Girls Camp 2012

This is how I started my week at Girl's Camp. Now if you saw a woman at 6:30 in the morning walking down the street holding a light saber while texting on her phone would you think that was odd? Maybe add that she had cornrows in her hair and wasn't paying attention enough to walk down the correct street home?  

One of our older girls who went up happens to live around the corner from me and forgot her precious light saber for camp. I mean, who doesn't travel with a light saber, right? So I went down to her house and picked it up to bring it when I came up later that day. I think all the early morning dog walkers thought I was nuts.

So warning this post is super picture heavy. I can't really fully express how much this week meant to me. It was an amazing experience and I did a lot off things I never thought I could do.

 All of us ready to leave. I made the our t-shirts with bleach pen. They are a number five that make the shape of the sun. We are Lincoln 5th ward and our assigned symbol of light was the sun:) The theme was Got Light?

Jennifer Hall, Jessica Wooden, Me and Annette Gilbert

I couldn't have made it without these wonderful ladies! We had the greatest time together.

 Our main camp decorations. Ben built these from pallets we found on the side of the road. The Tanlged suns in the middle, my friend Monica painted. My lovely cricut helped me do the stencils on the other two.

 My own personal artwork...lovely I know:)

 The girls loved this one.

I had all of them sign when they got there. 

 Hannah, Mackayla, Katelyn and Taylor

 Jessica, Vanessa, Shannon and Willow

Jennifer, Sarah, Maddie, Becky and Jessica

Meals are out of this world at camp. The cooks make everything from scratch (even lots of the bread). Let me just say that I am lucky I still lost a pound during Fit Club at my gym. the last week of the challenge coincided with Girls Camp and it was SO hard to not get seconds or thirds of everything.

 Our first night we had Kitchen capers (chores) The girls were so good about cleaning every day (well except our yurt, but that is another story...)

Scrubbing tables

 6: 30 a.m. freexing Truckee area water. Yup., that's me swimming in it. You get a charm for your necklace when you do it every morning. When I mentioned I would do it, Ben said there was no way I would...so of course then I had to!

 You can't see my face but it is in shock

A few of the girls did it with me every morning. Day two was harder, three was as well. But by the fourth day I think I got it down.

 Every day the girls had a schedule of areas to go. I got to do everything with them and earn charms for my necklace.

 Getting ready to shoot arrows

Jessica was pretty good at it.

 Alyssa, Alexah and Mandy were a few of the 17 year old girls who were camp leaders. They ran the schedule at camp and taught the girls songs.

 I think some of the camp songs will never get out of my head.

 Once it got warmer, a lot of the girls were able to go swimming at Waterfront.

 Little Hannah was wanting me to come in. She's pouting "Sister Oram!" But once a day was enough for me.

 Sarah forgot her suit but swam anyway!

Sarah going off the zip line.

Since we were up there during the 4th of July you have to have a good celebration outfit, right? thanks to Alexah and her mom prior to camp I got some good outfits at DI. 

 BB Guns

I didn't get a picture of me doing it, but I actually did good. I looked awesome in my camo/4th of July outfit racking my BB gun and hitting balloons like crazy.

More capers- we had to clean one of the Port-o-Potties. The girls were troopers...notice though how far away I am from the thing just taking pics!

 My friend Kristine was the waterfront lifeguard. Their light source was jellyfish so she made this cute hat.

 Kayla

 Alexah. She's high on life:)

Kristine and I again posing. There is never a better time for an adult to act like a 15 year old girl and have it be normal.

 My friend's birthday fell during the week of camp. I made her these cupcakes with celebrities. I included her husband's picture (he's the one in pink:))

 We surprised her the night before her actual birthday

I also brought a birthday crown for her to wear on her actual birthday. She taped the beefcakes to her crown and wore them around all day.

 Getting ready to go on the Level 2 hike with the girls.

 5 miles round trip. 2.5 straight up, 2.5 straight back down. A 1000 foot elevation change.

 I had one of our special needs girls on this hike. I was so proud of her when she made it the whole way. I was also grateful to be strong enough when I had to carry both of our packs the whole way.

 Deer Lake.

It was gorgeous there. So worth the hike.

 My friend Becky (the birthday girl) wanted to do something to remind me how scared I am of wildlife. After my husband convinced her that any prank involving animals coming to get me at night would be the worst idea of the year, she opted for a little squirrel poop and some tracks (chocolate covered raisins and some stickers)

This pillow is actually hers. Because when you are so concerned with getting 12 girls up to camp, you kind of forget your own stuff---like extra blankets, chapstick and your PILLOW!

Getting ready to take a large camp picture to celebrate 100 years of Girl's Camp

Skit night: The girls did a spoof of Tangled. It was awesome and they were so hilarious.

 The last day of the Polar Bear I was challenged by the leader below to drop into the water via the zipline and then swim the long way across. So of course I had to do it...

My awesome DI find, a Talladega nights Shake n' Bake t shirt. And what tops off an outfit better than argyle socks turned into sleeves. 

So this picture comes from a trip I made to the bathroom. I see some tall brown figures popping out of the shower as I walk up there. They were jumping in and out, looking around and then jumping back in. Apparently they had rolled around in mud after swimming from head to toe and wanted a picture. I had my camera and took it for them. They later delivered their email address with a note: To the leader with the braids, Love, the Muddy Girls.  

One of my crazy partners in crime...We had way too much fun dancing.

 My neighbor across the street did these braids for me Sunday night before I left. I kept them in all week and didn't wash my hair. Who knows what was in there at the end of the week.

 The girls wanted to watch me take them out, so we had a photo session once we were packed up for camp.

 They all took pictures

Voila! Greasy fro head.

 Passed out on the way home

 Our after camp picture back at drop off

Do we look exhausted? We were. But it was all worth it:)

This and That

I've been a little (lot) busy prepping for Girl's Camp and haven't really been taking pictures or blogging as much as I would like.

At the beginning of this month, the boys headed to the annual Father Son camp out with our ward.  I think it is one of their favorite things every year.

I sent the twins to Pops house and Emma and I went to see Mirror Mirror at Sunrise Mall. Emma loves the Father Son camp out because we only do "girl" things when the boys are gone:) 

Bailey went to his last Twilight Camp this year. He had a great time. In a few weeks he will move on to Boy Scouts. I think he has been waiting for this since he was four years old. 

We took a family with us to Six Flags this month. The twins stayed home with Alyssa, but will still get their fair share of the theme park this year. 

 This was one of Nathan's favorites. I hate spinning rides but you usually end up doing things for your kids you wouldn't care to.

 Emma rode every crazy roller coaster she could. This girl is a serious thrill seeker. 

 Our friends daughter Zoie. This picture is just too hilarious:)

Nathan getting soaked in the water area.

We are looking forward to going more this year. I think the season passes were a good idea this year. If only Disneyland were closer I think we would live there...

 Nathan's face painting choice at Guiding Fitness' Fit Fair.

 Kate disappeared for a while and I found her out here with an audience hitting the ball.

 Addison wouldn't let them paint her face, but loved her arm balloons.

Emma as a butterfly.

We've Been Robbed! (and other news)

OK, so we haven't been ROBBED...but we do have a Bandit in our house (I know, I am hilarious!)

 Meet Bandit, the nine year old Boxer who now lives with us.

How did we ever end up with another dog? Those of you keeping count, this would make #3  Well, the problem with #1 and #2 is that they were puppies. We were told so many times by animal SPCA type people that we HAD to get a puppy because we had young children. There was no way to guarantee what an older dog would do unless it grew up with them. Well, this has officially been proven wrong. Older dogs come trained and ready to go. They don't chew or pee in your house. They love to just hang out and aren't crazy full of energy. I sometimes forget Bandit is even here!

We told the kids that we were "dog sitting." The dog would be here for two weeks while his family was on vacation. We did that to make sure that I could handle a dog. I couldn't bear to break the kid's hearts again. At the end of the two weeks, we realized having Bandit was very little work, and the kids loved him. As you can see even the scaredy cat twins are all over him. So we casually let it out that Bandit was ours one night. The kids JUMPED for joy and danced around. Bailey and Emma are great at taking care of him, with what little care he needs. He's a dream dog and Bailey is living his own dream of owning one. As ai type the two are cuddling on the floor watching t.v.


Now, to recap other events through pictures:

I have been so busy prepping for Girl's Camp, there are many Pinterest inspired projects waiting for me. I made this in between some girls camp signs. It says, "The future is as bright as your Faith." I stenciled it on my IKEA curtains.

Another Pinterest inspiration- Emma's crazy hair for Crazy Hair day at school. Bailey's was my idea. They were both huge hits at school. We are now on summer break- woo hoo!

Bailey (heading into 6th grade this year) is Mr. Super grown up. He ties his own tie for Church, and irons his own shirts. He looks like mini Ben getting ready for Church. 

Nathan is so ready for school to start, even though we only just started the summer. He loves to copy words written down and draw. Although this he figured out how to do on his own. 

He also learned to ride on two wheels instantly. We took them off and he did this in about 30 seconds. He is a crazy man now going everywhere on two wheels. He calls himself a super hero:)

Emma asked for a shirt to use as a yearbook for the end of the year. I gave her one of my old shirts and she came home with tons of signatures. Her most exciting signature on the shirt? The one from Ian, our neighbor around the corner, carpool buddy and 12 year old boy....

Emma: Mom, Guess who signed my shirt?!

Mom: Who?

Emma: IAN!

Emma and Ian have a love hate relationship where they tease each other like crazy. We think this might be trouble later...sigh. Although Ian's parents are our friends, so we'd at least like the inlaws.

Speaking of growing up, Emma has just started reading Harry Potter. This is how she fell asleep the other night.

We also finished our front yard yesterday! My dad built a deck for me for graduation and we needed to finish the surrounding area. I hated the sprinkler/hose area with a passion. So when backpacking plans didn't work out, we spent the day on the yard.

 My completed rock river! I am so glad this is over because it was HOT outside. Digging out rocks and hauling them in the heat is no fun.

 The front view

 Ben built a box to cover the sprinkler/water area. SO much better.

Just as a reminder of how drastic our yard overhaul was.

Before:

After:

Sly Park 2012

I was able to chaperone for Bailey's 5th grade boys and girls who spent a week up at Sly Park. The first part of the week was difficult but by the middle it was a ton of fun. I think I suffer from some homesickness:(
Monday: We arrived around 10 and were assigned cabins. I did not end up with any girls from our school in my cabin, but instead ended up with quite a sassy bunch of girls from two other schools. I knew I was in for it when at the first big group meeting one of our girls got sent to the side for talking. She happened to be the daughter of my co-chaperone. We did have a third woman in the cabin with us but she was basically non existent in helping with anything so for blog sake it is easier to just pretend she wasn't there. It's hard to describe my co-chaperone. But she's the type when you meet her you know exactly who she reminds you of. The bleach blond hair with a previous smokers/partier voice that now lives off of her children's lives. It's isn't that we didn't get along. She is just lucky I am adaptable.
I have to say I am SO glad I was there with Bailey. This was a super culture shock for most of the MMCA kids because they live in a Rocklin conservative bubble. This is why we love the school:) But there were kids from all over Sacramento who came from many different backgrounds. Some of their behavior was pretty foreign to our kids. I had a lot of them talk to me about it throughout the week. But they survived! Bailey had a deer in headlights face for two days. It was that same face he had when he was first born, and the same face he gets when he is super nervous. It was all I could do to just let him work through it and only be there for support when needed. He broke down into tears three times that week and it about killed me. But he came through it!

This was one of the times when he was so jazzed. Game night was a bunch of relay races (which he smoked everyone, our little runner) and tug of war competitions which his team beat everyone.  I wish I had gotten a picture of my cabin competing. We beat everyone as well.  I was crazy coach barking at them all to get low and tug...it worked.

 

 We were the first group to do the Night Hike, which was more like twilight hike because it stays light so late. Our hike leader was Monica (I got to be with Bailey in this group for the week)

 Bailey, Cole and Prassad were assigned buddies and cabin mates for the week thank goodness! I was a little worried about Cole's dad as the chaperone. I've known him for six years and he's an odd duck. But I do have to say he was AMAZING as a chaperone. The other leader Oscar was also so wonderful and great with the boys.

We were the only group who got to roast marshmallows.

Tuesday: The first full day and the hardest for me. It felt like this week would drag forever. The girls in the cabin were mentally exhausting and I really wanted my own bed. We had to get them ready for a skit that night and that took lots of my mom skills of negotiation:)

 Tuesday in the animal room. Pretty much every animal that scared me was in this room. I hid in a corner. Bailey was in heaven

 This was his favorite animal to hold. Corny the cornsnake. Ick!

He didn't actually care for the rabbits because they were super jumpy. He got scratched later in the week (this was crying episode #2)

 Later that day we did our first big hike. It was STEEP. Which means the way down was hard but the way up was harder. Some of the parents and kids had a super hard time with it. I am grateful I get my behind kicked three times a week or more at Guiding Fitness because it didn't phase me. Bailey did awesome as well. I'm glad we had a family starter hike earlier that month.

 They all got to take their shoes off and play.

 He humored me and took a picture together.

Wednesday: By this time I was in the swing of things. The girls in my cabin were having me braid their hair and were telling all the other cabins that they had the best cabin leaders. I had girls coming up to me saying they wished they were with us in the Manzanita cabin. I think it came down to the fact that we set rules for them and made them follow them but still could be silly and have fun. 

 My co chaperone, Michelle and one of the girls in our cabin. We all took turns serving in the kitchen. I don't have a picture of me at lunchtime, but I stuffed hundreds of chicken tacos!

 More of our girls

 Ms. Serious Trouble maker right here. This is the girl I made go back after we got in line for breakfast and change her shirt.  No one wants to see an "I Love Boobies" shirt whether it supports breast cancer or not. Somehow by the end of the week she still liked me, especially when I made the nurses listen to her about her ankle problem. Let's just say I prevented her parents form being ticked when she got home.

Thursday: I wish I had taken more pictures of the lake hike. It was awesome, even if it was 5 miles! I feel bad for the parents who went on the shorter steep hike and bailed because they thought this would be too hard.

Bailey's first real smile of the week! It wasn't that he wasn't having fun but he usually shows little emotion (like father like son) even when things are awesome.

The Manzanita cabin on the last day. I got lots of hugs and tears when I left. I was not feeling the crying thing, but it was sweet that the girls had so much fun.

Friday was a short day. We were all tired and worn out.

Robyn Garcia (Bailey's science teacher), Marie Zambrana (a last minute sub for another chaperone! which was awesome because she and I are pretty good friends). Marie brought up some extra matching t shirts for us to use for the silk screening in arts and crafts. I think we look exhausted in this picture but happy to go home!