Finally, the beach!

Got back to Maine early Monday morning( read 2 a.m.) and hit the beach yesterday, Tuesday. Perfect blue skies, lots of ocean breeze, and just the right temperature. It's been at least a year since my last beach outing, I missed it. After living in Ft. Lauderdale for all those years I had beach outings to a science. I kept my beach chair, towel, and suit in my car at all times 'cuz you just didn't know when you'd have an opportunity to hit da beach. Amber, my sister-in-law, kinda does the same thing. I was unloading everything out of the van yesterday after we got back to the house. Amber reminded me that we would be heading back today the beach and so I could just leave everything in the van. Ah bliss!
We had lob-stah for dinner last night. Ben made sure that I got two! I love it! Paytyn tried the lobster and she LOVED it. How many 14 month old babies do you know that like lobster? It was pretty fun to see Aspen and Owen crack their lobsters open. These kids know how it is done. They had already picked out their nutcrackers and were ready to crack those bad boys open.

Girls Camp 2009

We just got back from Girls Camp this afternoon. I don't remember the last time I went 4 days without showering, shaving the legs, or putting on make-up. I could probably do without the make-up but showering and de-foresting the legs are a must. I almost cried when I came home today because I had turned the water heater off before I left and the thought of an ice cold shower was terrifying. Luckily there was still hot water in there(I'm not quite sure how that works. Can anyone explain?) Let's just say that what I thought was me acquiring a tan...was not. :) My tan has now washed off, with probably 8 layers of bug spray and sunscreen.


We had 8 girls go up to camp, our Bishop, The Livingstons(Alisa & Dennis), the Bish's wife Jan to help in the kitchen along with Connie Burns. We were so happy to have so many leaders with us, it made our experience great!
I have never been to Girls Camp in Utah before. My camp experiences were in Wisconsin where our stake used a Girl Scout Camp. So imagine my shock and dismay when there was no pool, craft cabin, canoes, or walk-in freezer to use to cool off. It's OK, I recovered pretty quickly. Camping in the Uintas was absolutely beautiful. And to be honest, I didn't really miss the pool or canoes. We heard the pond/lake was filled with leeches so I don't think I really would have wanted to go in there. The camp was surrounded by wildflowers and the Uinta mountains.


Our stake theme this year was Dr. Seuss' Oh The Places You Go, our ward's theme was Green Eggs & Ham. I wish I could tell you I was super crafty with our theme, but alas, I was not.
Because, who really wants to go around with green eggs on their shirt? We made up for it with yellow bandannas and hoodies.
And of course, our crafts were excellent! The girls designed fabulous covers for journals, and we all LOVE Mod Podge! What did we do without it before? The girls also made boards that said Be Thou An Example and decorated them with ribbon, flowers, and cool eyelets.The last craft we got to was making magnets out of flat glass marbles. We still have travel size B of Mormons for them to cover, and then a chipboard FRIEND scrapbook for them to make. And to think I was worried about them having enough to do.

One thing that I love about Girls Camp is how much I learn about myself. It is a wonderful time to be removed from the world in a dedicated place just for the young women of the church. Some of the things that I discovered about myself is that I have more patience than I thought. I have been struggling with prayer for the last year or so. My dad has a wonderful testimony of prayer, and talks about it often with our family. I've felt that maybe my Heavenly Father has had me on mute for the last year so. You know, I've been saying my prayers but he hasn't had the volume up? Having this calling has literally pushed me to my knees and almost forced me to pray. There is absolutely no way that I could do this calling without the inspiration of my Heavenly Father. There are so many decisions that have far reaching consequences, and if I was to make them on my own with my limited wisdom and knowledge, the results would be disastrous. I've had many situations where I have had to have an answer from my Heavenly Father, because there was no other way for me to make the right decision. My faith in prayer has been renewed. I have had to wait for the answer, because I couldn't proceed without it. It has really helped me to concentrate on my prayers and to wait for the answer. I have always been able to recognize the spirit, but waiting for an answer is sometimes excruciating.
The spirit was very strong this week for me. I had a moment this week up at camp where I had really wanted to be able to talk to my father. I really felt like I needed to talk with him and seek his advice. Almost like What Would Dana Do in this situation. Being up in the Uintas, there is no cell phone reception so that was definitely not an option. I wished that he was there with me. I was praying to my Heavenly Father, pouring out my soul and wishing for comfort. As I was sitting there on that log I could swear that I felt someone put their arm around me. My Heavenly Father must have known that I needed that because it seemed like a miracle for me. I talked to my dad today and told him about what had happened. He said that he'd been thinking about me on that Wednesday. My dad has the uncanny ability to tune into The Force as he calls it. I can't tell you how many times that my father has sensed from 2,000 miles that something wasn't right and called to check on me. What a blessing my parents are in my life. My parents have unwavering testimonies and are wonderful examples of being obedient. I've learned from them that it is better to be obedient to inspiration than to go your own way.
Being at Girls Camp with my presidency and our girls was a wonderful experience. It is such a different environment in which to get to know people. We aren't in our best clothes at church putting our best faces, we are who we really are. In all our un-showered bandanna-ed and clean-faced glory. Though I did bring my tweezers, because who knows when you're gonna have a rogue hair that just has to be plucked?
This week gave me new perspective and appreciation for the wonderful blessings in my life. Like these girls thinking that my next birthday would be my 27th. Wahoo!!!! That made my day! : )