Girls' Camp in Detail

I went to Girls' Camp this past week. My sister and I made some awesome hideously cute pants to wear there. I looked like a hippie the first day. It was my stake girls' camp and it was up in Kamas at a place called Camp Aerie. I wasn't really looking forward to this year (and neither were my wardies) because with stake girls' camp, about three to five times a day, you have to go down to this amphitheater and have a devotional, recite the YW theme, sing camp songs, and go to a bunch of activities that they want us to do. I like camping when I just sit at my campsite and hang out and play games, or ward girls' camp where it's just our ward and we don't have to do that stuff every day. But this Girls' Camp ended up being really good.

So the first day (Tuesday, July 7), I had to be at Pam Wilcox's (the YW camp director's) house by 7:30 AM. I didn't get there until 8. Ashley didn't come that day because she was going to a NeverShoutNever concert that night. We all got in cars and started on our 1 1/2 hour drive up to Camp Aerie. I fell asleep for part of the time. There was a part when we started going up this narrow dirt road when a garbage truck came toward us and scared us. It passed by and was seriously like less than a foot away. Dumb truck. We got to camp around 10 I think. We set up camp and ate lunch. I was put in a really small tent with the other third years, Sariah and Heather. I got a bit bored so I started crocheting a headband. By the end of camp, I had made 14 of them for a bunch of girls who wanted one. My leader made 4 for some others. We then went down to the amphitheater where we sang camp songs and had the staff girls act all excited and happy.

Our theme for this year was Challenge to Become University. We went to our different "classes" depending on our year. The first one I went to, we learned how to make hats on looms for our service project. The next class, we had a woman named Sister Shupe (a seminary teacher at Davis High) talk to us. She was hilarious and really good. She was talking about this hott guy at EFY a couple weeks ago and how he was being valiant in the testimony of Christ, and then some other stories. I was laughing the whole time, she was awesome. She had also asked us to write one word that we wanted to be remembered as when we died. I put "spiffing". I would love to be remembered by that word, I think it's a cool word. The next class was about modesty where they had a fashion show and they talked about how important modesty is. We then went back to camp. Later that night, we had dinner with all the YW in the stake in a field. We had hot dogs and hamburgers. My leader, Jill, was talking in a megaphone the whole time and making up songs about everyone. She is really funny and everyone loves her. She's amazing and all the other wards are jealous that she's in our ward. She's in her 40's or 50's. That's her below.
Anyway, we then went to the amphitheater to listen to a group called "Mercy River" which has three women who were very good singers and funny too. After them, we heard about The Bear. I heard a rumor earlier that there had been a bear around. Well while the women were singing, we heard dogs barking. This guy told us that the bear had sneaked (is that how you say it pre-tense? sneaked, snook, snooked??) into a campsite, ripped through a tent, and taken some trail mix. They told the park rangers so they came and shot it in the face with a bean bag and then had some dogs chase it away. They told us that there absolutely cannot be any food in our tents (oops :P) After that, we decorated pillow cases then went to go star gazing. I didn't really want to go star gazing even though astronomy fascinates me. I took my sweet time signing pillow cases. I heard a distant gunshot but didn't really think much of it for some reason. I was told about three minutes later that the bear had returned and that it was shot and killed. The bear was a female and teenager age. I was mad they shot it, the bear was here first and was just being curious. It's the stupid girls who left food in there tents fault that the bear got shot. I then decided to go star gazing for a while and got to the field to hear the last five minutes of the dude's talk. I looked in a few telescopes then left (in the big dipper, there was a quadrupole star!). I started walking back to camp by myself (eeew, I just killed a spider on the wall) and I got a little freaked out. I was looking all around with my flash light but was getting kinda scared. They said bears could still be around, like the bear's family. When I got back to camp, the next thing I remember doing was getting in bed. My two tent mates went into the next door tent to have a sleepover. I heard them saying that I probably wouldn't mind sleeping alone. I didn't really mind, but it irritated me that they just assumed that. A while later, they invited me in. There were about ten girls in there and they pointed to a spot where I could sleep that was about the size of this computer screen. I turned around and went back to my tent to sleep alone. One of the girls, Ashley Roylance, felt sick so her and Heather went to sit outside and then came to sleep in the tent with me which delighted me.

The next day, we went on a hike. The 4th years didn't have to go because they did it the day before the rest of us arrived. It was a delightful hike that was mainly uphill. when we got to the top, we were in a huge meadow where we ate lunch and hung out. I took tons of pictures because it was so pretty. Unfortunately, I had to pee in a bush. That wasn't very fun and it felt wrong. On the way back, I collected flowers and put in them in my headband. After being back at camp for ten minutes, Mom arrived with Ashley. I hugged Mom then showed Ashley the toilets. We were both excited because the last time we came to Camp Aerie (two years ago), there were no flushing toilets but just outhouses that were torture to go in because of the smell. These toilets were nice. Mom stayed for a while and then left. My friend, Joye Fulks, had been sleeping but woke up and she felt sick and her head felt hot. They poured water on her head and then made her sit down. She was crying because she was mad she was sick at camp. It was sad to see her like that since she's usually really bubbly and giggly. We went to our "classes" again. The first one we made necklaces out of scrabble pieces which were really cute. The next one we learned about dutch oven cooking and health. I don't get why they taught us about dutch over cooking, it's cool and all but none of the girls cared. We don't dutch oven cook or care how to clean it. But after the lesson, they gave out cherry cobbler. I grabbed some and then headed back to camp and ditched my third class. I went and found Joye in her tent. I gave her the cobbler and then we talked for a while and eventually fell asleep until Megan Anderson came and woke us up. She came in with Jessica Harvey and started coloring in a coloring book that they got. Jess was really cold and shivering and trying to snuggle in blankets which was weird because it was really hot outside. We later found out that she was sick. She had to stay in the tent while the rest of us went down to a field to watch football games and competitions. It was good with the music and commentary and popcorn, but most of the girls couldn't catch and were afraid to hold the football. It was a bit annoying and funny at the same time. The staff girls threw hats and CD cases at us which was cool. We then had the half time show where a group of women (including Jeni Galbraith from my ward) danced for us. It was really good and funny. When we got back to camp, we played Psychiatrist and hung out until bed time. I had a bunch of girls in another ward ask me to make them headbands so I obliged. I stayed by the fire and tryed working on them but got tired. I didn't want to sleep in my tent because Megan moved in my tent since her tent mates, Jess and Joye, were sick. It would be really crowded. I grabbed my sleeping bag and went to sleep in my older sister and Kailey Madsen's tent. They were confused when they saw some dark figure sleeping in their tent.

On Thursday, we went into the field to play a bunch of games and compete with the other ward. We did water games, archery, and races. They were really fun. After that, we had ward time. I went to my camp site and watched two girls whisper and pull out card and start laughing really hard a lot. They were playing a game that no one else knew how to play so they looked ridiculous laughing at cards they pulled out. I ate lunch and sat down to watch them and fell asleep at the table. All the girls started playing a game where you fill up a big sock with flour and hit each other with it. I was asleep and didn't want to play, but a lot of girls hit me anyway which was very nice (including my sister, Ashley). When I woke up, everyone was putting on masks and cucumbers on their eyes which I though was weird since we're dirty and at girls' camp, but I did it too. We then painted our nails. I took forever trying to fix mine and take off the dead skin and hang nails and make my nails look feminine. I then had Pam Wilcox paint them a dark blue (I'm really messy when it comes to painting nails). After that, we had dinner and a devotional in the amphitheater. Then we had testimony meeting. It was the best testimony meeting I think I've ever had. Everyone was crying and it was so spiritual. I wish every fast Sunday could be more like that. After that we had like five different cobblers and went to bed.

The next day, we packed up and left camp. We got to Pam's house and waited for half an hour for the trailer to arrive. We helped clean up and take everything home. I called Mom and she sent Hannah up to help me carry stuff home while Ashley showered and took a nap. She didn't realized I had Ashley's stuff too. We were dieing trying to get home and Emma came to help. I had her carry my pillow and blanket, but she tripped over it and skinned her knee and elbow and ran home crying. I told Hannah that we would soon be laughing about this. I wasn't, I was mad. I didn't get mad though after Mom said that she didn't know that I had Ashley's stuff too. I then showered and went swimming with Suzie, Wendy, Mom, Marjorie, and their kids. Then we went to Marjorie's house and played games. I was super tired and by the time we got back home, I felt so dead.

Now I'm off to EFY tomorrow and I'm so excited!!!! Cya everyone!!!