Memories of Girls' Camp

The winner of their own personalized Bingo game is Michal & David! This will be a great tool to help you stay focused during Sacrament meeting. Thanks for all your ideas. We tried the little cup of snacks method today and it just turned out to be a continuous Goldfish refill service. I think we'll go back to "Reverence practice" during the week.

Today in Sacrament Meeting the Young Women reported on their experiences at Girls' Camp. It made me reflect on some memories I had in my years at Girl's Camp. Ah, those were the days!

Here are a few lot. You don't have to read them all.

• My first year of girls' camp landed on the week of my 12th birthday. The family rule was that you can wear makeup and nylons when you turn 12, so I got nylons at camp, but I don't think I wore them until I got home. My mom was our Beehive leader at the time, and my assignment that day was to clean the latrine. On my birthday. I did not get any special treatment in this respect and still had to do it, and I was grumpy the whole time.
• That year we also used a particular kind of dishoap (a white bottle of Ivory soap) that I still like to get because the scent reminds me of that aspect of girls' camp.
• There were two particular girls in my age group that were not very nice to me and my friends. In fact, they were actually really mean and cruel. If you were there, you know who they were. They liked to pull pranks. One year, I remember them saying "Don't get mad. Get even!" It was pretty good advice when you are a relatively good kid-just not as an adult.
• One year our camp theme was "Hearts knit together in love and unity." At some point in the week, we were hit by a huge thunder and hail storm. While it was scary, we were all soaked, our tents blew over, the power went out in the administration building, and a lot of people were scared, I thought it was pretty exciting. Some of the ward leaders thought we should pack up and go home, even though no stake leaders had authorized it. I remember thinking that to do so would not exemplify "hearts knit together" in love or unity. We stayed.
• One year, I had "Ironic" stuck in my head the whole week. Some other campers nick-named me "Alanis," which I though was really cool. That was the year I learned to make a fire with dryer lint and a 9v battery. It was also the year I became a pyro!
• Liz-didn't we fall out of a canoe once?
• Kathryn's dad was the driver of the rental truck that brought all the gear. I got to drive in the truck with them on the way home one year. Backing up, the rear step of the truck got hooked on a tall tree stump and we tried for an hour to get unstuck. It was my idea to cut the tree trunk with a chain saw and it worked!
• One year a girl prayed at a campfire that the racoons would go to the leaders tents instead of ours. What a scandal!
• Speaking of racoons, my journal got some little dirty racoon footprints in it!
• Liz or I correctly guessed the number of skittles in a disgustingly large jar and we ate all of them. We were so sick of skittles, and I still can't eat that flavor (tropical).
• I wore sandals and brought a walkman one year, both of which were strictly prohibited.
• The poolhouse had a boys locker room and a girls locker room, but of course there were no boys. The leaders posted a sign on the boys room that said "Nude women" so that we knew not to go in there unless we wanted to shower sans swim suits. I used the other bathroom.
• As a junior leader, I took great pride in carrying one of the four coveted walkie talkies around camp. My mom, who was the lifeguard, had one too, and accidentally jumped into the pool with it on her suit, and it became a standing point of humor. The same camp leader that distributed the walkie talkies gave Chris and I a set as a wedding present and we still have them.
• The kitchen leader always brought a sign that said "Roadkill cafe."
• Mom nailed the stake leaders in a water fight and planted giant fake bugs in their sleeping bags.
• There were a couple male camp staff members that managed the camp and chopped wood and took out garbage, etc. Of course we singled out the only guy under 30 (and who wasn't a stake leader) and tried to flirt with him. He told us his name was Elmo, but we knew he was lying.
• Liz and I knew all the camp songs, and we even made up a couple which I still remember.

Here's one that was too depressing that we had to write a second verse to reunite the sad couple :

Boom boom my darlin', boom boom my darlin'
Gonna get along without ya know.
Gonna find someone who's twice as cute
And I didn't love you anyhow.
I'll miss you much, I'll miss you much,
But don't come back to me,
We're apart for good, we're apart for good
And thats how its gonna be.

(Here is the verse we made up)

I love ya darlin', I love ya darlin'
You came right back to me.
I said you shouldn't, you said you couldn't
Go on livin' life without me.
So now we're happy all day and night
And that's how its gonna stay.
And if you up and leave again, I'll love you anyway.

Here's one we wrote on the bus. I think I memorized it without ever having to write it down, and I still remember it. I think we got the Stake to put it in the camp book. I wonder if it is still in there or if anybody knows it. It is loosly to the tune of "It's a small world."

It's a camp of racoons, a camp of bugs,
It's a camp of spiders, a camp of slugs,
It's a camp of tears and a little fears,
It's a camp for girls.

It's a camp of laughter, a camp of love,
It's a camp with help from the Lord above.
Lots of friends we make, memories we take,
It's a camp for girls.

Naperville camp really ra-ah-ah-ocks,
Naperville camp really rocks,
Naperville camp really rocks,
I will go back soon!

And in case you are still reading, here are some more favorites. I am writing this down because I know that some day I won't remember them anymore.

The Zulu king with the big nose ring fell in love with a sweet young thing
And every night by the pale moonlight, 'sounded like this to me:
Baroom, *kiss*kiss*, baroom, *kiss*kiss*, Baroom diddle-ee-ya-dee-ay
Baroom, *kiss*kiss*, baroom, *kiss*kiss*, Baroom diddle-ee-ya-dee-ay
Oh, we'll build a bungalow big enough for two, big enough for two,
My darlin' big enough for two.
And when we're married how happy we'll be, Under the bamboo
Under the bamboo tree, if you'll be M-I-N-E mine I'll be T-H-I-N-E thine and I will L-O-V-E love you all the T-I-M-E time.
You are the B-E-S-T best of all the R-E-S-T rest and I will L-O-V-E love you all the T-I-M-E time! The Zulu king.....

--

I'm a little acorn 'round, lying on the cold cold ground
Every body steps on me, that is why I'm cracked, you see.
I'm a nut *click*click*, I'm a nut *click*click*, I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut.

Called myself up on the phone, just to see if I was home
Asked myself out on a date, picked me up at half past eight.
I'm a nut....

Took myself out to the show, sat me down in the second row.
Put my arms around my face, got so fresh I slapped my face.
I'm a nut...

I can sing and I can dance, I wear ruffles on my-Oops! Boys, take another guess!
I wear ruffles on my dress!
I'm a nut *click*click*, I'm a nut *click*click*, I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut!

--

Announcements, Annoouncements, Announcements!
A terrible death to die, A terrible death to die!
A terrible death to talk to death, a terrible death to die.
Again! Again! She's bugging us again!