Back in January we got an email from the Stake Young Women presidency telling us Girls Camp this year would be something different and exciting for the girls. During Camp the girls would have the opportunity to go white water rafting down the Snake River. Emily was so excited to hear this. I was also excited to hear this and went to my friend, April Checketts, the Young Women president in our ward, and told her I wanted to go and help out if she needed me. Well the next Sunday I was called as the Girls Camp Director! I went back to April and said that was not really what I had in mind when I volunteered. She laughed and told me she had already submitted my name before I even said anything to her. So I guess it was meant to be. I immediately told Russell he needed to come as well and be the camp cook so he was my unofficial camp assistant.
So for the last few months, I have been planning and preparing for Girls Camp. It has been a little stressful because I wanted everything to be good for the girls. I also didn't really know how much to plan and how much free time I needed to fill because we were going as a stake camp and they were planning most of the activities. In the end though it turned out really fun and I think all of the girls had a great time.
On the morning of August 6, all of the girls and leaders met at our house and loaded the vehicles to head to Camp Darby in Alta, Wyoming. The drive was about 4 hours long so we left bright and early at 6:30 am. I thought the girls would sleep the whole ride but no they were all excited and chatted the whole way.
We finally arrived at Camp Darby around 10:30 am and got to check into our cabin. Since we have the most girls in our ward, we got the biggest cabin. This was nice except it was located at the top of the campground so we had to hike up and down the mountain all day everyday. Oh well we were able to get our steps in!
Camp was kicked off with an opening meeting put on by the stake. The stake girls explained our awesome theme, "You are so Loved!" and reminded everyone how loved they were by everyone at the camp and especially our Heavenly Father. After that, we had some ward free time so we decided to play volleyball for an hour or so.
This was really fun but soon the girls were drawn away by the beautiful stream flowing near the meadow. It was hot so a lot of them decided to wade in the water and cool off. These girls were very good at entertaining themselves and just enjoyed being together it didn't matter what we were doing.
One of the things the girls loved at Camp Darby was the giant slide that took you from the lodge and the stake camp to the meadow amphitheater at the very bottom of the camp. The slide was a much quicker way to get down to the meadow than walking the stairs so we took it every time. (If only there was a slide to take us back up though...) This slide was so fast especially if you were wearing leggings. It was actually pretty dangerous to tell you the truth. There were multiple times our girls and leaders would get going down this slide and just fly off the slide at the bottom because they were going so fast they couldn't stop. Luckily there was sawdust at the bottom to make it a little softer landing. It was a good time.
After volleyball we headed back to our cabin for some more ward time. During this time, we made some crafts. First we cut out hearts and wrote notes to our secret ward so we could heart attack their cabin later in the week. Then we made this cute nail and string art of our camp theme.
There was a lot of pounding of hammers during this art project and it got a little loud but they all turned out so good. I though they would all look similar but each of the girls put their own style into the string art and made their suns look a little different. I think they liked it and it was something they could take home and remember camp and remember they are loved.
Our priesthood leaders were awesome too! Brother Bunce and President Oyler came up as our priesthood leaders and they were happy to be there and hang out.
Russell and Zach were our other priesthood leaders that doubled as our camp cooks and all around hard workers. These two were so great at getting everything ready for meals so that I didn't have to worry about a thing.
I also had a bunch of other crafts and games just out for the girls to do whenever they wanted. There was a ton of string for the girls to make bracelets with. Each girl had a bracelet or two they were working on all throughout camp.
I also brought up a bunch of fabric for the girls to make their own rag dolls. They girls really got into making dolls. I just had to show how to make the dolls once and they were set. It was cool to see them teach each other and help each other make the dolls. I was laughing inside as I listened to them chat and joke about who each of their dolls were. Some made their dolls represent their crushes and others made them represent themselves.
Each night there was a fireside where we all came together as a stake.
Throughout the day and the rest of camp, we were encouraged to search for Jesus in everything we did. Hidden around the camp were these little Jesus figurines and the girls were able to find them and keep them. If they found more than one or had already found Jesus, they were encouraged to give that Jesus to another girl or share Jesus with someone else. This was a really cute and literal way for the girls to learn to seek for Jesus in their lives.
During the nighttime fireside the first night, the stake leaders talked about overcoming fears. They encouraged each person to write down a fear they have and then crumple it up and throw it in the fire. This symbolized acknowledging you have a fear but letting it go.
Before lights out that night, we participated in a tree singing. This is where each ward pointed all of their flashlights at a certain tree and then sang a song. Before Girls Camp, each ward was assigned a certain section of the Living Christ to learn and memorize. As part of the
Living Christ Project, each section was put to music to create a pretty amazing song. As we sang to each other and the trees this night, we got to hear the complete song as each ward sang their parts. The Spirit during this time was so strong I could hardly sing the song. It was pretty amazing! We headed to bed that night on a real Spiritual high.
The next morning we woke up extra early to head out on a sunrise hike. We were originally going to wake up at 4:00 am for this hike because we were going to travel to a different trail-head but then the camp host said there was a much closer and better hike right here at the camp. It was not an official trail head just something he had discovered on his morning walks but still beautiful and much more accessible for our big group. This was great new to our girls and they were much more willing to go on the hike since we didn't have to get up so early. The camp host offered to be our guide and off we went.
The hike was beautiful and the crisp morning air made the walk through the forest so peaceful. I loved crossing the little log bridge over the stream and had to just stop and listen to the water rushing downstream.
After about a mile of walking, we made it to the top of the hill that gave us a perfect view of the sun rising over the mountains in the distance.
The view and the early morning colors were just breathtaking. I love being in the mountains!
There was still about a half an hour or so before the sun had fully risen over the mountains so we used this time to just sit quietly and ponder or meditate on all of the beauty and blessings around us. It was nice to just be still and calm for a few minutes in nature.
Most of the group decided to head back to camp but a few of us wanted to stay and see the sunrise.
I could have stayed and watched the sunrise all morning long. As the sun rose over the mountains, we were all just in awe. This hike was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole camp.
Before hiking back to camp, the girls wanted to get a picture of the sun rise with their little Jesus figurine. The three of them worked together to get this amazing shot. Emily made the heart figure with her hands while Annalee and Cami balanced Jesus inside and positioned her hands at the right angle to get the sun rising in the back ground. I think it turned out perfectly.
Back at camp, we got ready for the morning fireside where our girls were in charge of the flag ceremony.
During each gathering as a stake, each ward had a chant or something for roll call. Our cheer was probably the longest but also the best! We sang, "What can we say except You're Welcome, the Hyrum 2nd Ward is here. The party can start now, You're Welcome! You're Welcome!" (This was to the tune of "You're Welcome from Moana.) We got a lot of laughs and cheers for it.
The second day at camp was full of activities planned by the stake and also some ward free time. The stake activities were really fun and went along with the Children and Youth Program areas of Physical, Spiritual, Intellectual, and Social goals. First we started with drumming!
During drumming we just had a good time banging on some different types of "drums." We used anything from buckets, garbage cans, yoga exercise balls, and even logs. The Stake Camp director played some fun music and led us in the drumming exercises and we all had a great time just jamming out. The purpose of this drumming was to just let go of some of our pent up energy and find a fun harmless release. She mentioned that she does this type of exercise with elderly people and they love it because is very low impact but still gets their heart rate going and they are just having fun. The girls loved it!
Next we met in the meadow and did some high energy dance aerobics. This was so funny to watch everyone just try to dance and follow the instructor.
Some people really got into it and didn't care at all while others, myself included, were a little more timid and self conscious. In the end though we were all sweating, smiling, and just having a good time.
Next we got to take a little break from the physical stuff and sit in the lodge and make friendship bracelets. The stake youth leaders taught us how to do different knots and things to make all kinds of bracelets. Like I said before, every girls had a bracelet or two they were working on all throughout camp.
After these activities, we had a little break from the stake so we headed back up to our cabin for some ward time. During this hour, I took a minute to talk a little bit about something I had been thinking about on the morning hike. One of the stake youth leaders read a scripture that really hit me so I wanted to share it with the girls.
At the end of Mark 4 Jesus performs the miracle of calming the stormy sea. In verses 38-39 it says, "...Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."
There have been many times when I have said the same thing, "carest thou not that I perish?" but I know that the Lord can calm every storm or help us though any trial in our lives. He wants us to have peace, to be calm and still, and that is when he can speak to us.
During this hour of down time I encouraged the girls to find a quiet spot outside of the cabin and away from everyone else to just sit and ponder, read their scriptures, or just relax for a while. I gave each of them a letter from their parents to read as well as a solo booklet with some stories and quotes from the prophet and apostles. The stories and quotes were to remind them how loved they are by our Heavenly Father and those around them. I remember this type of solo time being really impactful to me while I was at Girls Camp as a Young Woman. I hope it was meaningful to them as well.
Sadly, that short hour went by quickly and we were back to more activities with the stake. This time it was an ultimate game of rock, paper, scissors and jump rope. In the jump rope game, we all stood in a big line and one by one we had to run into the rope, jump once, and then run out without getting tripped up. Then the next person had to go right after you all within the next rotation of the jump rope. If you missed or were too late or caused the rope to stop turning you were out. We had to see who was the last girl standing.
Ultimate rock, paper, scissors was fun too. We all stood in lines opposite each other and had to hop to the middle until we met the person coming from the other way. In the middle you had to do a rock, paper, scissors challenge and if you lost you were out and the winner moved on. This continued until there was only one left standing and she got the big golden trophy! These games were actually quite fun. Unfortunately no one from our ward won but a couple of them were in the finals. We still had a good time cheering for everyone else though.
Next our ward participated in Camp Darby's obstacle/confidence course. This was very interesting. The girls were really good about helping each other through the obstacles. They were also really good at brainstorming solutions to the problems. There was also a lot of laughter.
The first obstacle we had to get through was a giant spider web. The story was that we were trapped in a cave with a big poisonous spider and the only way out of the cave was to go through the web but we couldn't touch any of the strings or it would alert the spider and we could only go through each hole twice. This was harder than it sounds but the girls worked together to lift and pass each other through the holes. We may or may not have been eaten by the spider a few times.
Next we moved to the meadow where we had to cross a raging crocodile filled river using only logs. Then we moved on to stomping across the meadow on these boards. We had to get our whole tribe from one end of the jungle to the other by walking on the boards hooked to our feet. This was a good time to have a little competition between girls and leaders. the priesthood leaders also got into it and raced us across the meadow.
The last two obstacles were a little more complicated and I don't think we ever really figured them out but we still had fun trying. First we had to get from one end of the balance log to the other while passing another person going the opposite direction. We tried everything we could think of to get this done but nothing seemed to work. My favorite attempt was when Bro. Bunce and Bro. Checketts tried to hold onto one hand and swing themselves around. It didn't work but it was funny to see them dance.
The next challenge was swinging from a rope. We had to pretend our ship was sinking and the only way to get to safety from the shark infested waters was to swing to the island without touching the water or ground. This was also harder than it looked because we are not Tarzan. We could not get our legs up high enough or get to the other side and dismount without falling over and touching the ground. Oh well, we had a good time swinging and pretending to fly.
Our final challenge of the day was to get all of our group on this balancing board and balance it so that we were off the ground for at least 5 seconds. As you can see we were able to accomplish that task! The obstacle course was a fun way to spend the afternoon.
These girls were not afraid to show their true selves while at camp. The funniest group were the two youngest girls that pretended to be gremlins the whole time. They ran around with their legs through the arm holes of their hoodies trying to scare everyone. I just had to laugh at them.
Each of the girls were able to find a little Jesus figurine while at camp. They were so cute.
During the second night's devotional, we learned about the masks or labels we put on ourselves to either hide or pretend to be something else. We were encouraged to take the masks off and be who we truly are. For fun, each girl was given a mask to decorate and then we had a Mascarade dance party.
That night we encouraged everyone to get some sleep because the next day was our big water rafting trip!
The next morning everyone woke up excited for the new adventure we were all going on. We loaded into the cars and headed south to Jackson Hole, WY. In Jackson we all met up at the Dave Hansen Whitewater place to get ready for our tour down river.
After checking in, we boarded a bus to take us to the river. We were all crowded in the bus but we were all so excited for the river.
We finally made it to the river and the guides strapped life vests on us and told us to grab a paddle and get in a boat.
This was it! We were really doing it. We were going white water rafting! Our group was so big we had to split into a couple different boats and share with another ward. This was fine though, the girls were just happy to be on a boat. Russell, Emily, and I were all together on the same boat because I didn't want us to be split up. (And I needed Russell to save me if I fell overboard.) Our group also consisted of the other leaders and the younger 12 year old girls. We had to keep them safe too.
The ride down river was so fun!! Our river guide was really funny and told us all of the safety rules of the boat as if he was joking. He said that if we did everything he said we wouldn't fall out and when he said paddle we had to paddle no matter what. We made Russell and Zach be the main paddlers on the front. Emily and I and the rest of the leaders also took a paddle. The girls wanted to be in the middle in hopes that they wouldn't get wet. Well... getting wet was going to happen! And yes we were soaked by the end. Our guide said someone may fall out but if we did, we needed to just keep swimming toward the boat and he would get us back in. Thankfully no one in our boat fell out though there were some close calls.
White Water Rafting was probably the most fun I have ever had. It was scary, yes, but totally worth it. I did not know what to expect when we hit the rapids so on the first rapid, I about fell out of the boat. I just remember going up on the raft and looking down at the huge wave swell below me and I was leaning right into it nearly hanging out of the boat. Just as I was about to go over, I smashed my feet into the seat in front of me and leaned back and the force of the wave pushed me back into the boat. From that point on, I knew what to expect a little more and could anticipate where to lean so I didn't topple out. Also from that point on, we were all soaked.
Before that first rapid, our guide asked if any of the girls wanted to ride the bull. When none of them volunteered, he picked two of them and made them do it. Now we didn't know what "ride the bull" meant so we were a little nervous. "Riding the Bull" means you sit on the front of the raft facing forward with your legs over the edge in the water. You have one rope hand hold and you ride the rapid like you are riding a bull. Our guide warned that if they were going to fall off while riding the bull to fall backward into the raft. At the beginning, the girls were really scared and wanted to huddle together in the middle. By the end of the river rafting though, they were all fighting to be the one on the front riding the bull. Our two youngest girls even rode on the front through the biggest rapid, the Big Kahuna!
At one point our Stake Young Women President, McKenna, and her counselor were on the front riding the bull through a series of rapids. After the first big rapid they were flung backwards into the boat. We couldn't help them because we were still paddling though the rapid so they just kept getting plummeted with water through three more rapids. It was so funny to watch the video from the GoPro afterwards. McKenna's glasses were knocked off her face and we thought they were gone for good but later we found them in a crack at the bottom of our raft.
Everyone was so enthusiastic and charged with energy as we pulled the rafts to shore and exited the river. This had definitely been a once in a lifetime opportunity for many of us. We were so happy to have been able to participate in this exciting adventure.
The ride back on the bus though was quite quiet! Almost everyone was asleep!
As you can see from out after picture, everyone was all smiles. Before heading back to camp, we decided to stop at a park in Jackson to eat our lunch. We drove around hoping to get a spot at the main park in Jackson with the famous antler arches. Unfortunately, everyone, and I mean everyone, in this tourist town had the same idea so there was no parking or anywhere to sit. We finally went to another park that ended up being right behind the water rafting place anyway. I was glad everyone was having a good time.
Back at camp, many of the girls just wanted to crash and sleep for a bit. I was fine with that and took that opportunity to take a shower. That shower felt sooo gooood! It was probably better than my own shower at home!
After resting for a while we hit the archery range to show off our Robin Hood skills.
Actually, surprisingly, we have some pretty good archers in our ward. Many of them hit the targets and I think we only lost one arrow. The best part was just listening to the girls cheer for and encourage each other. I also liked hearing their little banter back and forth too.
We were just running out of time. We were having too much fun shooting bows and arrows. Soon the guys came down and told us dinner was ready.
Since it was our final night at camp, we had a nice dinner of Dutch oven potatoes and chicken.
We also made a cobbler and homemade raspberry ice cream. These three girls loved turning the hand crank on the ice cream churn and did most of the work to get the ice cream ready for us to eat. It was delicious.
When dinner was finished, we headed back down to the lodge for our final devotional. This devotional was amazing! The stake leaders talked about Christ and how he loves each one of us. The best part, though, was when they had us sit and just listen without any distractions. We each received a blindfold to put on our eyes so we couldn't see. We were not allowed to talk either. As we just listened to the beautiful music of the song "His Hands," the leaders placed different objects for us to feel in our hands that went along with the song. We were given things that represented Christ's life like, straw, rope, a wet cloth for cleansing, and sticks. At the climax of the song, when it talks about Christ's hands being pierced and that He let them pierce Him because He loves us so much, we were given a nail. At this point, all you could hear besides the song was sniffles as the Spirit touched each one of us and we knew that Jesus Christ loved each of us. It was so touching! I will always remember that feeling.
After the devotional, we quietly went back to our camp and prepared for our ward testimony fireside. The bishop did a great job setting the mood and many of the girls shared their sweet testimonies. Testimony meeting has always been my favorite part of Girls' Camp.
Along with testimonies, Emily and Madi gave out some camp awards. The award they gave me was the Mother Hen award because I was always making sure they were where they needed to be. I loved it! None of us wanted the night to end because we knew it would be the last night at Camp.
The next morning we broke down camp and packed everything back into the vehicles to head home. Before leaving the girls had to get one last group photo in the cabin:
The car ride home was very interesting as well. At one point, these crazy girls took my phone and took a bunch of funny pictures of themselves and their crazy camp hair. They laughed the whole way home.
When we finally made it back to our house, you could tell everyone was exhausted from an eventful week at Camp. We were all ready to go home and take a shower and a nap!
I loved going to Girls Camp with our Young Women. I really hope some of the activities and things I planned were memorable for the girls. I hope they all enjoyed their time at camp and came away with more confidence and a stronger testimony.
I especially loved going to Camp with Emily. She was a big help in getting everything ready and helping where needed. Most importantly though, I loved just being with her. She is an amazing daughter and young woman. She is kind to everyone and looks out for others. I loved watching her interact with the other girls and make friends. I loved spending this fun time with just her.
I am also glad Russell was able tot go and help out and be the comic relief for the girls. I think they teased him as much as he teased them.
After getting everything cleaned up and put away from camp, I felt like I needed to sleep for a week straight. The stress and lack of sleep and all of it just came to a head and I was exhausted! I was not the only one either. The next day at church, you could tell that all of the leaders felt the same way. My bed never felt so good. It was like sleeping on clouds! I also told Russell I would never complain about his snoring again because the other leaders I stayed with were ten times worse! I don't think I slept at all the first two nights because of snoring or moaning or other weird sleep sounds. Finally on the last night I found some ear plugs and jammed them in my ears. I couldn't hear anything and I slept so soundly! Who knew something so small could be so great!
In all, I think Girls Camp was a success!
