YW Camp 2022

Earlier this spring, I was asked to be the assistant stake camp director for our YW camp.  It's a calling that I would have been petrified of in days past,  but I'll be honest, at this stage of my life,  I was actually pretty excited about it.   My life was relatively calm at that time and, as long time blog readers might remember, I had callings in YW for several years (5ish years in Vienna and 2ish years in Pennsylvania), so I was excited to be able to get back to doing something I felt passionately about.  I love working with young women and I love being a part of something that helps stretch young women to their full potential.     

Little did I know  when I committed to doing it, though, what absolute chaos my life was soon to become.   In the weeks leading up to camp, we traveled out of the country, to Hawaii, my Dad got put on hospice care, I was in charge of a family reunion, we hosted a bunch of  people at our house, I was getting two kids ready for their summer adventures, I hosted a baby shower, and basically I was about as busy and overwhelmed as I could be....all the while trying to process the difficult emotions that come along with your Dad dying and to fulfill my responsibilities as ASCD.   

Looking back at that time now, I think being too busy might be better for me than being too open-ended with my time. Many of the days leading up to camp were 100% filled from morning to night, but somehow I not only "made" it, but I felt useful and fulfilled.    I really don't like feeling like I don't have any free time, but I also really don't like feeling like the time I spend is not meaningful.  Since I don't really have any friends in Utah, my calling is light, and I strongly feel like it's not the right time to get a job while Ellie is still at home,  my life tends toward self-inflicted busy most of the time {hence the resurgence in blogging again}, rather than actually being busy.  

When camp came along finally, it was just what I needed.   It was time to unplug, enjoy being outside in a gorgeous setting, and just be.   Most of my camp related responsibilities were for BEFORE and AFTER camp, so I found my time at camp to be not stressful at all.  I got to enjoy meeting young women and getting to know the other stake leaders.   I have felt quite lonely since moving away from VA three years ago, so getting to know people  in a laid back environment was lovely!   

I became somewhat of the allergy expert for the kitchen staff and got to put the knowledge I'd gained cooking for people with severe allergies to use....

I made these gluten free ice cream sandwiches (with the GF cookies I had made at home) to be a special treat for the GF girls...

It ended up being a weirdly rainy few days (for Utah at least), so a lot of our activities were interrupted ...

The vibes of camp were laid back though, so it didn't feel super stressful to get sidetracked.   We didn't enforce a dress code and, since the yearly certifications were gotten rid of a few years ago, we didn't really have to force anyone to participate in anything they didn't want to.  I had the opportunity to put my arms around a few struggling girls (figuratively) and, again, I just enjoyed the opportunity to just "be".  

I felt like I really connected with a few women and I thought I might have found my first Utah friends, but, alas, they ended up seeming to  be interested to be Sunday friends only...like everyone else I've met in Utah.  

We had a blast at the lip sync night.   The brand new stake presidency put on a great performance...

And we had a couple energetic choreographers that made sure the stake leaders' performance was polished and very fun!  {I'm in the red tophat and mint sweats} 

I very much enjoyed being a part of YW camp, but,  in the two weeks after camp ended,  I went  back to being super busy and my Dad passed away, so the let-down was huge.  I'm happy to have more friendly faces to greet around town now, but I am definitely  still searching for "my people" here.   That's okay, though.   It's been reaffirmed to me a million times in the last year that we are exactly where we're supposed to be right now...

YW Camp Recap

Since blogging seems to be a bit beyond my skill level currently, I've decided to start publishing some of our letters to Cami, so that these days don't get forgotten.

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Hi, Sweetie! How's life this week? We've had a week of camps with Adam as senior patrol leader at scout camp and us girls at YW camp! Emma was a YCL and Ellie was a first level!

We had 30 girls from our ward attend! Alyvia was supposed to come, but ended up with knee surgery a few days before camp and she sadly couldn't attend. Amelia sprained her ankle at camp and had to leave early , but even still we had the largest group in the whole stake!

The theme of camp was BOOT camp (Build Our Own Testimonies), so we decided to dress in themes for the week! Tuesday was camo day where we talked about enlisting and engaging in the work!

Wednesday was Rosie the Riveter day where we talked about becoming the women God wants us to be.

 

 We shared Sister Nadauld's quote:

"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

Thursday was patriotic day and the bishop talked about the role of women in the church.

Ellie had a great week overall, but had a "friend" who treated her poorly. This picture was taken after she told me about her "friend" who had yelled and screamed at her when Ellie didn't want to do the same activity as her. She called her selfish and mean...

Then instead of apologizing, sent her a mean note blaming her for everything and claiming that she had been the victim.

Um, yeah. We've got a bit of mama bear protectiveness going on here. ....  😥

I'm glad I was there with her to see this go down and to give her a hug and talk her through it! Other than that it was a great week with GORGEOUS weather and I was happy to be there!

And here's one last picture to make you laugh. This is what I looked like when we got our camp T-shirts on patriotic day. Pretty much I looked awesome!

Well, I love you and hope you've had a wonderful week! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Love you!!!!!
Love,
Mom ❤️

Scouting Adventures

Adam is well in the throes of the scouting program now.   He's finished several merit badges now and has been to scout camp... 

on longish hikes, and campouts in the cold.    

And why do we have so many pictures of him away from home?  

It's because the photographer is Glen.  

He was recently called to work with the deacons in our ward...

and he will now be at all these fun scouting activities with Adam!   

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How am I doing in my quest to create the most boring blog in the universe?   

Word on the street says I have it in the bag!  

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Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Everywhere!

If someone were to track our family's grocery purchases over a period of time, they would end up pretty  confused.  On the one hand, we buy spinach, carrots, chia seeds, avocados, quinoa, and bell peppers by the bucketload.    I've even had to scold my girls for using a few healthy items too quickly because of the expense (like coconut oil and nuts).  On the other hand though, in the past few weeks we've plowed through 20-lbs. of butter, several quarts of whipping cream, 2 Costco size containers of vanilla, over 15-lbs. of cream cheese, pounds and pounds of flour and sugar, and countless dozens of eggs.  

No, we don't deep fat fry all of our spinach leaves in butter....

What we have is two teenage girls who are walking incongruities.    

Emma and Cami both love to bake sugary goodies with everything that they are, BUT themselves eat zero sugar, few grains, and loads of nuts, fruits, and vegetables.    And since they don't eat their own goodies, guess who ends up being their frosting sampler to make sure the flavor/consistency are good....me!     

Recently Cami had an order for 20-dozen cupcakes and a cake topper for a wedding.   

I was a little nervous when she said that she'd accepted the job to make a cake topper, since her specialty is definitely cupcakes and not cakes.  

But she did an absolutely beautiful job.   

The order overwhelmed our house a bit (the chairs were to keep Rocky from getting at them)...

but she pulled it off without a hitch!  

The display was absolutely gorgeous (as was the cupcake baker)! 

Shortly after we finished cleaning up from that order, Cami hosted a cupcake camp at our house.  

It was mainly 12-year-old girls who were part of the camp...

They did a lot of baking over the course of the week...

and I think it was a smashing success by all accounts.   

They each got to bake cupcakes on their own and decorate them on their own as well.   It was a delight to see their creativity in action!  

It did give Cami a  little boost into her college fund...

but more than anything I think she was mostly excited to share her love of baking with the next generation!  

Speaking of which....with Cami at college, Emma is now poised to take over the cupcake business.   She's been a faithful assistant to Cami over the years and she is ready to take the reins now!  

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Magic in DC

On the final day of genealogy camp I dropped the kids off at the National Archives....

took Ellie and Hannah on a stroll through a garden and did some watercolor painting.

When their masterpieces were complete, we headed to the American Indian Museum, where we the very first visitors in the front door.     

We spent the entire time in the children's room playing in teepees and building foam igloos.   

Then when we went to a show at the Discovery Theater in the Ripley Center.

His name was Robert Strong and he is billed as a comedy magician for kids.   

It was a fun interactive show and it was a great way to end our week!  

Now camp is over and I'm working on making my blog the most boring in the universe.   

YW Camp 2015

Our stake held YW camp at a new location this year.  The location was a bit more urban than in previous years, a fact which had its pros and cons, but in general it was a great year.   We had about 150 girls attend, along with another 40+ leaders or so.    The first levels are wearing the light blue t-shirts, orange is second level, pink is third level, green is fourth level, and purple was for the YCLs.  

We had 27 girls from our ward attend. 

(7 YCLs, 3 fourth levels, 4 third levels, 3 second levels, and 10 first levels).   

With the 10 first level girls from our ward, we made up over 1/4 of the 39 total girls that age!   

Emma had a great group of girls her age...

and was lucky enough to get two of her best friends in her cabin! 

The girls in our cabin  (shown below) were energetic and didn't seem to need much sleep, but they were also amazingly in-tune with the spirit and it wasn't that infrequent that I heard in amongst the discussions about which boy was cutest, discussions about certain passages of scripture.   

It was a joy to watch them develop their talents...

strengthen their friendships with one another....

and push each other to do hard things.   

I was in charge of the hikes this year; a task I had thought would be fairly easy.    With the distance between the campsite and the hikes, though, even getting to the hikes turned out to be more of a logistical feat than I had originally expected.   That and the trails weren't super well-marked, so I felt like I needed well-written trail notes for people to follow.   In the end, I planned a five-miler and a three-miler.    There was no shortage of complaining before the hikes began, but I was surprised by the girls' stamina and positive attitude while they were actually on the hikes.   I enjoyed both hikes immensely--not only the beauty of the trail, but also my trail-mates!  

One of the afternoons, most of the campers were participating in archery activities.    The first-levels, however, were too young and as such they got to participate in a "Cupcake War" instead.  And who better to lead a cupcake activity than Cami?   

She hauled all of our baking supplies to camp for the day and led them in an engaging afternoon of creative baking and decorating.   

Cami and the girls seemed to really enjoy it and it was fun to see the beautiful culinary creations they came up with!  

It was my third year of attending camp and I'd probably have to say my most favorite yet.   

I was happy to be there with these girls...

and especially to be there with Emma.  

I looked tired, grungy, and old in this picture, but it was 100% all me.   

No make-up.   No shower.  Grungy clothes.  

Pretty much the face Glen wakes up to every morning.    Lucky him.   

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Facts about 2015 YW Camp: 

Theme:   "Courage to Become"

Location:  Prince William Forest Park

Dates:  July 6-10

My cabin:  I stayed with a group of 3rd levels (including Emma)

My roommate:  Julie M from OM ward

My responsibilities (besides helping my ward girls):  Hikes, finding and hiring lifeguards, helping with third levels

Classes/Activities: Zumba, Yoga, Watercolor Painting, Sketching, Kayaking,  Archery, Hiking, Lake time, Cupcake Wars, Certification time, CCC {Civilian Conservation Corps} class, plus some others that I'm forgetting

Total girls:  about 150

Girls from my ward:  27

Best moment:  the satisfaction of the hikes being done with little complaining and zero mishaps (as far as I know).  I also loved hearing their happy chatter along the way!  

Most frustrating moment:  a big misunderstanding with someone about some equipment that was supposed to arrive on Thursday

Weather (in general):  It was hotter and more humid than the past two years I've attended camp, which meant I was covered with a layer of sweat from head to toe 24/7.  

Weather miracle:   Wednesday was scheduled to the hilt with outdoor activities, but since it was predicted to rain we shuffled things around to get it done early.    At home, a mere 30-miles away, it rained torrents and torrents and even closed many low-lying roads in the afternoon, but at camp it didn't rain a drop until nighttime when we were all in for the night.