Girl's Camp 2023

It’s finally upon us: Girl’s Camp Week. Thankfully, there was not much to do except pack, send out reminders, firm up the rest of our plans, and gather the supplies. Amelia was a huge help getting it all together. The YCLs had a fun Friday night get together to paint coordinating PJ pants and watch a movie. 

Amelia and Everett had their well-child visits this year with Melissa Kroon. I got Everett’s sports paperwork completed so he can do cross country again. As expected, the kids are healthy and strong. I requested a new x-ray of Mia’s left hip since it’s been 3+ years since we checked on it. Dr Kroon suggested we contact the orthopedic Dr since the x-rays came back mostly normal as expected, showing hip defects this time around. The kids helped me deep clean the van at the fancy car wash across from the clinic. They earned two Del Taco burritos for their concerted effort. 

Tuesday, Amelia and Everett went to see Nina, they are going to see her during the summer. Amelia is working on less aggressive family communication and Everett is working on anger management and his “All or nothing” thinking pattern. Evelyn had an appointment with Stephanie Lee about her medications. The biggest problem now is that she is not sleeping well at all. That girl doesn’t fall asleep until after 11 most nights, lies awake in bed or roaming for an hour. Our bedtime routine is not helpful, as soon as bedtime is announced she goes from tired to wound up in seconds. We are trying a small dose of guaifenesin to help her feel sleepy. That first night she took it Evelyn slept peacefully from 10 until noon the next day. She woke up chipper and happy! What a change for her.  I worked a bit more on the girl’s room after spray painting some frames a cute tropical blue. Toward the evening the lightbulb Duckie souvenirs were finished. Phillip’s drum teacher, Sam, is on tour with a band off and on all summer. Phillip got to take lessons from the other teacher, he said it was interesting to learn from someone with completely different techniques and focus. The YM needed to have their camping gear to Brother Cherry’s between 7-8 pm, they are slated to leave early Wednesday morning. Phillip still was not packed at 6:50 pm?! I was running around trying to get myself packed so was not much help to him. I ran to Walmart for sunblock and more bug spray. Phillip is very slow and meticulous, he finally got packed but wanted me to check everything over, even give my opinion if his outfits matched! He got his stuff over before 8 pm. Amelia and the other YCLs went to the Young’s home to monitor the YW dropping off their camp stuff and packing up the trailer. Furgus had a fun time in the yard with everyone, it was a YW party! 

I finally got my devotional planned, executing? That took me a while longer to gather all the supplies needed for the execution. I am very excited about this devotional. Miekka gave me the idea in her Marco Polo. Their YW president did a “sensory Christ” experience with music and correlating objects passed along during the devotional. I picked 8 songs with 3-4 objects per song. The crate of objects was the last item to be gathered a packed. We met up at the Young’s home before heading to the Airbnb. Amanda drove the trailer while I had all the YCLs in our van. Our first matter of business was a stop at Hobby Lobby. I sent the 4 YCLs off on their own, their laughter and mischief following me around the store. I needed to get a couple items for the devotional like a chain, anchor, and the word faith. Emma tagged the van with a scrap of cardboard and tape she found in the store, it stayed for the entire week! Next up, slurpees for all, energy for the task ahead. Amanda was already unpacked and working on the food. The next two hours we decorated the Airbnb with the cute oval paintings the girls did with Aunt Fawn, banners, crepe paper, and 78 leftover glowing duckies. The pool table was a fun attraction everyone enjoyed! The house decor was so cute, mid-century modern with touches of art deco. I really wanted the couch, it was well made unlike most crappy couches on the market. We enjoyed dinner at Red Robin, lots of fries and delicious burgers for all. Martha Lynes joined us for dinner and came to inspect the house. The YCLs divided up the 11 younger girls into groups. Amelia had the Quackers, Hailey had the Margaritas, Emma the Little Peppers, and Cass the Cuddly Avocados. We got back and started on a spa night complete with face masks and pedicures. Hailey revealed she is addicted to….water. gasp. No wonder she chose the hemp face mask. Ha ha. We stayed up extra late listening to 80s music, putting welcome packets together for the girls, and playing games. We even busted out the paint to add Emma and Jocelyn’s (Mia was Jocelyn’s hand) handprints to all the girl’s sleep shirts. 

Girl’s camp 2023, Light of the World official started at 8:00 am. The stake YW leaders met our girls at the church with breakfast. Martha, Dannielle, and Sara brought the girls over to the house. We all changed into our new fancy camp shirts, dropped off our stuff, and geared up for a long day out and about. Lots of chaos and magical laughter filled the house as the girls explored and got ready. We left at 9:45 for our first adventure to the Boise Zoo. The YCLs kept track of their own groups so no one was left behind. I adopted Justin’s brilliant idea to quack when we moved on, it was a wonder at Disneyland. The quack, quack, quackquackquack was a bit annoying to the leaders (except me) it did keep us all together. Quack off!! With a bit of luck we got the group discount of $5 per person instead of the $10 we expected. I loved that we all stayed together as a group. Our YW are all friends with each other, it was awesome to watch the older girls mixing with the younger and group dynamics constantly changing. When I was in YW most wards had clique girl groups, none of which I was truly part of. Not here! We made it through the entire zoo in 2 hours. We were all ready for a sit down on the lawn outside the zoo and lunch. Most took a rest or napped. I led a group of girls to the rose garden where we found a dragonfly eating a ladybug and a Godzilla-sized bumblebee. Our next activity was paddle boats on a cute pond next to the zoo. Ava exercised her bravery, trying the paddle boats in spite of her fear of the water. The paddle boats activity was a highlight of the day, the best part was herding goslings with our boats. Little Natalya expertly parallel parked her boat. We walked to the Lincoln statue and read the plaque there. We kept the girls going at this point, we knew if we stopped there would no going for a while. Our camp service project was to pick up litter on the greenbelt and leave inspirational painted rocks along the way. We stopped at the Anne Frank memorial, saw lots of beautiful creations along the river, admired Boise State, and walked about 2 miles to Ann Morrison park. Amanda and Eileen met us at the park, they drove over so the leaders could quickly get back to the zoo where the rest of parked. Some girls lounged on blankets in the shade, other girls went to play on the playground, and the rest of us went to get our feet wet in the river. We used the tubing exit ramp to get our feet wet and protect us from the swift water. Once all vehicles were back at the park we loaded up and drove to the Boise Train Depot. Eileen’s grandpa worked there for much of his life. We explored for a bit then listened to Eileen tell us about the depot. The girls in my van admired all the cool houses singing the bench, one home looked like a fortress. The girls were glad to head “home” for dinner a relaxed evening. Amanda and her team of girls had a spaghetti dinner ready in less than 30 minutes! The Bullard’s let us use their trampoline, fire pit, and hammock. We entertained their darling little girls! After dinner we had time to journal, write notes to each other, do secret sister deliveries, get beds set up, and enjoy the evening. Brycen started a fire for us to roast marshmallows…and candy. The YCLs prepared a devotional for everyone, we heard their testimonies about being a light in a darkening world. All the leaders decided we were most like Amelia when a YW, that was funny! We all felt a little social, a little bookish, a little quiet, a little silly, a little creative, and etc. I had some good chats with Jocelyn, she is struggling with an eating disorder and attachment (she was adopted at 8) issues. I was grateful to close the door and get a good night of sleep. Amelia slept with me since the bunkbed room was taken up by Martha. Amelia stole the covers all night, she needs to learn how to share. 

Friday began with the annoying wake-up song (heh-heh-heh) and delicious breakfast. The YCLs had their teams of girls working on chores and getting ready for the day. We headed to downtown Boise first. Amanda has a family friend that works at the capitol as a lobbyist, he took an hour off work to give us a tour. Ava was freaked out by the open spaces and lofty building. She was not thrilled to tour the building. Amanda stayed with Ava and Jocelyn as both girls were near meltdown at 10:30 am. We got to see the House of Representatives, even sit and admire the space while a worker there explained how that branch of government works in Idaho. The capitol was recently renovated back to its original beauty. I enjoyed hearing stories and lore of the building. At the same time of the renovation two underground wings were added on either side! I had no idea. We got to see the vaults, mailbox system, the senate, a long lost ornate clock, a gifted statue from France, a wooden gold-leafed George Washington, inauguration First Lady of Idaho dresses, a fun museum, and etc. The tour ended with a movie and then a QA session. We wandered the grounds for a bit then headed to the Basque Block for lunch. Amanda and Martha got 4 huge pizzas from the most famous pizza joint in Boise. Dannielle and I led the girls south to a cute park on the Basque block. I went with the Finch girls to find something gluten free for lunch. They are a bit enabled and spoiled with their gluten allergies. We had funds for a salad, Jimmy John’s sandwich, or something like that. They insisted on $30 pizza from some boutique pizzeria, $30 for a 10 in pizza. Jocelyn was freaking out over pizza because it is one of her trigger foods. We all managed with great amount of whining. We planned to tour the penitentiary after dinner but half the girls were complaining about going after dinner. The murmurings were loud and annoying, “I’m so bored, when can we go back, I don’t want pizza, etc”. I am so proud the YCLs stepped up with a kind lecture, they went around spreading positivity. The morale improved. Change of plans: we drove up to the Idaho Rock and Gem museum which is next to the old state penitentiary. The drive up seemed to reset the mood too! Hooray! I hear Martha delivered a scathing lecture to the horde of younger girls in her van. The gem museum was very cool. I especially loved the case showing all the rocks found near Nampa, makes rock identification easier. All the girls got to choose a rock and have it identified by the resident geologist. The Penitentiary was very interesting. We spent almost 90 minutes checking out the different blocks, reading about inmates, learning about what conditions were like, what they ate, weapons, capital punishment, and their chores. The youngest inmate was incarcerated for murdering his mother after she asked him to hang the laundry, that is extreme! I loved the textures of peeling paint and the ornate radiators. I somehow managed to lock all the YW into one cell block, they didn’t stay for some odd reason. J. Curtis Earl donated 1/4 of his gun fortress collection to the Old Pen museum back in 2000 (?). His collection included weapons thousands of years old to guns ranging from they first models to firearms from the 1990’s. That was an impressive collection. Everyone was flagging by 4:30 so we went to another Boise staple for ice cream, Fancy Freeze. The Finch girls were upset we dared treat everyone to cones when they also had a dairy allergy. I was excited the joint offered dairy-free, gluten-free options like smoothies or fries. Cass was ticked off for a couple hours, it’s hard to manage allergies but it’s also not fair to make everyone else suffer. Regardless, the ice cream cone break lifted our spirits! We took our worn out selves back to the Airbnb for dinner. We felt much better after eating burritos, tacos, salad, etc. 

Then the highlight! I was so excited for the sensory devotional. I spent some time praying for the spirit to touch each girl, that the experience would not come off feeling cheesy. We finally got the girls gathered around 8 pm. The girls all sat on the floor in a tight circle. We started once everyone was sure they did not need the bathroom or a drink. I ended up using my phone since the streaming to the TV was not consistent. Dannielle helped me manage the music, starting the songs seamlessly. Once we were ready all the girls closed their eyes and passed around objects mentioned in the songs. 

Believe in Something Mat & Savannah (running shoes, light bulb)

What a Beautiful Name, Vocal Point (Bible, statue of Jesus, crown)

Come to the Well (empty pitcher, wet towel, broken rocks)

Healer (globe, crown of thorns, candlestick, weights)

I Can Do All Things Through Christ (statue of Christ, cup of sand, chains)

Light On A Hill (Jenny Phillips) (lightbulb, word “Faith”  

Ready To Rise (Angie Killian) (anchor, faith, Christ)

The Miracle (Christ, bread, veil)

As soon as the Miracle started Amelia was bawling. She was thinking of Grandma Jean, me too sweetie. As I bent down to pass out the items I was deeply impressed to touch the face of each girl like Christ would.  Oh gosh we were all crying by the end. Each girl reacted differently to the touch, some leaned in, some jolted, others giggled, their reactions were very interesting to me, after a few days of being with each girl their actions were expected. It was so tender watching the girls explore each object and connect it to the Savior. Our Testimony meeting seamlessly started after the music ended. Olivia kept cracking jokes, chasing away the spirit. She was not impressed with the experience, still, she had tears in her eyes once or twice, she was feeling it however inappropriately expressing her emotions. Ambree, Ava, Quinn, and Grace’s good non-member friend Kiana attended camp with us. I about lost it when she bore her testimony, started by saying, “I don’t why I’m feeling this way, but I want it to last forever. The tear fest ended in a group pile hug on the floor. Ava and Jocelyn had a cleansing, powerful cry, the sort that clears away the clouds. Ava felt sick after so much crying, she and I had a pas de deux outside in the mild summer night. I learned that her mother abandoned her at a very young age. Her Grandma is struggling to care for her. She said that the touch during the song was the first time she felt a tender, parental touch on her cheek. Stop! Oh dear girl, we love you. We decompressed further eating snacks than a glow-in-the dark dance party. Some girls watched a Train Your Dragon movie. Most were snuggled in their sleeping bags trying to sleep. Silence finally fell at the early hour of 1 am. 

Brother Finch beat me to the “Wake up” song the next morning. His booming voice shook the house awake. We had lots of breakfast choices, including leftovers. The girls worked hard packing up and cleaning the house. We left it cleaner than we found it. Somehow I ended up with two extra Duckie light bulbs, we gifted them to cute Emma and Isabelle nextdoor. Half the girls wanted to head home half wanted to play more. We all went back to Ann Morrison to play at the park, the splash pad, play yard games, and eat leftovers for lunch. The girls dared me to run through the splash pad, course I dared to. I was grateful for the change of clothes in my van! We arrived at the church around 2 pm, got the girls delivered back to their parents. The boys were stranded in Oregon because Brother Cherry’s truck broke down. Sara rushed off to the rescue. 

Evelyn was very excited to welcome us home. She had a lovely poster on the door. She had cute cards made, even a lovely tea party prepared. I especially loved all the hugs from both girls. Justin made sure to spoil the girls with McDonalds, Jimmy Johns, and even a restaurant pancake breakfast. I got the cutest video message from Josie, “mom! I just had warm chocolate with loads of whipped cream. I tried them together…it was delicious.” Evelyn had a very hard time with me leaving. The first day she texted me, called, videoed, about a hundred times. I had Justin and Sara intervene. She was a moping mess without me around, nothing was worth doing. She perked up a bit on Friday, created a fun obstacle course with Oliver for Josie. I loved the obstacles they created. Evelyn was close to accompanying me even to the bathroom once I got home, she slept in our bed, ranged around wide awake. I was dead tired! 

I hear the boys had a great time. They hiked about 16-18 miles up and down mountains. Dusty said the boys went to bed earlier and earlier as their trip progressed. Phillip managed to slice his finger nail with his pocket knife. I am glad the group stopped at the YMCA to swim before coming home, they smelled decent! 

Saturday evening Paula organized a neighborhood dinner party! She provided hot dogs and buns. The rest of us brought sides and desserts. I was happy more neighbors joined this year! I made a poor excuse of a potato salad with several wilted potatoes left in the pantry. Gratefully, Amanda gave me the leftover tortilla chips and salsa. Boom! We had a merry time visiting with our neighbors, more than the customary hello. 

Sunday we were all dead tired, it was quiet at 10:30 am, even the puppy was still asleep. Thank Heavens. Sunday was also Father’s Day. The Primary kids sang Choose to be Happy, after just two Sunday practices. I made it through an action-packed singing time, actually fit in 3 songs and activities. Sara invited us over for a Father worthy BBQ dinner. She knew we would all be worn out, no groceries, and struggling to celebrate our Fathers. I brought chips and drinks, paid some money for meat as our contribution. We had a delicious picnic dinner of grilled steaks and chicken, potato salad, frog eye salad, and green salad. We played a few rounds of Mafia with everyone, even Justin! Furgus was acting like a teenager, biting Vader’s tail, and pretending he was the dog boss. Justin scored a GPS thing that allows him to text when he is out of cell range, it was the desire of his little heart.