What You Get when you Combine 50+ Girls and a Desert

The last week of June we had our annual girls camp for the girls in our ward. This year we thought we would do something a little extra special and go down to Southern Utah. Have you ever been there? It's beautiful but really, REALLY hot the last week of June. We loaded up the cars, trucks and trailers and headed down to Green River.

 On the way down, we thought we would take a little detour off of I-70 to check out a petroglyph named The Black Dragon. (As an aside, Brad and I took the kids to see it several years ago and we drove back and forth on that stretch of highway five or six times before we could find the turnoff.) We pulled up to a small stand of cottonwoods and had a nice lunch and the girls tried to stay cool by spraying each other off.

On this first stop, we learned a very important lesson; we learned that a full sized truck pulling a fully loaded trailer has no business driving on soft sand.

Luckily, there were plenty of helping hands.

The trailer was unhitched, emptied of all its contents. Then the work began. Girls were sent up the hillside to gather flat rocks to put under the wheels. After a quick prayer, most everyone lined up behind the truck and started the push. (I had to document the whole affair, so I didn't push.)

Half of our party was unaware of what had happened because they drove out in front of the truck. They waited a couple of miles away wondering what had happened to the rest of us. They figured out what had happened when they saw the huge dust cloud billow up into the sky. Everyone behind the truck was now the same earthy red color. We take blending into the enviroment very seriously.

Then we got the trail man(girl) handled and moved it out of the way. (I'll save that story for another post) After that was done, an assembly line was formed and we loaded up the trailer and hitched it back up to the truck. Yay! Keep in mind that it was about 102 degrees while this was happening.
By then, the rest of the party had driven back to see what was going on. Sometimes it is good to get the bad thing out of the way at the beginning of the trip, right? So I get back in my car and it won't start. Are you serious?!  Michelle, our Young Women president fortuneately has a Suburban that is very much like Mary Poppins magical carpet bag- she not only produced a shovel to help dig out the truck but she also had a portable battery that comes in handy when someone's car won't start. We drove back out to the highway. Because the road was so narrow, the cars that came back to see what was going on had to drive for a couple of miles backward. Those women have some skills!

When we got to Green River State Park, we set up camp. The water was extremely high this year so the girls were told to stay away from the river, although someone forgot to tell the mosquitos.

YCLs.

The next day we drove to Moab to raft the Mighty, Mighty Colorado.

Everyone had a great time, even the people on our raft. We had a girl for a river guide and because she was the only female guide, she felt like she had something to prove. She pushed us hard. It also didn't help that 2/3 of the raft had the average weight of 80 pounds. Combine those two things and let's just say it was a little intense.

After rafting, we went to a park in Moab and just hung out and had dinner and waited for things to cool down before we went on our hike. In the evening, we headed out to Corona Arch. Underneath the Arch, we had a short devotional. It was a visual, and spiritual feast!

This was Rachel's first year as a Youth Camp Leader. This means that she was responsible for 6 girls and she was the "mom" for their tent. The theme this year was Winnie the Pooh and each tent was assigned a character. Rachel's tent was Kanga and Roo. She stayed up until 2:00am the night before making cute pockets for them and making a map of the 100 acre Wood. I'm not sure where the I heart JB comes in the Winnie the Pooh story, though. I've read the Winnie the Pooh stories many times and I have not a single recollection of Justin Bieber being in any of the stories.

Emma after several days of roughing it. She forgot her razor.

One of the priesthood leaders brought water balloons and there were many welcome, wet games.

I was soaked by some of my girls. They "lured" me out of the pavillion by saying, "Sister Miller! Theres a --spider--yeah, a spider here that we want you to see!" I thought I would play the good sport and let them douse me. I did manage to dump half a cooler full of water on a couple of them though.

Emma is here in her tent writing some notes to the other girls in the camp.

During free time there were crafts and other things that were organized. I noticed that Emma was missing. I found her in her tent. The poor thing was wiped out.

I never went to girls camp when I was a girl but I can tell you that as an adult leader, I love it.

Youth Conference 2011

On June 10 and 11th, our stake had our annual Youth Conference. It is a get together for the youth ages 14-17 where there are many activities, fun and games. Many times there is an overnight stay somewhere. This year, the activities were close to home so everyone could stay at their own homes.

Friday morning, everyone gathered at our Stake Center and had a hot breakfast. There were about 300 youth in attendance. The activity for the day was modeled after The Amazing Race. All the youth were separated into groups different colored tee shirts and then into smaller groups of four or five. There were 13 stations situated all over the north end of Utah Valley. At each station, the team was required to complete a task before they got the clue to the next location. (The drivers had received a 27 page packet beforehand with a list of the locations, maps, etc..) So let's see, let's just say that there were 320 kids, divided that by 4 and we have 80 cars driving around with people excited and hurrying to the next location and that sounds like scary times, right? Actually, we all were relatively unharmed.

I was assigned to be a driver of four girls I did not previously know. Cute, cute girls. It did make me feel pretty good that Rachel and Emma both wanted me to drive them. I would have thought that they would want me to be as far away from them as possible :)

Here are some of the activities:

Humanitarian project: making baby rattles to send overseas.



I was lucky enough to be at the same stations as Emma's group so I got to see her several times that day.

Another challenge that we did was that each one of the girls were given a laminated card with a number and "Pay It Forward" on the front. We were to perform a random act of kindness for each card and then head to a local restaurant where there were computer's set up to record the service that we did (Pay it Forward). With each act of service, we were to give the recipient the card and challenge them to perform an act of kindness themselves. It think this was my favorite activity.

The most difficult challenge was when we went to the local dinosaur museum and looked for clues hidden in a mural. We had to solve these clues and plug them into a crazy formula like: green clues + grey clues/ blue clues = the combination to open the lock that had the next clue. Good thing there were other teams there, we all helped each other out. Math never was my best subject.

We just pulled over when we saw someone working in her garden and offered to help.

Helping someone load their groceries in the car.

Our last activity before dinner. Yoga. Aaaaah.

After dinner the stake patriarch spoke and a couple of the youth about making good choices, and having integrity. Then we all went home and rested up for the next day.

Saturday morning, everyone went to the mouth of Grove Creek Canyon and went on a hike. Throughout the hike, they had to stop at 13 different stations to pass of The Articles of Faith. The final destination was the park by the Timpanogos Temple. I didn't attend this portion of the activity because I had to pack for a week long trip that we were leaving for the next morning.

After lunch (I think there were over 100 boxes of pizza!) Every grabbed a raked and cleaned up the park. When that was done, there were fun and games.

Rachel trying to master the four legged race.

Emma enjoying the company of her friends.

After the games, we had the treat of listening to Kris Belcher speak to us. She had tumors in her eyes when she was 7 months old and the radiation that cured the cancer disfigured her face. Seven years ago, she developed cancer in her eye from the radiation she had received when she was a baby. Not only did it completely blind her, but it left her without an eye. She is truly an inspiration.

After Sister Belcher spoke, we all headed home. At 8:00 the youth went back to the church for a dance. This is the activity that Rachel and Emma definitely did NOT want me to be present. Which was okay with me.

You may wonder why the number 13 was so prevalent throughout this activity (and no, it wasn't because the tee shirt company had a discount on the number 13). This year's theme for the Youth, is the 13th Article of Faith, which is:

"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent and in doing good to all men. Indeed we may follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, we hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

The time, money and logistics involved in this event just proves to me how much The Church values its youth. I am glad to have spent two days in the company of such outstanding people.

Children of the 80s

Or so they want to be.

Last Saturday, Emma and her friends decided to have an impromptu party. They call themselves the Silly Billy Club. They wanted to dress up in 80s garb, go eat dinner at Zupa's and then go bowling. I tagged around for the dinner because I was the ride. However, I did not break out my eighties finery, I stayed with my feet firmly planted in 2011.

Here they are in their 80s glory.

Cute girls - I'm really glad that they are so creative and fun. Emma was a little disappointed because she didn't really get that many stares or comments at dinner.

For the the record, I NEVER dressed like that. I was more of a prep than Madonna.

Here's how it's really done.

Now if you will excuse me, I think I'll go and listen to The Smiths and some Aztec Camera...

And a Little Bit o' That (At Women's Conference)

The Hospitality Team are affectionately nicknamed "The Angels in Blue Vests" because of the attractive blue vest that we got to wear to make us more easily spotted in  a crowd. One thing that they stressed in the training meetings is that we as volunteers were to seek out "the one." We needed to not only be friendly and helpful to the Conference goers in general but we were to seek out those who might need a little extra help, a friendly face or a reassuring touch on the arm.

One story that Joy Flitton, one of the Directors for Women's Conference told was about something that happened a few years ago. One of the Hosts noticed two women walking arm in arm towards a venue. They didn't look like the normal conference goers. Instead of looking excited and chatting happily, they looked sad and they looked like they were holding each other up for support. The host got the strong impression that she should compliment one of them about her dress. She thought it was a strange impression but she followed through with it anyway. When she complimented her dress, the woman started to cry. She explained that for the past 17 years she and her two sisters attended Women's Conference every year and it was something that they looked forward to. One of the sisters died before Conference and the remaining ones decided that even though they didn't want to attend, they would go to the conference. To honor the sister that passed away, one of them wore her dress, the dress that the host noticed.

On Friday, I had to conduct the prayer meeting to start the day because Jill had to be at the Marriott Center for the Opening Session. Along with the scriptures I read about serving others I debated whether or not to retell the story that Joy had told a month ago, worried that maybe some of the volunteers had heard the story if they had gone to that training session. In the end, I told the story. After the meeting was over, the person who gave the closing prayer was really emotional. I just thought that maybe something I had said had really touched her and that she was excited to start. She pulled me aside later and told me that she was the woman in the story that wore the dress. She was taken completely by surprise about the story and she was really excited to touch someone the same way someone touched her.

I think that it is important to remember that although grand gestures of charity are wonderful, sometimes it is the "Small and simple things" (Alma:37:6-7) are equally helpful. You don't have to head a huge fundraiser to help victims of a disaster to make your mark in the world. Sometimes, just saying hello to someone at the store or calling a friend you know is having a hard time has a great impact as well. I will try and start every day with the thought, "How can I make someone else's day better today?"

A Little Bit o' This (At Women's Conference)

So there were many, many people that I met at Women's Conference. Here are some of my experiences with them.



This is Ann Dibb, she is the Second Counselor of the Young Women's General Presidency. That means that she is in the presidency of the Young Women's Organization for the entire world for our church. Her father, Thomas S. Monson  is the President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One thing that struck me is that she looks so very much like her father. Can you see the resemblance?



So, she was one of the speakers on Thursday and I met her briefly that day when we escorted her to the concert hall to give her speech. On Friday she came to listen to the afternoon speaker, Margaret Nadauld. Friday was packed and it was a madhouse trying to find seats for everyone. She came partway through the session and asked me if there were any seats available. I lead her to the front of the auditorium where I had found one seat on the third row. She stood outside the auditorium and told me that she didn't want to make a big fuss and cause a big disruption. I asked young girl who was sitting next to the empty seat if the seat was taken and if I could sit someone next to her. She said it was fine and you should have seen her face when she looked up to see Ann M. Dibb sit down next to her; it was an expression of shock and awe. She probably also thought to herself, "I better not act sleepy and be dilegent in my note taking."

This is Silvia H. Allred, she is the Second Counselor of the General Relief Society, the women's organization of the Church. Her session was packed! The entire main floor was crammed with women lining up to see her talk. We had to try and snake the lines throughout the art exhibits, because it was too cold to have the line go outside. Because of the tightly packed quarters, some of the women were getting a little testy. At one point, the volunteer at the entrance had to stop the line from going into the theater because someone had to escort Sister Allred in and lead her to the stage. So while the volunteer at the entrance was helping someone read a map and find her way to the class that she wanted, another woman tapped her on the shoulder and kept asking her what was going on. The volunteer held her hand up to show that she was helping someone else and she would help her soon. That woman turned to her friend and said, "I don't know what's going on! I bet there are a ton of seats still! Just you watch, that girl will turn us away and we won't be able to get in, I can't believe this!"

That's when the volunteer had finished helping the other woman and she said, "The reason we stopped the line is so Sister Allred can get in." At that, she pointed to Sister Allred who was walking toward them not more than 15 feet away. The volunteer watched the color drain away from the two complainers' faces as they stammered, "Oh, I guess that makes sense," and as to try and make up for it, they said things like, "My, Sister Allred looks lovely today, doesn't she?"

Moral of the story, watch what you say.

My impression of Sister Allred is that she is very bubbly, personable and really, really tiny! I had to seek her out several times because someone needed to talk to her and each time, she was standing right in front of me.

"Sister Allred? Sure, I'll get her for you! She is right.....here...standing... right in front of me." (Sheepish grin) It's not very often when I have to look down to see an adult, I'm just not used to it.

Margaret Nadauld is a former General President of the Young Women organization. I got to speak to her the longest. She didn't seem the least bit nervous that she was going to address almost two thousand people. Her session was so popular that we had to turn away about 600 people. She thanked the volunteers for all the hard work we were doing and she and her husband were actually very chatty.

Just meeting these remarkable women made it all worth it.

Better Than Herding Cats.

I got a call from my friend Jill the back in January.

Jill: Winnie, I was just asked to be a Project Leader for Women's Conference in April. I was wondering if you would be interested in being a team leader. We will be in charge of the hospitality team at the De Jong Concert Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center at BYU.

Winnie: Uhhh., I've never been to Women's Conference.

Jill: I just think it would be really fun to work with you and I think that you would do a really good job. (The undercurrent was, "We've been friends since third grade and I would REALLY like your help.")

Winnie: Uhhh, what do I need to do?

Jill: We need to find forty volunteers, set up a schedule, attend training meetings and oversee the venue. I really want to you do it, but no pressure.

Winnie: Uhhh, oh, alright.

It actually turned out to be a really fun. Jill and my other lifelong friend Becky found volunteers (well, mostly Jill - I found out that I'm not really good at soliciting help). We figured out the rotation schedule and we made sure that the forty volunteers got all the information that they  needed.

I was in charge of the "survival kit" for all the volunteers. Becky and I found some canvas bags at Hobby Lobby. Oooh, I love that place, except there is so much there that I get overwhelmed. Then another friend of mine helped cut out petals and leaves from wool. I assembled the flowers in the car to and from California (between the flowers and knitting Rachel's blanket, I had plenty to do.)

I think Brad was getting tired of me squealing and exclaiming, "Oh! Look at this flower! It's so cute!" I attached the flower to the bag with a safety pin, so it could be easily removed in case someone wanted to use it for someone else (like a headband or a brooch, perhaps?).

Inside each bag, I put some band aids, safety pins, a small bottle of water, gum and some anti-bacterial gel. I think they turned out really cute and I got many compliments on the bags.

The two days of the conference was a lot of running around and trying to help conference goers find their way. I found that the busier we were, the more fun I had. I have many stories to tell but I think I'll save them for other posts, just to break it up a little.

 

Trying to keep the lines orderly and finding seats got a little difficult sometimes.



I had a really good time and I wouldn't mind doing it again next year. Wait, did I say that out loud?

Channelling Our Inner Selves

Our ward had a Halloween party at the local fun center that our neighbor is the manager of. I wasn't planning on going but Rachel, Caleb and my friend talked me into it at the last minute. We threw our costumes together in about 15 minutes. I think we look pretty good.

Meet Rachel a generic 18th century girl (did you know that they hid their cell phones in their sashes?)

Winnie the Witch

Caleb the Nerd

Emma is revisiting a costume from the past, an 8th grade girl.

Emma and Brad stayed at home and watched the World Series (go Giants!) It was interesting once we got there. Caleb took off with his friends and played in an area called the Blast Zone, which is exactly what is sounds like- a sweaty stinky place where boys get to hit each other with foam balls. I stayed on the sidelines and talked to my friend, and Rachel and her friend Bailey put on skates and stumbled to the rink. It was interesting to me because within 20 seconds (no exaggeration) two or three boys came over to "help" Rachel stay up on her skate. How nice.

So I think that Halloween is a time when you get to be somebody maybe you secretly want to be. Caleb decided that being a nerd was NOT what he really was (too close to home, perhaps?) and we had a change of plans. Rachel wasn't satisfied with her costume either. She improvised a pretty good flapper costume but she left before I got a picture. Caleb became one of these.

Oh yeah, my son is a Greaser.

I remained a witch. What does that say about me? Just that I really, really like my cool hat.
The pumpkins that the kids carved were pretty cool, too.

Caleb carved the Grim Reaper, Emma did Cinderella and Rachel carved the black widow.

Happy Halloween!

The Fun Isn't Just Reserved for Girls

At the beginning of June, our stake had girls' camp at the Heber Valley Girls Camp that is owned by the church. This was my first time to go to girls camp and I was a little bit nervous but the accommodations were top-notch.

The property is actually under the direction of the general Temple Presidency and you can tell that there is a special spirit the resides in the 6600 acres.

It was a perfect first camp for me- I was there with my two most favorite girls in the world, the other girls were completely lovable, the facilities were posh as far as camping goes, the leaders were great and I spent much of the time laughing my guts out, AND to top it off, it was a spiritual feast. Here are some pictures that I took when I remembered to take out my camera.

During the orientation, they warned us that there was a bumper crop of ticks at the camp this year. This sent many a young camper into a DEET-fueled frenzy, which prompted a lecture from me about how DEET is a toxic chemical to be used sparingly. Still, we were really careful to check for ticks every night.

One of the most memorable things that we did was the challenge course. One of the challenges was to scale a 40 ft pole, walk across the tightrope to the other side and go down a zip line. Here is Emma waiting her turn.

Rachel, well let's just say that this stuff is right up her alley. The person that was working the support ropes said that out of the hundreds of girls and adults that he had to spot, she is the only one who walked the tightrope without holding on to the ropes. Crazy.

I also discovered that people my age should not wear support harnessess if they are looking for something that will flatter your figure. Yikes.

 

While I was on the tightrope, all the girls down below were telling me to walk across without using my hands. Emma even said that if I could do it, she would keep her room clean for a week. It was really tempting, but i the end, all I could muster was to take the last step on to the platform without holding on to everything. What a rush.

Camp was really fun. I really love the girls and I am impressed with their spirituality and I truly enjoy their company. Not a bad first camp for me. I wonder what it will be like next year?