CYJ Part I (The Part with Spence)

For the fourth summer, Team Cohen registered camper(s) at Camp Young Judaea Texas, and the littlest Cohen made his debut! This post is dedicated to the first 10 days of Session 2 when I had 2 campers present. We are incredibly proud of Spencer's confidence, independence, and maturity being away from home for 10 days (for the first time)! And from the looks of it, Ethan was living his best life. We were grateful for the glimpses camp provided with the daily pictures and the letters that they boys sent home to supplement some of the details.

Before Opening Day, we received a picture memory predicting this fateful time from July 2017.


Upon arriving, we were quickly greeted by excited fans- some who knew us and some who didn't.



We left before the bright smiles had a chance to turn upside down. And from there, this is all we saw:

Bunk 8L, Tsofim Boys, Session 2, 2024

Lest you worry that Ethan's grown and matured and morphed into someone else's well-groomed child:


Ethan seemed to be doing fine in the social department:


Picture evidence suggested a certain affinity with a couple of counselors.


And then there was this wet afternoon that reminded us that camp tuition is worth every penny.



Any glimpses of my children smiling certainly warmed my heart, and when I received the magic of my babies together, even better!


My "babies" includes my extended babies as well!


8 months prior, we lacked confidence in Spencer's potential to live happily at camp for a week and a half. His experience proved us all wrong.

a counselor favorite from the start

Bunk 1L, Nitzanim Boys, Session 2, 2024

Little Dude got the "Jokester Award."

After TEN days, it was time for this Nitzi to go home. The FIRST thing he said to me after running and jumping into my arms was to tell me that he wanted to return for the full session next summer!

grateful that Mira snuck away from her CIT duties to pay a visit

Spencer had no interest in any final pictures or "Goodbyes" with any male counselors. Jackie and Hailey on the other hand...

CYJ 2024 had come to a close for Spencer. And we'll see Ethan in a couple more weeks. Until then, we look forward to more shared smiles from Wimberley.