Another Year Down - still kickin'

So in the Tag I just answered on Saturday I didn't put my age down and then yesterday I realized how dumb that was because of course most of you know my age, and some of you ARE my age!!! Silly Silly Silly. So now I'll state it plainly: I turned 51 years old last week. Still can't believe it. But hey, you've heard the new addage: "40's are the new 20's, 50's are the new 30's, 60's are the new 40's, etc." It seems to be true, yessir.

I really enjoyed my birthday last Wednesday - it was much quieter than some in the past but suited me just fine. And I felt loved and remembered, which is the important thing, right? Well that and the fact that I celebrated another year of life (the alternative isn't so attractive, eh?). The last couple of years I've felt especially grateful for this, and in my morning prayer I tried to make it a prayer strictly of gratitude, offering thanks for everything good in my life that I could think of. I did end up with a few requests at the end, but hey I'm not perfect ... yet. :-)

I decided to go into work a little later than usual (worked late on Tuesday so I had the comp time) and I made myself a birthday breakfast (rare, because you know how much I don't cook):

Buttered whole wheat toast, an omelet with onions and tomatoes, and grape juice. I forgot to add some basil from my plant - oops! I was going to try a little lemon verbena from my other herb plant too but forgot. Hahaha, the age thing was REALLY kicking in.

The work day was pleasant and not too stressful (yay!) and then I had the opportunity to go out to dinner with my 3 sissies, Nancy, Sue and Ruth (I consider Ruth my third sister). We went to a place we'd never been to before: a little Mexican restaurant in Lehi (just near the Saratoga Springs/ Harvest Hills crossroad) called "Cafe El Lago LLC." I picked it (birthday girl had to pick) and I based it on some rave reviews we read online. Okay, I have to admit the raves about their chips & salsa were dead-on ... they were REALLY REALLY good (hot, homemade and tasty) but everyone's main dishes were "good but nothing to rave about." I think Sue, Nancy and Ruth all had the taco salad and I had Nachos (of course!). But it wasn't bad food -- it was just good food -- but not "rave about" food. Does that make sense? Our waitress was darling (extremely helpful) and the atmosphere was pleasant and I so enjoyed spending the time with my 3 sissies. Here's our mug shots:

Nancy ...
Sue Bee ...
Ruth ...
(Ruth hates to have her picture taken but she succumbed since it was my birthday)

and Me!

And how did I end the day? Hahahaha - sorting beads so I could get back to making some bracelets!
I had a divider tray of different kinds of beads open up in my storage bag recently and they had a jolly good time combining themselves into one big mess. I'm too anal to allow that to remain, so I began laboriously dividing them back into their individual piles. Ack.

Along with a terrific dinner with my family, all during the day and evening I heard from my mom and my dear friends (via e-cards, phone calls, e-mails) and several people in the ward, and my poor brother tried to leave a message but our message box on our phone was full. Sorry Scott! I'm so fortunate to have such good people in my life. I didn't expect my other brother, Dave to remember and that's okay. :-) I often forget his birthday too, I'm mortified to say. But I know that we love each other anyways. My birthday has continued on for a few days, as Ruth and our good friend Wendy-Lady went to breakfast on Saturday morning (here she is - such a great person):

... and my friend and co-worker Margaret made a FABULOUS orange cheesecake with chocolate swirls and brought it in for everyone to share, today:

Talk about GOOD -- oh my. Margaret's cheesecakes are legend here and I swear she could rival the Cheesecake Factory, if she wanted to. Thank you Margaret!

I was blessed with some gifts too, though I'm so embarrassed because I told my sissies and some friends "no gifts please" and then I completely forgot to tell others! (Ack, it's that short-term memory thing going on again). I'm delighted with them though:

A lovely necklace from Debbie ... the pendant is hand ... hmmm, what do you call it when the design is carved into metal? This on-line designer has wonderful designs, you should check her site out (http://lisaleonardonline.com/).

The bird has special meaning ... it's to remind me that I should always think of the tag line I have on my blog ("life is a song worth singing"). And it IS, isn't it? Thank you Deb!

And Wendy gave me a beautiful opal pendant that matches some earrings we (she, Ruth and I) bought at a recent gem faire we went to in Salt Lake:

I'm afraid you'll have to look closely ... I should've had Wendy zoom the camera closer so you could see the pendant better. It's a lovely opal blue. Thank you Wendy! Hey ... I actually like this picture of myself - haha! I'm missing my glasses because I was trying to read the menu and I can't read with my glasses on. HAH! Can hardly read with them off, either.

Along with the good experience of my birthday, I've been doing some reflecting. I had a rather disconcerting experience in church yesterday -- my first "age-related terror moment" I think. I was in Sacrament Meeting and smiling over Karla's little girl who was offering a flirty smile to Adam's little boy (they were in the pews in front of me) and the thought crossed my mind, "Those kids are going to be so cute when they get into Young Men/Young Women, and maybe they'll even date each other." And THEN my terror moment ... my mind moved on: "Oh wow. I will be almost 65 years old when they DO get into YM/YW!!!!!!!" It absolutely horrified me ... not because I think that 65 is terrible but because I DO NOT want my life to end!!!!! I want to keep living and living and living. But, nor do I want to experience the possible illnesses many people face in their older years, either. And that's where my mind went next ... the potential for really difficult illnesses. My mind said, "I can't get old because I am ALL ALONE!!!" (translation: I am without a man). That makes no sense whatsoever because I know the Lord takes care of all of us, but it's what came unbidden to my mind. I have to wonder, do other single women my age have this same worry? Do the single men?

Well I didn't expect to have such a strong, freaky feeling overtake me but I pushed it back and resumed listening to the talk being given. It haunts me a little, but there's no stopping the clock, is there? It means I need to remember to NOT take one day for granted. Each day lived is a gift.

And on that note, let's end with something lighter and perhaps a bit of silliness, shall we? I found my very favorite poem from when I was a teenager -- it completely reflects my feelings about this amazing earth-ride (and it's what I wrote on the vellum page across from my high school graduation picture):

I am a child of God
I am in love
with life;
I live for today ...
I am today;
I love beautiful things.
I touch the dawn, and reach for the dusk.
I see sunbeams
I touch warmth
I hear music
I smell freshness
I taste happiness
I love my friends;
they make my life sing.
Life itself -- it's beautiful
Live!
I am alive -- and I love it.
(anonymous)

And one I've always loved, that also reflects some of my experiences (or maybe the tantrums I've thrown):

Old Tree,
How many storms you
Have withstood
While I,
Frail creature,
Find myself dismayed
By one.

And then let's show you what MY 50's look like:

Okay, I'm being silly ...

But Pretty Darn Good for an OLD LADY, eh?

I could go on and on but you'd go crazy, yes? (And this is getting a little narcissitic).

One tag down ... a couple to go

Okay - this is going to be strange but I'm willing to give it a try. Hey Debbie, remember all those "about me" surveys you forwarded over the years which I (being the slacker that I am) sometimes filled out but usually didn't? (Thank goodness you had others who did.) I guess tags are the on-line version, eh? Jamie -- I'm trying to conform ... ;-)

So Jamie tagged me (and others) a couple of days ago (I think Debbie has in the past and Margaret too) ... I'm trying to change my non-responsive ways and I thought I'd start with Jamie's (since it's the most recent). I want to try the others, too. And me being me ... you get mine with commentary. HAH! But here's how this one works:

"For each question, look up the answer on Google image search. Then choose your favorite image from the FIRST PAGE OF RESULTS ONLY. I've tagged Four people below ... and I'll be watching for your posts!" (Yeah Jamie, I couldn't figure out the link thing either. All it'll give you in the end is the picture rather than the website it came from)

NAME:
(Who in the world WERE all those people in the image gallery with my name?!! I liked this person the best):
http://arthurshafman.com/artists/judyglen/
FAVORITE FOOD:
(Hands down - not even a contest here. And I WANT that cone! Plus, this image reminds me of my Dad and his brothers, and the 7-scoop cones he said they ate as kids)
http://www.graniteschools.org/jr/eisenhower/ice_cream.html

FIRST JOB:
(I guess technically it was babysitting, but this was my first "grown up" job)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_cleaning

NICKNAME:
Hmmm. I don't really have one. The closest I ever came was what my BFF's dad used to call me in fun ("Nudy Judy") and I am NOT going there!

WHERE I WAS BORN:
(Born in Provo, grew up in Southern California. I'm a beachy-mountain kinda girl)
http://www.utah.com/provo/

(Look at this next picture, Debbie! I couldn't resist!! ... someone else is doing a "rear view mirror series" too, it looks like!!!! Hahahahahaha! (Inside joke my friends & family -- I've been taking pictures of various scenes from and with my rear view mirror for a while now. Someday I'll "publish" my series ... but probably just in a post. :-)

BAD HABIT:
(Unfortunately there are many ... I settled on this one ... though when I'm burning the midnight oil, it's usually because I'm playing and not because I'm working hard)
http://www.goenglish.com/BurningTheMidnightOil.asp

COLLEGE DEGREE:
(sorry - I wasn't 100% sure on how to image this one. I have a Bachelor's in Family and Community History)
http://history.byu.edu/family/index.htm

WHERE I WANT TO GO:
(So bad I can taste it ...)
http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/home/home?name=HomePage

FAVORITE PLACE:
(Hands down - my favorite place in the whole wide world)
http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/zion.htm

FAVORITE COLOR:
(I only recently decided this was my favorite color ... it's taken me years to admit it)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_blue_(color)

FAVORITE ANIMAL:
(Of course. You'll probably have to click on the link to get a really good feel for this pic)
http://diveintomark.org/archives/2007/03/05/cc-dogs

PAST LOVE:
(I don't know if this is a cop out or not ... I was never one to worship movie stars or music idols and I'm not about to list the guys in my life I've liked/loved (hah!) BUT I dearly dearly DEARLY loved dancing [and still do])
http://www.squidoo.com/modernballroomdancing

and YES I admit it -- I DO like disco!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4IlqVdbTKI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwV2ksu0-z0


WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW:
(kinda obvious ...)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

WHERE I LIVE:
(I guess this one doesn't really need a link, eh?)

FAVORITE OBJECT:
(Any and all genres ... well, except for maybe westerns and war stories)
http://bestsellers.about.com/od/readingrecommendations/Reading_Lists_Recommendations.htm

GRANDMA'S NAME:
(I couldn't decide which one, so I included them both. They're both gone, but definitely not forgotten)
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGall2.asp?catID=508

(Sorry Jamie - I sort of copied your hurricane idea):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Nora_(1997)

AGE:
(Hmmm ... how secure am I? Should I put my real age or make you guess ...?)

Sorry - not very secure. HAH!

You know what?! This took me a long time to do (I'm too anal) but it was fun! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else does.

So here you go, tagged people: Debbie, Margaret, Candace and ... gosh, I don't have a 4th person who has a blog going! Too new at this I guess. No No! Carol - when you get your blog going, consider yourself tagged. :-)

A most excellent group of people

Here's our work party slide show - oops, it looks like it posted BEFORE my discussion of our party -- I tried to get it after but didn't work. So view these after you read the post below. And if you need a plug-in to view this and the video below, I think you can download those free and w/out harm.

A Most Excellent Work Party

[I'm trying a couple of new stunts in this post ... a video and a cool slide show that I stole from Margaret (hehe). Well, I didn't completely steal the slide show from Margaret, but I got her to show me how to create one and she also put up a slide show of similar pictures from our work party. She was first, so I'm the copycat. ;-) I hope these stunts turn out!]

A couple of Saturday's ago our little department at work got together for a most excellent Saturday. We gathered at the cabin of Chad and Sara, my most excellent co-workers. :-) Here they are ... my illustrious co-workers:

It's pretty cool when you can be a young couple who owns a home and a family cabin, eh? I thought it was great of them to invite us all up for a day of fun-in-the-sun, and I'm sure hoping that a tradition has begun, because it was an awful lot of fun. Their cabin is in the mountains up Payson Canyon (I think) ... in fact, it's in the same general area as Camp Shalom, where Girl's Camp is held. Here's a picture of the area ... beautiful, isn't it?

And here's a picture of the front of their cabin (tho the picture doesn't do it justice one bit):

Everyone from our department went except for Nate who (I think I remember him saying) doesn't feel comfortable doing parties & the like. Too bad -- he's a great guy with a fun sense of humor; he would've added a lot. A few of our team went up on Friday evening (John and a couple of his sons, and also Margaret and Steve) and from what I hear they had a GREAT night playing poker. Who won the $$, everyone? I don't think I ever figured out the final outcome. One of John's sons pitched a tent outside and the rest found various sleeping spots in the cabin. The rest of us (myself, Karen and Gary, John's wife in one car and later on Dave and his son in their own car) came up Saturday morning. Gary, Karen and I had ourselves a feast at Denny's Restaurant before picking up Patty (John's wife) and we had an enjoyable drive up to the cabin. Patty declined to join us for breakfast ... I think she said she wanted to sleep in more than she wanted to eat - hehe. I sure enjoyed getting to know Patty better -- she's a really nice person and we all yakked up a storm in the car!

As I said, we had a great day. John and his boys went fishing at the nearby lake during the morning, while Chad and Steve played on their ATV and motorcycle. Some of us learned to chop wood (I've always wanted to do that!) though Steve did the lion's share of the chopping. Hah! Check out the video ... it'll give you a little idea of just how good I was (not). We all got a hearty laugh out of it:



After that adventure, Sara took some of us (me, Karen & Gary, Margaret, Patty) on a most excellent hike above the cabins. (Hey Sara, is that "Sara" or "Sarah"?! I'm embarrassed to say I'm not sure!) It was a great hike up the mountain, on a neighbor's private property (we went about 3/4 of a mile, I believe). They put up a little "Nature Walk" sign and allow their neighbors to enjoy the path. Pretty considerate, I think. We had to take it slow because Gary is recovering from recent heart surgery. Can you believe he was out there hiking up an inclined trail at 9,000 feet?! Crazy! He did okay, but there were a few stops along the way where he scared us a little. I think by the end of the day we'd really worn him out. I'm amazed that he participated as much as he did. And I have to admit, I was secretly relieved that we stopped often because as you can obviously seen from my beautiful physique, I'm not yet in perfect shape!!!! HAH!

When we got back from our hike Margaret prepared a most excellent lunch/dinner (hmmm ... what would a late afternoon meal be called?! It's "brunch" for breakfast/lunch but no one's ever given a name to eating mid-afternoon. Hmmm ... how about "linner"? (If you prefer lunch/ dinner) "Lupper"? (If you prefer lunch/supper)). Margaret loves to cook dutch oven and she's DARN GOOD at it. Gary brought his dutch oven cooking paraphernalia (sp?) too and what a great feast we had. We helped some with the cooking (my part was stirring the chicken while it cooked on/in the fire pit) and we all certainly enjoyed eating everything. Margaret made chicken enchiladas (mild in one pot, spicy in the other) and cornbread that puffed up sky high. Hah! The size of it was quite the surprise. It sure was delicious though. Later on we had dessert that Gary made in his dutch oven ... an apple spice cake I think it was, with vanilla ice cream. We all ate sitting around the back patio fire pit, enjoying smoke from the fire (hah) and that fabulous mountain air. One thing I really enjoyed: clouds rolled in and the sky got dark while we were cooking (and eating). We thought for sure we'd get some rain but it never happened. How d'ya like that? Spared! (Though everyone who came up Friday evening got caught in some good rain, I hear.) It then rolled out again and left the afternoon sparkling and sunny again.

After "Lupper" (I LIKE that word!) John and his family took off for home, while the rest of us went down past the lake to a nice open field where we shot skeet. YES! REALLY! It was a most excellent adventure (for me, anyway). We mostly used Steve's rifle, though we also tried our hand with his .38 pistol too. THAT is the first time I have EVER held a gun in my life! I tried the rifle a couple of times, though I wasn't very good at it -- and I also tried the gun just once. I didn't like the gun at all ... it scared me, it made my ears hurt, and I didn't know how to be very careful with it. I liked the rifle much, much better. Sara, Margaret, Steve, Chad, Dave ... they all did pretty good! Karen, Dave's son and I didn't hit the little clay pigeons, but we came close a few times. :-) Or hey Karen, did you hit one? I can't remember for sure ... you might have! Gary didn't shoot at all because it was too dangerous for his recovering heart.

I have to say I was very impressed with Steve and Chad, who were very cautious with both the rifle and the gun, and they went out of their way to make sure we all handled them carefully. They were very responsible and I admired that. All in all it was pretty fun and I'd like to try it again sometime. Actually, I've wanted to learn how to shoot a gun for a while now -- I feel it's important to know how to handle one without fear. If there ever comes a time when we'll have to defend ourselves or our property, I feel it's more dangerous to have never handled a gun than to have used one and not be so afraid of it.

Well we finally had to call it quits in the early evening and everyone went back up to the cabin and pretty much packed it up. Karen, Gary and I left in our car first, followed by Dave and his son ... Margaret and Steve left a little later and I think Sara and Chad came on home too rather than staying at the cabin for another night. On the way home Karen pulled the car over at a Mammoth historical marker site ... did you know that a prehistoric wooly mammoth was discovered at this 9,000 feet spot? Amazing. Here's a link to some info: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM21XW. I didn't even know it existed - that's how unenlightened I am! Pretty cool, though. Dave and his son pulled up right behind us and we all hiked down the short path to a small viewing area and the marker. There was some lively debate about where the site actually was, from our viewing spot. :-)

We arrived home just after 8:00 p.m., pleasantly tired. You know, it's a pretty wonderful and rare thing when you can work with people who you like well enough to play with, too. Our whole department gets along great with each other, and I think we each recognize how lucky we are to have this kind of a working relationship. It reflects in our business too -- because we truly like each other we work well together and try hard to assist each other, instead of one-upping or backbiting or playing corporate games. I think our product and services are of a higher quality because of it.

So ... now it's time for the slide show ... I hope it works and I hope you enjoy it! Let's see if I can describe everyone off really quickly: Sara is blond and wearing a BYU sweatshirt, Chad is in a turquoise blue shirt, Margaret is wearing army pants and a red sweatshirt, Steve has the shorter hair and looks strong, Dave is the very tall guy, John is the comfortable, laid-back guy (and I think he's wearing a dark blue shirt), Patty has dark hair and I think she's sitting next to John in one of the pictures), one of John's sons (can't remember which one!) is holding several bottles in one picture, Dave's son is the youngest one there, Karen is wearing a fun camp hat and Gary is wearing a light blue shirt (I think). He's a little balding too. :-) And of course you know who I am! Oh, and by the way ... there's one little picture of some furry lumpy things ... those are BATS!!!!! The little guys all cram in between the shutter and the window pane in Chad and Sara's bathroom!!! HAH! They absolutely and completely fascinated me. I wish I could've gotten a better picture of them. So ... enjoy!

WHO WOULDA THOUGHT ...?

Oh ... My ... GOSH! Who would've thought teenage girls could be so much FUN?!!!!!! Hah. Did I ever get my eyes opened last Wednesday. It was Relief Society night at Girl's Camp. Whee!

I'm Enrichment Counselor in our Ward Relief Society presidency, which means I got to go. Only Donna (our president) and I were able to go up ... unfortunately our Education counselor (Linda) couldn't join in because she works for the county and they're now on the new 10-hour-day/4-day work week plan (she's not happy about it). Our secretary (Jennifer) couldn't go either because she is very, very pregnant! We missed them both :-( and they missed a good time!

I've only gone to Girl's Camp just once in my life: last year when our stake was scheduled for early June and there was a terrible amount of snow. They were confined to the cabin and a very cold pavilion and though it was fun, I don't think they had the same freedom to do all the stuff they'd planned on. This year it rained on and off but never during the important parts, so it was a whole different experience. The first two years of our Relief Society presidency I didn't get to go (yes it's true: we HAVE been in now for over 3-1/2 years! I suspect that's heading towards a record; sounds like very few presidencies go past 3 years, if even that). Seems like everyone is familiar with Camp Shalom but me ... but I've never had a calling in Young Women's (yet) and when I was a teeny-bopper (oh yeah, that's an "age-me" word!) Girl's Camp was NOTHING like it is now. And I grew up in California so I went to places like Joshua Tree Monument out in the desert - hah! (Remember Camp, Debbie?) I have to say that Camp Shalom is gorgeous.

And, as I said it was tons of fun. It was really neat to see so many moms there too, as advisors. They were having as good a time as the girls I think, tho the girls look kinda bored in this picture, don't they?! :->. Hah! When we first arrived they'd all been painting and designing pet rocks, and were just finishing up. Our ward's theme this year was "We Will Rock You" (as in the Savior is the Rock of our Salvation). After we arrived Jenie gathered us all together in the "meeting cabin". Jenie (Connors) is our ward's Camp Director ... Jenie is one of my heroes ... I want to be just like her (and several other women I deeply admire in our ward) when I grow up. She did a leadership and team-building test on us, based on whether the image of a square, a triangle, a circle or a squiggly line were most prevalent in our minds. Each symbol connected to certain personality strengths -- such as the fact that triangle people like all the rules to be defined and are good at being decisive. Squiggles on the other hand have a difficult time making decisions and often start (and don't finish) a whole bunch of projects. Hah! THAT part is definitely me (yep, I was a Squiggle, and so were a lot of the girls and sisters). All types have strengths and a good team is often made up of combinations of the four types.

That was an interesting exercise and it also served as a way to divide everyone up for the big event later on: the girl's annual toilet paper fashion show! In the meantime we got to watch the girls practice their skit (to be presented to the whole stake later on during evening devotional).

And while dinner was being prepared by the leaders and girls Donna, Valene and I put together the special treat WE brought for the girls: BTS (Better Than Sex) cakes! Or, also called BTA (Better Than Anything) cakes. I'm deprived: I'd never even heard of this cake before last year's girl's camp.



Donna (on the left) and Valene (on the right) look very blue because they are under an ingenious food tent designed by Mel Cossey. He created it using PVC pipe and blue tarp pieces and it was long, low and excellent for keeping dry from the rain. They used it mostly as a kitchen and a craft area, I think. The cakes were pretty easy to make: start with a 9x13 basic chocolate cake -- poke holes (evenly) all over the cake, (the handle part of a spoon works great, I learned) -- pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the cake, being sure to hit all the holes -- then pour caramel topping over that (fill EVERY hole) -- THEN pour chocolate topping over THAT (and ... you guessed it! Hit every hole) -- then frost the cake with Cool Whip and (if you don't forget to bring it) sprinkle crushed Skor candy bars over the whipped topping. Talk about RICH and MMMMM GOOD. Whew! Everyone was severely sugared out after dessert.

The girls and leaders made Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner -- a Mormon staple for bigger families and gatherings, I think! But how can you go wrong? Here's a link to one of the many recipe variations: http://www.mormonchic.com/recipe/recipebox/pages/missionaries.asp. There are a ton of recipes out there in Cyberspace but I like this particular link -- I thought it was kinda cool. And she has some other interesting recipes for you to see too. Line down a little ways to get to the Hawaiian Haystacks. Ours had rice, the sauce, chow mein noodles, chopped red & yellow bell peppers, pineapple tidbits, shredded coconut, apple pieces ... and hmm ... seems like I'm forgetting something, but I can't remember what!

It was a really good dinner. And soon afterwards all the wards gathered at the pavilion for the Stake evening devotional. I think some of the Relief Society presidencies went home at that point, but I'm so glad our ward's main activity was later on so we got to stay! I thoroughly enjoyed the devotional.

I caught Patrice Cossey, one of our Stake Leaders, REALLY roughing it at the devotional (can't see completely, but she's on a nice comfy lounge chair):

And here are some of the girls leading everyone in singing -- the girls assigned to help with this were Super Heroes and dressed accordingly. :-)


The Spanish branch Young Women did a skit, and one of the stake leaders (Jen Erickson) gave a really great devotional thought. I was touched and impressed by how quickly she brought the Spirit into the evening, and how inspired I was by what she had to say, even though I was a "visitor" and not a Young Woman. The girls also had a pie eating contest, tho I can't remember if it was before or after the devotional thought. Hah, I expected to see full pies but they were the itty-bitty 4" sized ones! Hahahaha. McCall Connors represented our ward and she won! We were hollering our heads off. In the photo (see next paragraph), McCall is in the yellow jacket and purple tutu ... that's Shayla Wyatt covering her mouth like she's going to gag. Hehe. You can't see her very well, but Dolly (darn! I forgot her last name) is holding the pie tin.

Finally after the flag was taken down and a closing prayer was said, everyone scattered back to their cabins and evening activities. And THAT's when we (Donna and I) had the chance to participate in the girls' "Third Annual Toilet Paper Fashion Show"! funfunfunfunfun. WE were the judges (ack!). This year Jenie added more criteria to the show: each team (formed earlier through the triangle/square/circle/squiggle exercise) had to create a dress from toilet paper AND they had to use 5 pre-selected items chosen from around the camp site = one of the girls had to model the dress = another girl had to emcee and describe the dress = the "model" had to do a talent = and then the team had to create and perform a commercial. The pre-selected items were things like oven mitts, a fly swatter (or was it a spatula?), a potato peeler ... crazy stuff like that. While the teams went about plotting their performance Donna and I hung out and talked with Jenie. She told us about the Spirit Walk they had planned for the girls on Friday; it actually brought tears to my eyes as she described it because it sounded WONDERFUL and I just knew it would impact the girls. I am ever impressed with Jenie's soul -- she is cool and hip and creative and deeply, deeply spiritual at the same time. She reminds me of my sisters. Like I said -- one of my heroes.

It was dark before the fashion show was under way, but that just added to the mystery and magic of it. We had to gather in the main A-frame cabin due to more rain but I'm glad we did -- the atmosphere was cozy and more intimate and since there were no inside lights we used flashlights and lanterns and THAT added to the atmosphere even more. Some of the Stake Leaders joined us and they were wearing jewelry made out of glow sticks. It was sooo cool ... all you could see was their giant glowing hoop hearings, necklaces and bracelets. I do love a good atmosphere. And the show was hilarious. The girls were all truly funny and clever and I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants (oops, that's sort of crass -- sorry). Donna and I were so entertained we kept forgetting who we had awarded what. Doggone it, we should've written it all down. It was extremely hard choosing winners in the first place and even harder remembering what we had decided -- but then, she and I ARE both squiggles! hehe. I worried a little that we didn't get it completely right and that some of the girls might have felt left out of the awarding ... we tried to get them all because they were ALL so GOOD! Below are each of the four dresses.

The girls had built up Demi's bust nice and high on their team's dress ... again, my picture doesn't do it justice. We all had a good laugh. Let's see if I can get their names ... Kiera Bretschneider, Berkleigh Allen, Demi Allen, and ... oh gosh (forgive me!), I think that's Haley Sorensen.

And sorry -- I just can't seem to get these pictures put in here right! Well, I had a fabulous time and we didn't leave until around 10:00 p.m., which meant we were driving through the canyon in the pitch dark (catching some deer in our headlights, but thankfully they were on the side of the road). Donna did a good job though and we made it back home safely by about 11:30 p.m. or so. And it didn't even rain on us during the drive home!

You know ... I had a small, bad experience with some Young Men and Young Women when Nate and I were married and living in Las Vegas years ago ... and though small it scarred my sensitive ego pretty badly. I've been afraid of the Young Women ever since. But these girls were so friendly and kind to us, I felt comfortable for the first time in many years. If I could think of the right words to say without sounding dumb I'd thank them, because they did me a great service -- performed a "healing," you might say. :-)