Girl’s Camp

I can’t believe July is half way over. The hot, hot part of the summer is here. I’ve had the week off work for girl’s camp. Earlier this year I very reluctantly said yes to the bishop when he asked me to be camp leader. Part of it had already been planned out but I worked on planning the rest of it and started going to YW activities when I could. Truth be told I was dreading it a lot. I still didn’t know most of the girls and it’s been a long time since I’ve had to be with people for 3 days straight. 

I spent Monday grocery shopping and picking up coolers and other things for camp. I was exhausted (I had help and it was still a lot of work). Then we left for camp Tuesday morning and came back Thursday evening. One of our priesthood leaders knows a guy who has a big house in Idaho that they use for camp outs and family reunions and things and when they aren’t using it, they let youth groups use it. We had 20 people and the 12 girls and 6 women leaders stayed in the house. It was big and had everything we could possibly need, including fire pit in the back yard. Our 2 priesthood leaders camped in the front yard away from the house. We unpacked and got everything set up when we arrived and then had lunch. We spent the afternoon playing some group games and then had craft time. Some of the girls painted, some made bracelets or things with beads, and friendship bracelets. Later that evening we did dinner and then had a camp fire and s’mores. 

Wednesday we let the girls sleep in a bit because of course they were up late the night before. The family whose house we borrowed also had a big pond that they have all kinds of things at: a huge slide, trampoline, canoes and kayaks, etc. The pond was ours for the day and they spent a good 4 hours or so playing in the water. After a late lunch, we had a few other things planned but the girls were tired and a few were sunburned so instead we ended up with nap time and more craft time for those who wanted. We did tin foil dinners and Dutch oven cobbler for dinner that night. Before the water park, we had made a simple 3 ingredient, no churn ice cream. The ice cream and cobbler were a big hit. I have to admit, it was very very tasty. I was quite pleased I had thought to make the simple ice cream. :)

Thursday we got up earlier and after breakfast we had our hike. The leaders thought we would be on a dirt road, but it was an actual trail up the mountain. Since I’m slow and out of shape, I was in the back prodding the complainers and slow hikers. LOL  After the hike we had a brief stop back at the house and then drove over to the Niter Ice Cave. I had found out about it by looking at google maps and the girls had said they wanted to go during one of our planning meetings. I was not sure what to expect, but I had a blast. It was muddy and you had to walk carefully but so much fun. The cold air felt great. It was just a walk out and back of maybe 200 yards or so. The walls are graffitied in a lot of places, but there are spots where you can see big chunks of ice and whatever minerals are in the rocks make the ceiling glitter. 

After lunch, we had the girls do a bake off and they divided into 2 teams and made cupcakes from scratch, decorating them with a pioneer theme. 

And then it was finally time to pack and clean the house so we could go home. It was 2 hours of chaos but eventually, we were all in the car for the trip home. As we left to caravan home, the priesthood leaders were in the first car and I was second that time. Ahead of me he started swerving on the road and I didn’t know what he was doing but I thought I’d play along so there was a line of 5 cars swerving back and forth on this deserted country road. In my car we were laughing, and I know in other cars the girls thought it was fun. We stopped at the first Maverick gas station was passed and that’s when Brother Taylor asked what we were doing. He had been swerving to check that all 5 of the cars were on the road. In my sleep and caffeine deprived mind, I thought we were just having fun. LOL I’m still laughing over it. 

I will be honest and admit that I had a really good time. Of course, we did have to prod some girls and deal with some complaining and a few minor injuries, but overall I am really glad I got to go. I still have some unpacking to do and I can’t say that it’s been the most relaxing week, but it’s been worth it. 

Happy Fourth!

I can’t believe it’s July already. I’ve had a long weekend. Since the holiday is on a Tuesday, I took Monday off as well. It’s been a really nice break. I haven’t done that much. I go to girl’s camp next week so I’ve been working on that. I’ve got a pile of stuff in my dining room already. I know I shouldn’t wish away my time, but I want it to be over. Not that I don’t think I’ll have a good time, it’s just not something I’m super excited about doing (but probably will be good for me to get out of my comfort zone). 

Yesterday my nephew came over so we could watch Attack on Titan. It’s his favorite anime and manga and we’ve been getting through it slowly. He wants me to finish it before he leaves for his mission so we are trying to speed things up a bit. Yesterday we had 16 episodes to finish season 3. Oh my gosh. That was a lot of tv watching, even when we forward through the credits. We took a break after 8 episodes and got dinner. Then the universe decided to intervene and my power went out. :) It was out for about 2 hours and I made him go on a walk with me. It was muggy and overcast because of storms, but also cool enough that it felt so good to walk by the river. We saw a beaver swimming and dragging tree branches into the water so it was kind of fun. Then the power came back and we finished up season three about 10 pm last night. I told him after camp we can start on season 4. LOL I need a break from whining teenage cartoon boys as well. 

Life is good.

Reading Goal Update

Well, the year is almost halfway over and I’m looking at my book reading goals. So far, I’ve read 39 of 78 books so I’m pretty well on track. My mood to read new books has really come and gone quite a bit this year so I actually don’t know if I will hit that goal. I’m feeling a bit ambivalent about it. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of web comics and re-reading both comics and other books.

I’ve read 21 of 41 of my actual reading goal, so I’m doing well in that regard as well. Surprisingly, I have almost completed my non-fiction goal. I’m happy to have discovered my love of non-fiction. It was just a matter of find the right kind of non-fiction. Diverse authors is where I’m struggling. I've got 1 out of 5 there. Then classics and childhood favorites are also lagging behind. Funny, because I thought non-romance would be my hardest to fill and I’m halfway on that one. I’m still enjoying trying to make this goal. It’s been fun to look through my bookshelves to see what catches my mood. 

Duran Duran Concert

I went to the Duran Duran: Future Past concert tonight in Salt Lake City. I had SO! MUCH! FUN!!

I heard about it on the radio a couple months ago and just knew I had to go. Duran Duran is one of the bands of my childhood. This is a silly memory but my cousin always wanted to play house and I didn’t really care for baby dolls so I always told her that we could play house as long as we were married to members of Duran Duran. Ha ha ha. I still have their greatest hits CD and guess what’s going to be playing for days to come. 

Anyway, I heard about it and checked with my concert loving friend and she couldn’t make that date so I checked with my theater loving friend and she said yes. We have a season pass to the theater but both of us have decided we need to watch for fun concerts now as well. 

The opening acts were Bastille and Nile Rogers and Chic. We got there and found our seats in time to hear like the last Bastille song and the only one I knew. I truly have no idea who Nile Rogers and Chic are and didn’t recognize their music, except that Nile Rogers wrote a ton of songs that I do know and they sang a bunch of different stuff so it was pretty fun. 

Then it was finally time for Duran Duran a little after 9 pm. They started with Wild Boys and ended the encore with Rio. In between they played all my favorites with about 4 songs I didn’t really know. It was fantastic. Simon can still sing and John Taylor is still on the guitar. Nick Rhodes still on the keyboard. Roger Taylor was on drums. 

It was a seriously good time.

Road Trip UT-CO

I’ve had the week off. I went on a road trip with my sister and her 3 year old twins. My sister is my favorite travel buddy and we haven’t been on any trips like this since the twins were born. She’s been a few places, and I’ve been a few places but not together. It was really fun. We did have to cater to the kids a bit but it wasn’t a problem. And if they had a few hard spots, she got to deal with them. I only got impatient a few times when I was tired or hungry, and I didn’t get tired of being with them, which made it even better. 

We started by dropping the dog off at my other sister’s house (Thanks Anna!) and headed south. 

By the time dinner came we were in Moab and found a food truck park. The kids had corn dogs and Amy and I split a falafel wrap and a gyro. Both were excellent and it was a nice break. 

We spent the night in Monticello and in the morning headed to Mesa Verde National Park. I had reserved tickets for the guided tour to Cliff Palace 2 weeks earlier and we had the 2 pm tour so we had time to get there and explore a bit beforehand. 

Spruce House

Cliff Palace

We didn’t walk/hike too far since we needed the kids to be able to do the stairs and ladders on the tour, but still had fun looking at the sights.  The Cliff Palace tour was good and I’m glad we were able to do it. The kids thought the stairs and ladders were an adventure. They got antsy as we listed to the ranger but after we got to a certain spot, we were able to leave when we needed to. Strangely enough, I thought the ladders and stairs would be in the “palace” itself, but you don’t get to do anything but walk by it, which makes perfect sense because it is a sacred place to the people and their ancestors. But there are very steep stone stairs and a few ladders to get in and out of the place. 

After Mesa Verde we headed to Durango, CO. The kids fell asleep in the car and didn’t wake up until we got to the hotel. We had a great time in Durango. Again, we did things the kids would enjoy as well as checking out the town. We spent some time every day at a park so the kids could play. It was just so nice to be outside. Plus, we had fun in the hotel swimming pool. And we got to see the Silverton train leave the station. We had already decided that even the shorter train ride would be too much for the kids at their age but they had fun watching it leave. 

Then when we left to drive home, we went up the mountains to Silverton. The San Juan mountain range is really beautiful. They still have snow and we saw a bunch of “waterfalls” as the snow was melting and running off the cliffs. 

Storefronts in Silverton

Of course after the fun in the morning, the rest of the drive home felt super long. I got home just before 10 pm and got to sleep in my own bed again. But it’s been a great week and I got to mark another place off my travel list. We would totally love to do it again one day when the kids are older. 

Spring has Sprung!

Hard to believe that a month ago we had snow. Now we have blossoms. I do love the changing of seasons. 

Fairy Garden

Pinterest finally got to me and I broke down this year and made myself a fairy garden. The plants are supposed to flower as it gets hotter so I'm hoping I choose well in that regard. It was fun to do. I have it on my back porch because I thought it would be fun to look out my kitchen window and see. And it is. The only problem is I'm too short to see that angle very well. LOL so if I stand at my kitchen sink and get on my toes and try real hard, I can see it.