girls' camp in pictures

I got back from camp today. It was my fifth time going as an adult, so I don't know how I managed to forget how tired I am after camp. Wow. I took a shower, did a little unpacking, did some laundry, loaded my photos, went to the grocery store, and took dinner to our YW president (her husband had surgery yesterday). I am wiped out!

I'm too tired to write much, so here are some of my camp pictures:


For our skit/lip sync, we were The Pirates Who Don't Do Evil Things.

The lovely fake bug that made the rounds in people's sleeping bags, etc. Our resident prankster leader stuck it in my hood, so I handed her the camera.


We had two minutes of silence on the lake and then we sang a song from our boats, which echoed around the area. It was really cool.

lake self-portrait

One of my favorite things about camp this year was getting to know all of the other leaders better. They are hilarious.

I was not the only one documenting our experience!

post-hike foot soak

post-hike treat, generously provided by the other ward in our shared campsite

our schedule for the week

There is nothing quite as great as guitars at camp.

I loved this ingenious music solution.

Laurel had this bug repellent contraption. She showed me just how well it was working.

I love being up in the mountains.

I taught a couple of people how to crochet flowers. (I learned how in a YouTube video just before departing for camp!)

Crafts, always a highlight of camp.

We used LOTS of bug spray.

Roasted Starbursts – one of the girls' favorite things. Me? Meh.

I do enjoy a good campfire (as long as the smoke isn't always wafting into my face).

The girls were good about following the no-prank rule. The leaders, not so much.

Can you see the rainbow?

We had such a huge storm! It lasted almost 24 hours and included cabin-rattling thunder, lightning, hail, falling trees, and the hardest rain I've ever seen.


We had to hold the lip sync at the stake pavilion instead of outside in the amphitheater. It was crowded and oh so cold, but the girls were as enthusiastic as ever.

We had several deer that came right up to our campsite! I loved it. I also saw two moose, and the other leaders in my car spotted a bear (I wanted to see that).

I decided that I just hate flag ceremony. It throws into sharp relief how un-fun I am. I hate singing silly songs and doing actions to go with them. It's pretty much torture for me. And it made me question my legitimacy as a leader at camp. And there was a 45 degree incline to get down (and up again). And we have to do it twice a day...

Of course we had to make s'mores one night.

to sum up:

Camp was good.
It was hard.
It was hot.
It was wet.
It was freezing.
It was an invaluable experience for us all to learn and make memories together.
It was exhausting.

I'm glad I went, but I am also so very glad to be home.

updates

1. The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet

I feel like I have finally found a method of losing weight that works for me!

I hadn't tried to lose weight for about 10 years (really) because I didn't want to yo-yo up and down by doing something that I couldn't stick with. Also, I refused to give up baking, which is one of my true loves.

When I first started, I honestly didn't know if I could eat starchy foods and sweets only at dinnertime. I didn't know if I could go without eating snacks in between meals. I discovered that I have self-control! (Who knew?) I have more energy now, I have been healthier, I eat way more vegetables than I used to (even though I have always loved them), but the best part is that I feel so much more in control of myself.

I won't say that it isn't hard, though. I still want to eat muffins or toast for breakfast and homemade bread with peanut butter for lunch, but I know that I can always eat those things at dinnertime if I still want them, and that totally works for me. It takes more planning to make sure that I have the foods I need on hand and I have to prepare meals for myself instead of grabbing whatever is convenient. But it has been a lot easier than I anticipated. I have not deviated at all (except for one night when I ate beyond my 60-minute limit).

I can still bake! And I do so frequently. I can go out to dinner and eat whatever I want!

I have to weigh myself daily, which is not my favorite. I have always known that I feel kind of bloated when I get my period, but last week I gained a pound every day! Very discouraging. This week, however, I have slowly been going down every day. It's interesting to see that the fluctuations are greater than I suspected. Last week, I had to give myself pep talks to keep going – I was afraid that it had stopped working for me, but I stuck to it.

Today makes 12 weeks since I started, and I have lost about 15 pounds. Slow and steady, but at least I know I am going in the right direction! Some of my clothes have gotten too big, and I have pulled out some smaller items that I haven't been able to wear for a long time. It's a good feeling.

2. My knees

After I completed my 8-week knee therapy program (in March), I was experiencing quite a bit of pain relief, but not as much as I had hoped. My doctor told me that the positive effects would continue, with maximum pain relief occurring in another 6-8 weeks. My knees feel great now.

I have found that it is more difficult than I anticipated to do my exercises at home. I was relieved to be finished with my therapy appointments because they took up so much time, but when I had to keep an appointment, I actually did the work. Now that I'm on my own, it's not so easy. I don't always remember to wear my braces (cyborg legs). I'm working on it.

I ran a little bit with Eva during her school race and was amazed to discover that I could do it! I haven't done any running in years. Many years.

This treatment has been far more successful than my surgeries were. (I'm sure that losing weight helps as well.) I am feeling very optimistic.

Jessie's visit

I've let too much time elapse since Jessie's visit, and I have too much blogging to catch up on. I can't face multiple posts, so I've elected to post my favorite photos, all in one!

3 girls in a tub. Crowded chaos, shrieks of delight that can quickly become whines or protests: it's pretty much the way the whole 12 days went. As Grandma used to say when the children were babies, "Happy turned sad!" Things can turn on a dime.

We started out with all 3 girls sleeping in Eva's room. She was delighted. And then, she wasn't. She hurt Bella's feelings, and Bella wanted to sleep in my room. Suddenly, everyone was in agreement that Bella and Fiona should sleep in my room with me and Jessie.

I've learned not to be surprised by these turns of events (especially when Eva is involved). You just never know how it's going to go, so I'm getting better at going with the flow.

As previously reported, we braved the dinosaur museum during Spring break. Enough said.

I love Fiona's expression.

We went to a quilt shop in American Fork I had never been to before. Danger, danger! I wanted so many things. I'm sure I will be back.

Jessie talked Emily into cutting her hair! (She had had it cut shortly before her arrival, but wanted some changes.) I have never, ever cut anyone's hair, and was too terrified to oblige. It looks cute!

Jessie also cut Fiona's hair one morning. Fiona wasn't even particularly cooperative, and it turned out darling! It made me wonder if I could cut Lucas's hair. Marc put the kibosh on that idea.

We were able to sneak away to the temple one afternoon. We haven't been to the temple together other than Jessie's sealing! We did sealings, and it was a very sweet experience.

temple SP

We enjoyed a Creative Friday with Jill. It was quite the day of chaos, especially when my piano students turned up unexpectedly.

Jill brought little packs of m&ms for the girls, and Bella organized hers by color. I used to do that, too.

Jessie reading to all the girls.

Fiona appropriated the Snow White dress and was terribly distressed if anyone else tried to wear it. Jessie said that one of their friends calls Fiona a cartoon character, and the description is so very apt. Her expressions are varied and big.

Cute Bella on the slide. The weather was cool and rainy (or snowy) for much of the time they were here, so when it was nice, they played outside. Hallelujah.

Bella wanted to take Jack for a walk.

I thought the whole thing was doomed to failure, since he has never learned to properly heel and tends to pull horribly, but she would just sit down if she wanted him to stop. Worked like a charm!

Eva had to get in on that action.

Eva, reading to Fiona to cheer her up. She seemed to champion Fiona mainly when she and Bella were on the outs.

We got to see a lot of Emily while Jessie was here, since she had reading days for finals. She is so entertaining and such good company - we are always happy to have Emily around!

We played quite a few rounds of Bananagrams. Max loves it; Lucas hates it.

The plum trees bloomed! Always my favorite 2 weeks of the year.

Bella's treasures.

I love this picture of Fiona (not to be outdone, she had to have treasures as well).

Eva did, too, of course.

No visit to Utah is complete without a trip to the distribution center.

One day they spent the whole morning making a dinosaur museum in the family room.

Bella made everyone name tags, which consisted of names and eye color. (Except for Marc's, which simply said "happy customer.)

Later, Eva had to go to school, and the museum was closed, obviously.

Check out that static-y hair!!

Bella and Eva neglected to finish their yogurts, and my favorite cartoon character took over, two spoon-style!

Emily bought us all fountain drinks.

We did a decent amount of baking. One day, Jessie and Emily pulled out no less than 7 bags of coconut in various states of fulness. I endured much teasing about it. In my defense, I can only say that my lazy susan has been non-functional, so it was hard to see what I had and what I didn't. I guess I was making damn sure I had coconut on hand!

The girls enjoyed watching Lucas play video games in his room. One day, he told them he wanted a little alone time, so they migrated to the hall and took up a new position there.

(Incidentally, Lucas was very sweet with them. He was quite the peacemaker and broke up many arguments. He also played with them on multiple occasions. I love that guy.)

A collection of the friends Jessie has made for Eva over the last several years. (I love them all, but Fox is my favorite.)

We were hoping that, now that the girls are older, we wouldn't have so many sharing boot camp issues, that they would just go off and play and leave us in peace. Not so. But we're holding out hope for next time! It was definitely trying at times, but all worth it in the end.

I wish my sister didn't live so far away!