Girls' Camp

I was in charge of our ward's Girls' Camp the first week in July. This year we were part of a Stake Camp (a large group made up of lots of local units). We had 18 girls go up from our ward. A perfect number in my opinion. Sadly, we only had 2 leaders there full time (I know!) -- the Assistant Camp Director and myself (the Camp Director). We had visits from other leaders (and one even slept over one night) but we were pretty sparse on adult help. Oh well.

Our camp was held at a Boy Scout Camp about an hour southeast of Rexburg, near Palisades Reservoir along the Snake River. It was a beautiful, green location. Unfortunately it wasn't at a high elevation and we were having an unseasonably warm week. So temps were in the 90's...a bit warm for hiking and camping. Thankfully there was a lake so we got to do some swimming and boating to keep us cooled off.

I was REALLY nervous about being in charge of Girls' Camp. I'm honestly not much of a camper and I didn't know the girls very well. But my assistant was knowledgeable and resourceful, we had some dads come up to help us set up and take down camp (bless them!), and my girls were really enthusiastic and willing to pitch in and help. My favorite part of camp was just getting to know the young women better. They are really neat girls and I had a great time developing relationships with them. We had a lot of fun.

Girls Camp is full of lots of fun traditions that seem to stay constant from generation to generation:

Getting silly at our skit night on the shore of the lake

Playing "The Cup Game" -- do any of you remember that from camp? 

I sure do! And it hasn't changed since I was a teenager

Writing notes to their Secret Sisters

I loved this one! The girls were super in to "doing hair" -- all the time. 

Look closely and you can see one girl cooking while another girl puts a braid in her hair. 

Bet you won't see that at a boys' camp out.

But, because we were at a Boy Scout Camp we did get to do some less traditional 

Girls' Camp things like archery and rifle shooting. The girls had a blast.

The gang -- I think this is day 2. I'm on the far left 

(in case you couldn't recognize me under all that dirt)

We had lots of wildlife in camp: butterflies, moths, lots of unidentified bugs, and even a mouse

Our lovely accommodations -- this is the bathroom down the flower lined path

My van (in the background) served as our "bear box" -- 

where we stored all of our food and smelly stuff. 

Sadly, we opened and closed the door so much that we drained my battery in no time. 

And for weeks after camp we kept finding snacks, deodorant, and little odds and ends in my van.

We had 4 sets of sisters up at camp with us so I decided to do a quick photo shoot of each pair. 

Aren't they adorable?

This is the final day...just as we were about to go home. We were tired and dirty but happy!

Our theme was Stand Ye in Holy Places. Each ward was assigned a shoe. We were the "Flip-Flops" --

Oh, speaking of flip-flops...

The rule was supposed to be "close toed shoes" at camp. We struggled all week with this. 

But in any type of shoes our feet were filthy by the end of the day!

Girls' Camp was exhausting...physically and mentally. I honestly can't think of any time when I have worked harder. But it was a very rewarding experience and I look forward to next year!