As you know, we went to Girl's Camp 2 weeks ago. We go to a camp in Georgia that is about 1 1/2 hours away. It is on an island in the salt marsh in the Brunswick/Jekyll Island area. It is also in the same area as The Cloister where Travis and I get to go each January and enjoy a very luxurious 3 days. Camp is the polar opposite of The Cloister in all but one area - the food. I really dreaded camp this year. I really wanted to be at home. I have done nothing but go to camps and be with teenage girls. The very thought of packing my bags once again was overwhelming. But I had given my word and was bound. We arrived at the camp and everything was nice. As you can see from the pictures, it is really pretty. It was hot. Very hot. However, at about 3:30 each day, the sea breeze would start to blow and I knew I'd be ok. I suffered swollen ankles; however, a swim in the pool was all it took to bring them back down for a few hours. I would shower in the mid-morning. By around 2:30-3 I was ready to jump in the pool. It felt so good. The girls were scheduled for swimming each day and it was the right thing to do. I really encouraged the girls to get it and cool down their bodies. Thirty minutes was all I needed to get the swelling down and feel like I could go on. By the end of the night, it was time to get back in the pool for about 45 minutes. Then the swelling was down and I was all cooled off to go to sleep. Luckily, the girls were all well behaved, the crafts were fun, and enjoyed getting to know the ladies in the stake.
Each year, I have tie-dyed t-shirts with the girls in the ward. This year the Young Women's presidency thought they'd give me a break and do something different. The girls just stared at them and said, "ok, but we tie-dye." So we tie-dyed. We did camo colors for the jungle theme of the camp. On camo day, we all wore our shirts and took a ward picture. We also did "sister" pictures:
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| Sisters picture in their tie-dye camo shirts |
Rozzie was a YCL (youth camp leader) this year. She initially didn't like it because there is a lot of responsibility involved. It didn't take long for her to decide that YCLing is really fun. Maddie was a 3rd Level camper this year. Next year she'll graduate!!
As I have said, the food is the best at camp. We have ladies from the stake who come up and cook for us. Travis spent the week in the kitchen helping him and he learned what hard work it is!! It is constant work. But look at these cupcakes! There was lemon, banana pudding, chocolate strawberry, red velvet, oreo, and s'more to choose from. The rule was "One Cupcake", so I obeyed - I chose lemon.
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| The hardest part at camp is deciding which cupcake to choose. |
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| Maddie's zebra outfit. |
Skit night is another favorite. I am always so amazed at how clever the kids are. The leaders are always so worried about skit ideas, but the kids just love it!! Maddie's group did a "Madagascar" scene. The YCLs always do a skit about the camp. Rozzie was the camp director, Sister Lyle. Now, each level at camp was assigned a different animal. The leaders were the toucans. One day at camp was "wear your animal" day. All the other leaders found or made toucan shirts, but Sister Lyle couldn't fine one so she strung up two cans and pinned them to her shirt, thus her two-can shirt. For the skit, Rozzie got hold of her visor and cans and did a GREAT impression of her. Sister Lyle has a VERY strong southern accent and she talks very slowly. We were all cracking up!!
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| "Ah think...ah'm gonna make...the YCLs...eat last!" |
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| The car accident. |
Something new this year was the mock first aid drills. All week the girls had learned some first aid things and now it was time to put it into practice!! The YCLs had different scenes set up. One girl was "drowning" in the pool. Some girls were suffering heatstroke and frostbite. Then there was the car accident. The girls went all out on each of the scenes, but the car accident was definitely the bloodiest. They had a white hefty bag blown up and taped to the steering wheel. The girls even had a reason for the accident:
O Tom the Toad
O Tom the Toad
Why did you hop
Out on the Road?
(repeat 1st stanza)
You used to be
A friend of mine.
But now you're just
A ball of slime.
O Tom the Toad.... (sung to O Tannenbaum)
While we were all camping, Morgan was home by herself being rather bored. Our friend Linda took Morgan out for Yobe (Frozen Yogurt - totes the best hun cal fro yo) and they hatched a plan. While we were posing for pictures as a family...
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| The Smiths at camp before we knew Morgan was coming. |
Morgan and Linda were driving up to Camp Glynn. Linda had to pick her kids up early, so Morgan came up for the evening and crashed camp. She got a hero's welcome! She was mobbed by bunches of girls. It was fun to have her there for the last night/testimony meeting. We are all home now. The laundry is done. The suitcases are put away. The swelling has gone away. We are clean.
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| Morgan's hero welcome! |
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| Happy to have Morgan with us. |
6 comments:
Your tie dye shirts are still popular here, too. Anna still wears her Durango 2008 shirt regularly and the blue one and Piranha ones you made for Dylan are now Maya's night shirts.
Sounds like fun all around, except for the heat. I'm still thinking about those cupcakes and how you could bear to eat only one.
The girls were very clever with their songs and skits.
Enjoy the rest of your summer without camps!
Hayley goes to camp this week.
Your family togetherness for camp is just fantastic! All of you working together to make it such a positive experience, not just for your own girls, but for all those involved, is so admirable! You and Travis are great sports to devote all the time you do in this capacity. I commend you!
I love Tom The Toad. You deserve a break now, you've camped yourself out now relax for what remains of your summer. I never got to go to girls camp but I did go to scout camp. It wasn't as much fun as I think girls camp would have been.
I have to say, I really like your girls camp(s). I don't think our Stake knows how to do the Camp Crafting stuff. Course I better watch out what I say, I may end up in charge of Girls Camp! FUN fun times Jen!
Maya's been saying, "Totes the best hun cal fro yo" for a week now and Jake recently described something as "supes fun" without even meaning to. Jake probably told you right after he saw your blog, we were watching the Harvard Sailing team videos and he heard the fro-yo quote there the same day. When I was driving, a couple of days later, I saw a billboard beer ad that read, "So is eloquence like totally dead or whatever?" Mabes.
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