We Seek After These Things...

Monday, June 13 we met at the Church at 7 am to load the trailers to head to Heber Valley Camp.

You would have thought we were going for a month rather than a week the way some of these girls packed.  

Cole and Rick showed up bright and early with our ward's camp trailer to help load the gear.

Cole gave the Bishop a high 5 for helping...

 The girls had to have 5 things to get on the bus...

water bottle, shoes, sleeping bag, coat and lunch.

 whoops, Summer didn't have a lunch but somehow she made it onto the bus.

Cole surely enjoyed the ride to Heber Valley Camp.

We stayed in Campground Smith and these are our missionaries giving us our orientation and rules.

Apparently we didn't listen very well because none of the cabin leaders showed up to their challenge course orientation as they were supposed to (huge miscommunication) and we missed the part about the very strict 10 pm curfew.  

Monday was rough.  

Tears were shed.

It could only go uphill for the rest of the week...and it certainly did!

Ashlyn

This is one of the girls in my ward showing off her Book of Mormon (the project that I helped coordinate.  

angie bleggi holding her B of M, waiting for it to dry

I think I have about 20 of those little 4 inch Books of Mormon covered & embellished) and my island in the basement has a nice covering of modpodge to prove it.  (more on that project later)

The first night we had Cafe Rio salad for dinner.  

We pretty much ate like every meal was our last meal (and I can't seem to break that habit now that I am home.)  

However, I did come home weighing 1 pound less than when I left.  

I think it was because our campsite was about 5 miles up the trail from the others and we hiked/sprinted up that trail about a dozen times a day.  

I personally chose that campsite for the level 3's myself for that very reason.  

Well, that and the fact that it had a covered pavillion and private bathrooms. 

Sister Olson was in charge of the Level 3 FHE and she chose to do a talent show since the theme for that day was "Seek to Know Who You Are". 

Summer brought her guitar and sang a Selena Gomez song... 

She invited the girls to stand and sing along and sing they did.  over. and over. and over.

Each day the girls attended an EFC (Especially For Camp...similar to EFY)

This EFY ended with President Monson's warm fuzzy activity.

McKenna gave me a warm fuzzy. (sorry it's out of focus)

The girls had to participate in a song or an activity for certification.

So we had each of the girls in level 3 take part in a skit.

They were assigned different props that they had to incorporate into a fairy tale that had a Personal Progress Value theme.  

How interesting that Summer was assigned the role of the singing heifer.

Next up...a hike to the Lake.

I may have told the girls in my ward that it was comparable to walking to our church and back.

That may have been an exaggeration.

I was trying to get the right paddle.  It didn't happen.

That was OK, because Sadie & I ended up on a peddle boat instead.

 We kept going in circles.  I think it is because her legs are twice as long as mine.

Or because we didn't know how to steer.

 Alexandra, Summer, McKenna

 Audrey and Brooke

Audrey was the level 3 YCL  Cabin Leader and Brooke was my assistant Level 3 Leader.

The girls had a REALLY hard time remembering to drink enough.

On the hike back to camp I made them stop and drink a few times.  

I made a snow angel while I waited for them to drink.

It was more of a dare, but to be honest, it felt really good to cool off.

Some girl from another camp...must have been Lehi...knocked on my door one afternoon and asked if she could play "Bigger or Better".

I had no idea what she was talking about so she explained that she needed to trade this tissue paper flower for something bigger or better. 

 Well, I certainly didn't have anything bigger, but I had M&M's and those were certainly better.  

So, she took the M&M's and told me that the flower was to be worn as a bracelet.  

But, the flower would surely get in the way of eating dinner so I tied it to my head.   

We had planned to have each of the 3 cabins prepare a dutch oven dessert for FHE.

The weather and the time did not allow for this to happen so we bumped dutch oven desserts to Lunch on Thursday.  

Sopapilla cheesecake

chocolate turtle cake

and Cherry Flavored Dump Cake

all were A BIG HIT...

Brooke and Brynn preparing the coals for the dutch ovens

chocolate turtle dutch oven dessert

We had a formula for which recipe needed which coals and for how long.
The whole thing was quite impressive.

This one was the most tasty to me...it had butter, cake mix, cherry pie filling, coconut and pecans.

 Then there was the challenge course...Summer and I on the zip line.

Service Project...

hauling logs

It was amazing to me how some girls would just jump right in and help and others put more effort into LOOKING like they were working than if they would just do the work.

They would wander aimlessly looking for the least heavy stick, bend over for 3 minutes, and then meander back to the pile of wood with a stick the size of a pencil.  

Service Project

Another activity that we did was Happy Notes.

We hung a clothes line and then we had little squares of paper that they girls could write notes to other girls.  If they saw someone doing something nice, they could compliment them with a note.

They could sign their name or leave it anonymous.

At the end of the week, we took down all of the notes and let the girls have them.

Audrey, removing the notes from the line. 

Here are the themes for the week...

Monday

Seek to Know Who You Are--Divine Nature

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the spirit of God..." Romans 8:16-17

"For it is the Spirit who reveals to us our identity-which isn't just who we are, but who we have always been.  And when we know, our lives take on a purpose so stunning that we are changed forever." -Sheri Dew

Tuesday

See to Reach Out to Others

"Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works an glorify your Father who is in heaven."  3 Nephi 12:16

"To find real happiness, we must focus outside ourselves"..."may we reach out to rescue those who need our help and our love." -Thomas S. Monson

Wednesday

Seek to be Happy

"And whoso trustest in the Lord, happy is he."  Proverbs 16:20

"Happiness is the object and design of our existence." -Joseph Smith

"Living righteously and keeping God's commandments makes us happy." -Marlin K. Jensen

Thursday

Seek the Savior

"Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me."  D&C 13,88:63

"Our lives reflect that for which we seek, if, with all our heart, we truly seek to know the Savior and be more like him, we shall be, for He is our divine, eternal brother."  Margaret Nadauld