Girls Camp 2012

My 3rd year as my ward's camp leader is officially OVER. If you don't count sorting through 1045 totes full of stuff and finding places to store a whole lotta camping gear ;). This year was GREAT, as usual. Every year seems so different from the last it's fun to see how the girls have grown and how their friendships evolve over time. They are all friends but at camp I think they grow closer and closer every year. We had 10 girls this year which is the most we've ever had attend camp with our ward in many many years. It was so fun, we had 3 non-member girls there and one new girl who just moved into our ward 2 days before camp. Every girl was so great and helpful. They seriously are the best girls that we could ask for. We didn't have any drama or fighting, just laughing and talking. Many girls from other wards hung out at our campsite which happens every year and it's so fun. They had so many free time activities planned for the girls this year but our girls chose to stay at the campsite with Nicole and I. When you'd look around all the other campsites were empty but ours :). I think that's a fun sign. We kept trying to convince them to go do the fun activities but we had lots of fun stuff and they wanted to stay so it was all good.

I'm not posting any pictures tonight, I'm exhausted. I got home. Sat in silence for a few minutes to just relax. Got in the shower then with my wet hair still wrapped in a towel got into my clean bed and tried to sleep. Then tried harder. It didn't work. I got up and my entire body felt like it couldn't move. I wasn't feeling good anyways before camp and it just seemed to get worse. Combined with the smoke inhalation from the fires I sound like some sort of dying sea otter with bronchitis. Whatever that means. Each cough takes so much out of me and hurts really bad (worse than it probably should). While I was out there, it was not comfortable but I didn't notice it as much because I was focused more on what the girls needed and where they needed to be but now that it's all about me again (HA!! just kidding) I'm feeling every bump, bruise, scrape, bite, cough, burn, etc. I'm like an old lady, ironically one of the youngest leaders at camp but I still feel a little old.

The best part of camp was seeing the girls everyday and learning more about them. Seeing them be such good friends and people to everyone and helping out however they could. We had a little camp journal I made up for them and it was awesome to seem them bringing that with them and madly scribbling down every word they heard, especially the girls who aren't members. They all asked such great questions and nobody would have ever known that only 5 out of our 10 girls are actually members/active in church. They were all great and wonderful. Camp was a success!!

It helps to have a great "assistant" like Nicole who just does stuff and knows how to do everything. She's much more patient and organized than I am and it was a big help/relief to have her there this year. We kept talking about next year this, next year that, but who knows what will happen, our ward might wisen up and realize that I'm a little eccentric and not a great camper, but maybe they won't?! :) It's already been 3 years and nobody's said anything yet, fingers crossed!!

Overall, worth the 200+ emails, 50+ store trips, hours looking over ad's and making shopping lists, prepping, planning, packing, unpacking, repacking, etc. Very worth it.