Fun now...sleep later

I don't think I could be anymore pleased, excited and uplifted with how girls camp went! I will admit my stomach was in knots before camp. I was well aware that this would be a singular opportunity for the girls (and leaders) to bond and set the tone throughout the rest of the year in Young Women's. I have heard of many girls camps that have gone awry with pranks and drama. In our ward, we have a strong policy of "no drama...no pranks." I don't know why I thought this year would be any different. The girls were amazing! No pranks, no drama...just lots of togetherness and fun. Sure there were a few very minor complaints and some minor sickness, but nothing that was unreasonable. We had 18-24 girls at camp (depending on the day), with 10 being their very first time (and these "first years" did great). We even had a non-member join us! (Damiana had only moved into the neighborhood from CA 2wks prior and  she came...it was amazing!)

This year was stake camp and we went to the Heber Valley Camp. It has the reputation of being the "princess camp" and for good reason, too. Our pavilion included a walk-in pantry, hot/cold running water, two gas camp stoves and....a refrigerator!!! For real. Yes, I enjoyed a few cold diet cokes during the week. The large main pavilion had a kitchen where stake meals were prepared and...a water and ice station for the girls to fill-up water bottles. This camp was planned by President Hinckley and apparently, the water/ice machine was Sister Hinckley's touch. This camp also included great hiking trails (we say a baby owl...very cool), a lake for the girls to canoe on and challenging ropes courses. The entire camp has several campsites (we were Camp Sariah) and can accommodate up to 2400 girls at a time. There are service missionaries that run the camp and keep it secure. 

We had so much fun playing several "Minute to Win It" games. Eating Oreos off our faces by only using our facial muscles and picking up cotton balls with Vaseline on our noses were our favorites. We even got President LaMunyon to do it! The girls also loved making friendship bracelets...yes, just like the ones  we did when we were younger. However, the games and songs definitely are not like the ones we did when we were younger. They are much more physical (man, you get a workout) and more complicated. 

If there was one (and only one) thing I did not love about camp, it was sleeping on the wood bunk. I am too old and my double layer of foam pads did diddily squat. Air mattress next time for sure. That being said, the cabins are very nice and clean.  Throughout the week,  the weather was wonderful. We had one afternoon of rain and hail, but we were still able to complete all our scheduled activities. If you ask me, a bit of rain just makes things a bit more exciting and interesting. Only bummer about that was it was on the night Chad came so we didn't get to do much hanging out...we were in the cabins and he was in the priesthood tent. 

I came home with the biggest smile on my face. I was practically skipping down the halls at church the following Sunday. I could hardly wait to see the girl's parents to tell them how wonderful their girls are and how much fun we had. I truly feel so lucky to have this opportunity to be with the girls. I love them.