back from camp

Derek, Megan and Emily got back on Saturday from a 4 day fun-filled, no sleep, giggle fest with 24 other girls and 7 other leaders.  Not sure Derek was doing much giggling (do boys giggle?) but he and the girls all had a lot of fun.

Girls Camp this year was just our Ward (our local congregation) as opposed to Stake Girls Camp (with a stake covering a bigger geographical area)  This is the first time we have had Ward Girls Camp and I think it was a big success.  I believe the plan is to alternate each year between Stake and Ward.

The group left Wed morning and headed off to the beach in Santa Barbara for some tent camping and lots of outdoor fun.  Everyone looks so rested and clean is this picture - I guarantee you they did not come home the same way.

This is our great group of girls and leaders that went.  Hats off to all the leaders that did a ton of work to pull off a successful camp.  I am so glad that Megan and Emily have leaders that genuinely love them and care for them.   

An interesting fact about this group - the first two rows are all Beehives.  Beehives is the name given to all the 12 & 13 yr old girls in our Young Womens organization. Did you count them? Yes, we had 18 Beehives in attendance compared to the 8 total Mia Maids (14-15 yr olds) and Laurels (16-17 yr olds).  I am sure the abundance of 12 & 13 yr olds made for a lively camp :)

Since the camp was at the beach the theme was Life is Swell  - get it? a wave or a swell - not sure if some of my land locked readers understand the lingo :)  Just kidding of course, I know only highly intelligent readers frequent this blog.  Swell standing for Stick With Essential Life Long - the essentials being prayer, scripture reading, sacrament (as well as many other essentials that help us build and strengthen our testimonies).

The girls had a lot of great devotionals, scripture reading time, testimony meeting and more. They also had lot of fun activities planned that helped them build stronger friendships with all the girls and leaders.  

They went on a great evening hike to watch the sunset over the beach.  The hike was hard. According to Emily she has hiked enough to last her a lifetime :)  Although hard I think the girls have a better understanding of how even though things may be hard there are lessons to learn and rewards to be had when accomplishing something that may be difficult.

They also went horseback riding and had lots of fun doing that.

Kayaking was another fun activity that allowed the girls to get up close and personal with dolphins and sea lions

Even though I now have a laundry room full of stinky, dirty laundry and a family that is still a bit tired from all the activities I am glad that they all got to go.  It was a great experience for Derek to be their with our girls and I think they loved having Dad there.  I'm glad that my girls have good friends that share the same values and are constantly trying to make good choices.

Thanks to Emily for the above pictures.

copyright infringement

Shhh!  Don't tell anyone - I stoled (stole? stold?) this picture from Kari, our Young Women's president at church. I'm sure it's illegal and she is probably contacting her lawyers right now as I type this. It's the chance I must take so that I can document Megan and Emily's adventures to Girls Camp

At the end of June Megan and Emily were off to Girl's Camp (a yearly church adventure for girls 12-18 years old)  This was Megan's 3rd trip to camp and Emily's 1st. Both girls had a great time.  They loved being with friends and leaders. 

I am so thankful for amazing leaders that do so much each year to provide these girls with such a great trip. They give up a lot of time away from family and give up even more precious sleep time while they are away at camp.  

Back to the stolen picture...if the cops come looking for me I need a hideout.  Anyone willing to take in a fugitive of the law?

sunday

We spent the morning at church and then headed home to get dinner ready since my brother Ryan, his wife Katie and baby Carter were coming over.  We enjoyed a Sunday family tradition that I grew up with and that I continue with my own family - Sunday afternoon cheese, chips and guacamole.  Instead of eating a big lunch after church we feast on some south of the border goodness.

In addition to all the eating there was a lot of Carter holding (especially by Emily - she loves him and is so good with him)
Game playing (this was mostly between Katie and Luke with Luke making up new rules along the way)
and Wii playing between who else but Nate and Ryan.
We tried something new for dinner.  We had brisket that we cooked in our new smoker.  We picked up the smoker on Saturday at Lowes.  I loved cooking in it.  It cooked outside which was nice since I did not want to use the oven inside the house that was already way too hot because of our heat wave.  I didn't like the rub we used on the brisket but the cooking method was great.  I think we will be doing a lot more smoked stuff this summer.

Sunday evening was spent getting Megan and Emily packed up and ready for girls camp. It is fun to see what ends up in the suitcases.  The girls always take the essentials...stuffed animals, nail polish, crazy toys for secret sister gifts, funky clothes and accessories. I'm anxious for them to come home so that I can hear how it went.