Too busy to take pictures...

Just thought I'd give y'all an update on my life since my "conscience" (aka my brother Dennis) told me I needed to.

This summer has been so fun! They made me one of the girl's camp / youth conference leaders in my ward. For girls camp we went to the Heber Valley Campground that the church has been building. It was really really neat - cabins, pavilions with kitchens, bathrooms, showers, and absolutely beautiful surroundings. If you get a chance to go there, I definitely recommend it. The campground is supervised by elder missionary couples, and they call it the temple without a roof. They have a challenge course that involves logs and ropes and working together. After each section they have a "what did you learn from this experience" session that really emphasizes the spiritual aspects. I'm not going to explain in any more detail because half the fun is figuring out how to accomplish each challenge. Another activity they have is an hour at the lake with canoes for the youth and paddle-boats for the leaders if they'd rather not use the canoes. And of course there are hiking trails for the obiligatory 3 mile or 5 mile or overnight or whatever hikes required. All in all it was a very fun week, but I was "in charge" so much I neglected to take time for taking pictures. Sorry.

For youth conference we camped again - a little more primitive this time. Tents and such instead of cabins. We had a 'plane crash' to start out with and visited the telestial, terrestial, and celestial kingdoms before we went to the campsite the first evening. We spent the next morning sanding and painting several picnic tables for the camp owners, and then spent most of the rest of that day at first dam with canoes and waterguns. That evening we had one of the Stake Presidency come for a fireside; some of the youth looked like they weren't paying attention, preoccupied with the fire, but their comments made it obvious that they were. The next day we had a pep talk from the bishop about serving each other, and then for breakfast we made omelets in ziplock bags and boiled them. After the bishop's pep talk, one of the leaders suggested that we pair up and each make the other's breakfast. It really set the mood for the final activity - a short hike and then a testimony meeting.

I really enjoyed myself, and as a bonus, I finally learned the names of all the youth in my ward. I knew most of the girls, but not all, and only a couple of the young men, but now I know all of them.

Ok - lunch break's over.