Girls Camp 2013

In June I was called to serve as a YW adviser. I was so excited as I thought it would be so fun to serve among the youth of the church - and it was! I was invited to attend girls camp for the entire week - and since Shawn had just passed his dissertation successfully, I was able to go, the entire week - without kids!! SCORE!

Above was a YCL training retreat that I was able to participate in.  It was so fun to watch the girls be so excited for camp.  A few things that surprised me - these girls had NEVER used the girls camp manual put out by the church.  I was shocked!  Back in my day (or at least back in Utah) they use this manual religiously.  We still had a great time.  I even was able to witness a copperhead snake shot by a pistol.  Yikes!

Here are my wonderful girls!  Okay, not "my girls" but the YW that I love.  We camped at Lake Hartwell for the week and it was so beautiful and peaceful!

Making a small wooden box

Sanding, and sanding, and sanding.

crafting with beads

My best friend LeAnn was also at girls camp for the entire week!  We shared a tent and had a lot of fun.  She was there to make our meals meaningful and fluffy!  We had fun creating themes for each dinner.

Look at how beautiful. 

It had rained really hard this night and some of the girls tents and canopies were ruined, but we all got through it.

Each night, LeAnn pulled out some fun/quirky toy that we would play with and go and say goodnight to everyone.  We don't have pictures, but my favorite were the flashlight rings.  We were very colorful and entertaining that night and had lots of encores. 

The glasses and fake teeth were a little too much for one night.  It's turned LeAnn into a little creepy critter.  I loved it.  A few of our west coast friends even got 1am phone calls.  We were in a goofy mood.

What a great friend and what a great week. 

Girls camp was just what I needed.  The stress of school was finally over, but the stress of a job was still very high.  On Thursday of that week, Shawn called and told me of a position of a school available in Keene, NH.  Where?  Naturally, I said, "sure, apply for it - we'll go anywhere at this point."  :)  I think you all know where we ended up.  What a huge blessing for Shawn sacrificing so much for me to go fulfill my calling and staying home with the 4 kids, on his own, for a week.  It was a great week and definitely worth it!  I love girls camp!