Two Weeks

The past 3 weeks, we have been staining cabins.  We hand brushed the laundry and 4 double missionary cabins.  Then all of camp Esther and camp Rebecca which was 36 cabins.  It's not very hard work, but we started at 6:00 am which made it a long day.  We are now done and don't have much else to do in camp, except to run families and groups on the weekends.  This weekend we didn't have any campers in camp because it was the open house today.  

Next week we have 2 P-days.  Monday we will do some chinking of the cabins and have a flag retirement ceremony in the evening.  Then we are off Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday, Friday and Saturday we will most likely be running the courses.

We had our final Challenge Course party at the fire pit in Sunrise.  We had ribs with salads, fruit, and desserts.  Then we cleared the tables and got out the games.  That was a lot of fun until the sun goes down, and the temperatures begin to drop.  We had a visit from a very large bull moose.  It was a great evening!

Heartbound

Relief Society night last week.  They invited Heartbound to come sing and share their testimonies with the Sister missionaries.  It was a beautiful night.  The sunset was unbelievable.  Listening to "How Great Thou Art" as the sky lit up.  It was a night when I knew my Heavenly Father loved me.  He created this beautiful world.

Weekly News

Last week was a little crazy, as we had families on the Challenge Course all week long.  Sometimes they can be a challenge themselves.  We enjoy having the young women a lot more.

One family was really a challenge in the Rebecca camp.  We got a call on the radio that there was a fire there and all to go to the emergency channel and prepare for evacuation.  They were able to get the fire out and everything was fine, but we had a little scare.  Later in looking at the burn sight, they found cigarette butts and beer cans.  They are pretty sure the butts caused the fire and they knew who caused it.  Obviously beer and cigarettes are not allowed at the camp.  Everything is so dry, we can no longer have camp fires.

We had pictures taken of our team on Challenge Course last week.  Oh, how we have grown to love these people!  We will miss them when camp is done.  We are planning on connecting this winter with many of the missionaries.

We had work in the morning staining a few missionary cabins and also splitting wood getting ready for the winter campers.

Last Day of Young Women

Jamie, Julie, Teresa and Brook

After our last session with the young women on course, we had a party with the CLAS Ropes girls.  These young ladies help each course during the week because we need an extra person.  They are all certified and can do all the jobs.  Now that the young women will not be coming anymore, neither will these cute girls.  

Our new ATV

After a really great dutch oven meal, most of us got in our ATV's and went for a ride up in the hills.  Sister Asay drove the Clas Ropes girls in the transport.  I think they really enjoyed it.  We went up to Temple Lake, Crow's Nest lake, and to the top of Bald Knoll.

Bald Knoll

Crow's Nest

Wednesday, August 10 was the last day for us to work with the young women on CC2.  It was a day of mixed emotions.  All good things must come to an end, but sometimes the endings are hard.  

We had such a wonderful group of young women and their leaders.  In the morning session, Steve and I did the roving.  It's the last time I will work on the Wall.  At the end of the session, the entire group of girls sang to us the primary song "A Child's Prayer."  It was so beautiful, it was hard for me to stay dry eyed.  

Afternoon session I got to work the nest for the last time with the young women.  It was a good ending.  

Last group of young women from the nest

This post is sort of backwards.  I'm not very good at this blogging, and can't seem to move the last part to the first.  Oh well, you get the idea!

The Last of the Young Women

The summer has gone by so fast!  It's hard to believe that this week is the last week of the Young Women.  Yesterday we did our last training of the leaders for running the low courses.  We are starting to feel a little melancholy.

Next week we will have families all week, and the week after, we begin the staining of the cabins.  This year they have assigned us all of camp Rebecca and Ester, the missionary cabins, and the laundry facility.  This is more than we have ever done before, I guess we got done too fast last year.  Ha! Ha!

Last week Steve was helping on the wall, making sure everything was safe.  Since it has been so hot, the girls never have sweatshirts and thus, don't have anything to help the last girl over the wall.  Steve decided to put his sweatshirt on the course, and the girls did ask if they could use it.  The girls from above held it down for the girl below.  She grabbed on and only got about 12 inches off the ground when "rip!" the sleeve came off.  Pretty funny!  I guess that didn't work.

 We had a little rain and some lightning.  Here is our team waiting for the course to restart.  We have to stand down for 30 minutes after the last sighting of lightning.

Special Needs Mutual

Last Saturday we had a very special group on CC2.  We had the Special Needs Mutual come to have a good time on the Challenge Course.  Most of the girls would not climb, so we did about 5 reverse pulls.  Most of the girls just wanted to swing.  That was difficult for the Elders, because it is hard to get them off the ground enough to make it safe.

How many men does it take to swing an adult woman?  5!

Elder Phillips helping a young women

 Katie was a young women who didn't have the use of her legs.  With the help of the Elders, she was able to climb.  When she got on the log, she needed a little more help and I went on rabbit ears and helped her over to the nest where she was able to do the zip line.

This was a wonderful experience for everyone helping and participating that morning.  We all loved the spirit that these young women brought to CC2.

Weekend Visitors

One of the benefits of the mission is having our family members come stay at camp on one Saturday night a year.  It was really special to have our grandson Kai come and stay in our 5th wheel with us.  It's great having a one on one with him.

We started our evening by going to the lake.  Kai enjoyed the ride and did the steering while grandma and grandpa did most of the paddling.  We only got a little wet.
Then we went to the Challenge course to help other families have a good time on the zip line.  Kai decided he didn't want to zip.  

When we got back to the trailer, we had a camp fire located at the Sunrise fire pit.  We roasted hotdogs and marshmellows and enjoyed eating s'mores.  It was a really great evening.

That's a s'more!

Kai is trying to keep warm

On Sunday evenings we can invite our friends and family up for a visit.  Scott and Marianne Robison and Mont and Jolene Anderson came to camp last weekend.  We took a hike to CC2 and showed them some of the activities we do.  Then we drove down to show them the lake, to camp Hinkley to show them the cabins and pavilion.  

We barbecued hamburgers and watched a cow moose and her baby cross through the back meadow.  Then we even had a great game of marbles.  It was fun to have them come up and show them around.

Notice the deer in the background

Legacy Lake

Moose behind our trailer

Celebration!

The 4th of July was a really fun day!  Many of the missionaries went home for the weekend, but none of our children were around, so we stayed at camp.  They closed the camp to any visitors and there was only about 15 couples here.  Some went on a ATV ride in the morning.  Then we had a barbecue around 1 pm.  

Later in the evening, about 10 couples went to the Oakley rodeo.  It was a really fun evening.  Elder Curtis used to compete in many of the rodeo activities and could tell us anything we wanted to know about the competition, judging, etc.

The Wall

We have this really cool activity on CC2 called the wall.  It is about 12 feet high and all the girls have to get over it.  We use the scenario that this is the Berlin wall and you want to join your extended family so that you may practice religious freedom.  You have 15 minutes before the guard returns with his guard dog.  Your whole family has to get over before that time.  The problem is that the last girl has no one to help her over.  It is sort of dangerous, so I get right in there and help with the spotting.

I had a really spiritual experience last week, as one of the girls who was last could not get over.  She started crying saying she could not get over and please don't leave her.  The facilitator did an awesome job asking them about doing proxy and doing work for the dead.  They then all gave her a helping hand and helped her over.  I was quite emotional!  The spirit has been very strong this week with girls and even the families.  I have a picture but can't figure out how to blur out the girls faces, so I can't post it.  I will try to add it later.

Saturday looked like a beautiful day, but then all of the sudden it started raining pretty hard.  We thought it would just pass over, so Elder Duerden and Elder Asay just kept balaying and didn't go get their rain jackets.  But it didn't stop and pretty soon they were drenched.  The participants were drenched also, but we always keep going unless we have lightning, and there wasn't any.  I was in the nest with an umbrella propped at the top of the pole, so I didn't get wet. (You can see the large raindrops)  The good thing about the rain is that it makes the zip line faster, and I was able to touch the pole when I came out of the nest.  I have tried and tried and have not been successful until that time.

This is Sister Monfredi having a good time!  We often show the young women how to fly to help them understand how safe it is and help them overcome their fears.

Wildlife Update

Here is a picture of the robins in the front of our trailer.  It looks like there are 2 baby birds.  The mother gets pretty upset when we try to look in at the nest.  Steve just sticks his phone inside and takes a picture.

We have seen a few new fawns.  They are so cute, at this young age they are spotted.  The other day we were driving down the parkway when a mother and her young fawn ran across the road.  We pulled over as they were headed up the hill.  The fawn immediately dropped to the ground and you couldn't see her, she was covered by the grass.  Steve walked up the hill and took her picture.

A Little Shade

It seems like the weather is a lot warmer this year.  It could be that we are serving on CC2 and it is not set in the shade like CC1 is.  So they ordered a shade for us and it was quite a project getting it up.

Elder Duerden had to climb all the way to the top of the pole hooked in on rabbit ears to get the first corner secured.

 Elder Adams was an electrician before he retired.  He knew how to run the lift and get the second corner of the shade secured high up in a tree.

Elder Adams

Securing one more corner in the tree

In the early evening, the belayers are looking straight into the sun, and it makes it difficult to see the connections.  During the day, the young women sit in the shade of the tarp.  It's nice to have a little relief.

Timber Moose Lodge

On Sunday, June 12th, we were invited to the Timber Moose lodge for a pot luck dinner.  We were also invited last year.  It's fun to be with the missionaries and see this awesome lodge.  I took some of the same pictures, you will notice it is a little greener around the lake than last year.  Thanks to the Evan's family who own the lodge.

Looking out of the tower to Legacy Lake in Heber Valley Camp

ATV Parking

You can see the timbers for their very large swing

Young Women

This last week was our first week with young women in camp.  What a beautiful spirit they bring to the mountain.  Elder Duerden moved the main bench where the girls sit once they have been harnessed and are ready to go so that he can hear them sing while he is belaying.  

We have a wonderful team, the Monfredi's, the Adam's and the Asays.  Sister Asay is having surgery tomorrow for a tumor on her knee.  We will be so glad when she is well and can join us again.

We have already had some spiritual experiences and love the wonderful things that happen here at camp.  Our Heavenly Father loves every one of us!  We are so grateful for this time in our lives.  It is going by so fast!

Lined up at the welcome gate

I am in the nest taking pictures of the young women getting on their harnesses

Elder Duerden and Elder Asay taking a little break!

Barbecue and more animals

After a day working on course, Elder Simonsen invited us to a barbecue.  He brought up his large barbecue, and invites a few people to bring their own meat and anything else you might have like a pot luck.  

This evening was quite enjoyable.  After dinner, we got out all the fire pits and sat around telling stories, including Chuck stories!  Elder Powell brought his guitar out and sang some pretty funny songs!  We had a great big bull moose join us in the distance.  It was a great evening and only the cold chased us back to our RVs.

Last year about half way down the parkway, was a large nest with a red tailed hawk.  This year, an owl mother decided to call it home until her 3 young ones were old enough to fly.  We took the binoculars down to see, it was awesome!  Elder Moretti has a camera with a big lens and he shared this picture with me.

We had a robin trying to build a nest in the king pin of our 5th wheel.  We got rid of it at least 3 times and finally decided to let it be.  She is sitting on the nest now, and I'm sure we will have baby birds soon.

Our friends tell us this is a rock chuck.  Interesting looking animal.  We sure have seen a diversity of animals this year.

Challenge Course 2

When we first came up to camp, we were asked to be on Challenge Course 1.  We were not asked to be course leaders, which was hard at first, but we settled in right away.  We were on CC1 last year and loved it, and we would be with the Simonsens again, which was great!

The Wintertons were assigned course leaders on CC2.  Then Sister Winterton got hurt and the church would no longer let her be on CC2 because of liability issues.  So, we were then asked to be leaders on CC2.  It's sort of interesting, I had a feeling we would be on CC2 this year.

We give everyone a high 5 as they leave the course

This was a home schooled group that came the first of the week

We have been losing a lot of sleep and working hard to get the course going, including training the new missionaries.  It's a lot more work that I would have thought.  We want to make it a great year and pray all the missionaries will have the same kind of wonderful experiences like we had last year.