YW CAMP 2011 / with a surprise ending!

These girls are the best!  They are the greatest blessing and the greatest hardship I get from my calling.  They are hard because I stay up nights worrying about them.  I stay up nights wondering where they are and if they are OK and have I taught them everything they need to know from me?  It breaks my heart when they are mean to each other but then that same heart is filled to bursting when I see them support each other.  I love to see the light shine in their eyes in that moment when they "get it",  the moment they see or understand something new in the gospel.  I love watching their testimony grow as they live through the struggles and come out the other end filled with the knowledge that the Savior loves them and that they really are divine daughters of the Heavenly King. I love the ones who have to fight for that testimony and I love the ones who seem born with it.  I love the ones who laugh at life.  I love the ones who cry with those around them.  I love the ones with huge forgiving hearts.  I love the ones who are hurting, the ones who wear the pain on their face.  I love the ones who don't want to be loved. (Too Bad!  I love you anyway!) I love the ones who think they are too cool and the ones who think they are not enough.  I love when they teach me.  They have the most amazing insight.  I see it and hear it more from them in our day to day conversation than they realize.  I am grateful for each one of them in my life.  There are many more girls I have had the privilege of working with  who aren't pictured here.  I have been blessed to work in the young women's program most of my adult life.  There is no better reward for the effort than seeing these girls grow up, go to the temple, start families, and become beautiful, wonderful women.  The best part of it is having them grow up and be my friends.  I love it.  Look at the young women around us.  I don't fear for the future because of them.  They are strong, courageous, smart, faithful, amazing, beautiful, lovely women.  They will do wonderful things.

(For some reason my pictures keep rearranging themselves.  I am tired of trying to fix it.  They are out of order but let's just go with it!)

Our theme for the year was based on Super Heroes.  Each ward picked a super power and tailored our activities around it.  Our girls chose to have the power to glow in the dark.  With that power we could bring others to the light of Christ.  We had so much fun with that!  (even our banner glowed!)





 Sierra with her "goodie bag".  I try to have some sort of surprise for the girls to match the theme.  This year there was glow- everything.   (Shoelaces, nail polish, shirt, hair clips, glow sticks, necklaces ...)





 Brook played along at singing time.  I thought she was very brave.



A Pro-YCL teaching the younger girls how to build a fire




Success




Brook was the French Braid Master

 

  

Sierra (on right) with friends and our wonderful Stake YW president



The last afternoon produced a "MOCK DISASTER".  The YCLs pretended to be hurt and allowed the younger girls to practice some of the new skills picked up at camp.  They had a make-up artist teach them the injury make-up and many of the injuries looked real.  (it was kind-a gross)



Some of our YCLs with "Glow-Glasses"



This camp ground had a lot of fun things to do.  It was cold all week but this day was a little warmer (relatively).





This was the BIGGEST slip-n-slide ever!



Team Building Obstacle Course

Our skit was a spoof of The Incredible's.  We had a fantastic Edna Mode!

I stood up there for the longest time before I could commit to the jump but I did it!



This is the pile of laundry we had when we returned.



While I was away at camp I got a surprise phone call.

Robyn called to tell me she was going to marry Brett!  Brook was there when I answered the phone so when she said, "Mom, I have something to tell you,"  I put the phone on speaker so she could hear it too.  We weren't surprised, but we are very happy.  They are lucky to have found each other.

Summer

Here is a sample of how we spent the summer.  Popcicles in the shade.  (insert music here: "Summer Time, and the livin' is easy")  It was quiet, it was simple, it was too short, it was perfect.

(Prepare for picture overload)

The kids have a lawn mowing buisness.  Although summer itself seems short, lawn mowing season begins before school is out and last well into the start again.  This baby bird was found at a commercial job.

 Cole and Hailey had never had jiffy pop!  Now there is one more thing to check off their bucket list.





John's office had a work party.  This is one of the blow-up activities they had there.  The obstacle couse was not very long but it was definately fun!

 Hailey and Jen

I only won this race with Hailey because her foot got caught.  I wasn't about to rescue her until I had finished!

 Hailey and John

Hailey and Brook

Cole and John

I should have zoomed in better on the two of them having such a great time!

Sierra was at Soccer practice and I picked her up in time for the dinner.  I had never been to a Hawiian Luau before.  It was fun.  I wish I had gotten photos of the dancers and the food.  The roast pig was very yummy and we had sushi for the first time!

Cole went on his first week-long Scout Camp.

 Sierra commerated it with chalk on the sidewalk.  (I think she missed him!  I know I did.)

 Our town has a special weekend celebration each year.  There are all kinds of events: carnival food, classic car show, 3 on 3 basketball tournement, bigwheel race, weiner dog race, lawn mower race, and all kinds of buisness booths.  One of the events was a 5K foot race.  Sierra, Cole, Hailey and I all entered.

I only entered because Hailey had never run that far and I was worried about her.  I shouldn't have been.  She did great.  She won the girl's 12 years and under division!  I didn't crop the picture above because that is her PE teacher (Stacey L.) cheering her on. 

Hailey had a time of 33 minutes.

Brook is 17!  Wow.  She's a Senior this year and I cant believe how the time does fly.

Sierra is 14!  I am more freaked out about her going to dances now than I am about Brook driving!  Hold on this is going to be a wild ride!

Cole found my Super Hero Suspenders from girls camp and couldn't wait to dress up like Uerkle. 

"Did I do that?"

Sierra and Hailey shared their artistic side with the whole neighborhood. 

(I would like to have been Mary Poppins and jumped right into some of them.)

I got to spend some time in Utah and Southern Idaho with my in-laws.  Here are some more of my wonderful neices and the newest nephew.  They are so cute and fun.  The girls were staying with Grandma for a while without their mom and dad.  Lucky girls.  They were getting ready for church as I was leaving and I had to get a picture of them with their coordinating pink and brown dresses. 

It looks like this little guy is going to have auburn hair like his big sister.  (So sweet I could eat him)

Brook spent some time in front of the camera for her Senior picture.  They all turned out really cute.  (I shouldn't say all because she had her eyes closed in about half of them!  Silly girl!  We did get a lot of cute ones though.)  This is the one she chose for the yearbook.