Then 12 years went by and suddenly so many of my friends were serving in Young Women in their wards, which meant they got to go to Girls Camp. I was still running my summer camps for work and wished so much I could just go to Girls Camp. This year it was finally my turn! As 2nd counselor in our Stake Young Women, it was certain that I'd be a part of camp this year. YAY!
Early on in the year I told the camp director(s) I would love to help with music. And that's how I became the camp music lady. :) I also had the responsibilities of flag ceremonies, astronomy certification, and 4th year adviser. I loved it all! I loved being involved and knowing all the nitty gritty details behind the scenes. Our camp director (Kathy) and assistant director (Jen) were absolutely AMAZING and I loved laughing and joking with them. Basically... I was 100% happy all week long! No joke. I had so much fun getting to know the girls in the wards, acting crazy, laughing, singing & playing the guitar, doing heel-clicks, canoeing, competing, pranking, late-night talking, etc. It was all just perfect and so good. There were many spiritual aspects included that strengthened my testimony as well and I came away from camp so uplifted and rejuvenated. Not only did I make a whole new world of teenage friends (I seem to be good at that), I also made real grown-up friends too! :) It was a great opportunity for me to familiarize myself with so many other leaders in the ward and stake levels, and now I feel much more comfortable and confident in my calling.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from Girls Camp. (The whole collection is on Facebook)
Fabulous Camp Directors! (Kath-left, and Jen-right)
Talented Camp Cooks! (Liisa Roden-left, and Terri Hatch-right)
Some of my new grown-up friends! :) (Sarah-left, and Kelly-right)
Crazy, fun girls in another ward. :)
Happy to be with girls from my own ward.
I feel like these ladies are my other Moms! Kathy & Marchele (Stake YW President)
3rd Ward Awesome-ness before canoeing.
Yeah. I tried to "wash" my hair with baking soda that morning. Then it got wet.
So.... this was the incredibly fabulous result! Everyone loved it.
Having fun with the crazy hair.
Jen (Asst. Director) was absolutely adorable ALL the time!
Me and my buddy Gentry playing with face paint.
Face paint gone bad!
Me and Emma, a super hilarious 6th year camper.
The YCL's were so proud of themselves after hiding our pillows. :)
Camp Mia Shalom
The Stake Leaders & YCL's slept in the cabin above the pavilion.
Incredigirl: I loved this camp theme! :)
Gentry came up from behind and smashed cake in my face.
Her mom wiped most of it off for me.
I tried to get her back but didn't have any success...
More happy face paint with Alyssa.
Emma & Gentry being themselves at flag ceremony. Super funny all the time. :)
My little groupies! Love these girls.
Doing fun service on the last day of camp.
LAST DAY... exhausted and ready to leave! But kind of wanting to stay longer. :)
Some new friends! So fun.
Gentry & Emma on skit night. So much fun.
Stake Leaders doing their "roll call" song.
Me at the very end of our skit. :)
One of the most memorable things about camp was singing the "theme song" I wrote, along with the guitar. I finished it about a week before camp and was just going to perform it the first night of camp. But after that first night Kathy wanted me to TEACH it to everyone so we could sing it all together on the last night of camp when all the bishops and ward leaders came up for the evening. I taught the YCL's one night and the Spirit was strong. I loved it. I taught it to the rest of the camp the next night and we sang it several times. It was amazing to hear 100+ people singing a song I WROTE! What an awesome experience. Here is the little video I made for it the night before camp. It's called "I Am a Hero."
This is a video of when we were practicing the song at camp.
Most of the girls were off to the right of the camera.
The song seemed to stick in the hearts and minds of everyone at camp. Kathy told me she kept hearing girls singing or humming it during craft time or just randomly around camp. I love that! It was such a privilege to be at camp for 6 days, surrounded by nature and new, warm friendships. I can't wait 'til next year!
p.s. We can't forget about the camp pranks. Some of the ward leaders stole all the pillows of the stake leaders, bagged them up, and sent them out in a canoe in the middle of the lake. At flag ceremony we were given a tiny note that read: "Dear Stake Leaders, I'm sorry you lost your pillows. Love, the Lonely Canoe." We laughed and thought, "Oh crap... our pillows are in a canoe on the lake." Sure enough... way off in the distance, during the evening program, we see this lonely canoe slowly floating out in the lake. It was sooo funny. Once it hit the side of the bank, a truck came by that thought it was garbage, so they were in the process of loading their truck. Luckily, one of the leaders who was guilty of the prank took off sprinting towards the lake so those men wouldn't throw away our pillows. Jen ran off with her and they successfully retrieved our pillows. :) I love pranks... they make me laugh. Yay!
p.p.s. At camp, we challenged the girls and leaders to each do 100 acts of service by December 2013. This is the blog I created to share experiences and encourage everyone to complete the goal! :)
You are so awesome! What a great example to all those girls!!
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