Girls Camp

I spent 4 days this week at Girls Camp. It was for the Young Women’s program at my church.  The girls range from age 12 – 17.   We went to Steadman’s in Raft River in South East Idaho.  We had Sunshine, Wind, Clouds, Wind, Rain and more Wind.   It was such a great time.  

The first day we got settled and put up tents.

The second day we sent on a hike to The Parting of the Ways.  This is the part of the Oregon trail where the pioneers had the choice to either continue to Oregon or go to California.

Mr. Steadman drove us to a memorial, we then hiked up the bluff to get to the Parting of the ways.  The bluff is solid lava rock.  We could see where the wagon wheels had carved out grooves in the rock.  It was sacred ground.   It brought tears to my eyes and I stood and contemplated the long journey they had been on and the long journey they were to continue.

We talked about how we each of us have our own Parting of the Ways in our daily lives.  How each decision and choice we make could affect 100’s of thousands of future generations.  How would the pioneers lives have been if they had chosen Oregon instead of California?  or vice versa.   We had a moment where we all separated and time to contemplate choices that we have made; were they the right choices?   How can we improve?  How could these choices affect our future?

We hiked back to Steadman’s which was just under 5 miles.

Check out the Steadman’s link above and you can see how beautiful the area is and all of the activities that they have to offer.   Most of us went down the water slide numerous times.

And of course this picture is priceless…  (The Young Women Leaders).  I found out why they wanted me to be the front of the train. 

Some of the brave ones  went down the zip line.

We had a flag ceremony every day.

We had little workshops.

We had craft activities.

We ate all kinds of foods.

Christine was our camp cook.   She did a fabulous job!

We had silly times.

And we had quiet times.

The final night there was a mud football game.

We sang silly camp songs.

 

We did skits.

 

And we gathered around the fire and shared testimonies.

 

It was an awesome week and a great experience.  I love these girls!

 

Enjoy!

Time Management

It seems that blogging isn’t quite the thing it used to be.   I used to have the time to read blogs upon blogs every night.  Now I don’t.  I still read blogs.  I just manage my blog reading time.   I used to think I was a time manager but now I wonder about my skills.  My life seems to be full of chaos.  I joined a fitness challenge.  I have a gym Nazi.  I don’t seem to know which way I am going.   I leave the house at 5:45 AM.   I get home after 6 PM  and try to be in bed around 8:30PM to read and wind down.   In those couple of hours at home I run a household, clean, do chores, fix meals etc and try to maintain a relationship with My Handyman.   What happened to my life?  I have a family, Grandkids to enjoy and church callings.    OH boy!  I thought my life would be slowing down at this age.   I also volunteer several hours a month doing photography for those that otherwise aren’t able to have family photo’s.    I need to sit down and regroup; really really bad..   I need to give up some of my stuff.  Discover what is really important.   How do I do that?   What do I give up that I love?    Is all of my crafty and artistic projects really necessary?   I’ve discovered… not so much.  I have hardly done anything crafty the last several months.  Do I miss it?  Yes! I know I will find time in the future.   For now…  I will figure it out eventually.   Time management?  PPPTHHH!!!!!   Just kidding… I’m going to sit down and figure something out.

I shot a senior photo shoot a couple of weeks ago and a wedding.  I still haven’t edited them.

Tomorrow I am off to girls camp with the 12-17 year old girls from church for 4 days.  I am really looking forward to this time.  I need to renew my spirit.  I need to bond with and strengthen friendships.   I need to regroup and just relax and enjoy.

Here are a few pictures from my last photo  shoots.

Enjoy the time that you have and ……………………..

 

Be Creative!

No Place Like the Nest

 

Recently I purchased several stamp sets from Taylored Expressions.   I love this set – Bless Your Nest.   I also purchased the matching die cut.   Don’t you just love the nest?

I don’t always make the traditional card for a holiday.   I made this one for my Mama for Mother’s day.   After all she is the mother bird that raised me.   There were times she told us as children that we reminded her of baby birds with our mouths open; always hungry..

I colored the leaves with my copic markers and added some fun washi tape to help embellish the card.

Products used:   Lime twist – My Minds Eye.  CTMH – Tulip. Chocolate. Breeze. Desert Sand. Cashmere. TE – Bless this nest and matching die cuts. Distress ink – Vintage Photo. Sewing tool. Washi tape. CHF – Mothers Day Centers. Spellbinders – Labels 6.

 

Be Creative!

 

Play Ball

I know several people that love baseball.   This stamp set from Crafty Secrets is a great set to use for your favorite baseball fan.

This is a fairly simple card with not a lot of bling.  Guys don’t always like that sort of thing.

I  cut out the window using my Silhouette Cameo and layered some designer paper behind. The image is stamped and colored with water colors and copic markers.

Products used:   CTMH – D1475 – Card Chatter – Birthday. Bamboo. Cashmere. Crafty Secrets – Play Ball. Silhouette Cameo. SU – Watercolor wonder. Copic Markers. Sewing tool. Distress ink – Vintage photo.

 

 

Be Creative!

 

A Walk in the Park

A couple of weeks ago I grabbed my camera and headed to Kathryn Albertson Park in Boise.  It is a nature park.   I was hoping to find a few goslings wandering around but the geese were still nesting.

The turtles were even sunning themselves.

As I was wandering down the path I spotted several deer enjoy the shade back in the brush.

This has been a beautiful spring for the flowing trees.

Isn’t this the best shade of pink ever?

I ended the afternoon attending  a birthday party for this little cutie.

Her brother was a bundle of energy and had fun rolling down the hill at the park.

 

It was a perfect day!