Girls Camp 2013

I had the best time at Girls Camp this year. No, really I did. Even with the stinkiest pit toilets and porta-potties I have ever experienced. Even with loud snorers who kept me awake every single night. Even with strictly rationed showers (one shower during the week) and no sinks to wash my hands. It was a great year!

I like camp because I love the girls. They are amazing. And I feel lucky that two of these amazing girls are my own daughters.

Camp this year was held the last week of July/first week of August. I had the best job ever this year. I was a "YCL Mom", which means I was the shadow leadership for a group of older girls from throughout the stake who were leading the 4th year girls at camp. I was especially lucky because Bailey was one of the YCLs in my group, so I was able to see her in action and marvel and her burgeoning leadership skills.

One of Bailey's YCL (Youth Camp Leader) assignments for the week was to run some of the programs and flagtime gatherings. She was great at it, and everyone appreciated her sense of humor and confidence.

 Here she performs a skit with other YCLs on the Color War night.

I didn't stay with the ward camp this year, but instead camped in the "YCL enclosure" with the other YCL Moms and 6th year YCLs.  Because Bailey was a 5th year YCL, she stayed in a tent on the ward site. She really liked being with the ward.
 
She was lucky to be far, far away from the trio of snoring women who were in the YCL enclosure. My friend Becky and I tried everything to get to sleep before the worst snoring offender. As soon as we had all our girls safely accounted for, we threw on our pjs, jumped into our sleeping bags and stuffed heavy duty silicone earplugs into our ears. If we were very lucky, we could fall asleep before the cacophony began.
Aubrey was a 2nd year camper, and she seems to love Girls Camp just as much as her sister. I'm so happy about that! 
 

Here she is, with a few of her friends, on Color War evening.

It was seriously stinky in this camp. All day long a sewage smell wafted from the pit toilets right outside of the camps.
 

 Stinkiest camp ever! 

 But still fun.  This is all the girls in our ward.

Halfway through camp, one of the stake leaders had a birthday and someone smuggled in a decadent chocolate cake from Costco. I was one of the lucky leaders invited to partake of the chocolaty goodness. Even port-a-potties aren't as repulsive when one has eaten some really good chocolate.

One of the YCL responsibilities was to be a "big sister".  Every day Bailey led her "little sisters" in scripture study and also shared a spiritual thought with them.

 A group of wacky YCLs and other friends before one of the flagtime skits.

Bailey worked with a group of YCLs to plan certification training for the 4th year girls. Specifically, she taught first aid and how to carry an injured person.

 She brought our Barbie dolls so the girls could practice putting splints on Barbie's arms and legs. Good thing we haven't given away the dolls!

 Supervising a relay race in which the girls practice carrying an injured person.

 When camp was over, we headed back into civilization with stronger testimonies, good memories, and very dirty bodies and hair.