Girls Camp 2008

Me with Elsie, Catelyn, and Darcey Perkins
Catelyn, Carly and I

Catelyn and I with a couple of our girls

On a hike

Catelyn and I with our little baby first years

Girl's Camp seems to get better year after year. This past week I had the opportunity to be up at Stake Girl's Camp. Catelyn Perkins and I, along with another girl from my ward were all YCLs (youth camp leaders) together over a group of little first years from a different ward in our stake. We were SO excited when we found out that we would be YCLs together and wanted to make everything fun and adorable for our girls. We spent a lot of time making cute handouts, mailboxes, and stuff weeks before camp. We even had a little pre-camp swim party with our first years to get to know them a little before camp. We were so excited as just the YCLs left Tuesday morning to go to camp. We spent that whole day just checking out camp, decorating our girl's cabin to make it ADORABLE and of course spraying every inch of the camp with Raid! Early Wednesday morning all the girls came up and our girls were so happy to see all the fun things we had done for them. We quickly bonded with our girls and had a blast treating them like they were our little sisters or something. Catelyn and I had so much fun just being YCLs, leading everyone in camp songs along with the other YCLs, giving devotionals to our girls, and just laughing a ton. The week was so amazing and our ward especially seemed way closer than any other ward in the stake. I LOVE my ward!! I feel like I have the best leaders ever and we all had so much fun just being ridiculously goofy together. All the work that Catelyn and I put into making it fun for our girls was all worth it. I feel proud that we were able to play such a large roll in making our girl's first year so memorable. The last night, as with most Girls Camps, was the most intense and my favorite part. We all went to a really great fireside by the stake presidency in the "Sacred Grove" and then split into wards afterwards to have testimony meeting. I have been to many Girls Camps, Trek, Youth Camp, EFY and lots of spiritual meetings but I don't think I have ever sat through a more intense meeting than this. The spirit was incredibly strong and I had so much love for every person there. Our entire ward was not just teary-eyed but completely SOBBING!! haha we were all total messes with headaches and sniffling for hours that night. Part of the reason that it was so emotional was because the Perkins girls (Catelyn, Elsie, and Darcy) are all moving about three hours away. They are such an important part of our Young Womens and everybody loves them. That night they had to leave right after testimony meeting. Catelyn and I went to our first year's cabing right befor she left so they could say good bye to her. All the girls were balling along with Catelyn and I. It felt like a member of our little family we had formed that week was moving away. That night was especcially hard for me because I had grown so close to Catelyn over the past week and it was so hard and weird to be alone. I felt like I had made and lost a best friend within one week. I also LOVE Elsie and Darcy SOOO much, they are the sweetest, funniest girls ever. I will miss them all but I know I will see them a lot. Saturday morning we packed up and drove home. I was so sad as I hugged my first years goodbye, I love those girls so much. They couldn't stop talking about how we are going to have and after-camp party/reunion and re-checking that I had got their e-mails and would e-mail them as soon as I got home. SO CUTE! I am just so grateful for another awesome Girl's Camp experience and I know with all my heart that the gospel is true. Now I am just happy to have a few days home with my family (showered and bug free) before I take off again to Utah!!!