July was month of dust, sleeping bags, porta potties, and enduring heat. I am not generally a fan of any of those things, but I am truly proud to say that I survived all of these and more. We all did!
*********
Let's start at the very beginning, which was getting Aubrey ready for her first overnight hike. This year she was a 4th year Girls Camper, which meant she and her friends were able to go on a special overnight backpacking trip the day before Girls Camp began. They had to pack and carry their own food, bedding, tent, etc. They hiked around Silver Falls, an area near Salem with beautiful waterfalls.
The night before the hike, Dan explains the Jetboil to Aubrey, so she will be able to mix up her dehydrated mac n cheese on the trail.
Joseph tried on the backpack. He thought it was a little heavy!
All ready to go, and with a smile!
By all accounts, Aubrey and her fellow 4th year friends ROCKED the hike. They were tough, they endured, and they had fun. They even squeezed four girls into a 3 man tent (which really fits 2) so that they could all be together at night.
***
I rode up to camp with the rest of the girls in our stake. Midway through the first day of camp the intrepid and exhausted 4th year girls arrived. They fell into their bunks in all their dusty glory and slept for hours. This was later, when they finally decided to open their eyes and interact with each other and the rest of the camp.
Aubrey on Color War night.
Sitting around the campfire telling riddles.
Aubrey and Alayna maxing out their sugar intake.
We camped in a beautiful part of Oregon. Unfortunately, it was very dusty due to the lack of rain.
I had a great time at Girls Camp. I love being with the girls. I had received a new calling the day before camp and needed to choose counselors from throughout the Stake within a few weeks. It was helpful to be at camp because I was able to talk to every woman in attendance, which brought me in contact with some incredible women. I had sweet experiences with the Spirit as I studied ward lists and prayed to understand His will better.
There was drama at girls camp, as always. This time it mostly involved a few of my Beehives. But I enjoyed the camaraderie of spending time with the girls and leaders, most especially Aubrey! Now that I don't have a calling in YW I will need to finagle and pull some strings to be invited back for two more years, until Aubrey graduates. Yes, I will willingly put up with porta potties for the privilege of being with amazing people and feeling the Spirit in a unique way in nature.
*********
We arrived home from camp exhausted. The next day was Sunday. After church I walked up to my bed, face planted and was instantly asleep. Somehow I awakened myself an hour later for a meeting, and then came home and face planted again for 4 more hours. And then I was ready to fully dive into the next adventure - getting ready for Pioneer Trek. Dan and I were a Pa and Ma on the Trek and Aubrey was part of a different family.
For a full month before backpacking hike/camp/trek this is what our living and dining rooms looked like. They were staging areas for all the prep/supplies gathering.
This is right before Trek, when we were loading up the two bins we needed as Ma and Pa as well as all of our personal stuff, which had to fit in one bucket. It was stressful, VERY stressful to try to anticipate every need our family might have on the trail and then fit everything into the two bins which would be pulled on the cart.
But we did it! We had a wonderful family. We love each of these kids and felt lucky to spend time with them.
I'm not sure how to sum up our trek experience in a few words. It was really hard physically. We walked 7 miles the first and second days, up and down intense hills, and over 11 miles the last day. It was over 100 degrees and I don't ever remember being so hot and miserable and still continuing to put one foot in front of another. And don't even get me started on what it was like to wear disgustingly stinky, dirt-encrusted clothes day after day. And the "restroom" conditions were beyond awful. So disgusting. I thought it was even harder, though, that at the end of exhausting walks we needed to set up camp and prepare dinner when what we really wanted to do was collapse. So, it was also emotionally hard. I felt great empathy for my pioneer ancestors, who surely experienced profound physical and emotional exhaustion.
But what made the trek totally worth it (and I would even do it again) was the interactions with the kids and the opportunity to model for them what a family can feel like. I loved our devotionals every night and morning, when we shared feelings and talked about things that really matter. It was a sacred experience.
We were so lucky to have Blake in our family, who has severe physical and cognitive limitations, but cheerfully walked every step.
In this picture Dan was leading the family in preparing our award-winning family skit - based on Dora the Explorer!
Sometimes we were on paved roads.
Sometimes dirt road, and steep hills. This was during the Women's Pull.
Finally, after the longest, hottest 7 mile stretch of full-sun walking, we arrived at the water crossing, which was much deeper than we had been told. It was shockingly cold and felt fantastic!
Dan's feet at the end of the third day. Ouch!
And look at who we found in the "Valley!" Aubrey was a trooper and even pulled the cart by herself at one point, as part of one of the pioneer vignettes along the trail.
When we arrived in the valley they had unlimited cold watermelon for us, and that was undoubtedly the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. Even better than European chocolate.
All in all, as we arrived back on the first day of August, I was glad that our busy and outdoor-focused July was over, but grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Selfies while we waited for the theater to open up. Aubrey had walked across the street with me and Dan because she was too excited to pose for pictures. 
Another highlight of the trip: my amazing kids and Dan decided to celebrate my birthday early, since the college kids would be back at school by then. When I left to Mutual on Wednesday night, they went into overdrive and cleaned and decorated the house PRINCESS PARTY style. I think they had bought out everything princessy at the Dollar Store! Dan said that every girl should have a princess party at some point in her life. While I was gone, Angela also made a beautiful 2-layer cake with homemade frosting . . . all in 1 1/2 hours!
