Girls Camp 2008

Going to Girls Camp is one of my favorite things in life. It is so fun to spend a week with all your girlfriends having spiritual experiences AND A BLAST, while enjoying God's beautiful creations! Our theme this year was "We are Daughters of our Heavenly Father."

Here are all 120 girls and 40 leaders that attended camp this year, in our matching shirts!! There are 9 Wards/Branches that make up our Stake. I think I mentioned before that my calling/assignment at church is as a member of the Stake Young Women's Presidency. Our Presidency is in charge of activities where all the girls from the 9 Wards are involved. We're over Girl's Camp, Youth Conference, Monthly Dances, Trek and we train all the Ward Young Women Presidencies, as well as rotate speaking assignments in each ward on a monthly basis. It's a very fun calling that I hope to have for a long time!

We love pulling pranks at camp. We don't love cleaning up pranks pulled on us, AS MUCH. This is the Stake Leaders Cabin after the Youth Camp Leaders (YCL's) GOT BACK AT US!

On the last night of camp, the Bishopric from each Ward/Congregation came to visit. This photo shows all the girls (and leaders) that came, from our Ward.

These are MY girls, the ladies from the Spanish Branch (a Branch is a Mini-Ward, only smaller!) They were YCL's this year and did a great job conducting all our skits, sing-alongs, and morning gatherings. They also helped all the younger girls get "certified" (learn outdoor survival skills). I love you Brenda, Maribel, Bella and Yuridia!!

The last day of camp is full of spiritual activities. The girls all go on a SOLO HIKE with their scriptures, letters from home and journals. They find a peaceful place, down by the lake, to study and ponder. I love this photo of my friend, Charise. She is a wild and crazy gal, probably the funniest skit actress, but she has a deeper side. She loves her Heavenly Father and knows what is important in life. Love you, Charise!

This is a great photo of Sister Bean, by the lake! She's reading a letter from her parents (or Bishop) about how special she is. Camp truly is a glorious place to feel Heavenly Father's love for us. It is so gorgeous there!

I got to spend some time with my friend Denise (the other counselor in the Stake YW Presidency) and her daughter, Danielle. Danielle just finished her first year at BYU and came up to speak to the camp girls about how their choices effect their future life. She was a powerful speaker and I was very proud of her.

Another friend, Heidi, and my sister-in-law, Tiffany, were in charge of all the crafts for the camp. They did a great job with the crafts and decided to participate in the skits and craziness of camp, too. They were a hit! Tiffany looks especially cute, with her 7 1/2 month pregnant belly!



Don't forget to pause my music at the bottom of the page!

My good friends, Jen and Mandy were also there. They had a big job, being in charge of the YCL's. There were 15 of them (the girls on the front row of the group photo, in black shirts)

Emma came up for one afternoon and brought 2 friends, Sam and Ali. Emma's really looking forward to next year. She can't wait to spend the whole week at camp!

Hillary, our babysitter, with Emma and Jenny, our Trek "Big Sister" with Emma's friend, Ali. Jenny is the oldest girl in my Trek Family. As I write, my thoughts are disappearing about camp, and my brain is wrapping itself around Trek Preparations. We leave in 10 days for that! Damian and I are the "Pa and Ma" for 9 kids. We're going with 150 other kids, and 40 leaders to Washington, for a 4-day Pioneer Handcart Trek. What a busy, fun summer!