Phew....June is about over.

Wow...I can't believe that June is over in like one hour! This happens every year...well at least for the last 4 anyway. Girls camp is in June and seems like time just flies in the month of June.

Our Stake girls camp this year was June 17-20. Us Stake leaders went up on the 16th to get everything set up and ready for the girls to arrive on Tuesday morning. Our theme this year was "Trek"...and we asked all the girls in our Stake to come to camp with a pioneer skirt/dress and bonnet...and to have researched a pioneer family name. We had such a great response before camp that we knew that great things were in store! Our girls and leaders came very well prepared and brought such a great spirit with them...in spite of lots of trials along the way. We had one ward whose trailer jumped the hitch on the way up...and by some miracle...they were all okay. In reality...they probably should have rolled their vehicle...but only damaged the trailer and arrived at camp late and frazzled but all OK...it truly was a tender mercy from our Father in Heaven!!!

We had such a GREAT time this year...every year has been wonderful...but this year was by far our best! Partly due to my having such a wonderful, willing and supportive presidency! They truly have become my best friends!!! My first counselor Laurie besides being a huge part of the presidency was also our camp nurse and that is no small feat let me tell you! She handled her double duty so FAB!!! Especially with the broken kneecaps and all. One patient, Cynthia, was pale beyond help and we all were worried about her outcome but Laur saved her too! Wow...she did a great job! My second counselor Tara, my camp counselor was sooo awesome to do anything we asked...and I think we gave her alot of the hard stuff!!! But hey...she is young and very game...so that is what you get!!! Hehehe! Also...she is sooo tender-hearted and really a kindred spirit with me I think we were separated at birth except that I am like 6 years older than her. Oh well! She is a french braiding specialist and probably braided about 150 heads of hair during the week. She had girls waiting in LONG LINES to have their hair done...and she turned NO ONE away. I think many of those girls had never had their hair done like that ever! It was soo neat to see the girls stand up after she finished and have her tell them how beautiful they looked and see that many of them who previously might not have believed it...truly see that they ARE beautiful!!! It really was such a neat thing to watch! She was soo sweet to do it! My secretary Des was just called about 3 weeks before camp and wowzers did she step up to the plate!!! She jumped right in with both feet and really got us organized and kept us on track!!! She is such a great example to me of dedication....she felt an bladder infection coming on early in the week and knew she was in trouble...but what a trooper...she went against all our begging her to leave...and stuck out the entire week in spite of the major league nasty physical symptoms she had...she stayed! And she really taught me what it means to be dedicated!!! My Stake camp director Jenn was the hugest Rock Star ever! I don't even know how she does all that she does!!! She has a very young family and literally ran circles around us all....broken kneecaps and all!!! Hehehehe! She is a planner to the end and her persistence kept us all going! She has a great sense of humour and really helped us get through the tense times. She thought of things I would NEVER have come up with...and was a great liaison between us as the Stake Leaders and our Ward Leaders! Wow...I can't imagine doing this job without her!!! My lite leader (over the youth leaders) Greta was a SUPERSTAR!!! She is a very tender-hearted person too and handled those 16 and 17 year old gals so perfectly! She truly taught them how to be leaders and how to lead with Christ-like love! Our Lite's were the best prepared we have ever had and they LOVED Greta! She is a great example to those girls and to me! Love her!!!

Besides all my peeps...our cooks were awesome and I think had a great time too!!! That is a huge job and they rocked the house!!! At one point during the night...we heard chants coming from the Kitchen and after paying closer attention...we heard...."CHUG, CHUG, CHUG" coming from behind closed doors. So...we went to inspect and they were shooting whipped cream into each other' mouths. And it was at the persistent hand of our Shirley Taylor...the oldest one at camp. She is a firecracker that one!!! It was pretty funny...especially since earlier in the day all our cooks had been playing round table ping pong. Fun to see them having fun and being spiritually feed too! They did a great job!!!

It was also my Sydney's first year at camp. So after 4 LONG years of being my personal assistant she was finally able to come along to camp with me! She had a great time and it was fun to see all the things that we planned really have an impact on her life too! Wow...what a blessing to be a Mom and a Leader at the same time! Loved it...and LOVE her!!!

We had the best spirit there all week...and maybe soon I will have to write some of my favorite memories from this year! We had 5 girls that are not members of our church up there with us, and I can honestly say...I KNOW they all felt the spirit and left with many questions and answers about the gospel! What a great thing to have happen!

I feel sooo blessed to have been a part of the Nampa North Stake girls camp "TREK" 2008! I am a better person for rubbing shoulders will all my fellow leaders and the GREAT Young Women of our Stake!

Love you all!!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO