Wednesday, June 17, 2009

girls cramp 2009

i think this pretty much sums it all up:




most of my girls camp memories have been carefully repressed. the few memories i can dredge up involve inordinate amounts of junk food, laying on the floor of our tents hiding from leaders when asked to go to flag ceremony or certification classes, and hanging a ricky van shelton poster on the wall of our cabin to make it feel more like home. i do not recall being a ricky van shelton fan but i remember the poster as clear as day.
as apprehensive as i was about attending girl's camp as a youth, i looked forward to attending as a leader because i adore the young women of the church. while i am not a natural born camper, i do try and have enthusiam for anything that i am needed to do. this enthusiam was greatly needed at camp this past week.
things i accomplished at girls camp:

i discovered my natural born killer instincts: no very slow moving, very large animal or person or inanimate object is safe within 10 feet of me.


we baked muffins inside of orange peels over an open fire:



i demonstrated to the girls how abstinence works by abstaining from ice blocking. my good humor and willingness to try anything had left me at this point of camp.

also, ice block + big hill + recurring nightmare about knocking all my teeth out = NO WAY JOSE

it's a simple equation really. no need to get a calculator out.
but amazingly enough my wonderful mother took a quick turn driving an ice block down a hill. she is obviously not as concerned about her teeth as i am:


i was blessed to be able to work with some of the most awesome women of all time. camp was a success because of these three women; little P! tanner, sarahvance, and belinda. i am only in the picture to balance it out:

bonding time with my mom: we mostly discussed the quickest exit from camp without too many people noticing. the ticks were getting a little out of hand. any ticks at all is too many.

i pretended to be a pioneer by sleeping on the provided cots. i affectionately dubbed my cot, "lawn chair", because it was almost as luxurious as your typical picnic table, but not quite. during the thunderstorms, belinda would scoot her cot over to mine and we would spoon. she was next to the screened in window and the torrential downpour proved to be too much fun for her.


bonding with wonderful friends:
this picture was taken on the first morning at camp. notice the excitement on our faces. the night before, camp was bombarded with the thunderstorm to end all thunderstorms. the next morning we woke up to mud, millipedes and 60 degree weather. i only packed one longsleeve t shirt on a whim. in all my many many camp years, i have never experienced camping without dripping sweat. needless to saw, i wore this shirt for 3 of the 4 days of camp.


the final day of camp: notice the bleary-eyed desperation in our faces. WHO HAS A TOILET WITH A WORKING FLUSH? ANYONE??? ANYONE??? on me you will notice the same long sleeve t-shirt, only this time accesorized with bug guts, crusty day-old scrambled eggs and the same braids in my hair. i was the epitome of gross. in my defense, i did rinse my braids with shampoo one day.


i bonded with some of my lovely girls: i think they were making fun of me. note to self, no more mom jeans. i oughta smack those smiles right off their faces.


and no girls camp is complete without at least one bit of drama. whilst my group of girls was canoeing, someone(NOT ME!!!) locked my keys in my car. we were about 1 hour from camp. i am a tad embarassed that my reaction to this travesty was not the most mature response. i banged my head against the window glass repeatedly and silently threatened to drown the perpetrator. perhaps all my threats were not silent. and then i cried when i talked to my mom and thomas on the phone. thankfully, someone with a cooler head prevailed and belinda drove me downtown to thomas' office and so that i could pick up the spare key. on the 29th floor of thomas' office building. in my stinky camp shirt and swimsuit and wet shorts that i had worn in the lake. and a do-rag on my head and a sunburn on my face. and of course, my classy braids. that was the longest elevator ride of my life. i am sure that thomas' co-workers were so impressed. i looked homeless. and i would have accepted any cash offered me.

next year, i hope they have fun without me.

22 comments:

The Stimpson Family said...

This brought back memories of girls camp in MO! Stiky, stinky and too many big spiders and ticks!! I went last year as a leader with my YW in Indiana. It was kind of the same story - big thunderstorms and mud. Although - we did have showers. Luckily - because my awful morning sickness couldn't stand smelling the girls and seeing their fuzzy, unbrushed teeth. I nearly dragged their lazy butts to the shower myself to get them to wash! I made a rule that they couldn't have stinky pits and fuzzy teeth around me! =)

Emily said...

As a YW I did girls camp in Indiana. And it's just as bad as you wrote about. I DREAD going to girls camp like no one else's business. It is probably because I know what I did at girls camp (AKA pour water on the first years and get in a minor amount of mischief), and the memory of a week with a 120 degree heat index and 99% humidity kills me. Thanks for taking this one for the team! (oh--but next time, bring a hammock. They are much more comfortable to sleep in. I used one every year I went to camp and was so glad that I did!)

Jessica said...

hahahahaha. i laughed out loud reading the last paragraph and picturing your arrival at thomas' office. and seriously, don't you think there's a reason why only people from out west like camping?? girls camp in new orleans = hot, sweaty, sticky, yucky, and not so fun.

i think MY favorite girls camp memory was the year i was probably 14 or so, and someone (a certain klepto who was mad at me because i was the bearer of bad news that a certain boy only thought of her as a friend) STOLE my contacts and i had to go around for a whole day nearly blind because i didn't bother bringing my glasses with me. fun times!

Will and Natalie Giddens said...

I can't believe with that description that you still have the audacity to claim that you're not a camper. A do-rag? Heidi, that's a camper if I've ever seen one!

Long live Blue Springs? Independence? (what stake ARE you in?) Stake Girls Camp 2009! Huzzah!

Elizabeth said...

Yep, about as good as my experience was. :) I am NOT a camper by ANY MEANS...I thought about bringing a sweater to camp, because my experience of girls camp was always freezing cold, and thanks to the thunderstorms I was immensely grateful that I did bring it!!! I guess you and I were roughing it the same time last week...

Will and Natalie Giddens said...

And P.S. - nice Twilight shirt.

heidi said...

i feel i should clarify.
1. i actually DID have a good time. going as a leader is WAY better than going as a youth.
2.there WERE showers, my cabin was just two miles away from them so getting near them was a treat. and janky, stinky braids are just fun.
3. the twilight shirt(tho i am a fan and blended in with the girls so that some other leaders thought i was a youth) was for my special presentation on star gazing. the best time to start watching is at twilight. aren't i so clever?
4. the do-rag was because someone i know once claimed that no gangstas live in missouri. how's about them apples?
5. kansas city stake. holla!

Jeppson Clan said...

Poor dear. I'm glad the girls had someone awesome like you to be their fearless leader. But we can all handle only "so much" fun.
If it was me, I would have made Matt ride down in the elevator and bring me the key. I'm sure you looked cuter then I would have after that much camping.

Will and Natalie Giddens said...

You're right, nothing screams "Gangsta" like a late 20's surbuban Caucasian mom of two, camping - with a do-rag. I stand corrected.
With that description I'm sure Missouri is simply crawling with ganstas.

(Have I ever told you how much I love it when you update? Because I do! :-)

Meredith said...

Lots of fun, I'm sure! But hey, at least you weren't in TENTS and withOUT showers, as we (and about 70 other Rowleys) will be in 2 weeks!

You crack me up. I love you!

Jeanette said...

(Marianna speaking.)

I think you would have liked it much better last year. Everybody was somewhat close together, there weren't as many bugs, it was a really nice camp. And then, being 2 miles away from everybody had it's pros and cons. But, I think most of us did have fun with eachother (despite us being "girls") and our 4th Year leaders were awesome. (winkwinknudgenudge) And I think I told you this will be my last year, yes? And I am ever so happy that it is. Lots of good memories, though. :)

P.S. "Power of Love" was THE OFFICIAL Camp 2009 song :D Actually, at church yesterday, Melyssa broke out into the chorus and everybody laughed.

Mare said...

So impressed... a couple weeks ago my mom felt awful that your mom had to go to camp. She went on and on about how old they were getting and camp is just not the same. Then the day came when she said you were going in her place and i saw a twinkle in her eye. I immediately told her "I love you mom but no way. If you have to go to camp I will pray for you but that is it." You are great for going for your mom and it sounds like you had a great time!

lrbodine said...

Thanks for the laugh this morning! I am glad it was you at Girls Camp and not me. I have a fear of being put in YW because I do not want to go back to Girl's Camp! Even though I am sure it would be different as a leader.... It just brings back not so good memories for me. I am not made to camp (or being around bugs!).

MissRochelle said...

You know, you did much better than you are giving yourself credit for.

And we did have fun, glazed over eyes and all.

Lindsey said...

I am in a Singles Ward for one reason: there is no way I can get called to go to Girls' Camp. I am proud of you and glad you had a good time!

Becca said...

Crazy me, I want to go to Girls Camp now.

Julianne said...

Well, I don't know where my comment went (I left one this afternoon), but I will try to recreate it:

Baahahahaha! This post made me laugh and cringe at the same time. Congratulations for going -- they asked me to be the camp director for our ward and I said no. I try to be as inactive as possible, really.

And I'm so grossed out by Tracy's comment -- FUZZY teeth?? Sick!

Nicole said...

Hahaha omgosh at least you went and toughed it out! So funny about going to your husband's work, you're brave. I would've made him bring out the keys.

Debbie said...

AHAHAHAHA... I especially loved the last part about having your keys locked in your car and having to go to Thomas' office. I appreciate the fact that instead of selfishly keeping all of your embarrassing moments a secret (which is what I would do), you graciously share them all with us and provide us with great entertainment!! Love you, Heidi!!

Thomas said...

A few points of clarification:

1. Ladies, I don't think any of you would have "made" your husband bring the keys down. Knowing what nice folks all of you are, you would have "asked."

2. At the time Heidi arrived, I was in the middle of a conference call with people way more important than I'll ever be, closing a transaction worth more money than I'll ever receive. It had been scheduled for 3:00 for a month. When was the only time Heidi could come get the keys? . . . 3:00. A half hour earlier or later and I would have gladly brought down the keys.

Will and Natalie Giddens said...

Big T,
I knew there had to be a good reason for you not coming downstairs to meet Heidi. I sooo had your back, even if I didn't verbalize it. You should take great comfort in knowing that I think good things about you!

Mackenzie said...

Heidi I love your account of girls camp, but I can't relate. There was no such thing as inside at my girls camp, or grass. We couldn't even use tents.