Girls Camp!

WOW!! Once again Girls' Camp has been the spiritual highlight of my year and as I have sat here thinking about all of my years at girls camp I have just realized how many years it really has been. My senior year (summer of 96) was our "rollin' with the homey's year". (a friend had rolled her car the weekend before, but she was still able to be at camp) We had such a blast doing hair and eating twinkies. I may have skipped one year before I became the Stake assistant camp director for 5 (maybe 6) years. (one of those summers I was 6 months pregnant with Kaylee) The summer before we moved to Utah I was the primary president but I still remember visiting camp and even bringing Taylor who was just a couple of months old. Our first two summers in Utah I was in another primary presidency and didn't go at all. Then as Young Women President I went 3 times (one year being 4 months along with Emily) and this year I was once again able to be one of the stake assistants (8 months pregnant with baby boy Gardner).

All of this also means that Matt has either come with me or watched kids for 8 of our 10 summers together! He and my niece did an amazing job taking care of the girls and the house while I was gone!

So, only my family knew that I was about 12 or 13 weeks along when I was called into the stake offices. That morning I had seen one of the Stake YW presidency and right away had the feeling that they were going to call me to camp. I was emotional that whole day and especially as Pres. S. was asking if I would accept this calling to girls camp. I cried as I told him the situation. I had already calculated earlier that day that I would be 5 weeks away from having a baby. I'm sure he sensed how much I loved girls' camp though!

After hearing a good heartbeat and talking to some people we decided it would be okay--the plan probably being that I would do all of my part beforehand and then just go for a day or so. Well, I have actually been feeling really good and much to Matt's dismay my Doctor said, "Oh sure--she'll be fine."

I still went thinking I'd try to stay the night and if I didn't get the rest I needed I could always go 20 minutes down the mountain to Heber and stay with family there. Instead, I slept soooo well. Like I mentioned earlier, there is something so relaxing about sleeping in a tent while it's raining. I was so very blessed to be able to stay up there the entire time.

The other leaders were so great about keeping me from doing too much. I even got to ride and drive the four wheeler!! That was fun!!

The best part of this calling is not only teaching the girls, but learning and growing right along with them. This year's theme was incredible!! I was even able to make a commitment, sign my name on a balloon and watch it float away as I thought about the things I needed to do to keep that commitment.

I LOVED the ladies that I was able to work with. It was amazing how everything just came together so well. I definitely felt the power of prayer with these sweet sisters from the first time we knelt together. They are incredible women! They are people I have looked up to and learned from for years and now I got to really work them! I now look up to them even more!! I promise :) I really do!! (I have so many other pictures I keep debating on putting up but I want them all to still be my friend! Unfortunately I have no skit pictures or videos. It was so much fun!)

UH-OH!! To all my high school friends!! I've stepped away from the computer and started going through boxes! Look what I just found!!

(Oh and Happy Happy birthday to Krista! Love ya!)