Girls Camp

I am posting this just like 2 days after girls camp. Uh-mazing. I know if I don't put these in here now I'll probably just delete them from my phone before I remember to save them. Got to document all my hard work somewhere, right?! 

I was totally thinking this would be such a fun calling---and it was---but when the bishop kindly asked me if I felt I could handle it, being in the life situation I was 3 months ago, I am now seeing why he was so concerned with if I could do it or not. It consumed my life for about 8 weeks! Not to complain. Church callings are for a reason and I think a big reason I got this one was to keep my mind off my dad. I have been having such a hard time getting him out of my mind a lot of days and keeping my spirits up. Even though it was a lot of extra time, work, and late nights getting camp put together, it did definitely help me to feel like I was moving forward, a lot more than if I had not had something so big to focus on. 

It was ward camp--which I've never ever been to, much less been in charge of before! It was a lot to organize. Planning the theme, the schedule, the crafts, the activities, the hike, the certification, the decorations, the pre-camp mutuals, the sleeping arrangements, the transportation, the food....holy crap. I hope someday I get to be ward camp director when it's stake camp and a huge part of that stuff is already taken care of. THAT would be fun!!  

Anyway, I don't have a single picture with me or really any of the other leaders in it, besides the big group one. I did not take pictures at good moments either. Oh well. 

My car packed to the point of exploding on the way up there

Some of our cute decorations. The theme was "Oh the Places You'll Go" and we had fun with the Dr. Seuss stuff. My favorite was the skits--the groups had each picked a Dr. Seuss book and then they re-wrote it with a gospel theme for their skit. One group did the Grinch and it was hilarious.

We had camp at a house!!! Definitely my kind of camping. I slept in a king size bed (don't worry, I shared), with a shower and bathroom literally right next to me. The house had air conditioning....not too shabby for Tonya! Anyway, it was at one of the other leaders' parents' home which is in Rigby....although I'd consider it more in Ririe, it is pretty far out from Rigby. Anyway, it's "in the woods" and was a really wonderful, beautiful place. The girls still slept in tents outside and we did pretty much everything but cooking outside. 

Hiking! I don't hate hiking as much as I used to....all my years of running distance races must have finally changed my perception of endurance in distance because I didn't think our hike was that long, but the girls sure did! 

Craft time.... they really loved the 2 crafts I planned, which were some mason jar lanterns and duct tape purses. We also had metal necklaces they got to stamp that another leader planned and brought.

We did secret sisters, which apparently this ward hasn't done in a long time. It went well and I think everyone really liked it! The leaders did it too. Jackie had me and gave me a soda every day....this one was my favorite :)

We had a sweet first-year (Beehive) camper who has Downs Syndrome. I was constantly in awe of the Christ-like love and service the other girls showed towards  her. She had a fabulous time and it was really uplifting to see how well she was taken care of by everyone.

We had a few stow-aways! Are they not adorable.

Our big group the last night! They almost all bore their testimonies and almost all cried.....that means it's a good one, right?! ha ha. 

Cute little flag one of the leaders made for them to sign on the first and last day. 

My flying balloon person! Oh the places I'll go! 

We really did do some cool stuff. We had a bunch of silly contests like pie eating, bubble blowing, baby bottle chugging one afternoon, then another day we had water games. We did glow in the dark games one night which was fun too. We (me and one other leader) led the girls in Zumba dancing two of the mornings, bright and early. We spent our whole last day at Rigby Lake! We rented paddle boards and canoes and the girls (and leaders!) had a blast. Of course one of the best parts for leaders is the late-night leader bonding time, I planned little bonding games for us that were fun and sometimes hilarious. We only had 2 injuries--a fractured shoulder (fell off a zipline) and a broken finger (caught it on a paddle board)--which actually is AWFUL but both were not situations that could have been prevented by me or anyone else. It all really went well and I'm so grateful. And now I will finally have some FREE TIME!