On Monday morning, Sarah, Megan, Mariah, Cheyenne, and Calianne left for YW Camp.  There was much hustle and bustle and then . . . quiet.  Bethany and Benjamin were quick to invite lots of friends over and noisy things up again, but still!  Five girls at young women's camp?!  How fun is that??  I was invited to go since I was a member of the YW presidency up until April and they all still love me and how could I miss going when so many of my girls were there?  I had to do some accounting work before I could go, though, so I did that Monday and went to camp Tuesday.  In the meantime, Kevin and I took Beth and Ben out to dinner at Denny's.  Fun times!

Tuesday I took Beth and Ben to Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik's house.  They had a super fun week sleeping over every night (Kevin, too!), buying new clothes, riding the merry-go-round at the mall, watching movies, going out to eat, and playing on Grandma and Grandpa's slip and slide.  Grandma loved having them and they loved being with Grandma!

It was great to see the rest of my family when I got to camp and be with the YW who I love and the presidency that I love!  That afternoon, Sarah and I were the leaders who volunteered to go on the 4th year overnight hike.  Five girls went with us including Mariah!  We went about 2.5 miles but we were carrying heavy packs at a high elevation, mostly uphill.  That's my excuse for why it kicked my butt!  The rest of the girls did great and wondered why I was panting so hard?  We cooked over tiny stoves, went on a night hike (no packs, yeah!) with the rest of the girls and leaders, and then returned to sleep in our tiny tents in Moose Meadows.

The girls in our ward were up at the crack of dawn, stuffed everything back in their packs, and rousted Sarah and I from our sleep to hike back to our ward camp before breakfast.  Yum!  Pancakes!  After breakfast, our ward took its turn at the ropes course where, among other gospel-related obstacles, we got to climb a pole, walk across a tightrope cable, and zipline back down!  So fun!

On Thursday, the girls did a service project in the morning then we hiked to the lake in the afternoon for some canoeing.  We were pretty hot when we got back so a water fight ensued where Calianne succeeded in soaking completely our bishop and ward clerk.  Don't mess with that girl!  After dinner, we performed skits in front of all the girls in the stake and ours was the best.  Megan was in charge and had run the girls through several rehearsals and it rocked!  That girl has theatre in her veins!

Everybody at camp got hats and you could earn stickers for activities.  Cali and Chey were very good at it!

Megan was the YCL who decorated the cabins.

Lots of deer!

Putting in the last piece!

Narrating the skit!

Part of the skit

After the testimony meeting which lasted until midnight, we woke the next morning to clean cabins and head home!  Sarah did a great job as a camp leader, Megan did great as a youth camp leader, Mariah did great loving and cheering the girls around her, Cheyenne and Calianne did great interacting with all the older girls and staying involved.  It really was a great camp!  What a blessing to experience it with my girls!