GIRLS CAMP 2011

Well, we all survived Girls Camp!  Fourteen girls and four leaders headed out to the mountains near Laramie, WY for four days of camping!

Let me back up...

If you are a loyal reader...you'll know that I chose the word BELIEVE as "my word of the year".

I was asked to be the camp director for our church group in March, and the theme for camp was

LIVE AS YOU BELIEVE.

hmmm...coincidence?  It was meant to be.

I was more than overwhelmed with the responsibility of creating an atmosphere for fourteen girls ages 12-18 where they can learn about themselves, strengthen their testimony, build strong bonds and create unity with the other girls and have fun!  I was blessed to have my co-leader Molly and we were two peas in a pod.  There were times when we would say the exact same thing and think the same thing at the same time during our planning meetings/phone calls/emails.  She is hilarious and I couldn't have done camp without her!

We were asked to pick a "fairy tale" and a "virtue" for our group and I came up with Sleeping Beauty and Divine Nature.  After collaboration with Molly, we decided to concentrate on Sleeping Beauty's name, Aurora....and then went further by concentrating on the Aurora Borealis.  We had stars everywhere and put our focus on "shining bright" and "sharing our light" with those around us.  It worked perfectly and the girls were able follow our thought process!  We called it the "AURORA AFFECT".

We headed up to camp on Tuesday morning.  All of the girls were on separate hikes so it was just the four leaders: me, Molly, Trissha and Alaina in our truck pulling a 16 foot trailer full of EVERYTHING we would need!  Matt was a wonderful asset when it came to packing all of the necessities and clever items for camp!  I knew scout camp would come in handy one day!

We arrived at camp around 1:30 in the afternoon...after a little off road adventure...and it was HOT and there were mosquitoes EVERYWHERE.  Our "shelter" hadn't been put up yet so there was very little shade but we marched on and nearly had camp all set up by the time some of the priesthood came to help with the shelter.  Many of the girls were being eaten alive!  Thankfully we were well stocked on bug spray!

Our first night we performed our skit, and the girls were awesome!  They wrote the skit themselves and designed their props!

*click on the collages to enlarge*

  Don't you just love their tutu's???  I really wanted them to have something to wear all week that represented princesses...without being pink and all girly!  Someone donated all the black...and then I chose the blue with the value color for divine nature.  Each of the girls made their own the week before camp and I loved their originality!  We stayed up late with fantastic devotionals and perfect campfires roasting everything...marshmallows, starbursts, mike-n-ikes...it was a blast. 

Wednesday was crafts/ropes course/certification with everyone who was at the camp...and I'm guessing there were around 200 girls.  We all made cute beaded watches and decorated wood frames with the nature around us!  The girls also completed certification in archery, canoeing and BB gun shooting.

That night we had our "ward night" and our Bishopric came out and we had a pretty amazing and spiritual devotional followed by our own little testimony meeting.  Thankfully I wasn't puffy from mosquito bites because my eyes sure were from all the crying!  I had some of the most touching and special experiences I've had in a very long time that night and I owe that to my Heavenly Father.  He was a part of our whole camp experience and we were blessed with an overwhelming feeling of love as we all spent time together!  We could be so silly singing goofy camp songs and the next we were hugging and crying.  Only girls, right?

I planned two crafts just for our girls and they LOVED them, phew!

The frosted "lantern" was pretty awesome!  My sister-in-law went to camp a few weeks ago and shared that craft with me, you can find the directions HERE.  My favorite though was the BELIEVE wood block.  I found a seller on Etsy who had these wire words for sale!  The girls painted thier blocks any way they wanted too then we attached the wire word with clear craft glue! 

All of the girls and leaders had these fun treats delivered during the week!  It was fun trying to come with with clever quotes to go along with the goodies.  Thanks to my sister, Darci for helping me when my brain no longer had any creative juice!

Sara, Katie and Amber just couldn't go without washing their hair! Me?  Nope...four full days of nasty hair and no shower!  YUM!

Camp Batel is only three years old so there is still work to be done to make it more user friendly and beautiful.  Our service project this year was to cover the pathways with wood chips and then line the sides with various logs.  It sure made a difference when we had completed three hours of shoveling and hauling.  Our girls were AMAZING during the service project.  I didn't hear one complaint about the heat or tiredness.  We were using wheelbarrows and the truck to haul as much as we could and accomplish more than was asked of us.  Trissh and I were overcome with emotion when we watched our girls complete a new task at the end of our requirement, with smiles and determination! 

Did you know there were GIANT marshmallows?

We endured hot weather, rain, wind, hail, mosquitoes, rain, wind, rain, wind, mosquitoes...and still had a wonderful time!  Our food was amazing thanks to Molly and Trissh.  I LOVED spending so much time with these ladies!  I learned so much and was strengthened just being around you!

*Trissh, Alaina, ME, Molly*

Our last night at camp...the weather was horrible.  The wind blew our shelter down on top of us, bending the poles and ripping the canvas.  Then the rain started as we were starting to prepare the food for our foil dinners.  Then it started pouring and we hadn't even started our fire for dinner.  As leaders....we totally decided to send two off to Laramie for pizza.  I still stand behind my decision and it was a wonderful treat for the girls.  While Trissh and Molly were off to town we were able to get our campsite/decorations/kitchen/food...all stowed away in totes and safe from the storm.  The girls hunkered down in their tents singing camp songs and playing games.  I had a great time chatting with Alaina and enjoyed a little down time.  When the pizza arrived...it was chaos.  Lets just say...six pizzas...18 people...eight minutes...GONE!

Our last group picture before we left camp...in all our dirty and stinky glory!

This post could go on, and on, and on if I wrote everything that went on during those four days!  It was an AMAZING experience for me and I even said out loud that I'd love to do it again next year!  I feel I almost need a "redo" now that I have some experience behind me!  One of my favorite things to witness was the excitement the girls had when they delivered their "secret sister" goodies!  They were so thoughtful and it was fun to have that little secret going on during camp!  Thank you to friends to volunteered to help tend the kids and a loving husband who stuck by me during my craziness!  I love you! Thank you the women to went along with me and to the 14 amazing young women that participated.  You've touched my heart and I will cherish these days with you forever!  I pray that these girls were able to walk away with fun memories but more importantly a desire to "share their light" and to never forget the AURORA AFFECT as they grow and strengthen their testimonies.

 Until next year!