Rylee & I got the pleasure of attending girls camp together this year. This was to be my last "hurrah" as a young women's leader, since being released as the YW president in our ward in May. What a way to go out! The campsite near Heber City is so beautiful. And the best part was cabin camping with hot showers!
We arrived on Monday morning on busses and were "tagged" and divided up into cabins based on the girls' years. Rylee was with the 4th year campers. Me & Sister Henricksen were put in charge of the 6th year girls.
This is a picture of the leaders from OL 3rd ward: Sherri Slaughter, Leisa Vineyard, Emily Henricksen, and me!
I was trained on the challenge course on Monday afternoon; I was responsible for assisting the camp leaders in facilitating the Giant Swing obstacle for all of our girls. At training, I volunteered to demonstrate how to use the harness & equipment. Silly me! I didn't realize that I would get to demonstrate how to use it on the equipment. They hauled me up on the swing, at least 20 feet in the air, and then I had to "let myself go" .... BOY, did I! I screamed like a little girl the whole time. But no tears, thank goodness!
Here's a silly picture of me with one of Rylee's good friends .... Katie Ditty! She's a hoot! And what about that hair?!
It was a week packed with fun and lots of tender moments. Rylee brought her ukelele and sang a couple of numbers for the stake leaders. They cried. We hiked to the lake for an afternoon of canoeing and paddle boat rides. And got soaked! And each day the girls did neat craft projects, certified in first aid techniques and attended a workshop called "Destiny". They had guest speakers for Destiny all week that talked about ways to realize our potential. There were lots of tears at these sessions!
Here's a picture of Ry & Jennii just before testimony meeting. Notice the smiles. Replaced by lots of tears later ...
We got to eat together as a ward on the last night. Our bishop and counselor came up for dinner and testimony meeting. Also, two of the stake leaders were from our ward and spent the evening with us as a ward family. It was so much fun. And the food was delicious, especially the dutch oven desserts!
Then there was a testimony meeting at sunset for all the girls and their leaders. Rylee got up to share her experience on the challenge course and what she learned about trusting her friends. She shared about how the challenge had boosted her confidence and made her more grateful for her big, strong, healthy body. It was a special night.
This is Rylee with a couple of the stake leaders (B. Ditty & Martha Johansen), who have kinda taken her in. She's never short of friends (or moms, thank goodness!)Every night was a late night, but especially the last night. We stayed up in our cabins talking and laughing and playing games until about 2 am. Then got up at 6 am to start cleaning and packing up. Talk about a long week ....
Here's yet another silly shot of Rylee and her friends, I guess deep in thought about all that they had learned?
Devon, Stephanie and Bailey were "regulars" all week, never far from the action, and never far from Rylee. She's a magnet for silly girls!The camp experience was a great time with lots of great memories for me. And a great way for me to say goodbye to my girls from Young Women's.
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