Announcements....Announcements....

Annnoooouuuunnnnccceeements!  (Sung in a sing songy voice). 


Earlier this year I was called to be an Assistant Camp Director for my ward.  I would have quickly declined it had it not been for the wonderful Director lady I was called to assist.  Okay, maybe not "declined" per se but it was definitely a relief knowing who I'd be serving under.  However, I was still a bit scared and had no clue what was in store for me.  


Every year, the young women in our church retreat for a week in the summer and do all things "Girls Camp-y".  I hadn't been since I was actually IN Young Women's as well......a young woman myself.  Now, I was going to be one of those old fogey leaders.  Am I the only one who thinks they stopped aging at 17-18ish years old?  Lets just say I was quickly reminded of my "old fogey" age once I started working with the Young Women.  But it was an awesome experience because they are all awesome women.  It brought back soooo many memories of my camp experiences.  Except this time it was even better since we leaders could send them away to all their daily chores/meetings while we all hung back and visited and cleaned up camp.  Ahhhhh the life of being in charge.  I'm thankful for this on a daily basis....weird but true.


For several months before camp we had numerous planning meetings and weekly activities with the girls.  It was fun getting to know them and reclaiming my long lost youth.  Plus, Jonas was a hit with the ladies and still is.  He's a flirt and I loved the opportunity it provided me to scope out some good babysitters for future reference.  


It was a lot of work but it was also a lot of fun.  And again, the girls made the experience great.  I hope I was as cool as these girls were when I was in Young Women's.  


The week of camp had us carpooling an hour away to the land of sulfur water and trees and land and nothing for miles.  The weather cooperated and didn't rain on us.  I'm not a fan of camping in rain or being wet for multiple days in a row.  There were lots of activities, socializing, hanging out with girls and chatting during the afternoons, silly skits, fun songs, and energetic girls.  And best of all, I got to witness how all of these things affected the girls for the better.  I went away realizing how critical these experiences are for our young women.  They came back stronger and I came back stronger.  


And speaking of "coming back"....I got to.....a day early.  Thanks to a vacation/friend's wedding we were heading to in Utah.  Which means I got to completely skip out on the worst part of camping (in my opinion).....packing up the dirty stuff.  :D


Plus, I missed my babies (and my husband of course) but mostly my babies.  I hadn't spent that long of a time (3 days) away from them before.  My wonderful friends were able to keep them alive while I was gone and while John was at work during the day and I am forever indebted.  I was soooo glad to be back and squeezing and kissing on them.  That was the only hard part of camp, was missing my little ones.


So, all in all, it was a great experience for all of us.  Me, my kiddos, and John since he got to experience being a single parent....for the evenings at least.  And to make up for our missing each other - we all got to head out on vacation together for a whole week the day after I got back.  More posts to follow!