Standing Together As Righteous Sisters

The first week of summer was so much fun. We had Girls Camp right off. I think that is a great way to start the summer, although it was very hard to get the youth leaders to do anything while they were in school. I get that it is hard to do both, but I didn't feel like I was asking a lot.

The weather was perfect. It wasn't too hot but it was nice and sunny the entire time we were up at Heber. This was quite a change from last year when it rained almost the whole time at Shalom.

Our theme this year was Standing Together As Righteous Sisters or S.T.A.R.S. As a stake, we were the North Stars and our ward was the Big Dipper. I loved the colors Aspen chose with the brighter blue and the yellow. The shirts were adorable with the design Sophie did of the five girls standing together.

As a stake, we went up a little earlier, but not much. We only had an hour or so head start on the girls. We immediately got decorating. Amy made this cute yellow and blue banner to put in the amphitheater. The posts on the sides had our theme.

Our daily themes were:
Monday: Standing with Christ
Tuesday: Together we Shine Brighter
Wednesday: Build a Righteous Foundation
Thursday: Sisters We Are

Check out the cute stars mixed with the fabric strips.

In the pavilion, I adored the decorations. Each ward made a star for each girl with their picture on it. And they were in different colors depending on which value they were assigned. It took us a while to put them up, but I loved to see them swinging in the breeze and I loved looking through at each smiling happy face.

I found my favorite stars in the sky.

Jolene was hanging up stars and happened to be putting up her own. Smile twice Jolene.

We were in a cabin attached to the pavilion. It was pretty cushy. We had bunk beds and I took the extra bunk in the room with the SYCLs. All the rooms were connected, so we were all close regardless. Our cute buckets were attached to our beds and Melinda had already put a sweet star pillowcase in each one.

Shortly, the buses arrived. Everyone needed a wristband to be in our camp, so we got each girl as they got off the bus. It was a little busy, but it worked out.

We were at Camp Abish. Here is my ward heading up to their cabins. It was a hike uphill every time I wanted to visit them. I learned to dread that hill. So did the girls. But it was worth it to be so close to the lake. Other campsites had to hike a long way to the lake and we were right next door.

The cabins were nice and big. There was room for 16 girls and a table in the middle. I was sad the girls didn't get a yurt, but the cabins were just fine too. And actually, in retrospect, I'm glad they were in a cabin. (More on that later.)

It is great to see these girls together at camp. Such great friendships. You can find these two together in this post as well.

We had flag right away at camp which ended up being the longest flag ever in the hot, hot sun. The missionaries were going over all the rules. They did a cute job, but it was too long. We recommended to them that they meet with future stakes in the pavilion where there is shade.

The afternoon consisted of the Confidence Course for a few wards. I was assigned up there because my kids would be there too. I went to training and was assigned to Lifeline with Sister Mcsweeney. To train us they had us do the course. With blindfolds, we held onto the ropes and explored the course quietly. It was tricky. I hit all dead ends. I went back and tried again from the beginning and still hit all dead ends. I had almost given up when I circled a tree and hit my head on a higher rope. I hadn't even considered they would put one up higher. I was able to finish the course and return home. It was very cool. Our job was to take each group of girls through. Sister Mcsweeney would give quiet hints out on the course, and I would make sure the girls didn't stack up at the end where President Murray would greet them and take them home. Then, we would discuss with the girls their experience on the course. It was really cool. We didn't take any pictures, but Michelle did get a shot of this group getting ready to take their journey.

Meanwhile, there were several other stations at the Challenge Course. My ward was busy doing the Spider Web, and Shark Island to name a few. Danja is super excited. She was such a trooper to come with her brace.

The big event at the Challenge Course was the hanging ladder up to a suspended bridge and then over to a zipline. We had done the course before in the fall when we went to the open house. Now it was time for all the girls. It was really cool. Some of the girls were very scared. It was a challenge for them, while others just zipped through, literally. Michelle stood and took pictures of EVERYONE. She was amazing. I'm glad someone got a picture of her too.

My girls had such fun. They were pros. I don't think any of them were scared. Look how cute they are.

Almost all the leaders got a turn. I went. And it was fun to see pictures of the other leaders, like President Murray and Sister Stone. I was up there with such fantastic people.

That took up most of the day. In the evening, the wards did FHE in their own groups. As a stake we practiced for our upcoming skit. It was going to be epic...