Go for the Gold - Girls' Camp 2009

Thanks to my sister for taking my girls for the week, I was able to attend the entire week of Girls' Camp. It was an amazing week. My spirit has been lifted, my resolve to improve strengthened and my body exhausted.

Jeff and I and another couple in our ward were lucky enough to get to lead 8 4th year girls on their overnight backpacking trip. We took them up to Boulder Creek and hiked up to Boulder Lake and Lake Louie. This was no easy hike. Packs were heavy (due in part to enough smore's fixins to feed an army), weather was wet and we covered around 14 miles, mostly uphill, inspite of Brother Blaser's claim that we were "coasting" most of the way :)

Here we are at our uppermost point of the hike. That's Lake Louie you can see through the trees. We were able to drop our big packs at Boulder Lake, where we set up our campsite before continuing on to the upper lake. It is so beautiful up here, especially with the wet spring. There were wild flowers everywhere.

This is the mountain of boulders we had to navigate to get back to camp. Our tents were right on the other side of the embankment. Below us you can see Boulder Lake.

After 6 hours of hiking, we were ready for some good, warm food. Everyone was wet from their knees down since it had been rainy and we were walking through tall grass part of the way. Warm hawaiian haystacks hit the spot, followed by Smore's...yummm...

Here are the girls the next morning preparing to head back down the mountain to our cars. They look pretty good for having hiked long and hard the previous day and what seemed to us leaders as an entire night of yelling, wrestling and truth-or-daring in their tent. Thank goodness we OLD leaders had our own tent.

A morning view of Boulder Lake.

After meeting up with the rest of the girls' camp at Camp Ee-Da-How, we had the traditional and infamous skit night. Here are our valient Priesthood leaders. They were doing a skit...or were they...
Group picture at Cascade Lake.
Group picture on our hike.

Activities like Girls' Camp really make me realize how good kids are these days. They get a bad rap sometimes, but I am continually amazed by their kindness and real desire to live as they have been taught. I am strengthened just be being around them. It gives me hope and excitement for my own girls to be this age.

I'm Tryin' to Tell You Somethin' 'Bout My Life...

Tuesday I, my friend Karla and my sister (also my friend) Robin went to the Indigo Girls concert in Salt Lake City. It was amazing. I've been a HUGE fan of them since I was 16. Listening to them live was so surreal. I am still floating around on Cloud 9, and poor Jeff is constantly being subjected to their CD's or, worse, me singing (badly) their songs.

Emily & Amy, as cool as ever.

(I can't take credit for this pic, I just borrowed it, I never actually got this close. Although we thought we might try to storm their bus during the opening artist, but decided against it.)

Their new CD. It is really good, and has two discs with the same songs, one disc is the acoustic versions, my personal fave.

The opening act was Gregory Alan Isakov. He was also amazing. I'd never heard of him, but he had an amazing voise. Sort of like a sober Bob Dylan. Nice. We got to talk to him for a while and he autographed his CD's for us. He's cool, and fame, or at least his pending fame hasn't spoiled him yet. Let's keep our fingers crossed... I'm a sucker for a guitar, throw in a fiddle and the occasional cello and I'm yours for life.
The Indigo Girls put on a great show. They played a lot of their new stuff, but ended with a long list of their greatest hits. It was amazing to hear so many people singing their lyrics with them and dancing. I admit I was hoarse by the end of the night.
Check out this beautiful venue! Red Butte Gardens in Salt Lake City.

The "Girls" are in Boise at the end of the month. Who's with me? :)