girls camp

i love girls camp. i love the smell of campfires burning...roasting marshmellows...telling stories...hanging out. i love it all. thursday i was able to help out our young women leaders by staying at camp with 2 of the girls from our ward. as soon as i got there heather called out from the lodge, where they were eating breakfast. i took one look around and thought...i am at camp. it's been a VERY long time since i was there. anyway...i got really excited as heather and carrie showed me what was happening for the rest of the day...where i would be sleeping...and where our fire pit was. they gave me the rundown on the girls and any special needs and they were out of there. a friend i play basketball with, michelle christianson, was the camp director. i love her. i also saw natalie gordon from the 4th ward. our first foxboro ward split from theirs and she was the bishop's wife. now camp director for their ward. i love her too. anyway...i was a little lonely after we cleaned the toilets and did our service project...the girls were off practising their skits so i decided to sit and read the book heather left for me. thank you! i was a little bored. then jen baron came to keep me company. thank you! we had fun just hanging out. i really had no responsibilities other than to make sure our girls were safe.

jen and i watched their skits...some of which were quite funny. the theme for girls camp was 'you are a princess, daughter of a king'. so all the skits dealt with cinderella, sleeping beauty, and even fiona from shrek. loved them. jen and i didn't realize how hot it would be and sat in the middle of the ampitheatre and i got burned on my neck. we were sweating like crazy and when i stood up after the festivities were over...i saw my butt print on the concrete where i had been sitting. nice.

then it was time for snack...and ward time. b couldn't come because he was watching our kids and he was really swamped at work. so his first counselor, tenari tauvao and his wife came up to give a lesson...it was kind of hard to give a lesson to 2 girls who weren't there...they had wondered off somewhere...but nice to sit and enjoy their company.

we helped deanne from the eagleridge ward cook a delicious dutch oven meal and dessert. i love her so much. she is the best. and then i gave the spiritual thought that heather had prepared. i read 'daughter of a king'. it was such a wonderful book and any of you who have daughters really need to buy this book. i think heather got it a seagull book or deseret book. i cried both times i read it to f before camp. she also prepared a mirror with a quote that said 'you are precious in the sight of god'. it doesn't matter what we look like on the outside...that makes us a princess...it's how we live and treat others that's important. if we seek for the 'crystal palace' and act like the princesses we know we are then we will see and live with the 'king' again. i just loved this thought, thank you, heather. you are truly inspired.

dinner was yummy and after we finished it was time for a slide show of camp and the week before...way cute... and jen baron went home and jen thatcher arrived. she is so good. we watched the slide show as i got jen all caught up and then it was time for testimony meeting. i love testimony meeting. we were a little disappointed with the lack of 'testimonies' born though. pretty much all the girls got up and said how thankful they were to be here and how much they love their friends...but there was a lot of laughing, giggling, pointing people out in the audience...the spirit was there and then gone. luckily some of the older girls got up at the end and brought the spirit back. jen and i discussed how as mothers we need to teach our children what a testimony is and how to bear it. i don't think young women get those lessons. it was a little disappointing.

we headed back to camp and lit a fire and roasted...chocolate bars. yummy! we sat around enjoying eachother's company and the warmth of the fire. after the girls were in bed we packed the car with everything we wouldn't need for the next morning. as we went to our cabin, or concentration camps as carrie called them, i was so thankful jen was there. we all got into our pajamas and were settling down when she pulled out her scriptures and asked us to share our favorite one with the group. she is so good. i could really feel of her sweet spirit as we discussed and listened to these young girls share their favorite scriptures. then the girls went to sleep while jen and i chatted a bit longer and listened and laughed at the snoring in our cabin. it truly sounded like mr. snuffalufagus. so funny. and then after awhile it stopped. that was weird. it was complete silence. we took the opportunity to try and get some sleep.


i actually slept pretty good. we got up, packed the car of our stuff, and went to flag ceremony. they handed out awards and then it was time to eat and clean up and get out of their. i am so appreciative of all the work the stake does to hold these camps for the young women of the church. i told michelle that she really had done a wonderful job...while we cleaned toilets. i just love her strong testimony of the gospel which inspires me to be better. i really needed to go to camp and love the feeling i get everytime i go.

girls camp rocks.