I Made It!

I survived. In fact I think it went rather well, some might call it fun even. Not that I didn't expect Girl's Camp to be fun, but I expected it to be more work than fun. The point I miscalculated, was that in this instance, there is fun oh yes, but the work too was enjoyable and satisfying... fun.

I loved leading the Friendship Games on our Certification rotation day; I loved helping cook and problem solve all the food issues that happened at nearly EVERY meal; I loved setting the tents up and taking them down; I loved watching Sister Tuck and Sister Walsh leading the girls in the crafts we had planned; I loved doing some activities with the Bishop. I even enjoyed it (afterward) when things went totally wrong and in the end turned out possibly better than I planned.

I did not love the severe thunderstorm we had to sleep through the first night.
No offense to those that donated tents for us to sleep in, but half of them were the kind that look really "cool"- with the pop-out sides, a dog door, space for extra leg room, and crazy angles- had really "cool" looking rainflys that went in all directions except to properly cover the tent. So needless to say we got a little wet. Most of the girls and leaders slept on inflatable mattresses, so they were kept off of the wet ground. But all the little "cool" extensions some of the tents had didn't hold up in the rain that first night. They maybe could have withstood a short Georgia cloud burst, but not a multiple hour severe thunderstorm.

Most of my assumptions were correct about how the majority of things would run. My only true disappointment was that campfire camp songs were kinda lame because there were sooooo many first years who didn't know the words and no one could figure out how to "teach" the words to any song but those where you repeat what the leader yells/sings.

I will have to work on this for next year. Camp songs are a key part of my love for Girl's Camp.

I also have to give my mom credit for passing on a love of Girl's Camp to me. She attended all the Girl's Camps I've ever attended (except this one) as a leader of some sort. And I never wished she wasn't there. In fact, as this was my first solo Girl's Camp, there did come a point where I wished she WAS there to help me figure out some problems. But luckily I had great leaders, especially Sister Toro, to help me when my pregnant brain simply could not comprehend what to do next. (Seriously, there would be times where I would stand there and I simply could not figure out what I should be doing.)

I'm so excited for next year. I know I'll have a seven-month-old boy, but I still really hope I can be the camp director. Luckily, I don't have to worry about that now, the Lord will know where to put me.

Mars Hill Ward!! (Just before tent assignments were given out.)

Sister Walsh braiding Britteny's hair.

Bishop's Night! Thank goodness Sister Bleak brought dessert up. It was soooooo good- Mint brownies and sweet biscuits with berries.

Bishop and his girls!

I nearly forgot the best part:
When I got home, Brian had cleaned the kitchen and family room, hung up the pictures I've been trying to hang up for months, put the crib together and had it waiting in our little boy's room, gone grocerie shopping, returned a pair of pants to the store and bought the correct size, and done most of the laundry!!!
Really, I married such a great man.

Later that day we went back to mall, and after much measuring and decision making, bought a new sectional sofa at Macy's One Day Sale. We knew we got a most excellent deal on the couch because we've been shoppping for 6 months for a sectional, but we were still skeptical of how good a deal we got. You always are after a big purchase right? So we checked the price online the next day and the price went up $500! And that was still their "sale" price!

Now I'm not saying that because I did such a great job at Girl's Camp that we were blessed to find a super sale. But I'm not not saying that they are totally unrelated. ;-)