Last Week Looked Like This...

I was asked to attend the stake girls camp this year as a Level 4 leader so I happily spent most of last week roaming around Cornwall and sleeping in my tepee. We camped in Vicky's fields again (our stake YW President) so it felt very much like deja vu for me.

I was so excited to be back with the young women again, I have missed them all terribly since I was called back in to Relief Society. Lots of my previous Beehives were in my level four group so it was great to spend more time with them. I arrived at the site the evening before camp started so I could do a run through of the overnight hike for the girls. It meant that I woke up to a quiet and peaceful sunny morning and had time to sit and meditate for a while, a rare opportunity for me!

It didn't last long, I helped put up a couple of tents and just when I thought the sweating could end and I could have a rest I was found by a girl who was sent to 'get Naomi, she knows how to put up tents!'. It's good to be good at something right?! We had some great activities over camp, but I always enjoy the evening at the beach:

We had a camp fire every night with lots of singing:

I took the Level 4 girls on a hike to Vicky's house where we were surprised with boxes of hot pizza and lots of chocolate! We each had a much longed-for hot shower too. The girls slept on the trampoline again which was covered in tarp (it rained all day) so it felt like a luxurious tent! I slept on a wooden sun lounger at the entrance and it was surprisingly comfy:

It took a while to wake the sleeping angels!

It's been 22 years since I first attended girls camp at the age of 12, and I think I've only missed out on 5 of them ever since! It was lovely to be there this time with my mum, she's on the YW presidency in her ward and it's the first time we've been at camp together. James and I did a switchover on Thursday when he came up for YM camp with Ben and Ethan and I got to to spend a few days with just Rosie and Noah. We decided to treat ourselves to a meal at the Pizza Cafe after we'd finished shopping for new school shoes:

We finished the weekend with a trip to the emergency doctor for Ben, he came back from camp with raging tonsillitis and lumps in his glands. The upside is that it's led to snuggles on the couch with my sleepy boy!

To end on a random note, I've been scanning old photos and came across this one from 1997:

It was in our second year of marriage and I had just returned from girls camp! (I do miss our Beetle.)

Camp

It's that time of year again... girls camp!  Many would run screaming, but personally I love it.  We stayed in a field in the beautiful Treskilling, Cornwall and to break tradition we had mostly sunshine!  Highlights of camp for me was a trip to the beach:

Water slides for leaders to show the girls how it's really done:

And a little archery (I struck a pose... got a bulls eye!):

My favourite part of camp was the overnight hike.  I was randomly assigned to help the level 4 campcrafter leader (who just so happened to be my sister Amy) which meant I had an unexpected night under the stars!  Where did we sleep?  After a couple of miles hiking we ended up in our stake YW president's garden in Trethurgy: 

Where we all slept on the trampoline:

Well.  I say sleep.  Have you ever slept on a trampoline with 8 other people?  It's like sleeping on a steep hill... that is slippery.... so you slide down in your sleeping bag... into lots of legs... I think you get the picture.  Sleep was not to be my friend that night, even though it was warm and dry.  There was a magical moment for me though around 4:00am, when with great frustration I pulled myself into a position that gave me the feeling back in my left leg and I looked over the girls in my care.  I felt so privileged to be their leader, to see them grow and flourish through the opportunity to be with other like-minded girls, to see their testimonies strengthened.  And then I looked up at the night sky and felt my own testimony grow.  For me there has always been something special about being in nature and feeling closer to God.  I finally slept.

Staying Out For the Summer

This year our camping trip took us to Auntie Amy and Uncle Karl's farm in Plwmp, Wales, with some friends. I thoroughly recommend camping with friends who have children the same age as your own, the children don't get bored of being with just their siblings and when there are tree swings by your tent they don't need entertaining!

We arrived on Saturday, and Sunday morning found us shaking out the creases in our Sunday attire in readiness for church, a picnic lunch at Newcastle Emlyn castle with family and a Sunday roast at Nanny and Grandad Miles' for dinner. (I forgot to take pictures on so many occasions this holiday!) On Monday we descended upon Aberporth beach. James took Ben out on the boat with his brother Dave, brother in law Robin and niece Emily to catch some fish, but came back empty handed.

Noah:

Rosie:
Ethan looking after his youngest friend:

Dave, Robin, Ben, Emily and James:

On Tuesday we visited the harbour at Abereron and the day ended with the kind of rain that is unique to Wales: the damp, misty, permeating kind that soaks everything! Wednesday morning we took off to Newquay and ate chips and mushy peas by the sea:

The rain continued for the afternoon so we went to the Museum of Power in Tanygroes. It was as thrilling as it sounds (ahem)... I think you have to have high levels of testosterone to truly enjoy this place! The children (and James) enjoyed watching the old engines in action...

...While I spent my time taking photos of old signs that made me laugh:

Please don't "monkey" with electricity!:

The children were fascinated with the 'old' dial up phones, which in turn made me feel old as we had phones just like them when I was a child. Ben seems to have avoided all pictures this year, so here is Ethan with cousin Emily, Rosie and Noah:

After possibly the worst night of sleep ever thanks to the howling winds, Thursday morning dawned and James was woken up by these four singing the most hilariously out of tune and loud Happy Birthday you have ever heard in your life:

James is not a morning person (and may not appreciate me putting this photo up!):

While James went on his birthday fishing trip the rest of us spent our last full day at my favourite beach in Wales, Mwnt.

Here are the steps down to the beach:

It's a beautiful cove:

Rosie:

Noah, not sure what his plan was here:

The day ended with a barbecue with most of James' family, unfortunately there were no fish from the trip to cook but plenty of wasps to swat away!

The journey home:

I consider myself to be a hardy camper but I must confess I was thrilled to not have to walk across two fields to the toilets and share a shower with daddy long legs. I actually embraced my orthopedic mattress upon our return!

Rosie, Ethan, Ben and Noah:

England's Green And Pleasant Land

On Wednesday morning I set off early for YW camp... in the rain, which now seems to be a tradition for us! We organised our own ward camp this year (the stake don't run one the years we have EFY) so we were able to camp a quick ten minute drive from my house. The fine drizzle turned into a downpour soon after we started putting up the marquee and as one of the two tents leaked before we finished putting it up, we had to squeeze 12 girls and 3 of us leaders into one tent! Let's just say we were very warm at night and leave it at that! After a day of rain we tucked into a wonderful spaghetti bolognaise cooked by Alan Somerville, our chef and token priesthood leader. What? Of course we had someone else do the cooking, we're not stupid! All of a sudden, the rain was gone, the clouds dispersed and we were left with this stunning view:

I love Devon! Our second day consisted of glorious sunshine and blue skies, so we did the only thing anyone should do after a morning of camp craft and a stroll around the lanes:

Skipping with a huge rope:

Bundles:
Volleyball with a difference:

Wheelbarrow racing:

After this race, the girls decided to lay on the floor and roll down the hill. I haven't laughed so hard that I cried in such an long time! They rolled for so long, that when they tried to stand up at the end they couldn't do anything more than stagger about as if they were drunk! This entertained the rest of the campers on the far side of the field, and had the toddlers on the site joining in!

Day three was hike day! Our guide for the day was Berian who promised us a 5 mile walk around Lustleigh, on Dartmoor. It started off on top of a rock in the orchard of the village which had the names of all the May Queens since the '60's carved into it. There is also a stone chair on the top for the Queen to perch, but it couldn't contain all of our girls! (They are not escaped convicts by the way, we all had matching camp hoodies!):

Along the way we crossed this bridge:

Checked out a cave:

And soon realised that most of this hike was uphill. (Trust me, it's steeper than it looks!):

Admired the natural beauty:

'Aah'd' at a young Dartmoor pony:

Coveted this thatched cottage while trying to figure out why we were always going uphill:

Missed a signpost and added another mile (uphill... are you understanding my pain?) to our journey, but rejoiced when we finally re-entered the village tired and weary... but downhill at last!:

And then we saw this fixed penalty ticket which made our fragile, exhausted selves giggle uncontrollably for quite a while:

After being out all day in perfect hiking weather we returned to camp at 6pm to the start of more rain! As we have perfected camping in this type of weather, we held our skits in the marquee (you are so lucky I have no photographic evidence of us leaders singing along to Abba's Dancing Queen to our own version: Drama Queens... it was AWESOME but not flattering!) We gathered around the camp fire with our raincoats and umbrellas, and sang silly songs, primary songs, youth songs, bore testimony, cradled hot chocolate and talked about life until long past midnight. All the perfect ingredients for a camp fire in my opinion! I love that time when youth and leaders can loose the barriers of age and just be friends and laugh, talk and share deep thoughts and feelings. Today as we broke camp I knew that our relationships had been strengthened with the girls, we had shared deep belly laughs and fun, frustration and triumph, and most importantly who we really are beneath all the show.

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians...

Last thursday Rosie had her first sleepover. At school her class has been learning about native americans and the teachers thought it would be fun to have the children spend the night in some tee pees! The next few days were spent decorating the orchard with dream catchers and totem poles the children had made. I have never seen Rosie so excited! She dressed up in an old pillowcase for the occasion and had lots of fun sharing a tent with her friends. I did feel some sympathy for the teachers the next day when I dropped the other children off to their classes, they looked very tired after their nightwatch shifts and the headmaster was nursing his second large coffee of the morning!