Girls Camp Overnighter

This past Thursday our Young Women had an overnighter to celebrate the last day of school and to take care of some of the Certification prior to heading off to Girls Camp in late June. Here are a few of the girls as we begin the hike to our campsite.

We stopped along the way at the boat dock to eat our lunches.

Once at camp, the first order of the day was to gather firewood. Here are Alexis and Ruby using their heads--or their feet--to move a log along.

The wind was blowing fiercely and it took several tries to get a fire started. We used vaseline on cotton balls, as well as flint & steel to make a spark--but couldn't get it to "take" until we used matches. We made a windbreak with our bodies to try to get that spark come to life.

We had the most posh of conditions at the location of our "sweet biffy!" The pink toilet seat was a real HIT!!

Along toward evening, the breeze across the water chilled us all. Here are two adorable girls huddled together, sharing a blanket and pondering the beauty of the Mighty Mississippi.

The campfire was great, but too dark for pictures. I'm not sure how many hours of sleep anyone indulged in, but they all look a little groggy first thing in the morning sunshine!

Things didn't brighten up too much, even with breakfast to cheer us!

These three, Elle, Katrina and London, are NOT sun worshippers--they are just EXHAUSTED!

We had a terrific time! Thanks to all whose time was invested to make our Pre-Camp so successful.

ROSES!

This morning I was practicing the piano for a number to accompany two of "my girls" for Seminary Graduation next week. The doorbell rang, and a woman stood at the door holding out a bouquet of colorful spring flowers. On reading the card, though, I had to send her to deliver them to the correct recipient--the flowers were for Pat Moon, my next door neighbor. I sighed inwardly to see their brightness walk down my steps.

But a couple of hours later the UPS truck drove into our cul-de-sac and stopped at our house. The long green box was from Pro Flowers--a very recognizable presentation, since that's the company Jeff used to send me flowers while I've been away in Provo at BYU.

These roses are FOR ME, from Valerie and Janyse. Happy Mother's Day!!! I didn't tell anyone (except Marci saw the small box) that chocolates accompanied the flowers. I am going to indulge myself without sharing a single one! Thank you, sweet daughters, for your thoughtfulness.

Flowers!

When we lived in Redmond, every Mother's Day I asked for (and got--since I DID THE SHOPPING!) annuals to plant in the front of my house. This year, true to form, I have planted 40 or more impatiens and other colorful flowers in planters on both sides of our front steps.
Imagine my surprise when I drove into the driveway one day and saw that I had a Bleeding Heart plant near my house. You recall that last year I was away at BYU during this season of the year and I totally missed this beautiful bush.

I remember someone in Manti having this Bleeding Heart flower growing in her yard, and I LOVED this flower. It instantly took me back to being a small girls in a small town.

We have Hosta which will sprout a very TALL flower later in the season.

These starts will blossom into a flower that is periwinkle in color--with a pentagon shaped blossom that looks like a mylar balloon--and then it opens up into a five-petaled flower.

Finally, lest you think my flower beds are weed-free, I purposely included this dandelion next to another plant. In spite of my taking a tool to purge those hearty weeds from my garden!

I love to see the flowers brighten my front yard. I'll shoot photos again when the impatiens and dianthus have grown a bit more!