Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Camp was a fun experience. One of the best things was being there with some of my close friends. Here is the always lovely, Lezlee.

And this is a photo Lezlee took of Cynthia and I. I am not too thrilled with how old I look in this picture and I definately had "camp hair". Cindy looks great!

The older girls are YCL's or youth leaders. They get to plan a lot of what happens at camp and run it with the adults taking a step into the background. This is where the YCL's stayed, a platform, with some canopies erected to give them shade. The YCL's were great and did an amazing job.

Bianca, one of the YCL's

Angelica and Natasha, YCL's

Natalia, YCL

Melissa, YCL


There were about 20 YCL's all together.

Flag Ceremony started and ended each day

This was a very popular activity for the girls. Many of them had these bracelets in progress attached to their jeans with a safety pin.

There are camp beads given for the different skills girls certify in each year they are at camp. In addition camp beads are given for your cabin, going to camp that year, participating in the hike, etc. This is what a set of beads looks like for someone who has gone several years.

This is what a set of beads look like for someone who is there for the first time!

The theme for camp. The girls all made one of these and we all have T shirts.

The YCL's platform was decorated with christmas lights.

One day they thought it was going to rain. Tam was helping trying to cover up the platform so the girls didn't get wet.

Emily

Water baseball was one of the activities that Cindy planned. They had to hit a beach ball with a foam noodle. First base they had to put their elbow in the wading pool. Second base, their head, third base their knee and for a home run, their behind. It was a lot of fun.

Head in the water

A hit

Home run!

Some of the cabin mom's from my ward. Someone had drawn a mustache on Lindsey.

Merrin, YCL

Athena, YCL

If you recieved a package at camp, you had to dance for it.

Conducting a song, with style and attitude.

Girls made lots of bracelets!

Dinner

The fourth year girls do some rougher adventure camping and activities before they come and join the rest of us at camp. It's their last year before they become YCL's. Here they are taking a turn at serving dinner.

Some of the girls from my ward, Taylor, Sabrina, Jordan, Karalyn and Brianna.

Karalyn and Brianna

Lacey, from my ward

Audrey, a delightful new friend














There are lots of funny stories from camp. Like the camp director not being able to find the second walkie talkie. She could hear it, and was getting closer, but wasn't sure where it was. It was in her back pocket! She was calling herself!

And when Lezlee told me there were three sides to the bathrooms and how they had to keep cleaning them. There are only two sides. She must have cleaned one side twice. She still isn't sure she believes me! I told her she was in another dimension.

And then there was the staff person who had to ask where the bathroom was, even after we had been there a few days!

It was a great experience and I am glad I was able to participate. Maybe I can go next year and add to my beads!

Camp Nurse

I was asked to come to church girl's camp at Lomia and be the nurse for our stake. Being a convert at the age of 18, I had never been to girl's camp. I had lots of friends who have gone both as girl's and as leaders. I know they always had a good time. So I said yes.
I have to say I was apprehensive though. When we had a meeting early on in the year, I looked around the room and thought, I really don't know these people. My friends, Cynthia and Lezlee were going though and I figured it would be ok.

I was nervous as it got closer. Was I crazy to say I would do this? There were girls I was worried about. I was worried about living and sleeping in close quarters with people I didn't know very well. I was committed so off I went. This is what it looked like when the leaders and YCL's arrived on Monday. Two trailers and numerous private cars full of stuff to be unpacked and set up before the girl's arrived on Tuesday morning.

This is the room inside the staff cabin that was to become the designated nurse's office. I can tell you that during the day, it was blazing hot in there. I spent as much time as possible out on the front porch. We brought some fans and it made it tolerable, but barely. At night and early morning, it was quite pleasant. And the bunk beds? These two were for my patients, but yes that is what we all had to sleep on too. Cynthia and I shared a set, I was on the top. I hadn't slept in bunk beds since I was a little kid. I would climb up the foot board and heave myself over the end onto the bed. I could slid off the side pretty well though. I was paranoid about keeping Cynthia up though. They would rock and roll anytime you moved. I think they were from when the camp first opened 43 years ago. But Cynthia and I pretty much passed out at night, so it wasn't an issue. Other than the bruises I acquired from sometimes hitting my legs on the metal bars as I "hopped" in.

So Pam Young, our camp director made me an nurse in and out sign. I was almost always in as it made everyone nervous for me to stray very far.

And this is the nurse's office after I was almost set up.


Here is an area of a the staff cabin. Yep, 3 women, 4 beds in this space.

They were all great and fun though. Here was a little impromptu song for us.

Our front porch was pretty inviting. After we made a little more shade with the canopy, covered the table with a table cloth and dragged out a fan when the afternoon would get stifling. Everyone worked really hard to make it as nice and comfortable as they could.

We had a lot of really nice people to work with. The kitchen staff worked really hard. They were the first ones up in the morning and often the last ones to bed at night. And they fed us all very well.

Brother and Sister Lee and Patricia Tejada headed up the kitchen. This is Sister Lee. Her husband looked really tough. He is a prison warden. So you know he is tough. But he was really sweet with all the girls.

Patricia

One of our breakfasts.

The prison warden in apron whipping up omelets.

We had great leadership. Amanda Meppen was one of the assistant directors. She worked really hard during camp putting together a live time multimedia presentation of what was happening for the girls to see closing night.

Pam Young was our fearless director. She was amazing. She was loving and caring for everyone. She kept leaving us little thoughtful gifts or treats on our beds. My favorite moment though was when she was looking for the other walkie talkie. She kept having someone call it. I can hear it she said I'm getting closer! It was in her back pocket. Too funny.

Claire, another assistant camp leader. Everywhere, all the time. More energy than the rest of us put together. The three of them did an amazing job of putting together a great experience for the girls.

And this poor little bird tried to take care of it's nest on our extremely busy and crowded front porch.

This is one of Pam's treats for us. Each cabin had a value and theme from the young women's theme. Ours was knowledge and the color green. So they used Knowledge is Toadallly amazing. We had lots of frogs in our cabin.

And this is the injury that scared me the most when it happened. Sabrina tangled legs with her sister and fell, hitting her arm on a corner of the bench. It swelled so fast and so hard with a large lump, that I was afraid she had broken it Thank goodness she hadn't.

I had some possible pink eye too. That was scary because it's so contagious and could spread through camp. I isolated the girl, and she ended up going home about half a day early. I am not at all convinced she had pink eye, but once we talked about sending her home, she just wanted to go and there wasn't much talking her out of it.

Had several splinter removals, 3 bloody noses, upset stomachs, menstrual cramps, homesickness, blisters, mosquito bites and one asthma attack. And we all made it back and are accounted for!

I'll have some more posts of the girls and fun...

Mostly Horse Business

I got to go riding twice while I was in Idaho. It was really fun. This is Apache. He is actually one inch too short to be called a horse, so he is a pony. I also rode Joe, but don't have any photos of that expedition. I think Apache is very pretty. He is also short gaited and so a little rough to ride. It took me a little bit to get acclimated to his rough trot and nice slow lope, but I did after awhile. My knees aren't so good and my right one was killing me after a seven mile ride of mostly trotting. It was a lot of fun though.

This is my neice Keegan getting Pearl the mule ready for our ride. Pearl is actually my sister Wendy's, but she hasn't ridden her yet. My neice is trying to get some of the bugs worked out of her first.

Pearl dressed for departure.

Keegan thought spurs were needed for Pearl.

Keegan pointing something out.

The two of us.

We went to see some barrel racing competition where my neice Amy was competing.

Some action photos.

Amy waiting her turn.

I thought this horse was really pretty.

Amy. I had the flash on by mistake so the photo quality isn't so good.

Some photos from Chesterfield, an old Mormon settlement.

Some "ruined" old cabins near Pocotello.