Sunday, September 12, 2010

Harris Park Ward Campout

Camp Lo Mia.
September 10-11, 2010

We came.
We ate.
We performed.
We laughed and laughed.
We ate.
We camp-fired.
We night hiked.
We roasted marshmellows.
We movie-ed.
We played cards.
We stayed up too late.
We camped.
We slept (sort of).
We woke & cooked.
We saluted the flag.
I cried.
We ate.
We played.
And played...
And played...
We ate some more.

It was all good!
A little over a year ago, I was called to serve as the Ward Activities Director in the ward. It's been a really great calling so far. When people ask me what I do, I usually reply that I'm in charge of the fun. Sometimes it seems like a lot of work (like during the week leading up to an activity), but it's also really rewarding. On the drive home, I was thinking how great it was that our ward had this experience. I know it's one that our family will always remember. My mom and dear friend, Nettie, above, were such an amazing help on this huge activity. I would have been dying without them. My mom was my sounding board for the planning, my co-shopper, my #1 kitchen help, my right hand woman. Thanks a million, mom! Nettie & Steve Horvath were such great helps too. They are always right there in the thick of service, helping to the end. I so love that about them.

And I owe a huge thanks to so many other people for their help too. To our great cooks: Spence, for hauling up his awesome cook trailer and heading up our fabulous outdoor cooking. Craig & Luann Pulver, for spearheading our dutch oven cobblers Friday night (man, were they good!) and setting up our Cat Eye Trail Friday night. Deron Horne, Barry Shelley, Doug Steiner & Steve Horvath deserve a huge thanks too for helping with our breakfast feast. Thanks to Connie & Annie too, for all their extra hands in the kitchen. And one final big shout out to J.R. & the Berrey crew for setting up our late night movie theatre Friday night, helping with the final cleanup and driving us all around camp on the ranger. We really appreciate you!

I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I was running the show and in the middle of it all for much of the time. I didn't get a single picture Friday night. Dang it! Our variety show was a hoot. I purposely didn't call it a "Talent Show" because we wanted everyone to participate in some way, whether or not they felt like they were sharing a talent or not. We had acts of all kinds. Skits, karate displays, joke telling, songs, dances, piano solos, fiddling, a puppet show, stand up comedy, etc. It was really great. I was the MC and also proudly played the role of "Walking Duck" in the Brown Family skit called called "Little Stones." We were an Indian tribe, each being chastised by Big Brave (aka Ryan) for being late to our first day of Brave School. It was silly but everyone laughed, so I guess that's the point. Maybe someday we'll reenact our little number for the big screen. I better not throw away our homemade construction paper feather headbands, just in case.


Deron, Spence, Barry & Steve, cooking up some mighty fine sausage & bacon. Our morning feast also featured pancakes with homemade buttermilk syrup, strawberries & whipped cream, and eggs with green chili and cheese. So dang good. We ate and ate and ate.



I also didn't take any pictures of our morning flag ceremony, but we did a little patriotic tribute in remembrance of the 2,997 people who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Since I happen to have a solid connection with our devilishly handsome ward scoutmaster (yes, I mean Ryan), I asked him to get a couple of his scouts to present colors and lead us in the pledge. It was all very official, and of course, I teared up as the boys in uniform marched the flag up and posted colors. We were all bundled up in the chilly Saturday morning of September 11th, 2010, nine years after the tragic attacks, watching our fine scouts proudly carry our country's flag. We had a word of prayer from our good Bishop, sang God Bless America, and then I read a short summary of the four plane crashes and the casualties that resulted. I was all choked up as I read (no surprise) and recounted my memory of 9/11/01. I'm sure we all remember where we were that day when we heard the news. I know I do. As I shared those feelings and memories, I was again reminded to be grateful for the life I have and the freedoms I enjoy.

After breakfast, we played games. We had a three-legged donut relay. Above is Brooklyn Hughlett being carried by Hunter Nielsen. I'd say the carrying method is probably against all three-legged relay rules, but we let it slide. It was really funny watching the ward members run and then scarf down their donuts with no hands.

Lily Berrey & Cassie Thompson eating their donuts.

Bishop Uncle Jim & Rowan were partners on the Blue Team

Rowan was laughing so hard she could hardly eat her donut.

Chandler Hughlett & Marisa Nielsen teamed up in the race.

Amanda Horvath & Reagan Rowley

Liam Stuart & Garrett Rowley (the little guys), and Riley Colvin & Dallin Horne

We had a basketball relay too. Here's Roxane Udall, Barrett's piano teacher, taking her shot. It was fun to see so many adults joining in the fun too.

Here's Afton & Samantha Hopkinson dribbling down the court

Then we played a good ole 7-inning game of kickball and had too much. I think those of us adults who played might have had even more fun than the kids. Bishop Uncle Jim and Deron were on my team, but we lost by a handful. Ryan was on the winning team, along with Dallin Horne & a few other heavy hitters (I mean kickers).

After all the games, people hiked and played cards or just sat around and just enjoyed the morning. Then Spence cooked up some tasty hot dogs and we feasted one final time on dogs, veggies, and chips before cleaning up camp and heading home around 1:30.

It was such a great weekend. I was dead tired and my feet were screaming by the time we headed home, but it was all worth it.

1 comment:

  1. you are a ward activity director EXTRAORDINARE Kelli...and you can be "incharge of the fun" anytime and everytime!!! THANKS, IT WAS GREAT!!

    I grabbed a couple of your pictures for my post, thanks again!!

    ReplyDelete