Cruise to Eternity - Bears in Camp

"Life wouldn't be memorable, without a little excitement along the way." ~ Me

My cute Beehives ~ they keep me laughing!  I love them, they are so much FUN!

Our YW Girls Camp was at Payson Lakes this year. We had 26 beautiful YW, plus leaders and priesthood~ Our theme was "Cruise to Eternity".  We had a beautiful campsite not far from the lake, with plenty of shade, lots of tables and room to cook, and all the tent sites were a little on the sloping side.

The girls made some great t-shirts.  With colored permanent markers, you draw dots or designs and drip alcohol over it - it makes the colors bleed and gives a fun designed, tie-dye look.

We had a "Captains Dinner" and everyone dressed up ~ it was strictly a black and white tie affair ~ the girls' ensembles were made from trashbags and duct tape ~ they came up with some ingenous designs and even made some tuxes for the priesthood leaders!

 

 Early the first morning, two of my little Beehives went down to the WC and came back screaming.  They had just seen a bear across the parking lot, scattering garbage everywhere.  We had followed the camp hosts many warnings, and had put all of our food away, taken treats, toothpaste, deodorant, etc and locked them all in the Scout Trailer in the parking lot, etc . . . but the camp host later told us that he had forgotten to come back and lock the garbage down and the bears were having a great time . . .but not to worry, someone would come  up with dogs and chase that bear away. . .

So, we went on a beautiful 5 mile hike - the wildflowers were lovely and the weather pretty near perfect.

 Later that day, we cooled off in the lake. While we were at the lake a lady from the campground next to ours told us she had just seen a bear in our camp!

After that, things started happening fairly quickly.  The camp host came and asked us about the bear, then said we had two choices, we could pack up and go home ~ or pack up and move up to Blackhawk, if there was room for us up there.  The girls did NOT want to go home, ("We're having TOO much fun!") so the host drove up to Blackhawk, procured us a new site and when he came back we were, as instructed, packed up and ready to go.  Thank goodness for our great Priesthood leaders who were there to help us ~ Apparently it was in the news several nights running!  Apparently, we had not one bear, but two . . .

 

 Our new site was much smaller, but we stilll had a great time.  We had a spirit filled "Faith Walk," made necklaces, played games, had some great food, funny skits and finished our last night with a wonderful testimony meeting. I so love these YW ~ they are so much fun to be around, and are filled with love, laughter and life!  This IS and has always been, my FAVORITE calling, I love to be serving in YW. 

A Few Days in the Garden of Eden ~ 3

". . . We call upon [people] everywhere to put family first and to identify specific ways to strengthen their individual families.. .  In today’s world, where Satan’s aggression against the family is so prevalent, parents must do all they can to fortify and defend their families. . . Brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins can make a powerful difference in the lives of children. Remember that the expression of love and encouragement from an extended family member will often provide the right influence and help a child at a critical time.. . ." ~ Russell M Ballard October 2005

Grace and Sadie ~ a cute Spaniel that adopted us while we were in Eden

 Some went golfing, some went house hunting, others stayed and played games and soaked in the hot tub . . . lots of laughter, games, friendly competition, great food ,  plenty of fun, lasting memories . . . that's what vacation is all about.

Ethan making a great catch and Charlie coming to help

Charlie and Sandy

A little more geocaching at the park ~ Cori, Charlie, Grant, James, Grace and Ashton

Under the Troll Bridge ~ Brittany,Jesse,  James, Ashton, Charlie and Grace

Collecting ammo ~ Ashton, Charlie, James and Grace

Splash! ~ James

A splash war across the stream ~ Ashton and Charlie getting a little wet

 A little Dance Revolution going on ~ Megan, Brittany, Ray and Jesse

Cori, Arianne, Brittany and Megan

A Few Days in the Garden of Eden ~2

"You don't choose your family.
They are God's gift to you,
as you are to them."
~Desmond Tutu

Ethan

 Our family outings the last few years have included geocaching~ it is fun for all of us and we get to hike and see some great places and the call of "buried treasure" keeps the kids hiking onward and upward!  We found three hidden caches on this trail near Pineview Reservoir.

Brittany, Hunter and Ashton

The wildflowers were breath taking !

Grace, Hunter and Ashton ~ happy hikers

The hike overlooks Pineview Reservoir

Cori ~Aha! We FOUND it! 

Geocaching is lot of fun ~Especially when you actually  find the treasure!

Ashton

Eden and Jesse

All tuckered out

Ashton and Grace

We spent another day at the lake - we had intended going to Pineview, but because of cooler temperatures and threatening storms at Pinewview, we ended up back down at Willard Bay, which was a good choice - the weather there was beautiful, the temperature perfect and the water, GREAT!

Cori and Randy



Grant

Megan and Joshua ~ he wasn't too sure about that cold water

Tickle Bugs . . . Ashton and Grace waking up Papa Ray

Ashton and Grace ~ "Well, we said we were hungry and wanted a BIG Breakfast, hmmm . . "

A few days in the Garden of Eden ~ 1

"I don't care how poor a man is,

if he has family, he is rich."

~ Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford, "Identity Crisis," M*A*S*H

Hunter, Grant, Ashton, Grace and Cory ~ bug hunters

Tuesday we headed up Ogden Canyon to Eden located in a beautiful, peaceful valley.  We rented a lovely home there . . . there was plenty of room for all of us and we had a great time~

Grandma Sandy brought some "Bug Hotels" and nets, tweezers, etc and the children got busy looking for insects of all kinds. They found quite a few ~ beetles, butterflies, grasshoppers, spiders . . . observed them for a while, fed them, then let them go back home.



"Oh, my goodness, what did you find?" Brittany with Hunter, Charlie and Grace

The beauty that surrounded us, beckoned us outside ~ we went on several bike rides and hikes in the area.

Ethan, Joshua and Megan

Cori, Grace and Grant and Jesse

Sandy and Ray

Ashton and Hunter



Grace and Grant getting buckled in

Joshua and Megan

 The new Momma and their babies ~ life couldn't be more beautiful!

Jesse and Eden

Arianne and Nathanial