Holidays are Coming

We kicked off the Christmas season with our church dinner which had a Dickens theme. 

Daddy-o dressed up and sang with the carolers. 

He can rock a top hat for sure!

Decorating at home has been a slow process. We came home from Thanksgiving a little under the weather (Daddy-o was still feeling pretty badly, Peanut and I were on the mend) and so we didn't get much done the first few days. And then, Peanut and I got hit with a SECOND cold before I was 100%, so it's been a sluggish couple of weeks getting things done. But we finally have the tree done and our village set up. It makes it feel a little more Christmasy. Now to finish shopping!

Other winter going-ons: The winter birds are back in Springtown. I went for a cold walk one afternoon--it's been colder than normal which makes it hard to find a good time of day to get outside, especially since I've had a cough. 

But I'm glad I made it out because along with some of the usual suspects (like egrets and mallards), I found a few other birds, including a goose I've never seen before (the Greater White-fronted Goose).

And there were a couple of these American Wigeons there, too, which I haven't seen in that location. I love how there are different birds from week to week, year to year.

And this week was my science escape room for my Chemistry classes. The kids LOVE these challenges and always surprise me with what things they figure out so quickly, and what things seem to stump them. They showed some recollection of the things we've learned this semester which always makes me happy--I like to know that at least some of them are picking up on some it!

And now, I've got one more hike and then I'm on winter break for 4 weeks! Good thing because I'm feeling a little behind after being under the weather for so long.

Girls Camp 2025

Many months of planning all led to this week with this amazing group of young women.

Camp Ritchie is such a beautiful spot in the Sierras. As hard as it is to get ready, and as exhausting as it is to work through the week, it is always incredible to be back up there.

And I do feel lucky that I get to spend my week hiking each day. We drove up on Tuesday and once everyone got settled, I headed out with a couple of other ladies to scout out the main part of the trail. We had a pleasant walk and found a huge mushroom, along with many types of wildflowers.

That evening we had a full moon (and our phones could not handle the lighting--the gravel road lit up like a green lawn in a magical forest, haha. It was pretty, but not this pretty.

Wednesday we got to head out for another hike: Shealor Lakes with the third years.

The girls did fabulous with the hike--they're a pretty chill group without anyone trying to race to the finish, and most did well with keeping up.

Only a few of them were interested in cooking any of their lunch this year, but those girls figured out how to set up and start the stoves and made their ramen and hot chocolate.

They got to jump off the rock there this year and it was so fun to watch a lot of them go from nervous to taking the leap. Most of the girls who swam ended up jumping before we left.

Hardest part of this hike is that it's quite a hike up the mountain to get out from the lake.

These mountains are gorgeous.

Back at camp, we ate amazing food, enjoyed spiritual moments with the girls, laughs with the other leaders, and a few of us even snuck off for a quick climb up the hill. It was so beautiful that evening that I got up early to show another one of the leaders who missed our evening hike.

The view of camp from up above is fun. You can just see all the green roofs from the cabins.

We found some cool moths that morning, too. I got called out by several different leaders to look at different things they found during the week. Even if it's mostly that I just have the app to identify things, it's fun to be the nature person.

And then, the Thursday hike with the second years means we get to kayak and canoe down to the dam and then hike back into camp. This year, the water was much higher than it has been and we were able to paddle in so far that the hike was much simpler. No bushwacking, and a couple of hours shorter hike than last year.

Our two lifeguards who paddled along with us decided that instead of waiting until the fishing boat could come and get all of the boats, they would try to string them together behind their kayaks. It was impressive when they were actually able to move the dozen boats out of the cove. And then we watched them get stuck just outside entrance to the cove, where the wind was pushing them back. Luckily, the motorboat was able to come quickly and saved them from doing the whole paddle back.

After we ate lunch on the shore, and filtered water, we scrambled up the dam and the girls led us back to camp.

We stopped by the big sugar cone pine tree,

and then finished the hike into camp.

And then there was just one more day of hiking, with the first years.

Even though the hike itself is the shortest and simplest, I love this one because we take some time to do nature journaling and the girls really seem to like it.

Getting to spend 15 minutes of silence in the woods, just paying attention to the details.

The girls checked out the big tree,

and then we finished the hike to the lake.

They had a couple of hours to eat and swim. It was such a great, chill day, which was what they needed. By the end of the week, the 11 & 12 year olds are often starting to struggle a little. Not enough sleep and constant activity.

It was such a great week and I'm always so impressed by these girls and their strong spirits and ability to do hard things and make the most of it.

And I came home, so tired and yet, rejuvenated.

Girls' Camp 2024

We've had so much going on this summer that I was honestly feeling overwhelmed at the thought of spending a week at Girls' Camp this year (not to mention all the meetings and planning that went into it--I was already leading the hikes and doing some planning for that when they asked me if I could function as an additional assistant camp director these past couple of months. It's been a lot.) But once I got up there, I was able to let go of the To Do lists for everything at home and mostly enjoy being in nature with all of these amazing girls and women.

Our group ready to head up! The 6th years and some of the leaders had gone up the day before to go white water rafting and then set up camp for everyone, and the rest of us took off Thursday morning.

Beautiful Camp Ritchie!

A map to remember it all.

This year was fun because Bean got to join me as one of the hiking leaders--she was the lifeguard on the 4th year overnight hike and the 1st year hike. I was her cabin leader in her 3rd year and thought that was the last time I'd get to be at camp with her, so this was a fun bonus year!

We had all the normal activities: morning swim, where we walk the girls down the somewhat trecherous fire trail and they get to do a little early morning swim.

Bean guraded the first morning, and then I went down for on Friday to help watch the swimmers from a kayak so she could swim.

My fellow camp directors--I feel a little bad that I didn't help out as much, but being out of camp on hikes for the majority of the day meant I wasn't around for a lot of the stuff they had to deal with--and there was a lot of crazy this year: a rattlesnake on the first day, a small Covid outbreak, lice, kids feeling homesick (and overprotective parents worried that their kids might feel homesick), plus all the normal crazy of making sure everything ran smoothly for 120 girls and the 45 leaders.

We had a leaders' meeting every evening after dinner so we could connect with everyone and share any important announcements. This was Bean's first year of being on the other side of things and she said she has a much better appreciation for how much work the leaders put in behind the scenes to make the experience so positive for the girls each year.

We had campfire each night, with different activities like the Ritchie Race, skits,

and a dance party.

We did game nights in the lodge for the older girls after the evening devotionals. The 6th years are the ones who plan camp and run the campfires and morning devotionals and help with the rotations. But this year, we had a small group of 7th years--some who had just graduated and some who have fall birthdays and still have one year left of high school, but had started camp at 11, so they'd done their official 6 years. It was a bit of an experiment figuring out how they could participate in camp without stepping on the 6th year's toes who were looking forward to being the group in charge, but one of the things we wanted to do was help them start to connect with the women so they will feel more comfortable as they transition from the youth program to being one of the adults at church. The adults who weren't overseeing other age groups were invited to come and we had so much fun playing games with these girls--it was a highlight of camp for me!

Our 6th year youth camp leaders! (And a peek at the lodge where we ate our meals.)

Getting to work with these 3 women was another highlight. They are all amazing and worked so hard to make this year special. Last year we still had some issues among the leaders relating to the recent combination of the Pleasanton and Livermore stakes--people had a hard time letting go of their traditions and past experiences to create something new and beautiful, but this year, it feels like all of the struggles and work is starting to pay off and there was a lot more unity among the leaders.

And we got a picture of the three of us who had daughters up here at camp with us.

Another different thing we had going on this year--we were the last group of the season, which meant we had a few extra chores to help the camp close down, like bringing up all the kayaks and canoes from the waterfront and storing them in the lodge for the winter.

This ended up being such a fantastic week with so many great people!

So Long, London

Our last day in London--we were so excited to go to church in a different country, and the church itself was interesting--it has a small visitor's center attached, probably because it's in a touristy area near Hyde Park, and the ward was HUGE--and then, we quickly realized that almost everyone there was a visitor, mostly from the US.

Including this guy, Michael Drake, one of Daddy-o's fellow missionaries from Chile. He was leading a group of BYU accounting students on a study abroad term.

The one thing with the church being a huge tourist site is that they have a coatroom with space for luggage, and keep the building open until evening, so we were able to leave our luggage there for the afternoon. That had been a huge thing, trying to find a luggage storage location that was on the way to church, and then finally giving up because between the cost and challenge of getting to the luggage place and then to the church building, it didn't seem easy at all. But we felt weird walking into church dragging suitcases, and were relieved when we realized it wasn't unheard of and we wouldn't have to relocate them after sacrament meeting. (And another funny thing about this church--they basically told us that they didn't want us to stay for the second hour, haha. I don't blame them--it's hard to staff all of the Sunday School classes that would be necessary for so many visitors and probably very disruptive to have new people there every single week, but I've never heard them announce that they strongly suggest you check out one of the local museums instead.

We went for a walk through part of Hyde Park, where we found more statues,

and the Royal Albert Hall.

We made our way to Kensington Palace, and then decided it was time to get lunch.

We had some tired and hungry people at this point.

So after a quick peak from the other side, we fed the beast.

Then, time for another tube ride so we could make it down to Westminster Palace for Evensong.

I had read about these concerts/services, which were recommended for people who want to visit Westminster, but don't necessarily want to pay for a normal tour, and because a worship service is the only way to visit on Sundays, this worked out perfectly.

It was beautiful inside, and the choir was amazing. And the sermon was beautiful. I'm glad we got to experience this and see the church in a different way than all the others we've been in.

And we still got to see the Coronation Chair where all of the kings and queens since 1308 have been crowned, and Charles Darwin's tomb.

After a last look at Big Ben, it was time to catch the train out of London. We had booked a night in an old manor house about an hour out of the city which put us a little closer to our final day's experience. The train ride to Apsley was fine, but then, we found ourselves in a tiny station where they couldn't seem to find us any sort of taxi or car service to drive the 3/4 mile to the manor house.

And so, we get another photo of us traipsing through fields with our luggage.  People were NOT happy with this--even though it wasn't really far, it was warm, we had to climb a hill through a forest and then make our way across a golf course when we were hungry and tired and had thought we'd be in a vehicle of some sort. I had already been questioning WHY I thought it was a good idea to move locations so many times our last few days (I won't make that mistake again--even if it means more transportation between our activities each day, one place is better than 3!) 

But the rooms were lovely (and we actually had two rooms, which was nice. Everyone had a bed, no couch beds, and plenty of space to spread out a little. 

And the manor was lovely.

We went for a short walk around the grounds after dinner before it got dark, but once again, it was late and we were tired. And we had a big day ahead of us as our last hurrah.