Girls Camp! (Um, 3 Months Overdue...)

Okay, so this post is only... 3 months overdue, but I have posts from a year ago still not done! I'm just going to push everything out as I get it done or I never will. 

Girls Camp was so much fun! It was definitely a different experience this year, being the Stake Camp Director. There was so much work and preparation before camp, and then I got to just watch it unfold and enjoy my hard work! Our theme was Stand Ye In Holy Places... JUST DO IT. We had a sports theme, which was really fun! 

We had about 300 young women, and around 380 people total. It was a huge group. One of my many jobs was trying to figure out how to get us to fit up at camp and assign cabins. The cabins all have different numbers of beds, so it was tricky! We barely fit at Camp Lo Mia this year. I don't know how we'll fit next year! A few of the wards split a month before camp, and that actually allowed us to fit better. It was really a huge relief for me, even though I was in one of the wards that split. We've been in so many ward splits since we moved to this house and they are always bittersweet. 

Everything pretty much went according to plan. The hikes went well. We had lots of great experiences. The Stake YW Presidency did a great job planning some nice talks for the girls. We also had some great teaching moments. We decided that we wanted to have small groups to teach, so we divided the girls into 16 small groups and had most of the Stake leadership teach. 

My assistant and I were in charge of a food- related activity each day in addition to everything else. One day we let the girls make their own snack mixes. We had chocolate chips, craisins, white chips, goldfish, marshmallows, gummie bears, cheerios, pretzels, and peanuts (on a different table). It was a big hit! The girls filled their baggies and mostly ate the snacks right away. The other activity was dipping chocolate pretzels. It was little messy, but really yummy. 

The cooking staff was fabulous this year. They had great attitudes and were a lot of fun to be around! I hope they felt appreciated. They have a hard job!

Me with some of the girls from my ward.

We did a service project to help spread the word about the R-Word campaign.  I think it was a huge success. The girls pledged to stop saying the R-word and signed a big banner to show their commitment.

We had some great Priesthood brethren there. I really think we had too much fun. Here they are with their giant petrified pancake and a plate of "white chocolate fudge." It's really hardened grease from the griddle. Eww!

Here we are, getting everyone on the buses to go home. I would have been lost without Alli! Even though we cheer for rivals, we still manage to be great friends!

Here is a picture I sent to my kids. Levi really wanted to know what my bed looked like! I've got to admit, "camping" at Lo Mia is a breeze! Got to sleep on a bed indoors every night, had access to showers, bathrooms, and had a Stake Staff to cook all of our meals. Totally different from what I experienced as a young woman, but I am just happy to be a part of it! This has been a great calling and I have loved every single minute!