5 hours. We got supper on the boat and then just chilling and dancing. The next few pictures are some of the staff recs.

This is the billiards staff rec. From left to right, Mike, my Co-counsellor Michael, me and Trevor.

Taken at the front of the boat on the boat cruise. Me, Michael, Colleen and Mitch

Parents’ night, singing the camp song “Camp GA: where we belong”

Overall, it was an amazing summer full of laughs, great experiences and lasting memories. I went back for half of week 9 to do a theatre camp. The first part of the day, the campers would practice for a musical they would perform on Friday and in the afternoon, me and another counsellor would keep them entertained. Hope you enjoyed my reflection. Next time : March Break and Summer 2007

Happy Holidays

Happy New Year!!!! I hope everyone had an excellent Christmas and enjoyed their New Year’s Eve.

My Christmas was pretty good. Christmas eve, I met up with a friend for lunch at Jack Astors. Then I came home and got ready for church. The service was very nice. I go with my neighbour and her family every year, but this year it was only me and her, as her children were all heading home or at another church. After the service, I went back to my neighbour’s house to hangout and have fun. My parents and sister joined as well.

Christmas morning, we got up at 7am and opened presents. Everyone was quite pleased with what they received. I received some clothes, money, chocolate, necessities and more. I also received the remainder of the Grey’s Anatomy Dvds. We had breakfast and then relaxed for a bit before heading to my Grampie and Lily’s house for dinner. We got to Barrie around 1pm and my cousin was there as well. We had a great dinner of Turkey, Roast, Ham, Potatoes, Corn, Carrots, Stuffing, buns and a variety of desserts. We left around 6pm, dropped my sister at her place and then came home.

I got the opportunity to go boxing day shopping for the first time. There were some great deals and then some things I got at regular price, but I was glad I bought them. I got a pair of jeans, 2 shirts, slippers, a pillow, toothbrush and a flip calendar.

New year’s eve was alright. I went to a friend’s house for a bit and then came back home and watched times square on TV.  Tomorrow, we are having Turkey again.

I can’t believe the holidays are almost over. They seem to go by so fast.

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year! Hope 2010 is full of enjoyment, laughter and exciting things :)

Travis

Christmas just isn’t the same without….

Everyone has certain symbols, ideas and traditions that make Christmas seem like Christmas. Without those certain things, it just wouldn’t feel the same. For me, one of these things are the decorations people put up. At the moment, we have no snow on the ground, with a possibility of snow and rain on Christmas morning. As weird as that is, imagine no snow and no decorations……it just wouldn’t feel like the Christmas season.

At the start of the month, I was in Toronto and got to see the mall all decorated. I’m sure in previous years that I have been down there, it was more decorated, but nonetheless, they are still amazing.

I then went outside, only to find more decorations at Yonge-Dundas square.

Also outside over on queen street, there was a set of about 6 window displays that told a Christmas story, complete with a display. Outside of old city hall, there was a nativity scene display. They also had decorated signs along yonge street and lights all over the place.

The other night, me and my Mom went out to Pickering. My mom saw an amazing display of lights on the news and wanted to check it out. I’m glad I went with her because these lights were amazing. Apparently it raises their bill about 700$, but still its amazing. Here are some pictures of the house and a few houses beside it as well.

 

What are some of the things that make Christmas what it is for you?? Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

Travis

Technorati Tags: Christmas,Decorations

Christmas memories

Well, after seeing my cousin start her own blog and hearing great things, I have decided to join the world of blogging. I hope my writings will be of interest to all and provide a chance of reliving memories, sharing experiences and much more.

A few days ago, I was at a study I regularly attend. At this particular study, we were asked to share our memories or traditions of Christmas. For me, I always enjoyed Christmas eve the most. When I was younger, me and my brother would get to open 2 presents. One would usually contain a toy and the other a type of clothing. We usually convinced my mom to allow us to open one gift in the morning and one when my dad arrived home from work. In the evening, we would attend the christmas eve service at church and afterwards go for a little drive around town, looking at all the different decorations and lights. We would then go to our neighbour's house for games, food and an all around good time. One other memory that sticks out for me is Christmas morning. In the wee hours of the morning, I always woke up hours before I was supposed to, knock on my brother's door and we would go sneak a peek at what Santa brought us.

At 21, Christmas is still a holiday I love. As soon as that first christmas song comes on the radio, the excitement slowly starts building up. The parties begin to happen, the decorations go up all around the town and the christmas tree goes up. A time to celebrate the birth of Christ, to spend that valuable time with friends and family, the joy on someone's face when they receive a gift from you and of course the turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

What are some of your Christmas traditions or memories??? Was there a certain gift you received as a child you were really thankful for?? When Christmas arrives, remember to not only enjoy the gifts you receive, but enjoy that special time you get to to spend with your family, remember the reason of the season and keep those traditions going!

Seasons Greetings,

Travis