Darci and Niel: GIRLS CAMP!!! August 4th-8th

This spring I was called to be the assistant stake Young Women's Girls' Camp director. After months of preparation it finally came. It was an amazing week and awesome experience for me. I know that the church leaders were definitely inspired when they asked me to do this. I think I needed the week at girls camp more than the girls needed me as their leader. It was so fun to get to know the girls in the stake and in my ward better. I had a very spiritual, uplifting week, and my testimony was strengthened by the girls.

Girls Camp was at Cabrillo Youth Camps which is a camping site on the beach for youth camps. It is in San Pedro California (outside of L.A.). The week was sooo much fun. Let me tell you about all the things we did! We swam in the swimming pool and rode the canoes. We did certification, made kites, made leather bookmarks, and sea shell picture frames. We also went to the tide pools and the impressive aquarium they have there. Of course we spent time swimming and playing at the beach. One of my favorite things we did was our barbecue at the beach. We roasted hot dogs and s'mores over a bon-fire at the beach. Afterwards bishop Gardner played the guitar while we sang. The skits the girls put together were hilarious. One night we did "singing by the sea" (we sang church hymns at night next to the shore). We took a tour of one of the first lighthouses ever constructed, went on a hike, and enjoyed a wonderful presentation by the fire department. On the last day while waiting for our bus the polynesian girls taught me how to hula! One of the best parts of the week was testimony meeting night. Our bishop brought our ward In-N-Out for dinner and then gave us a spiritual thought. After that we went to testimony meeting. I felt the spirit very strong that night during both the bishops' lesson and the testimony meeting. It was such a great week and I left wanting to be a better person.

Skit night. See that full-body gorilla suit? Yes, that is the suit Gabby Barnes wore as she hid in the bushes and jumped out to scare Niel when he came to camp for a night. It was planned and executed very well. We scared him pretty bad and all the young women had a good laugh. Thanks for being a good sport Niel! Did I mention that they also toilet-papered and saran wrapped his car?! ha ha!!

Gayle Land's chance with squirting the fire hose (our ward's Young Women's President).

This was the charming fire fighter Eddie Martinez that did a presentation at girl's camp. I am pretty sure he was some of the girls' favorite part of the week. Tishnae here on the right asked him if he was "September" in the fireman's calendar! He got a lot of cat calls and pictures with the young women.

This picture cracks me up. This was the morning we left when we had a sunrise ceremony at 5:30 a.m. They were definitely not awake.

Girls bonding at the beach.

Bishop Gardner playing his guitar while we sand church songs around the bon-fire on the beach.

This is sadly one of the few pictures I am actually in and not taking thanks to Gayle Land. Brenda, Tishnae, me, and Alex at the beach.

Sand Castle competition!! Hunter and Georgette.

This was one of the bus rides up to Cabrillo Youth Camps. I was the adult supervisor who signed the bus reliability release form...let me tell you, that felt weird to be the "adult". I laughed.