July Comes to a Close

Emma Adams is such a cool teenager. She was my chicken fight buddy at girls camp, my daughter at trek, and a birthday girl this week turning sweet 16! For her big one, she wanted a 1920's murder mystery dinner party and asked all invited to dress up. Who did she invite? Several old people. Myself included. And we all took the dress up very seriously. Just look at the crew!

The whole clan. The characters were great and it was hilarious watching each person try to fit theirs as they read the script. Such a fun night. And they hosted a pizza/nintendo party in the basement for the younger children so that everyone was available to attend. 

And the very next week... our youth headed off to FSY up in Rexburg. What a cool experience it was for them. And throughout the week I kept getting pix of these kids... surrounded by thousands of youth from all over, they kept seeking each other out. Cuz they're that cool.

Jaedyn had a pretty cool experience up there. They got to choose what classes they attended from a whole list of classes. One day they were trying to attend a class on How to Know if it is the Holy Ghost, and found themselves in a classroom teaching something that was very much NOT what they had been trying to attend. The teacher paused and then invited them to sit. Not long into it they realized they were not in the class that had been advertised and started whispering that though it was the wrong class, it was actually where they were supposed to be. After the class the teacher came up to talk to them and told them that she was going to invite them to leave cuz she could tell they had not meant to be there, but then felt strongly that they were where they were supposed to be and so she did not dismiss them. The girls all felt very touched by the discussion that took place in that class and felt inspired by the lesson taught. They class ended up being about the connections between thoughts, feelings, and actions. What we tell ourselves affects what we think about ourselves and we can end up in chains because the enemy does not want us to know our value. Freedom is found in identity: when you know who you are you are free to live the way God has called you to live.

She also had a guy come up to her and ask her if he could use her phone to call his because he had lost it. When she handed him her phone, his started ringing in his pocket and he returned her's saying "Thanks for your number" Oh dear. Turns out he was a very nice guy though. She also had a boy ask her at the dance to swing dance with her. She was very nervous because she didn't know how, but was brave and gave it a go anyway. This boy spent the next 45 minutes teaching her how to swing dance and she loved it! 

A little bit of musicality

Friends and hide n seek in... the garbage can?!

Music time in primary can become quite adventurous...

A quick trip to Menan Butte.

And some great photos by Jaedyn... photographer extraordinaire!

And a family trip to the BYU-Idaho gardens... a lot of the photos were also taken by Jaedyn 😊

And a hilarious capture of Landon trying to teach Lilia the rules to a board game... she may have been a little overwhelmed LOL

 

Girls Camp 2023: Smith Trout Haven

Even though I got released from the Young Women's, I still got invited to Girl's Camp as an assistant camp director! I feel so lucky. We have such a stellar group of girls. And I got to go with Lilia for her first camp which was a lovely bonus! My friend Analisa, was the director and she brought along her dad who is a great dutch oven chef so it was good news all around!

My mom and dad graciously agreed to watch my younger 2 girls so I drove them down on our way to camp. McKinley was so full of questions on the drive! She is a little thinker, that one! Just rapid fired completely unconnected questions the whole drive. Some examples were "Why do men name mountains?" followed quickly by, "Mom why do people go to jail when they run someone over?" Poor Jaedyn was trying to listen to music and had to be so patient while I turned it down multiple times in order to hear the little voice from the backseat. I told her it was good that she was thinking so much and to never stop asking questions because that is how we learn. Besides, I was getting a kick out of all the random connections (were there any?) in her thoughts.

We got a great group site at Smith Trout Haven in Lava Hot Springs. We drove down on Monday, set up camp, jumped in suits, and headed off to float the river.

The girls had so much fun and we were totally spoiled with a shuttle so got several trips down out of our 2 hour rentals. One of our girls was terrified of water and determined not to enter. She sat at the bottom and by the time she saw everyone walk out after their first run she asked if she could join. And she did!

Our first trip down the river our 4 person tube went right over the top of a man floating facedown in the water. I caught him out of the corner of my eye right as he disappeared from view. Scared me to death! I was high alert and ready to jump in. As our tube cleared him I saw him come up with snorkel gear on. Good grief. He was dredging the bottom of the river after all the valuables people lose! Something Chad and I said should be done years ago... after we lost 2 wedding rings on one trip with extended family. People got smart!

We came back that night to jump in to warm clothes and found Doug with homemade dutch oven fries. Such a yummy end to a great first day!

Here is our beautiful camp. That green tent in the back is one I found online that holds 21 people! It was perfect for all 16 of our girls so there were no little cliques in the tent accommodations.

Tuesday morning we packed up lunch and headed to spend the day at the pool. All day. There was swimming, and sliding, and rock climbing, and dare devils jumping off platforms, hot tubbing, and chicken fights... and lots of candy. At one point Emma jumped on my shoulders and we chicken fought another leader/girl combo. But they cheated and kept walking backwards until the water was deeper than my face. Clearly I need some more height. Or I just need to demand a rematch... in the shallow end. 

That night while girls were busy smothering their burns with aloe (not my fault, we gave lots of reminders, had a shade tent set up, and provided so so many cans of sunscreen to choose from), we snuck my rechargeable projector into their tent and cooked up some kettle corn on the camp chef to surprise the girls. They were delighted and settled in to watch Tangled.

Wednesday was hike day. A day dreaded by some. By most. LOL We drove out to Green Canyon to visit an old haunt of mind: Goodenough Campground Trail. We hiked 6.5 miles out and back with a 2125 elevation change. It was so hard for those girls. But they did it! There was a debate among the leaders about whether to stay near camp and do a 2 miler that the area had to offer. I was inclined to push for a harder hike. We had played for 2 straight days! And while that is so fun, I think these youth are capable of so much more than they know, and it is good for them to try new things, accomplish hard things, push themselves, and realize their potential. There was a little bit of complaining. But really not much. I was proud of each of them. Several of the girls at the end commented on how they didn't think they could do it and they beamed when they were done.

And look what we found waiting for us at the top! Snow in July! Who else can say they had a snowball fight at girl's camp? We were so spoiled.

My dad came as tour guide. Or maybe emotional support. Or possibly as water boy. He did rescue several of the girls with his extra water after all. It was fun to hike with him again and I'm so glad he came! When the girls approached the end there was a message at the trailhead that one of the leaders had left for them when she had to head out early "I 💙 the YW". Those who ended first waited at the trailhead and cheered as each straggler crossed the finish line. I was in the back with the last ones and they perked up when they heard the cheering with several "We did it!" exclamations. The camaraderie in camp that night was so great. And as a result, One of the counselors treated everyone to a soak in the world famous Lava Hot Springs.

Thursday the boys rushed in to take over camp. We broke down part of camp but left the tents for them and we all headed up to tour Chesterfield together. Some of the kids got to play the old organ in the chapel and the old sacrament cups were so cool. I had to get a picture in one of the homes of what looked like a torture device but was actually an old hair perming machine. 

I think this was probably my last girls camp as an assistant director. It may be a while before I get to go again. I love these girls! So glad I got to play and learn alongside them this week.

 

Whoopsie at Rigby and a Blast at Palisades!

We had an eventful week! After pulling in and recovering for a few short hours from our vacation, we hit the ground running catching up on laundry and mowing and all the things on Monday. Everyone enjoyed our trip but it sure feels good to be home again!

Tuesday we excitedly anticipated the arrival of Shawn's family. After hearing they wouldn't be coming in until the evening, we decided to head to Rigby Lake with the paddle boards. What an adventure that turned out to be! We brought Atlas and upon arriving at the lake discovered he could only be on certain areas of the beach we went searching. That is until he threw up. The dang dog gets car sick and guess who didn't think to medicate him as it was "only a 15 min drive". That would be me. Oops. So we quickly looked for a place to pull over and clean up. Chad let us out and then discovered someone waiting behind him. In his haste to get out of their way, he pulled the Subaru right over top of a huge rock. I heard the sound and turned around in time to see him back up off the rock and pull the front bumper off the car! It was so sad! After that, the car wouldn't start. What dark magic was this?! 

The people behind us helped to push the car off the path and then continued on their way after which we commenced trouble shooting. And trouble shooting some more. Bumper was reattached eventually with just a few minor scuffs but the car still wouldn't start! Such a weird fail safe. After more trouble shooting we decided to pray as a family and then let the kids out of the car to play in the lake. After all, it was what we had come to do! 

Finally, Chad looked under the hood and found the problem. Somehow we had pulled an exhaust line off the engine. Not sure what it is really called but it basically allows air to circulate and cool the engine. We didn't have a screwdriver to loosen the clamp so Chad used a dime, loosened, reattached the line, and tightened using same dime. And voila! The car ran. So we stayed and played awhile in the lake before heading back to meet Shawn's family. Such a crazy experience... but nothing a little prayer and a dime couldn't fix!

That evening Shawn's family joined us. We had planned to do a small backpacking trip to Upper Palisades Lake for the littles but they weren't able to make it happen. So I was so excited when they asked if we could do it in a day with the older kids!

To upper Lake the hike is 14-16 miles round trip. Not too difficult elevation wise but what makes it difficult is the length. We got up at 530 am and headed up with Andie and Jaedyn in tow. The trail was so cool, shaded, green, and beautiful! 

The lake was absolutely gorgeous! The water is so high this year with all the uncharacteristic rainfall. We have been so blessed. There is usually an island that was completely under water! You can see the trees rising out of the water where the island would be right above Andie's head. 

We met a girls camp group doing the hike with their older girls! What a feat to take on! I think it is so good for us to challenge ourselves, push, learn, achieve. Doing something hard teaches us something about ourselves that we just can't learn in any other way. And I think it is especially important for the youth to learn that they CAN do hard things!

These girls sure did! And they had such great attitudes the whole time! They talked and laughed... even when they were tired towards the end. And serenaded us with 99 bottles of beer on the wall towards the end and timed it perfectly to finish just as we arrived at the parking lot. It does my heart some good to see cousins building relationships and enjoying each others company. Maybe because I never had that chance? Or maybe because I just love my family dearly.

Thanks for the memories Boyds! 💕

 

Lake Vallecito, CO 2023 Boyd Reunion

I am writing this blog update as I drive home from Colorado, feeling very nostalgic and missing my awesome family.

Shawn and Kellie were in charge this year and strayed from tradition. Instead of the usual camping destination we headed to cabins! Bear Paw Lodge was the name of the destination and because our group was 36 strong, we got the whole place to ourselves!

It was amazing! The cabins circled a common area that was decked out with volleyball, spikeball, ladder golf, corn hole, sandboxes, a swingset, firepit, life-size connect four and dozens of chairs for spectators. It ALL was used. Including the library of VHS movies they allowed us free access to. Each family got their own cabin but we cooked and ate in the common area. Jaedyn was bummed about sleeping in cabins this year and asked if she could bring a tent and sleep in it anyway. I was thrilled that she still wanted the camping experience and agreed to spoil her 😉

The car trip was long and included selfies and surprise pix like the one just below. Helen is our adopted plus one and it just isn't the same without her so we are so glad she makes our family get togethers a priority. 

And it is never a trip in the wilderness without a hammock slung between 2 sturdy pines. The mosquito net is a definite bonus!

It was so fun to get all the cousins together again! And everyone was here this year- minus 2 missionaries (we missed you Andrew (in Jacksonville, FL) and Jeremy (in DC)!)

Shawn had the trip planned so well! He put Andie in charge of planning games and Hailey and Madelyn in charge of crafts. And boy did they plan! I'll probably forget some but for games there was life size angry birds, obstacle courses, life size hungry hippo on a slip and slide, and separate treasure hunts for the bigger kids and smaller kids. For crafts they had rock painting, bird feeders, and we brought up some patriotic hair tinsel just to keep things colorful. 

We loaded the car with Jaedyn and McKinley and drove part way down on Monday afternoon stopping in Brigham City to pick up Helen. Because we didn't have tents and sleeping bags we were able to fit the guitar and ukelele which led to many musical evenings. We stayed that first night at the Legacy Inn in Price where we met up with Mom and Dad who drove with Brendan, Lilia, and Ebony.

Pulling in to camp and having almost everyone hanging out when we arrived was like coming home. It was so good to see everyone! And Shawn greeted us with burgers. Oh man, we ate so well all week! Dinners included hamburgers and melon, fagioli soup with salad and rolls, tacos in a bag, pulled pork with mac n cheese and salad, fish and chicken with homemade onion rings and fries. For breakfast we had strawberry, blueberry, and chocolate chip pancakes with fruit and parfaits and breakfast burritos on various mornings. Lunches consisted of portable food in order to allow us flexibility.

Somedays we were at camp doing activities like the above pictured hungry hippo. 

Other afternoons we hiked and spent time in the river. This particular trail was in the Weminuche wilderness which is part of the San Juan National Forest- I think it was called the Vallecito Creek Trail. We hiked about 4 miles in and 4 miles out. Those kids are so tough! And it was such a beautiful hike along a raging river with a few bridge outlooks. The areas where the trees parted revealed such crystal green/blue water. Absolutely gorgeous. And everyone was thrilled to dip their feet in the river where we stopped to picnic before heading back.

I had a couple of great helpers with dinner. We decided the cheese in the fagioli soup would be easier to clean out of pots than out of dutch ovens and chose to cook our food in those instead. BTW we were right!

One night we wandered down to the lake to scope out potential spots for our lake day. We didn't find the golden spot this trip but it was a pretty one anyway. Just a little small for our group.

I'm labeling the pic above "serenity".

This was one of the most popular activities in all of camp: loving on our new little arrival, Baby Sutton.

Lake day was fabuloso. We hauled a shade tent, snacks, and lots and lots of sunscreen! The maiden voyage of our new paddle boards (courtesy of an Al's flash sale) was a popular success. We played and splashed, some were brave enough to get all the way wet. Others of us were smart enough to recognize the misery that would follow such escapades. We paddled, played frisbee, and just enjoyed good company. That is until our fun ended abruptly. Playing frisbee in the shallow waters I felt something soft under foot. Thinking it was someone's lost water shoe I played with it with my toes until I could get a firm grip with my hand. Pulling it triumphantly from the waters I shrieked when I realized the shoe was in actuality... a dead fish. Ugh. Of course I immediately dropped it. I was not exactly in control of my senses at that moment in time. And of course my dear brothers teased me mercilessly about it. I moved down lake a little and continued to brave the contaminated waters playing, until an errant frisbee led me back to the same spot and I stepped on the dang thing again! Ew. I was out after that.

Me and my bros. Love em. Miss em like crazy. Someday I hope my girls will recognize the value that family is. I hope they will hold tight to the memories good and bad, that knit a family so closely together.

The original crew 😀

Look at the size of this group! 😍

And now, I am carsick and must end this entry. All good things must come to an end. But this is not the whole story- just the ending of a really good chapter! Love you family!!