Dutch Palace Happenings - Online Edition

Wythe/Bland Co. July 21-24

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:29:00 +0000

"The sports class is playing basketball. It looks like they're having fun." --Lane

"This is Meredith shooting the target in archery class." --Courtney

"They are making dream catchers." --Luke

"These are my friends Dillon and William." --Nathan

"Rappelling and zipline is really fun. Watch out because the harness is really tight. Laura Biner is cool." --Josh

"Daron is grilling up something." --Hunter

"This talented little camper is having tons of fun with her friends at swimming class!" --Tia

"You're choking me!" -- 4-H Camper

Lee & Dickenson Co. July 14-18

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:49:00 +0000

"Look at all the beautiful beads!" --Taylor

"Brandon and Hannah are looking at the camera. They didn't pay attention until someone said to look at the camera. What a way for Brandon to be enthusiastic." --Hannah

"I took this picture and I think it was cool to get so close to a horse like that." --Michael

"This is a person with a gun." --Logan

"It looks like they're having a lot of fun swinging from that rope. I wonder if it is hard hanging on." -Alex

"This is Blizzard." --Jacob

Lee & Dickenson Co. July 14-18

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:47:00 +0000

"Here are some people taking arrows out of the target." --Alexis

"I like this picture because it looks like my best friend is getting ready to shoot his bow." --Trevor

"Tyler Nelson aiming at water balloons." --Kelly

"I like swimming and I definitely come to the pool a lot and my friend Hope does too and some more of my friends but there is my friend hope in the picture." --Gabby

"I like this picture because I love horses a lot. They are very big and most of them let you ride on their back. You can groom them in the Saddle Up Club." --Lilly

"The Saddle Up class is so fun. You get to learn how to groom your horse and learn how to saddle it then ride it. How cool is that?" --Kathleen

"I like this picture because it is cool." --Haleigh

"Some eager campers are eager to rappel." --Elizabeth

"Doodle is so cool. He even posed for this picture." --Holly

Lee & Dickenson Co. July 14-18

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:48:00 +0000

"Danny is a good swimmer, a good dancer, and a good boy." --Brittany

"I like this picture because we got Freakshow to do the challenge. We started to yell her name until she went." --Sarah

"Archery is awesome. It is for hunting and fun. It will give you skills." --Zak

"This is Trevor swinging on a rope in the class Southwest Survivors. He didn't get very far but he tried and had fun." --Cera

"In this picture some of the archery students are practicing their stance and aim before getting an arrow and shooting it. These students did really good for their second day." --Alex

"this is our first class, CNN class.We have a lot of fun taking pictures and watching all the cool classes that we might want to take next year." --Emily

"Kids are always trying to compete at something. Here is Arlis trying to beat the other kids at the challenge course.He didn't win." --Parker

Smyth County July 7-11 2008

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:07:00 +0000

SNAPSHOT'S IDEA OF "PARTYING"!!! Zack H. and Ashley P.
Caleb Looking cute in his piggy tales:) --Ashley C.
During the talent show the first boy in the world does a split!! -- 4-H camper
Have you ever seen a guy do a split until now? Give it up for Richie!! This was awesome!!! 4-H camper
Kyle is thinking....Happy. -- 4-H camper
Andrea and Kayla dressed up for country night. Having a great time at 4-H camp dances. -- Hannah and Megan
My favorite part about 4-H camp is probably the game gau-gau. My other favorite is probably getting to make a lot of new friends. -- Zack H.
My favorite thing about 4-H camp is all the teen leaders and all of the counselors. -- Ashley C.
My favorite part of 4-H camp is meeting in Russell Hall. --Hanna F.
My favorite part of 4-H camp was the dances. --Darren
My favorite thing at camp was gau-gau, 4-square and the classes. -- Ashley P.
My favorite parts of camp were the dances and swimming. Thursday night will probably be the best. --Andrea
My favorite parts of 4-H camp were swimming and the dances. My favorite dance was Tuesday night. (lol Andrea) Swimming was awesome every day because I love to swim!!! --Erin
My favorite part of 4-H camp was the dances. -- Kyle
My favorite part of 4-H camp was the dances and seeing my friends again. I met a lot of new friends from Smyth County and Grayson County. I think the next best part of 4-H camp is getting to spend time with the Mom of 4-H Donna Hamm. Let's her a big "Wow Mom Wow." I think that the best dance that there was camo night because it like poured down the rain and Russell flooded and every body was soaking wet and dancing in the rain!! What I am trying to get passed you is 4-H is great!! And we are also saving "pop tabs" and water bottle/gatorade bottle lids for the Ronald McDonald's House.

Smyth County July 7-11 2008

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:10:00 +0000

Heather comes to 4-H camp to have fun and hopefully to learn some table manners. --Adam
Daisy, Mara, and Beth Ann are petting the 3 week old calf.--Beth Ann
This is a picture of everyone on the first day.--Aspen
This picture was taken on hippie night. We were having a great time. Every night at 4-H camp is a party.--Daisy
Southwest survivors has been so much fun. I really like the rope challenge. It has been my favorite class in the past two years I've been here. -- Taylor
4-H camp has been a blast!! I'm so sad it's over. It's gone by so quickly. One of my favorite things to do here is listen to skits and sing songs on rainy days. I love 4-H camp!!--Beth Ann
4-H camp is really fun. I enjoy just about everything about it. I like all the classes here. And this place is like great! I love 4-H camp I expect to go next year!-- Aspen
I like the mixed up beauty pageant because it is funny. The boys dress up as girls and the girls dress up as boys. It's hilarious. I dressed up as a boy. I had to gel my hair. It was really stiff. 4-H rocks!--Daisy

Smyth County July 7-11 2008

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Some of the camp counselors done a lot of dances mixed. It was awesome. Everyone loved it.--Allie

Laken is such a great singer. She blew everyone away when she started to sing. She is going to go far with her voice.--Keirsten

Caleb is feeding the shy calf. The calf has not been weaned.--Christina

Small animals is awesome this year. They have two calves. One's shy but has warmed up to my sister. -- Christina

This is my first year at camp. It has been awesome. So far its like I never want to go home. This year I've had CNN it was really fun and saddle up we get to ride the horses and tadpoles and fish fry. In that class you get to swim and I love swimming here and playing all the games. -- Allie

This year camp has been great. I got to see old friends adn make a lot of new friends. My favorite class this year is CNN. I love how we went adn took all the photos for the slideshow for the last day of camp. I know next year is going to be even better. I can't wait till next year!!-- Keirsten R.

Grayson County camp video

ciden@vt.edu — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:11:00 +0000

Grayson Co. 23-27

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:59:00 +0000

"It looks like they are swinging on a tire and teaching a class." --Mikayla

"This is where we do Challenge in the Woods. This is me and my class trying to get through the tire swings." --Smith

"This is Emi teaching Chloe how to shoot a bow and arrow." --Cora

"Tre was showing us the fish that he had caught in fishing class." --Katie

Grayson Co. 23-27

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:48:00 +0000

"Alisha is zipping down the zipline getting ready to hit the block." --Kayla

"Krystal and Larissa were eating candy apples in their cooking class." --Lauren

"Ethan was helping Elisha through the woods. He was pulling her back. HE was looking at the camera, but Alisha wasn't paying attention." --Samantha

This is Will. He is doing Challenge in the Woods. In this part of the course they are trying to get from one tree to the other using tires." --Micah

"This is my cool new buddy John in Archery." --Heather

"This is a picture we took on the day we washed the horses in Beginning Horsemanship." --Caitlyn

"This is a picture of Hammerhead and Snapshot at the Cement Pond." --Roy

Grayson Co. 23-27

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:39:00 +0000

"Snapshot is petting a dapple gray/white horse. The photographer stepped in for a really good picture. It looks like it might have been taken in the shade. The horse looks quiet and relaxed and so does Snapshot." --Krystal

"In this picture, they are doing Shooting Education." --Jordan

"This is during Kids on the Move. And in this picture is Michael, Laura, and Worth. Michael is in the red hat holding up popcorn, Laura is eating a caramel apple, and Worth is in teh back doing something. You can tell it was hot! It's on the basketball court." --Amber

"In fishing class, you get to fish in a pond and catch some fish. By what I see it looks fun." --Cheyenne

Carroll County 4-H Camp Video

ciden@vt.edu — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:30:00 +0000

Carroll County Camp Podcast

ciden@vt.edu — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:03:00 +0000

Carroll Co June 16-20

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:41:00 +0000

"In cosmetology class, you get to paint nails, do hair and have a lot of fun. Even the guys have fun!" --Emily

"This is cosmetology. When the boys come in, they better watch out. The girls will make you look like a girl. In cosmetology they put makeup on and fix each other's hair." --Jubilee

"The cosmetology girls are doing Rusty's hair. In this class you can paint nails, do makeup and hair. This class can be fun and fancy. Most girls take it and they have fun with it at 4-H Camp." --Cheyenne

"Food Frenzy has some visitors sneaking some snacks." --Colin

Carroll Co June 16-20

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:46:00 +0000

"Caroline and I are in food class. We are laughing, giggling, talking, eating, drinking smoothies, and having an awesome time." --Bailey

"These are people from the Repelling and Zipline class. It's awesome to watch people go down the zipline. This girl has just got done going down. You go down a big hill and the zipline is huge. I would love to go down the zipline." --Tori

"Zipline looks fun. I wish I could do it. When I'm 12 I'm going to do it. I hope the zipline team works together." --Caroline

"This is the Low Ropes Class. You swing across the lava pits and into the islands and try to get on the rope. You are trying to get the damsel in distress." --Allison

"This is the cooking class. It's so much fun." --Kellie

"This is Repelling & Zipline. They are waiting for someone to come down the line." --Mandi

Russell/Scott 4-H Camp Podcast

ciden@vt.edu — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:59:00 +0000

Russell Co/ Scott Co June 9-13

ciden@vt.edu — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:21:00 +0000

"Peeps is black with black hair and has a white stripe on her nose." --Logan

"Her name is Peeps. She is two years old. She is the youngest horse. Her fur is very soft." --Meg

"Her name is Peeps. She is black with a white stripe down the front of her face. She has purple harnesses." --Cassie

"The showers at camp are very clean. They have tan/white tile. They are very big. This is in the Red cabin." --Taylor

"The showers at camp can get very dirty. This shower is very clean. These showers are better than the others. This shower is in the Red cabin." --Amber

"The bathroom showers at camp are very clean and they sparkle. They have tan tiles with silver rails, and seats that you can put your stuff on. And a shower and changing room in it." --Madison

"This is a picture of the CNN class in the woods. We are standing in front of a big tree. We picked this picture because it's important to make new friends." --Eva

"We were out looking at the challenge course, and we took a picture at a big tree and all the people in CNN were in it. And we were trying to find Mumbles, Jude's penguin. I picked this picture because it has all of us in the first CNN class." --McKayla

"This is a picture of us in the woods taking pictures of people for CNN. This is when were were looking for Mumbles. It is so cool. It was like we were taking a nature walk. This is a memory we will keep with us forever." --Bridgette

"The pool is really cold. But when it's hot it feels great. The pool is like the funnest place at camp." --Gabby

"This is one camp activity that every camper enjoys. Swimming! These campers are really having fun with it!" --Ashley

"Just some other campers playing in the pool, horsing around, splashing." --Elizabeth

Russell Co/ Scott Co June 9-13

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:16:00 +0000

"Here JohnLogan bravely pulls a girl to safety during zipline. Before this they put you in a very tight harness. Then you jump off a set of steps and zipline across the ground." --Jeremy

"In the zipline class you get to rappell off of a zipline. It looks fun. You have to go so high in the sky. Then jump off of a building or tower. It seems challenging." --Emily

"In the picture you get harnessed up. You go fast down. It's a lot of fun." --Bailey

"Fabulous Flying looks really fun. You get to do tricks while you fly across the zipline!" --Beth

"Zipline is awesome! You actually get to slide down a string! It's so exciting! But there is people under you to catch you." --Caitlyn

"Zipline is so cool. You get to slide down a very thick string. But people are there to catch you if you fall." --Kiana

"CNN had fun going around the classes taking pictures. This picture is the CNN class on a bridge over the fish pond. CNN is a lot of fun. You don't want to miss it." --Samantha

"CNN is where everybody has fun and comes together as a family. In CNN we go and take pictures. You also meet new friends. You have to come to 4-H Camp! It's awesome." --Kayla

"The picture is of a group of kids at the fishing class. This is an awesome class that is fun for everyone. A class titled CNN took the picture. It is also a fun, exciting class. You don't want to miss it!" --Hannah

"In this picture there were people fishing in the pond. Around that area is a lot of geese. A lot of my friends like this class." --Krista

"In this picture the fishing class was the one who used the pond. It is very pretty and I hope you like it too." --Savannah

"In CNN class we had so much fun. We took a picture of a big pond. That's where people fish. We was taking pictures for a slide show. It was fun." --Bridget

Russell Co/ Scott Co June 9-13

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:00:00 +0000

"The first day I came I got settled in with everybody. Then we talked into a microphone the next day. The next day we took pictures." --Sara

"The first day of CNN we played the name game and got to know each other. We also recorded our passage in the microphone. The second day we walked around and took pictures of almost all the classes. We all are having and have had fun. We all love CNN and Snapshot. We love you Snapshot! Bye!" --Tomitoes

"Here we see two happy fishers waiting for the catch of the day." --Riley

"Hi. This is a picture taken at the fishing class. They were learning how to fish. I think next year I will take this class. It looks really fun and interesting." --Mandi

"This picture was taken in Saddle Up. This class had the most people out of every class. People learn ow to ride, brush, and take care of these horses." --Madison

"This picture is of third period CNN and Saddle Up. Everyone loves Saddle Up because it has horses. CNN is awesome because Snapshot is the teacher and you get to take pictures and other things." --Harley

"Here we see Jasmine in Outdoor Cookery. She was making pineapple upside-down cake. They also made pizza later that day. She is a CIT so she was helping out with the class all day." --Daniel

"This is Jasmine. She was very shocked that she didn't know we took the picture. The picture taken at Outdoor Cookery where they made pizza and upside-down pineapple turnover." --Logan

Washington County Camp Podcast

ciden@vt.edu — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:10:00 +0000

Washington County June 2-6, 2008

ciden@vt.edu — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:27:00 +0000

4-H Camp is awesome because every body has fun because its there favorite camp and you have lots of camp activities. --4-H Camper

The best thing that happened at 4-H Camp is the candle service where you put candles on a plate and put them on the pond. It is so beautiful at night. --4-H Camper

4-H Camp is cool. We have the swim olympics in the pool. You can do the noodle race, diving, and dancing in the water. It was awesome and wet! --Sydney

My favorite thing about 4-H Camp is the dancing. At the dances they play all kinds of music. You can dance with your friends or the counselors. I hae a lot of fun at 4-H Camp! --Noelle

The best thing at 4-H Camp is the classes to me. They have quite a few, like archery, swimming, cnn, lego robotics, and interntional pizzazz. They are so fun! --4-H Camper

My favorite thing about camp is all the fun you can have with your friends! 4-H Campo is awesome. --Tori

I think the dances were awesome. I liked the swim olympics. --4-H Camper

I love the dances. You can go to the store at snack. --4-H Camper

I like everything! --4-H Camper

The dances are awesome! They even have slow dances. Everyone goes crazy. At the end of camp we have a candle lighting ceremony. --Sydney

In beginning horsemanship you get to ride really nice and pretty horses and everything is so cool. --4-H Camper

My favorite part of camp was riding the zipline. It wws scary and really fun at the same time. I love it! --Sarah

4-H rocks. There was a wild animal that came. Its name was the wookalar. It lives in the north pole. --Reed

My favorite part of camp is the candle lighting ceremony. I always cry. I usually cry for a long time because I'm leaving all my new friends and I always have so much fun. --4-H Camper

My favorite thing about camp was the classes. They were fun we got to eat yummy food. --4-H Camper

The candle lighting ceremony is my favorite part of famp. We put candles in the pond and sing songs. It's really fun! --4-H Camper

Hi, I'm Kelsey. My favorite part of camp is dances. You get to dance, meet new friends, and have a good time. You dance with guys you like, and some you don't. But it's still fun! --Kelsey

Hi, I'm Jessica! My favorite thing at camp would be the dances. You get to dress up on the different theme nights. I love Thursday Night Popstar Night. I'll be dressing up as Taylor Swift! I thnk dances rock! --Jessica

4-H Camp is very fun and I don't want it to end. --William

4-H Camp is great. My favorite part is the dances because I danced with the girl I like. --Andy

4-H is awesome! The worst thing I have even had to do here is take a shower. CNN is really fun, you should try it. So is backcountry adventures and model rocketry. Plus, dances are really fun, but if you don't want to do that go watch a movie at Ratliff Hall Cinema. So have a good time at 4-H! P.S. play gau-gau and 4-square! --Austin

4-H Camp has been a fun experience for me and everyone else at the wonderful camp. From dancing all night, to swimming during the day. 4-H Camp is awesome, so come and learn new stuff at 4-H Camp. 4-H Camp goodbye? Head, heart, hands, health! --Audriana

4-H Camp has been fun. I think everyone is having a great time. There is a lot of activities in 4-H Camp. --Kierston

4-H Camp has been really fun. All of those who haven't gone I think they should go. --Lydia

4-H Camp is really exciting and fun! If you ever think about going, you've made a great choice. It has plenty of classes you can take, and there's a lot of activities and sports you can participate in. --Annika

4-H Camp is really exciting and I've made a lot of new friends. The activities are fun and so are the dances. I'm going to miss 4-H Camp. --Rachel

I had a really good time at 4-H Camp this year! The dances are pretty cool. I love hanging out with my friends. I really like my counselors too! 4-H Camp is awesome! --Abigail

4-H Camp is really fun. The dances are fun and in Ratliff Hall. They have movies and games. --4-H Camper

Camp Leadership Development Weekend

ciden@vt.edu — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:05:00 +0000

On March 14 & 15, over 100 teen and adult volunteers from Southwest Virginia came to the 4-H Center for an intensive camp training experience. On Friday night, there were games and pizza, and a long line to play Guitar Hero!

On Saturday, the real work began. The volunteers attended four hour-long sessions, including "Camp Safety" presented by Daniel Collins, "Positive Role Modeling" presented by Sam Fisher and Heather Littrell, "Diversity at Camp" presented by Shelia Belcher, and "Experiential Education Methods" presented by Nick Fuhrman from the state 4-H office. In addition to these sessions, there were round-table discussions, a head-to-head team Jeopardy battle, and a series of quick round-robin activities.

A good time was had by all, and more importantly, these volunteers learned a lot about what it takes to volunteer at camp. Special thanks to them for all their hard work! Check out the pictures below of the weekend's activities.

Dulcimer Discoveries

ciden@vt.edu — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:30:00 +0000

There is an exciting opportunity for adults coming up at the 4-H Center. On April 14-18, we will once again host the "Dulcimer Discoveries" program. This is a great chance for adults to learn to play the dulcimer, either beginner or intermediate players are welcome.

Instruction will be offered on both the hammered and lap dulcimers, but you'll need to bring your own instrument. If you want to register, download the registration form here, or call us for more info. Hurry, space is limited!

February 16 Southwest District BB Shoot Results

ciden@vt.edu — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:31:00 +0000

On Saturday, Feb. 16 the 4-H Center hosted the Annual District BB Shoot. A total of 30 shooters participated in this competition (16 Jrs. and 14 Srs.) In the Junior division, teams from Lee County, Patrick County, and Floyd County shot 10 minute rounds in prone, sitting, kneeling, and standing. Here are the top three individuals and team winners:

Individuals:

1st Place Isaiah Puckett, Patrick County
2nd Place Jason Pendleton, Patrick County
3rd Place David Parsons, Patrick County
Team:
1st Place Patrick County
2nd Place Floyd County
3rd Place Lee County

Attending their first shooting competition, both Lee and Floyd counties had exceptional shooters. With a little more time and experience these young shooters are going to raise the bar on this competition.

On the Senior level the following counties competed: Bland, Patrick, Lee, and Tazewell. Seniors shot 10 minute rounds in prone, sitting and standing. Here are the top individual shooters:

1st Place Jessica Ingle, Lee County
2nd Place Jonathan Gillespie, Tazewell County
3rd Place Mandy Pendleton, Patrick County

(There were no teams in the Senior Division)

Here are a few pictures from the shoot, compliments of Melissa Harber in Lee County.

Austin Eldridge, Lee County, Bronze medal, Junior level, Could his smile have been any bigger if it had been a gold medal? I don't think so!

Amanda Harber, Lee County, Gold Medal, Junior level, Happy, happy, happy!

Jessica Ingle, Lee County, 1st Place Gold medal, Senior Division WOW! First time out and she brought home first place! Way to go Jessica!

A New Way To Support Us

ciden@vt.edu — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:38:00 +0000

You may have noticed a new item on the sidebar of the blog...a link to iGive. This is an exciting new way to support the 4-H Center. iGive partners with many popular retailers that many of you probably already use. When you sign up with iGive, every time you shop online you have the opportunity for a portion of your purchase to be donated to the 4-H Center.

To sign up, just follow this link, or click the image on the sidebar.