On being alive

Today, Katie and I spent the morning buzzing around camp on the ATV, unlocking doors to the cabins, opening up waterfront and checking campsites. Then, Mom assigned us the task of visiting each latrine and making sure that they had lime buckets ("if you tinkle, use a sprinkle. if you poop, use a scoop") and cleaning check-lists. The sun was shining and the air was muggy and heavy with a lingering morning haze. I let Kate drive for a bit while I scribbled notes on the clipboard in an inky red pen. We were down at the amphitheater when all of a sudden, out of absolutely nowhere, the skies opened up and literally dumped buckets upon us. It was my turn to drive and Katie was laughing in the back as I gunned the throttle and shot up the hill towards the office; the rain drops hitting my face like a million tiny cold stings that imprinted into my skin. I could feel the water run down my knees and seep into my socks. I could feel it rolling across my checks and into the crevices of my ears as we raced through the wind. My hair was plastered in flat clumps to my forehead and my hands were turning numb in as I gripped the handles in an azure haze of oncoming water. I was laughing uncontrollably as I felt my mascara drip down in bold black lines and as Katie urged me onward in the most perfect summer rainstorm, I felt more alive then I have in months. And it was so beautiful.

snapshots on saturday

on Poison Ivy and Kitties

once upon a time, there was a mama kitty with four kittens living in the basement of the dinning hall at camp. they were precious, but when camp started to become active, the mama kitty moved her babies somewhere else. there hadn't been any sight of them over the last few weeks until last night. as dad and i went to check the status on some poison ivy by the Fayette cabin that he had sprayed a week ago, the mama kitty (a precious orange and black spotted thing) came crying out from behind the cabin. cautiously, i approached her and had to climb through a bush to get to her, where she started to purr and rub against my legs and hands. i spent twenty minutes petting her before she got spooked and scampered off. i spent the rest of the evening with my parents at the testimony meeting that the Springfield Stake held at the amphitheater, and feeling inspired and close to God.
today, i noticed that i had some how contracted poison ivy all along my scar-poison ivy that my father sprayed last week and was supposed to be dead. so that stinks. good thing i live with my mom who is a walking drug store and came in with five different kinds of lotions to help take care of that little situation.

in other news, my sisters, mom and i are all currently obsessed with Toddlers and Tiaras (TLC show about beauty pagents) and we've been watching it on demand all week. we had breakfast for dinner tonight and it was fantastic. i'll be back in idaho in approx. 55 days and i'm excited. i just like my life.

Snapshots on Sunday

Sunset at Zion.

"Be still, and know that I am God."

opening day at camp!

First Day of Camp, First Day of Camp! And I got to officially unlock and open our front gate!

The first stake girls camp started today, and after a month of hard work and long days at camp, we were ready to welcome in our first group (thankfully our home stake, so we know all of the people we are working with the first time around!). Today (for me) consisted of hanging out in the office with Sheba baby, the camp dog, while they paved the office parking lot (lot's of loud machines makes a very scared puppadog who just wanted to cuddle):

Gassing up all camp vehicles: our three trucks, lovingly named Goliath (the F250), Zeke (our '86 GMC) and Old Blue (our ancient dodge), along with the golf cart, tractor and the ATV.

Running around camp with Mom and doing errands, like bringing recycle bins to the dining hall, unlocking the health lodge and eating Papa Kane's amazing camp meals! (tomorrow is sweet rolls and Wednesday is PIZZA BREAD DAY!)

AND! Bishop taught me how to ride the ATV because I am no longer a risk to myself with this brand new knee of mine! IT WAS AWESOME! I AM OFFICIALLY HOOKED! AND! I loved being able to do something I never thought I would be able to do-I loved feeling LIMITLESS instead of LIMITED!

Serving at this camp is such a eye-opening experience and I am learning so much every day I am up there. I don't worry about things in my life when I am focused on helping out here. I feel so much love for the people I am working with, who teach me every day! 

And, I have the wonderful opportunity to go up to camp for the rest of the week and to be a REAL LEVEL LEADER for the 4th Years (I'm old enough! WEIRD!)

So grateful. So happy. So in love with my life.

This fight was so worth it. 

Spending days at Zion

The LDS church bought an old boyscout camp a few years ago and is turning into a camp to be used for girls camp that will serve all of the stakes in southern New England. My old stake president and his wife were instrumental in the purchasing of the camp and were the original directors until the sudden death of President P in March. My parents were recently asked to serve a service mission (a few weeks ago) and to be the camp directors of Zion's camp. There is SO much work to do to get the camp ready for the summer, including obtaining permits, fixing things up for state standards, setting up rules and guidelines for the stakes, general maintenance and organizing. So, needless to say, the family has jumped in feet first. Since my mom is still working at school and just finished seminary, I've been helping a lot with paper work, scheduling, emailing and such. Today, we went up to camp and I was in charge of opening up the office. There was a computer to get running, documents to be made and emails to be sent and files to organize. I was there for four hours and barely made a dent! There is so much to do and we open camp in three weeks!

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As stressful as it is to realize that there is just so much to do in order to get the camp ready, I have already seen miracles take place as we go forward with faith to prepare this dedicated piece of land. I'm not even a set apart missionary, just a daughter of one, but faith and service is required of all of us, as a family, to make this succeed. I knew there was a reason why getting my knee replaced this summer and having to be home was right; and being able to play a part in serving all of the stake in New England by helping get this camp up and running is one of them. I already feel like I am learning so much by dedicated my time to this project and helping my parents. While cleaning out the office computer today, I stumbled across a few documents that President P had created, logging miracles that he had seen while working in the camp. It was such a strength to me and I felt so grateful to be part of the family chosen to continue this work.  I'll be spending most of my summer up at camp with my mom, helping run the office and driving around in the golf cart!