Here is another view of it. Unfortunately, we couldn't arrange for a lifeguard this year so Casey took it upon himself to provide other water activities in the field. On the last day of camp, he brought out his giant inflatable obstacle course and turned it into a massive slip and slide.
I had first years this year again and my partner Pamela and I scored the best campsite in the whole place! (it is the biggest and since we had the most girls, they gave it to us.) This is the view from our campsite, looking up. The trees were amazing!
This is a picture from last year...I forgot to take a picture of this year's campsite but it is the same. Isn't it gorgeous???!!!
The entire way up to camp we were joking with the girls about what the theme would be. (it's a heavily guarded secret here.) We kept telling them that it was a dinosaur theme. Of course we were kidding but I think by the end of the drive, a few of them thought perhaps it was indeed a dinosaur theme. Imagine their surprise when the Stake girls emerged wearing headgear. Mining? Charlotte and Jillian were thoroughly confused. It wasn't until they got into the opening kickoff meeting that they understood the theme. It was, "Our value is Priceless." Each unit was assigned a different gem that corresponded with the colors of the YW values.
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| These are our amazing Stake girls. They were assigned to our unit. We got 3 of them because our unit was the biggest! Oh, how valuable these girls were to us! |
Our unit's gem was the ruby. (and our value was Individual Worth) Pamela and I decorated camp with ruby red slippers, giant red bows and signs that said, Courage, Mind and Heart. We also had each of our girls pick a nickname for each other...something that represents them. We had names like "Glitch," "Speedy," and "Treble-maker." We gave them their first official bead with their nickname on them. (They're first years...they love everything!)
Our unit also had to come up with a flag to represent us. Here is what we came up with. The girls were might proud of it...and they were covered in glitter!
The rest of the week was filled with certification, a hike, learning to cook over a campfire (and in a dutch oven), songs, skits and all around fun. In the above picture, the girls are practicing their song for "song night." We had to include the word "Bumfuzzle" in to our song. Is that a word? We ended up coming up with a song about needing a shower at camp to the tune of the song from "Tangled." It was very cute and we got a big round of applause.
We were lucky to have Pamela on board with her guitar. We were the only unit whose song was accompanied by an instrument. She is so talented!
The biggest (and most stressful for unit leaders) night of the week was Skit night. We had to come up with a skit using our assigned gem and value. We of course did a Wizard of Oz skit. In the above picture, one of our Stake girls is doing makeup. (She spent 2 hours with us doing the girls' faces. They loved it!)
We of course had our scarecrow....
And our lion and tin man. Somehow, I managed to forget a picture of Dorothy and the Munchkins...if any of you have a picture of them, let me know! Anyway, the skit was perfect for first years who are terrified and shy. We had one narrator (Mary Jane) and the girls just had to get on the stage and act out what the narrator was saying. It turned out pretty cute.
This was my favorite skit of the night. It was the one done by the Stake leaders. They are so goofy at camp! The weird guy in the center is Casey as Richard Dawson from the Family Feud. The girls LOVE..and I mean LOVE to see their leaders be crazy and goofy. There were so many laughs.
One of several camp miracles happened that night. The entire day it had been overcast, cold and threatening rain. Knowing that tonight was the much anticipated star gazing night, there were many prayers being offered up that we could actually see a star or two. As we laid out in the field, at first we could see nothing...the thick clouds covered all the stars. Then, as is tradition, each unit stood and sang a church hymn. As the singing progressed, the clouds literally parted in a circle directly over where we were laying. (There were clouds everywhere else but directly above us) As more and more songs were sung, the stars got brighter and brighter. I wanted to jump and scream at the girls..."do you know what you are witnessing?????" The hand of the Lord, I tell you! There is no other explanation. I think it must have made an impact on many as a majority of the testimonies the next evening were about that star gazing experience. The Lord truly loves his children doesn't He?
After a very spiritual night, we got to participate in "Jamboree" the next day. This is by far the most looked forward to event of camp. It is a big ropes and obstacle course that each unit has exactly one hour to get through. It is loud and crazy as each unit has their own cheers and chants. Jillian was more than ready to attack Jamboree this year. As a second year, she was not afraid of it this time!
This is Jillian's group going over the rope swings.
This is my unit attempting to get each person through the spider web. They could only us each hole one time so it took some thinking and lifting.
In the end, Charlotte's unit ended up winning Jamboree...Jillian's came in 2nd and our big first year unit came in 3rd. We were pretty happy.
We finished up camp with our Bishop's Mountaintop experience and an amazing dinner served by all the Bishops. The final day was breakdown and the awarding of the most coveted prize at camp...Heritage Mountain. We were judged all week on camp cleanliness, unity, being on time for meetings, lashing a new item every day, and getting everyone certified. Last year, my partner and I won Heritage Mountain with first years! (It is rare that a first year unit wins.) But Pamela and I encouraged our girls to shoot for it and sure enough, our unit of ten homesick, shy, hesitant, yet enthusiastic girls won the prize! Oh how we screamed when they announced that we had won. (There may have even been a few tears...just sayin')
So, camp is over and we LOVED it! I hope I can go every single year because it is an amazing experience. You don't feel the spirit as strong anywhere (except perhaps the temple) than you do at Girl's camp. It is truly sacred ground!
Here is our week preceding Girl's camp.
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