Christmas at Coppercreek

Hello to all of our friends and family,

We are all feeling to blessed and grateful to have celebrated Christmas here at Coppercreek. Lornie, Sutter, Jared and Ilana came down to our house at 6:30 yesterday morning to see the surprises Santa left for Makenna and Ryleigh. We opened presents and enjoyed each other's company all day. Ryleigh received a little motorcycle from Santa which everyone but Kenna and I took a ride on! It was a glorious white Christmas, which is fun from inside, but makes feeding the horses a little interesting as you can see from the photos!

We wish you all health and hapiness and hope your day was as fun as ours.

Merry Christmas from all of us!

October Tracks

Here is the October Newsletter!
Enjoy....

Dear Coppercreek Families,
I can’t believe it is already the middle of October. Where has this fall gone? We have had a very hectic couple of months with getting the kids back into the school routine, Lornie coaching the Varsity Volleyball team, and the normal clean up and break down to put camp to bed for the winter. Things are starting to slow down as the leaves change color and the days get shorter. We all are looking forward to the relative quiet (maybe!) of winter.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Thank you to all of the camp families who took advantage of the first tier of our Fall Enrollment Discount! We had a great response and are already looking forward to next summer’s adventures with your campers!!

PROGRAMS NEAR CAPACITY
Due to the incredible response to our early enrollment discount, we have several programs near capacity. They are:
3rd Session Junior TREK
2nd Session CIT
3rd Session CIT (ONLY 2 SPOTS AVAILABLE!!)
4th Session CIT
If your camper is interested in one of the above programs, and you haven’t enrolled yet, please give us a call. We will update you on our current availability and walk you through your options.
10% FALL ENROLLMENT DISCOUNT DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 15TH!
Don’t forget, there is still time for substantial savings on next summer’s camp experience! We are offering a second tier of our Fall Enrollment Savings. If you enroll your camper before November 15th and pay the tuition in full, you can take 10% off of next summer’s prices! For a 2-week session, regular tuition is $2425. 10% off would be $2182.50. For a 4-week session, regular tuition would be $4425, and 10% off would be $3982.50! We will also offer the 5% sibling discount for campers enrolled in Traditional Camp on top of these great rates. Please contact us if you have any questions.

NEW MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN OPTION
With our new on line system, we are able to offer a monthly payment plan for next summer. You can spread your payments out over the next 6 months with no interest charges. Simply go on line, fill out your camper’s application, and select the monthly payment plan option. You can choose whether we charge your credit card on the 1st or 15th of each month. It is totally up to you. We will charge equal amounts each month November to May!

HOME VISITS!
We have found that you, our returning families, are our very best advertisement. If you are interested in hosting a Home Visit, please let us know. We will be happy to travel to you, present our slideshow, and speak to interested families about Coppercreek Camp! We will also offer a gift from the camp store for each camper who enrolls. Give us a call to get on our calendar.

PHOTOS, PHOTOS, PHOTOS!
Did you know you use the same user name and password to access the on line photos as to sign up your camper for camp? We still have a few more photos to post, but there are plenty to peruse! If you no longer have your user name and password, please e-mail Becky (becky@coppercreek.com).

KEEPING IN TOUCH!
Our goal for this winter is to have most of our communication be electronic, mainly to save trees and some postage J. Your camper can sign up for e-mail information, too. Please log in to Camp Minder and give us their e-mail address. They will then be on our official list to get all the latest news from camp. Also, don’t forget to check our blog for news, events and general ramblings about camp. We plan to post updates at least once a week this winter. The address is Coppercreek.blogspot.com! Last, but certainly not least, Craig, Lornie and Becky are all on Facebook and we will post updates and photos there as well!

CAMPER AND PARENT SURVEYS
Our camper and parent surveys have gone electronic! Please visit the below links and tell us about your experience this summer. Our goal is to continue to improve our campers’ experience at Coppercreek and we need your feedback!
Parent Surveyhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=vflN_2b6Q6jh2zdsoDnALxtg_3d_3d

Camper Surveyhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ePYA3qOUpVlYrw4Y4PbXPA_3d_3d

ENROLLED SO FAR..
We always receive many questions at this time of year about who is enrolled for next summer, so here is the list!

Casey Astiz Aly Bailey Charles Bamford Holden Bamford James Bamford Lauren Barnes Brooke Bates Lindsey Bath Marek Bochnik Savannah Bochnik Teddy Bochnik Melissa Bond Travis Breier Jonathan Briggs Trevor Briggs Lily Cabot Jenny Cadish Matt Cadish Stephanie Carriere Hannah Carroll David Chechelnitsky Olivia Chodos Briana Dashefsky Kylee Dashefsky Yannick de Louraille Ella Dobson Emily Dobson Megan Elcombe David Gass Timothy Gass Coupe Goodman Emma Goodman Tim Gorelov Elizabeth Goulder Todd Grimm Mickenzie Grubb Fiona Heal Eve Hill Jake Hirsohn Brittany King Raphael Lenain Kirsten Lindelsee Tyler Lob Cole Lory Zachary Lusby Molly Madden Ilana Magill Isabel McGoldrick Sophia McGoldrick Madi McKinstry Jaclyn Merica Ally Milligan Ford Milligan Maddie Milligan Casey Neill Nathaniel Novak James O'Shaughnessy Adam Osterdock effrey Persons Aaron Reeves Calena Reeves Zach Rudolph Megan Walsh Lauren Wong Julia Wreden Tim Yednock
JCS
Monika Henderson Taylor Astiz Taehli Solomon Noelle Burger

We hope this letter finds you happy, healthy and enjoying this beautiful autumn.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Lornie, Sutter, Craig, Becky, Ryleigh, and all of us here at Coppercreek!

Rain and other Autumn fun!

Wow! I can't believe it has been a month since we posted. Where does the time go? We have been busy around camp getting everything put to bed and hosting groups. September is a busy month for us. We hosted our local Junior High School for a 2 day retreat. The kids focused on team building and learning effective study and organization skills as they approach their high school years. We followed the Junior High with a group of Hang Gliders who spend the weekend flying and talking about flying. Next comes Pixie and Hannah Baber's group of friends who camp with their Leonbergers (a large breed dog), then the Patriot's Day Ride. The Patriot's Day Ride is a 2 day event. 25 and 50 mile rides are offered each day. The horses and riders start here at camp and follow trails that take them all over the surrounding mountains and countryside. We had a fantastic turn out this year, 100 riders each day. These photos are of the meadow and lower cabin area full of campers and trailers!

It was another busy fall. Now, we are on to putting camp to sleep for the winter. The rain storm this weekend was wonderful. It made everything smell fresh and clean and knocked down the dust. Craig got the skate ramp covered and most of the other weather sensitive stuff put away. Now it's on to turning off water, and covering things with plastic. I know you are all jealous.

Next post, I will update on Greenville High Volleyball and the rest of the fun things we do in the fall.

Becky

Coppercreek Camp 2008 Survey

Hello Campers!
With the arrival of Fall, it is time to get our blog going again! I am so sorry for the long hiatus. I don't know where all of my extra time went this summer.... (we'll just have to blame it on Makenna's arrival :))!

I hope you are all enjoying the end of summer and beginning of the school year. It is still very hot here at camp, but our days are getting shorter, so we know fall is just around the corner.

The planning has already begun for next summer and we would love to hear from you about this summer! Please click on the links below to share your thoughts with us.

Thank you in advance.
Becky

Parent Survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=vflN_2b6Q6jh2zdsoDnALxtg_3d_3d

Camper Survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ePYA3qOUpVlYrw4Y4PbXPA_3d_3d

Rainy Weekend

Well, it was a typical Memorial Day weekend (cold and rainy). It seems like every other year we have bad weather for the holiday. We were all happy to see the rain even though it meant we weren't going to be enjoying the outdoors. Camp is already drying out and we worry about fire danger, so seeing puddles around camp was really nice! We had a group in this weekend to participate in the Indian Valley Century Ride. It is a 100 mile bike ride from Greenville High School up to Gennesee and Antelope Lake and then back around the Valley. Most of our group actually completed the ride in spite of the rain showers and they were so complimentary of our area and facilities. It is always a pleasure to have them stay with us and enjoy what our little town has to offer!

Today, we are remembering the men and women of our Armed Services, and the sacrifices they have made for our freedoms. We are grateful today for the life we lead and the choices we have.

We hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day!
Only 2 more weeks until the staff arrive to start training. Summer is truly right around the corner!

Becky

Welcome Coppercreek's Newest Camper

It is with great joy we announce the arrival of Makenna Rae Hogland! She arrived on her due date @ 4:35 am. She weighed 8 pounds, 6 oz and is 20.5 inches long. So far, she is a great baby! Sleeping and eating are her favorite activities. We are all completely in love and feel so blessed to have such a happy healthy addition to our family!

With love,

The Hogland Family

Craig, Becky, Ryleigh and Makenna

Prepping Camp for the Endurance Ride

It has already been a busy week around camp! Craig and Lornie spent the morning cruising the property and making lists for this weekend's Endurance Ride. It is always a big push to get camp ready this early, but it makes for much less work in June. I am here in Truckee...still waiting on this baby! Nothing yet, but tomorrow is the official due date, so maybe this little bugger will be on time. Kalli, our former Equestrian Center Director, is checking out a new horse for our lesson program today, and we are also looking at a new Vaulting horse. We will keep you posted on the Equestrian Center developments as the month proceeds.
We hope you are enjoying the lovely weather.
Becky

5 days to go!

Well, only 5 days until the due date... I am still hoping this baby will come early, but nothing yet! Here is an update of what is happening at camp right now! Craig has been driving the tractor around for the last couple of days building a new road out in the Ranch meadow. We will be hosting a 100 mile horseback endurance ride on May 17 and 18, so Craig is trying to get things gorgeous and ready, hopefully before the baby comes. Lauren has been splitting her time between the camp office and the barn. She has been finishing the staff hiring and getting the horses ready for the summer. Tami is getting the family packets stuffed into envelopes and out to our enrolled campers for this summer. The family packet includes not only the Parent's Guide, but also all of the important forms you will need. I am answering the camp phones, my e-mail and waiting...waiting....waiting....for this new bundle of joy to arrive.

Take care, and have a great day!

Becky

The Waiting Game

Hello Coppercreek Friends and Families,
Spring has sprung at Coppercreek, and we are all starting to get excited about summer. Only 5 1/2 weeks until the first camper's arrive. Along with all of the work to get camp up and going for the summer, we are also waiting for our newest arrival. Our (Craig & Becky's) second child is due to arrive on May 13th, but as we all know, nobody tells the baby the date it is supposed to come. There is nothing quite like waiting for a baby to come! Everyone at camp is so anxious to meet this new little person, but no one is as anxious as me!!!! So, I am playing the waiting game, answering the camp phones and hoping that today will be the day.... :)!
For those campers who have already enrolled for this summer, the Parent's Guide and all of the forms are going in the mail this week, so watch your mail box.
I will post again soon. Hopefully with photos of our newest camper!!
Becky

One of the things I do in the winter other than staring at the snow melting is coach volleyball. I am currently coaching a U14's club team as well as our junior high volleyball team at the high school. Many of the girls are the same, just in a different configuration. Well, my u14's team had their first club tournament last weekend and what a blast we had. After the girls stared fear in the face, letting many balls drop left or right and looking at me in sheer terror with expressions of; "Where do I go?" "Am I here?" "Am I an outside hitter?" "Isn't Sammy supposed to be on my left?"; we started to play and ended up the day with 5 wins and 4 losses to take 5th place. I was very proud of the girls and had a good chuckle knowing at the next practice, I will have 10 girls paying VERY close attention to their offensive positions! It is amazing how much you think you know until you have to take the test. Lauren

Christy's winter vacation

Christy was smart this winter and headed down the hill with Mel to live at Kalli's in Elk Grove. She has the fun job of teaching Kalli's students how to ride. Here she is with Bailey during a lesson.

The new Tahoe!

WOW! Enough is enough! We haven't had snow like this in years. Craig spent the entire day plowing, plowing and plowing again. My poor little Chihuahua, Lola, and Pomeranian, Jasmin, have to burrow out the back door whenever they want to go out. I keep an eye on them because I am afraid they will disappear in a snow bank and never return. The deer all wait on the outskirts of the Equestrian Center until we are done feeding and then graze on the hay we drop. They are very happy there are 40 horses that need feeding everyday. We actually have a young Bobcat living in the rafters of the goat pen hoping to catch an errant pigeon. Well, the kids are happy though because our schools are closed tomorrow for a "snow day". The power of the computer generation. I think our principal told one student and by text messaging, MySpace and Iming, the entire student body heard the word in about 15 minutes. At least there are 230 happy students in our town...and a herd of deer. Ahh, life in the mountains! (The photo on the left is our middle arena. You can just make out the fence line on the right. Craig has been plowing it in the hopes I might be able to ride before June!)

Feeding in the snow!

Hi Everyone,

Sutter and I had so much fun last night feeding in the snow. We haven't seen this much snow in a couple of years but it didn't slow us down too much. We only got stuck once, had to retry the hill coming up to the mini's three times (the key is speed!)and definitely were distracted by the mandatory snowball fights. Here is what the Equestrian Center looks like during chores in the winter! All the horses are managing the snow very well but are itching to get out of their paddocks and run a bit. That is on the schedule for today. We will take a camera to capture the ponies out in the Ranch pasture.

Lornie

Winter Wonderland

Lornie and I are sitting in the office today watching it snow and snow and snow and snow. We have gotten between 6 and 7 inches already this morning and it is showing no signs of letting up. Craig decided to take the day off and head down to Truckee to catch a day at Northstar. He sounded very happy a few minutes ago when I talked to him. After spending the last few days trying to clean up all of the snow around camp, I think he is excited to be skiing instead of shoveling. Camp fared very well in the early stages of the storm. We had lots of rain and snow, but we never even lost power (knock on wood, of course!)! Lauren is pretty grouchy about the whole business though as lots of rain and snow means no riding today and possibly for several days to come. We are thinking about shipping her and Valor to Southern California until April!
We hope you all came through this series of storms safely! We will post some photos of our winter wonderland once we see the sun again!