Girls Camp this year was held in Anza Borrego Desert at Butterfield Ranch. It was really beautiful there. The temperature ranged from 103-110 during the day. The camp had 2 swimming pools, and we took a little blow up kiddie pool for the girls to lounge in around camp. Camp was quite eventful. It started off by me having a dental emergency and having to stop on the way to get a tooth fixed. Then the motor home kept overheating, so Marsha had to stop a couple times to let it cool off. Bishop was pretty smart and used the super soakers on it, and it made a big difference cooling it down. We finally made it, just a little late.
The second day there was a hike. One girl already had heat exhaustion, so I stayed with her in the motor home and enjoyed the a/c. I was more than willing to stay behind!! The girls swam and lounged in the kiddie pool, and shot the leaders with the squirt guns. Fun stuff!
Just before dinner, one girl found out that her best friend had a seizure, and the doctors found a rare brain disorder. She was on life support, and the family was waiting for our yw to come back and say good-bye before they pulled the plug. That was a huge turning point in camp. I took our girl home that evening, and stayed at home so I wouldn't be falling asleep on the drive back. That evening, another girl had heat exhaustion. I left early from home the next morning and went back to camp. That day was an obstacle course. The girls were pretty wiped out from the heat and only a few participated. They were told to wear long pants, but one opted not to. She ended up with a horrible burn on her leg from going down the hot metal slide. Bummer, back to the a/c and first aid!! 
Then we went on a geo-caching treasure hunt in Julian. It was so much fun. We had to read plaques to go from site to site and ended up at a geo cache. It was much cooler there. While we were there, one girl got a nose bleed, and another got horrible stomach pains. The girls were dropping like flies!! After we got back to camp, the leaders sent the girls to do certification and we had a little meeting. We decided to relocate camp to a cooler climate. The girls weren't handling the heat very well. They weren't really having fun because of how they felt, but they NEVER complained!! I was really proud of them. When the girls got back to the motor home, we put it to a vote - whether or not to relocate. We told them we weren't going home, but moving camp and finishing it out. Obviously, they voted to leave. We got to Joy & Max's vacant house around 11pm and slept there. That was our new home base. I texted our yw that had to go home, and told her that we would be picking her up in the morning to finish camp with us. Having us all back together made it what it was supposed to be.
Thursday am we went to Torrey Pines State Reserve and hiked, identified plants, and practiced first aid. We hiked down to the beach and played in the water. We even were able to swim with dolphins playing in the waves. We went back to "home base" and worked on certification. The girls are also putting together a magazine about camp. We went to Bishop's back yard and had dutch oven dinner and dessert, made woof 'ems, and had a testimony meeting. Then back to home base. They really enjoyed the "sleep over" type camping, and stayed up until 1am. They finished camp Friday morning with trying to eat as much left over food that they could, finished certification and worked on the magazine. We were asked to sing in Sacrament meeting, so we practiced our song. Then we had an awards ceremony and took the girls back to the church to get picked up. It was such a great experience, and the girls loved seeing so many different climates in the same week. We grew closer together as a group, and each of us strengthened our testimonies as we had these experiences. It was my best yw camp ever!
Then we went on a geo-caching treasure hunt in Julian. It was so much fun. We had to read plaques to go from site to site and ended up at a geo cache. It was much cooler there. While we were there, one girl got a nose bleed, and another got horrible stomach pains. The girls were dropping like flies!! After we got back to camp, the leaders sent the girls to do certification and we had a little meeting. We decided to relocate camp to a cooler climate. The girls weren't handling the heat very well. They weren't really having fun because of how they felt, but they NEVER complained!! I was really proud of them. When the girls got back to the motor home, we put it to a vote - whether or not to relocate. We told them we weren't going home, but moving camp and finishing it out. Obviously, they voted to leave. We got to Joy & Max's vacant house around 11pm and slept there. That was our new home base. I texted our yw that had to go home, and told her that we would be picking her up in the morning to finish camp with us. Having us all back together made it what it was supposed to be.
Thursday am we went to Torrey Pines State Reserve and hiked, identified plants, and practiced first aid. We hiked down to the beach and played in the water. We even were able to swim with dolphins playing in the waves. We went back to "home base" and worked on certification. The girls are also putting together a magazine about camp. We went to Bishop's back yard and had dutch oven dinner and dessert, made woof 'ems, and had a testimony meeting. Then back to home base. They really enjoyed the "sleep over" type camping, and stayed up until 1am. They finished camp Friday morning with trying to eat as much left over food that they could, finished certification and worked on the magazine. We were asked to sing in Sacrament meeting, so we practiced our song. Then we had an awards ceremony and took the girls back to the church to get picked up. It was such a great experience, and the girls loved seeing so many different climates in the same week. We grew closer together as a group, and each of us strengthened our testimonies as we had these experiences. It was my best yw camp ever! 
5 comments:
It sounds like your faith was tested and you all come through with flying colors.
Jodi
Wow was that a eventful week. I am sure the girls grew closer with all the experiences that went on with the girls in your ward.I am sure you are glad that you are home now.
wow Dee Dee, that was a crazy week. Sounds fun though. What are woof ems?
Sounds like you guys had an amazing week besides all the trials along the way. Heitje and I were done with camp last year. I was even asked are you going this year. Since I have moved here I have been at every camp. NO, I was not needed this year. Yes!!
Woof'ems are pillsbury biscuits pulled over a rounded dowel on the end of a stick. You cook them over a fire and pull them off the stick, then fill them with pie filling, cream cheese, honey, or whatever you like, and top it with whipped cream. I guess they get the name because you "woof'em down". YUM!
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