Girls' Camp

Since Jillian just turned 12, she was able to go to Girls' Camp for her first time last week!  And I got to be her cabin mom!  Kylie went as a "fourth year," which means she gets to be a YCL (youth camp leader) next year and the year after.  Exciting times!  We had a wonderful week.  I had a cabin of twelve 12-year-olds (along with another "mom") and they were all so sweet and kind to each other.  No drama, no fighting, everybody got along and had a wonderful time.  We had three awesome YCLs, who really ran the show and took care of getting the girls where they needed to be. My job as a cabin mom was easy and fun.  If the weather had been better, the week would have been perfect, but I guess we can't have everything, can we? 

This year's theme was Young Women, Heroes in Christ.  Each cabin had a Super Hero mascot.  Ours was the Power Puff Girls! 

On the first day, each girl was supposed to make a super hero cape.  Here are some fine examples!

Here's Jillian standing outside our "cabin."  She was so excited to be there!

One of the favorite traditions at camp is the Polar Dip.  Every morning at 7:30, the girls jumped into Coon Lake.  All 12 of our girls participated almost every day.  One only did it once because she gets migranes and was worried the cold water would trigger one.  One girl had a broken arm, but she still participated.  She climbed down the ladder up to her neck and held her broken arm out of the water.  What a trooper!

Here's Jillian and Keegan getting warmed up after the dip.  I did it the last day with Kylie and Jillian, and I must say, I regret not doing it every day.  It was very refreshing and not as cold as I thought it would be. 

Kylie completed the one mile swim again this year.  She's amazing!

Jillian was a good friend to Keagan, would couldn't go swimming because of her cast.  They spent a lot of time together.

On Wednesday, we did a service project with our wards, staining picnic tables.  The girls worked hard and enjoyed themselves.

Some of our girls at bed time.  They loved to play the "Starburst Game" that our YCL, Erin, introduced them to.  Each girl picks a Starburst candy, and then depending on the color, she has to share something about herself.  Red was a hobby or talent, orange an embarassing moment, yellow something about her family, and pink a love story.  The girls all wanted to get orange!

For crafts this year, we made dog tags.  They were a huge hit!  Jillian is stamping the metal letters onto metal washers that went with the tags.

Another favorite part of camp is the skits.  Our girls were so cooperative putting their skit together.  No one fought over parts, they all came up with the story together and didn't criticize anyone's idea.  They came up with a cute skit about robots who were taking over the world, and the Power Puff Girls came to save the day with their scriptures.  They defeated the evil robots by reading the camp scripture and then all sang "Scripture Power" together at the end. 

It was so great to see Kylie and Jillian really enjoying spending time together.  They spent a lot of time with Erin and Keagan also.

Crazy cabin moms!

We made crazy hats and then had a fashion show.  Gotta love Girls' Camp!

Las Tres Amigas!

My new daughters!  By the end of the week, it really felt like I had 15 new daughters...12 twelve-year-olds and 3 sixteen-year-olds.

There were plenty of spiritual moments as well.  Each night we had a wonderful devotional focused on the theme of Heroes.  One night was a play of women heroes in the scriptures, another night was a talk from three women who had overcome different challenges in their lives and each talked about a hero who helped her through, and one night Sister Starnes talked about being a hero to others.  I think the girls were very touched at the thought of being a hero to someone else, by the small and simple things they do.  At our cabin testimony meeting one of the girls said something that really stuck with me.  She said, "Girls' camp is more than just having fun and learning about Heavenly Father.  I feel like we're really starting to understand stuff."  I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go with my girls, and to be a mom for a week to so many amazing girls!