Mixed Blessings a.k.a. Abandon Ship!*

I got a call this afternoon that the Stake had decided to abandon girls camp. I was told that Savannah, and the other girls, would be at the church until further notice, working on certifications and they would let us know what was happening in regards to sleeping arrangements.

(You know, my heart strings might be able to handle girls camp each year if it is only for one night. ;) Here's to hoping it is the same each year! But not too hard, at least for Savannah and Samantha's 'fun girls camp experiences' sake. :))

Apparently the rain and wind was quite bad up at camp. And several of the wards were not as prepared as they could have/should have been. All the leaders got together to decide whether to stay or not, and while most were willing to work it out and stay, one ward said regardless of what other wards were going to do, they were going home. We were told the ward that planned on leaving hadn't really prepared at all and actually had some of their tents fly away. Guess the Boy Scouts have something to that motto of theirs, huh? :)

Now I don't know what experiences you out there in cyberland had at girls camp, but I don't ever remember abandoning girls camp. We just had to deal with it and try to stay warm and dry as best we could. And I remember one year having to trudge through inches of mud to get around. But I understand the Stake trying to make the best out of a situation while trying to keep the spirit of togetherness alive.

So, the girls hung out at our ward building until 8:30 p.m. when the parents were told to go pick them up. We brought Savannah and all her gear home but there was going to be a big sleepover at one of the leader's houses so after Savannah had a shower and I Febrezed her sleeping bag she was off again to spend the night away from home. (The leaders tried to get permission for the girls to sleep in our ward building but weren't able to, some legal issue or something.) The Stake plans on having certification activities at the Stake Center tomorrow and then tomorrow night our ward is going to have its Bishop's Night and Testimony meeting in the yard of the camp director's home. It should be fun and the girls should be able to do just about all the activities they had planned on doing up at camp.

*Side bar in regards to the title of this blog entry: This year's girls camp theme was "Anchor Yourself in Christ" and they used a lot of seafaring terms and ideas to decorate with and highlight the theme.

Ok, a couple of things I want to share:

Savannah was very nervous about going to camp. She doesn't really know or hang out with any of the girls in our ward so she was quite concerned she would be all alone and lonely at camp. When Kent and I got to the church every leader we encountered told us how much they loved Savannah and how helpful and great she was. Now, every parents wants to hear things like that about their child, however, it made me a little worried. I didn't have a lot of friends at camp when I went so I mostly hung out with the leaders, doing whatever I could to help them. I couldn't help thinking that Savannah had filled her loneliness by being extra helpful like I had so many years ago.

Well, I was worried until I saw her and she was glowing, excited and happy. She told us she had made some friends in our ward and was having a great time! I just have to say, as a parent, how much I appreciate those wonderful girls and the impact they have had on Savannah in only two days. With a little bit of friendship and Christ-like love they made what could have potentially been a horrible experience for Savannah a wonderful experience. An experience she will remember for the rest of her life and one that will encourage her to go back to camp and perhaps help others to have good experiences. I just can't tell you how much those wonderful girls mean to me. Sometimes I worry about the next generation and then things like this happen and I have such hope for the world and the people in it!

And last, but not least, our army tent held up wonderfully under the weather! The leaders say it was a great tent and worked perfectly. :) (Our ward was actually one that was well prepared and eager to stay at camp.) The girls even named the tent Woolly Mammoth. :) Or for short, Mammoth or Manny (after the Woolly Mammoth in Ice Age). That is what I love about girls camp, girls just have so much fun! I am so pleased our tent was put to such good use and worked so well. It will stay up at camp until Thursday afternoon when a crew will go to retrieve it and all the other tents left up there. (We aren't worried though, I mean, really, who is going to steal a Woolly Mammoth tent?! ;))

Now for silly, odd thoughts: I get this weird feeling that for some reason no one in our immediate family was supposed to camp this week, or really be away from each other (we were going to camp at Yellowstone for my extended family vacation too). Weird, but I am sure it is just a funny coincidence. :) But if it isn't a coincidence, I do have to wonder though...what does the universe have against us camping this week?! And will it carry over into all the other camping trips we have planned for this summer or was just this week off limits? :)

The world may never know... *cue dramatic music*

Rain, rain, go away

While watching the news this morning the weatherman said "We are getting rain today but it is mainly concentrated over Lehi. Lehi seems to be the only place getting rain right now. That should change throughout the day but for now, it is just Lehi."

Doh!

Lehi is where Savannah is camping for girls camp! :/ I hope it is not too bad, that the tent does not leak and that she is staying really warm. I would hate for her to have a bad experience on her first girls camp trip.

Today has a strange feeling about it as we should be on our way to Yellowstone with the rest of my family but we aren't. It is strange to think they are all going to have that experience as a family and I will be left out. I know I am doing what is best for my immediate family but that does little to ease the disappointment. Hopefully we will get to visit Yellowstone sometime soon and my extended family will have another family vacation I will get to participate in. (And here's to hoping it is sooner than the last family vacation which was...never...)

My baby is growing up!

Since we aren't going to Yellowstone with my family, Savannah had the opportunity to attend girls camp with our ward this week. Since she will be twelve in August they allowed her to go this summer. She left this morning and will be back Friday afternoon. I am sure you can imagine all the mixed feelings I am having...mostly they are 'My baby isn't big enough to go out into the wide world, there is still so much I need to teach her!' :)

Luckily I still have time with her to share some wisdom and advice before she is 'on her own' so to speak. :) At least camp is a church sponsored activity, right? That helps with the worries and fears...at least a little. :)

Here is a picture I took of Savannah before I dropped her off at the church.



It is crazy to think Savannah is old enough to go to girls camp! And even crazier to think I am old enough to have a daughter going to girls camp! :)

I am proud of myself because I didn't cry...at least not in front of Savannah and I kept a happy, upbeat 'you are going to have so much fun' attitude until she left. :) I had Samantha and Kent III to play with today so that helped ease my loneliness of missing her. I have to tell you that it is a little strange to have Samantha here and not Savannah but it was fun to get to spend some extra one on one time with Samantha.

I must say, if girls camp is this hard for me, what am I going to do when they move away or go to college or get married?! :) *sigh* Can't they just stay little for always?!?

You know, Kent III and the age difference between him and his sisters has really taught me I need to appreciate every day with my children for the gift it truly is. I will never get this time or these experiences back and I need to make the most of them.

Crazy Days of Summer

Today is the first day of summer vacation for the girls. I let them sleep in a little but then got them out of bed because we had lots of things to do to get Savannah ready for girls camp. Her pack check was between 12 - 2 today. I washed the clothes I thought she would need and then realized she didn't have any long sleeved shirts that fit so we went shopping for a few. I got some great deals at Savers including a very cute Mickey jacket/sweatshirt for her to take with her (since it was Monday and the jacket had the correct color tag, it was only $1!).

We were a few minutes late getting the pack turned in but the leaders were very understanding. :)

Then I dropped off some dry cleaning (a couple of Kent's suits, shirts and dress pants) and we ate lunch. I puttered in the yard for a bit; making sure the garden got some water and trimmed my clematis.

Side bar about my clematis: One day I noticed this very pretty vine growing in my yard (on a trellis right outside one of my kitchen windows). A few weeks later beautiful purple flowers bloomed on the vine. I was very excited! I called my sister Sallie and asked her about the vine, what could it be? She wasn't quite sure but would check it out the next time she was at my house. (Sallie has quite the green thumb and knows about all sorts of plants.) Well, when she saw the plant she put on her pretend angry face and told me it was a clematis plant. I asked her why she was upset and she said she had tried for years to get a clematis to grow in her yard but they kept dying and here I was with a very pretty one growing in my yard and I didn't have to do anything to get it! :) It is still a joking sore spot for us. Whenever she comes over when it is in bloom she shakes her head in disgust. The sad thing is, I still hardly do anything for it! In the spring/summer when it starts to get green again, I cut off all the dead, brown leaves so it looks nicer, but other than that I don't do a thing for it! When it blooms I will be sure to post some pictures.

After Kent came home from work we cleaned out the trailer so it would be nicer for the leaders borrowing it for girls camp to get into it. After unloading and reloading the trailer we went to Subway for dinner. I have decided Subway isn't for our girls as they both just wanted ham sandwiches...no cheese, no condiments...and mayo for Savannah (but not for Samantha). They did end up adding things like olives and green peppers but then while eating decided they didn't really like the stuff on it and would rather have a plain ham sandwich. Kids! They sure are strange... :)

One of the last things Savannah needed for camp was her digital camera but we couldn't find it. At 9:10 p.m. I called her other house in hopes she might have left it over there. Her stepmom hadn't seen it lying around. I was starting to get a little frantic. So we said a prayer and searched the house again. Nothing. Then I went through the last day I remember seeing Savannah have her camera and was inspired to ask Savannah if her camera was in her softball bag. She said it was. :) By this time it was 9:45 p.m. but she needed her camera for camp so I called her stepmom again. She said no worries about calling so late, she was awake, it was summer after all, and she was able to find Savannah's camera in the bag. Hooray!

Kent was kind enough to take Savannah over there to pick it up. While they were gone I remembered Savannah needed a poncho for camp so Kent took her to get one (he sure is a very kind, sweet man!). They had WAY to much fun going to Wal-Mart, being silly and teasing other children in the store. They came home giggling and laughing about their adventure. :)

Today, while running errands, Savannah said the day was going by very slow. I laughed and then she said, "You probably think the day is going by too fast." I nodded and then I asked her what it is she wanted to do and she said "Have Dad home." I asked her if she was missing Kent and she said yes. She said everything is better with her Dad around. Even just watching t.v. is more fun if he is around.

It was a very touching moment. I am so grateful the girls have Kent in their lives. He is such a shining example of what a father, husband and priesthood holder should be. I am blessed in so many ways by having him as my husband and eternal companion!

Ankle Smankle

Today I woke up with my ankle hurting. It hurt a little bit last night but today it felt like it was sitting too close to a campfire. Not like it was on fire, but awfully close! Kent gave me a blessing last night, which helped, but today I thought I would just try to stay off of it in hopes that would help it get better. Because of the way it hurts and the coloration Kent things I sprained it. He was willing to take me to the hospital but I didn't want to go. It doesn't hurt hospital bad and what would the doctor tell me? Go home and stay off it? :) I am doing that! :) Ice helps with the pain so I am trying to do that as often as I can stand it.

The weirdest thing in all this is I don't remember doing anything to hurt it...Kent's toe is hurting pretty bad too, he thinks he might have broken it. So I have a theory: Kent kicked me during the night, breaking his toe and spraining my ankle. Either that or aliens are doing some weird bone test on us. ;) :)