Dust Bowl...Part 2

I'm catching up on sleep...

(sort of)

something about the lack of sleep...

the conditions...

and always having something to do and somewhere to be

has caused me to lack my usual

happy-go-lucky

ways.

In fact if I'm really being honest...

I don't feel like myself!

As much as I loved being with some amazing youth leaders

and some amazing young women,

it has taken a toll on my emotional and physical well-being.

So I'm hoping that as I continue this post with all the pictures...

it will help to cheer me up!

Nothing like a great set of pictures to remind you of the 

wonderful memories you created!

Day 2: Hike

I was lucky enough to be able to go on the hike with the

Third-year girls.

These are the girls my daughter Rachel's age.

They are a hoot and find joy in everything they do!

It was a good thing too...

it was a REALLY hard hike

and their enthusiasm and excitement for life kept me going! 

 Our THIRD YEAR group of girls!

 I think this picture is a perfect example of the amount of 

DIRT

we had being kicked up at us all day long.

For one day...we girlies had dirt mustaches to enjoy!

Our Third-Year group with leaders from just our WARD.

You can see our mustaches in this one!

Once we returned we took a much needed shower!

I couldn't wait to get the layers of dirt off of me and to remove my mustache once and for all!

We played a lot of games this night.

Our two favorites?

BIG BOOTY and BUNNY, BUNNY!

Our super hip and way cooler than me-camp director

helped us make really cute headbands...

which I ended up using the rest of camp to deal with my

wild and crazy hair.

I'm wearing it in this picture...

and I wore it in every picture until I went home!

 Lastly one of the things I was most looking forward to in going to camp was the opportunity I would have of going with my

two daughters.

And while I LOVED that I got to spend that time with them...

they were usually too busy with friends

to care if I was there or not.

But Megan is one of my GIRLS too.

She was our only Laurel to go to camp this year

(except for the last day)

and I gained a whole new appreciation for this amazing young lady.

She is my new inspiration.

I know if I look to her example and strength

I can get my groove back on...

and SHINE!

Postscript: Will post our final day tomorrow...which turned out to be my favorite day of all.

A Dust Bowl...

I just got home from

GIRLS CAMP!

I'm trying to figure out how to sum up my experience and I thought of three little words...

A DUST BOWL!

 

I'm from the beautiful, green, rivers and streams, lakes, grass area of Missouri.

So heading up to the North country of Arizona to camp for three days sounded like a great idea...

until I got there!

 

The wind blew dust from sun up to sun down.

Ummm...did I mention I was surrounded by DUST?

 I'm still trying to recover.

Seriously I haven't been this EXHAUSTED in forever!

 

So while I was HOT all day,

FREEZING cold all night,

wind blown,

dirty,

exhausted,

and pretty much pathetic looking...

 

I had the TIME of MY life.

I'll share it ALL over the next few days in pictures!

C3 Girls Camp Part 1:

 I dropped off Katie Wednesday morning to ride in the buses since I had to drive up later.

You can see her excitement with her 

FIRST-YEAR friends.

Still FRESH!

(No I didn't wear a skirt to camp...

just dropping off Katie that morning!) 

 Katee is the coolest chicka I know.

Seriously I love this girl and love working with her.

The girls are lucky to have her as their leader!

 OUR DAILY CAPERS!

(better known as CHORES!)

I really just wanted to get a picture of the background but my mom says she always likes to see a person in the picture too!

This picture is for you mom!

I have so many more pictures to share...

so many great memories to tell,

but I need some sleep.

 

Until then...goodnight!

My crafty girls and Father's Day

The girls and I are getting ready for

GIRLS CAMP.

We finally took the time needed today to get all of our

SECRET SISTER

goodies.

Secret Sisters are girls or women we draw from a list of girls going to camp...

then we surprise them with random treats or thoughts the

three and a half days at camp.

I'm personally super excited to see all the wonderful ideas all the girls come up with for their secret sister.

These are the ones we came up with through Pinterest inspired:

 I also had to make 26 pillow treats for the girls for one of the nights we are at camp.

 

Instead of adding a flashlight I attached glow sticks.

I thought it would be fun to have the girls from our group all

TURN on THEIR lights...

(glowsticks)

for everyone to see our beautiful girls

inner lights!

I also wanted to brag about how creative my girls are.

For Father's day I asked my girls to make a banner before the family all arrived for dinner.

They came up with this:

So cute!

I also love that Ron happened to be watching

NASCAR

and it is on in the background.

Completely fitting for a Father's Day!

A beautiful banner made by his sweet girls...

lying on the couch with his feet propped up...

watching NASCAR,

while his beautiful wife (I had to say that!) was cooking him his favorite meal and dessert!

I hope he enjoyed his day.

Here are a few of our highlights:

I really love all these cute people!

Happy Father's day to my daddy too!

Side Note: I was hoping to do a Father's day tribute to my dad...but it will have to be after I get back from Girls Camp! He is a really great man!

The Reveal

Several weeks ago I showed you a

SNEAK PEAK

of a photo shoot we did with our young women.

We had a great lesson given to us by

KATEE

about our individual worth

and about how others truly see us.

I believe that night...

more than any other night we've had with our

GIRLS

that the vulnerability

of admiting how we truly feel about ourselves...

gave us a "real" glimpse

into each of our hearts.

That is why revealing these pictures...

gives me so much joy.

It shows that they are beautiful girls who have

 spirits full of love

and so much potential for good in this world.

And I'm proud to know them.

Each one of them.

Proud to work with them...

and proud to watch them grow!

Megan, Allison, Montana, Tonya, Jessica

Katee and myself 

 Nickname: Jess

easy-going, happy, optimistic, fun

 Katee is the coolest leader I know!

 Nickname: Megs

inquisitive, obedient, strong, talented

Name: Montana

comedian, artistic, friendly, life of party

Nickname: Ali

graceful, talented dancer, strong, spirited

Name: Tonya

shy, funny, easy to love

It was almost a year ago that I began working with these girls

and while some things will change...

and they will move on,

one thing remains the same...

I will ALWAYS love them and treasure the time I've had to work with them!

Disclaimer:  Megan Morris took these amazing pictures. We were missing two of our girls, Sydney and Tenille. They were missed and are deeply loved too!

Growin Up is fun to do...

Especially when you are

RACHEL.

We just sent her off today for a week to EFY-Flagstaff

and she literally

was squealing with delight as we pulled onto the

Northern Arizona University

campus.

 Although she wasn't in love with the smell of her dorm room!

 I love that at this point...

that even she realizes that maybe...

just maybe

they might have brought a "little" too much food!

When I asked her what she was most looking forward to as part of her experience...

she said to me while giggling,

"The BOYS".

I told her I could appreciate that answer...

but a mom also wants to hear that she might want to increase her testimony...

to increase her knowledge of Jesus Christ...

and to help her put her life in proper alignment with our Heavenly Father's teaching...

she said, "Oh yea, that too mom!"

These two cuties are off to have the time of their lives...

I can't wait to hear all about it!

Oh wait...

I already got my first phone call from her tonight!

For this sweet girl...

GROWIN UP is FUN TO DO!

 Disclaimer: I have to admit...I couldn't wait to hear from her tonight! It was killing me not to call her all day and ask her all about it!  So glad she loves to "tell" us everything!