Reunions of Families - Part 1

In July there was a Copple family reunion (Spencer's dad's mom's side of the family) in Idaho and we are ALL about family reunions! I even got to fly out a week early so I could see more friends and family (to make up for lost time from when we had to move to Illinois weeks ahead of schedule) and then Spencer joined me just before the reunion started. So I got lots of playtime with all my nieces and nephew in Utah/Idaho, lots of laughing in with friends, special one-on-one time with grandparents, and then we family reunion-ed it up! I took tons of pictures (too many cute babies!) so here are just the pictures from before/after the reunion. Which will basically be a bunch of adorable pictures of my nieces and nephew. So sue me.

Penny

Day at 7 Peaks

Time to get our modeling on.

Emma

Hugs?

Sewing lessons.

Addie, Kiera, and Cole

Teehee

They LOVE to wrestle.

We got a little silly...

This is their new album cover

Happy birthday beautiful girl!

I'm getting too old for this.

So shortly after moving I was asked to serve in our church by helping with the youth, specifically the young women. With that came the assignment to go to Girls Camp...less than two weeks later. Of course I said yes. I didn't know anyone, I didn't have any idea what I was supposed to be doing, but I have always loved Girls Camp and I knew it would be a blast.

Oh boy, was I right.

There is something very special about Girls Camp. You stick a bunch of girls ages 12-18, most of whom barely know each other, in a few cabins or tents for a week and by the end everyone is best friends and has had the time of their lives. It's amazing.

You know what else is amazing? I tend to acclimate to whatever group I happen to be surrounded by, so for a week I reverted back to being a teenage girl. Well, sort of. I was super awkward and attention-seeking as a teenager, so at least I...oh wait. Nope, that still happened. But really it was more like reverting to my 21 year old self : a total spaz with boundless amounts of energy (regardless of the ridiculous lack of sleep) but with at least a small amount of control and self-discipline. You people from the Villa know what I'm talking about.

But I like to think that the girls liked me. And by the end of the week I had a bunch of 14-16 year old best friends.

Girls get to go to camp for six years, four as regular campers and two as youth leaders. I was put in charge (with another leader) over the 3rd year girls, with two youth leaders to help us, and they were all AWESOME.

Camp was complete with tons of crafts, water games, skits, camp cheers, learning survival skills, dutch oven cooking, early morning, late nights, and lots of laughter. And I loved having the opportunity to discuss with and teach the girls about their Savior, their incredible divine nature as daughters of God, and their ability to do good and make a difference in the world. It was a GREAT week.

Helping each other

Warhead challenge. I HATE WARHEADS.

The camp store. Girls could earn tickets to buy things.
I may have given out tickets like candy...

Learning how to use a compass

Teamwork!

Getting pushed into the pool. Not that I minded.

When I got home Friday afternoon, I decided to take a nap. That nap pretty much lasted until the next morning. Turns out, I'm just too old to act on that kind of energy for very long. But it sure was fun and was totally worth it!

A few weeks later I also got to go as a chaperone to Youth Conference. We teamed up with a stake from St. Louis and had it down there. Games, service projects, inspirational speakers, dances, museums...it was such a blast. And I even got roped into teaching a class on dating for a friend who couldn't make it.

The City Museum in St. Louis. Completely interactive and
made with 100% recycled materials. SO COOL.

Learning to swing.

Dancing "under the stars"

Again, I could barely move by the end of it all, but it was worth it because the youth are just so fun!