"Firm As The Mountains Around Us"

The mountains were definitely firm but with a good air mattress all was well. We were camping over a10,000 ft. elevation and the air was blue, bright and clear... except for all the yellow pine pollen! I resisted looking for crop dusters as gusts of billowing yellow wafted through camp. We ended up with 12 girls total with 7 staying with me; 5 were youth leaders (including Alli and Em) and stayed down at the main Stake encampment. Down. Up and downhill. Four days of it. My reactive airways and lower body were exercised quite well, thank you (I lost 5 pounds!, a small dent in the eternal scheme of my body). The worst was the last night when our Stake President came to speak. The wind shifted back to the audience and I was in the debris field. Think Mt. St. Helen's. I had my visor pulled low, my sunglasses on and my bumblebee scarf over my mouth and nose since it was snowing ash. Give me a gun and I was ready for a robbery.

Our Stake theme was "Firm As..." and we were to pick a mountain for a ward theme. What to choose? Well, we went with the Mount from the Sermon on the Mount. "Third ward came back from the Sermon on the Mount with Bee Attitude, bzzzz." Hence, the afore mentioned bumblebee scarf. And how hard is it to have 12 teenagers with attitude?

It was beautiful and SO much fun. The favorite activity was when we had free time at night with the other two wards from our building, all of us camping within 50 feet of each other. Lots of marshmallow roasting, chocolate bar and peanut butter cup s'more making and non destructive prank pulling (think mannequin heads, rubber snakes and a men's speedo leopard print swimsuit). We had two girls who had never camped before if you don't count a sleepover in a tent in someone's backyard. They assured all of us that they loved it! I learned from our neighboring campers that one can use an air mattress pump as a styling blow dryer, that DVD players are fun while the girls are on their hike and that even air temp Diet Dr. Pepper is a treat. I was my irreverent self and wondered at "my example" at times but, sniff, some random girls from other wards (still don't know who they were) came up to me the last day and said they wished they'd been camping with me (sniff, sniff). And as for the least favorite activity? Our weed chopping service project. Two hours in those high sunny meadows. Not difficult but I did end up with two girls with heat exhaustion ("drink more water!"). After our project, and two others, were completed our Stake leader tells us that we should now check for ticks since the season has started but it would take 24 hours for them to attach so we would be okay in our showers scanning and going through our hair. Fun times.

We didn't get an e-mail from Chris this week (sigh) but a short letter. He's doing great in the new area. His district borders his old area but it goes all the way up to the Canadian border. Berlin (pronounced BER-lun) is another small town in the mountains (have they been to the Rockies?) of New Hampshire. The new companion is rather strange but he still gets along with him. I wonder how many have thought the same thing of Christopher...? He still takes lots of pictures and I love seeing them.

Speaking of pictures I've determined that I don't take half as many as I used to. I really thought I had more pictures of camp but I do remember thinking of the dirt and smoke and worrying about the camera. I hope to fill in the blanks with the pictures my assistant leader took. She was so terrific! Darla, I love ya!

Now I really must ready myself for church and Primary music. I hope to be better rested and much more clever later.

Laters, Gena