Camp, Camp, and More Camp

First Camp:

I got to go to the Young Women's camp for our church, because first I was called as the ward camp director, and then I was called as the Young Women's president!  (I also called by assistant camp director as my new secretary)  What a great way to start out being the YW's president and getting to know all the girls :)

We spent the week in Schneppenback, Germany, a teeny tiny little village which is about an hour away from where we live. 

We stayed in cabin - CABINS!  I never did that as a young woman ;)  Cora was actually disappointed, because, like me, she doesn't consider that "real camping", hahaha.  But it was still a cute little camp, and we had so much fun.  Here's a picture of the girl's cabin (leaders stayed in their own cabins), and our ward flag that we made.

The theme for the Youth of our church this year is "Embark in the Service of God", so for camp each ward picked the name of a ship to represent them - we chose Lightship.  On our flag we used the girls' handprints as the beams of light coming from the ship.  I thought it turned out great.

Every morning we came out into this field with a beautiful view.

We would have our morning devotional, and then they would give us 1/2 hr. of "solo time" - we would all move our chairs away from each other, so that we could be alone, and then we could sit and pray, and read our scriptures, and write in our journals, and just ponder.  It ended up being the favorite thing for a lot of girls, and for myself as well.

The week was filled with crafts, and archery, and personal progress, and water fights, and a first aid obstacle course, and much, much more.  A highlight was the hike to Burgruine (castle ruin) Schmidtburg (built in 926, destroyed in 1688). 

Here are some pictures from our hike, which was about 7 miles for those of us who went the longer way, and the castle.

 

  

 

 

  

One of the not-so-highlights was the snipe hunt.

 It started out fine, as you can see by their smiling faces about....but what's that on their faces?  Toothpaste.  Why?  I have no idea.  Some girls have sensitive skin, and...well...the tradition of snipe hunt may continue, but they're going to have to come up with a different plan next time ;)

Final pictures.  Here's our ward.

The whole stake.

And some weird ladies with glow sticks.

Second Camp:

The very next week after Girls' Camp was Boy Scout Camp.  Since our stake decided to do it as just a stake, instead of with the other Boy Scouts from the area (because it would have cost each boy an additional $200), the boys got to have their camp in the exact same location as the girls.  Good thing we left it so clean for them....good thing WE WENT FIRST!!! :)

The boys started their camp with a bike ride into camp. 

Some did a 50 mile ride in, some did a 20 mile ride in, and some just went as far as they could go.  It was a good lesson in being prepared ;) Joseph ended up riding about 9 miles.  We were really proud of him.  He had been practicing a bit with Joe beforehand, because before this summer he REALLY was not very steady on a bike, and he didn't think he could do it.  We pushed him, and I think he was glad he participated.

My friend Mindy and I drove some of the boys to the starting point for the 20 mile ride, and then we manned one of the checkpoints all day, handing out water, making sure the boys were using the buddy system, and giving words of encouragement.  Our check point was at the top of the steepest climb (I definitely would have been walking my bike up it), and we were near a great look out point, so we encouraged the boys to stop and rest a bit, and enjoy the view.

I don't have any more pictures, because after that first day I was, well, out of the picture ;)

Third Camp:

Cora was able to go to FSY this year, and what a GREAT opportunity it was for her! 

For those of you who are familiar with EFY, FSY is basically the same thing, but EFY is run by BYU, and FSY is run by local area presidencies, and is what most international groups do now.  This particular FSY was an international one, meaning that there were kids who came from all different countries, and it was English speaking, to facilitate the most people (there were a few kids who still needed translators). 

This year it was held in Blaubeuren, Germany, about 3 hours away from us.  I'm pretty sure that all of the kids from our ward went, and they all came back saying that it was one of, if not the most spiritual experience they had ever had.  Here are some of the pictures that were posted online - the one's we could see Cora in ;)

 Above is Cora in line to register.  You can see her wearing her new Marvel hat - this is what we did her Marvel nails for.  If you hadn't seen them already, here they are.

 They learned some fun new dances.

 Cora said they had the best food ;)

 Below is the family or group that Cora was assigned to.

One last thing.  We hosted a couple of girls who came from Iceland.  They came with us to church on Sunday, came home with us for the night, and then went with the kids from our ward to FSY, and I picked them up when it was over and drove them to their Grandfather's house, which is here in Germany about an hour or so away.  Luckily they spoke very good English ;)  Here they are.

They came with one other boy (who stayed with someone else), and they are literally the only 3 Mormon youth (ages 14-17) in all of Iceland.  Can you imagine what that must be like?  They were the sweetest girls, and even brought us a treat from Iceland.

One Day

Thoughts that one might have during the course of one day (not in any particular order)

Do other people lose as much hair as I do in the shower?  Is this normal?  Do I need to buy Rogaine for Women?  Is it strong enough for a man, but made for a woman? Should I shave my head?  Should I start wearing a hijab?  Do I have to convert first?  I totally blame having kids for this.

Hey, I think I'll try this new facial moisturizer that someone gave me.......WHAT. HAVE. I. DONE?!  What is that smell?  Can moisturizer expire?  Is there poop in it?  I need to check the ingredient list because there might be actual excrement in this moisturizer  Is poop good for your face?  Is that a thing? 

Why do all four of them, individually, ask me what's for breakfast every day?  Why can't they consolidate their efforts, and send one representative?  They could campaign and hold elections - may the best child win! 

OOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!! My Toe! :(

The highway is closed?!  My GPS did NOT warn me about this.  My GPS is NOT re-routing me another way.  I have NO idea how to get where I am going - hence the using of the GPS.  I am in an unfamiliar area of a foreign country, and I don't even know if I should go right or left.  This is fun.

Why do they call it olive skin?  Olives are black, green, and reddish-brown.  There are no tan colored olives.  Are there?  Am I being politically incorrect?

Ugh, this line is taking forever.  Oh look, there's only one person in that line - I'll switch........Oh Ruth, Ruth, Ruth.  Rookie mistake.  This is a nice little old lady that smells like Avon, so OF COURSE she's going to pay with a check, and of course she's going to take 50 years filling out said check.  Oh look, there goes your place in the other line, already checked out, while you sit here like a chump.

This is what I hate about binge-watching shows online - they play the same commercial over and over again.  I've seen this commercial so many times, I am starting to have a physical reaction to it.  A violent physical reaction.  I mean, I want to be physically violent.  I want to punch them all in the face.  Even the kids.  I hate them all.  How could this possibly be a good marketing strategy?!  I will NEVER buy this product now.

......and the next day.

Oh good, my face still smells like poop.

I Think My Arm Is Broken

On the 4th of July we were at a BBQ with friends, when Alex walked up to me, very calmly, but a little teary, and said, "I think my arm is broken".  Based solely on his demeanor, I wouldn't have believed him, BUT his arm looked like this.

Yep, it was broken.  The very FIRST broken bone anyone in our family has had, including Joe and I.  A friend quickly took us to the ER (his son had been to the ER just earlier that week, so he knew all the ins and outs - yay for friends who know what they're doing).  Even before we got X-rays the doctor was talking about surgery, and sure enough, later that night Alex had surgery to put a pin in.

Before Surgery

 After Surgery

He stayed for 8 hours observation (which was overnight, given the late hour of the surgery), and Joe stayed with him, because I figured he could understand a little more German than me, which came in handy with nurses who didn't speak any English.  The next day I took him back in to get his cast on.

Yesterday, which was 3 weeks later, we went back in to get a shorter cast put on, which will stay on for 1 more week.

In three weeks from now, Alex will have another surgery to remove the pin.  I didn't even know they did that.

Alex has been a trooper through the whole thing, and all of the German doctors and nurses have been great.

Two things that were very different with our experience here in Germany, as compared to how it would have been in the states: 

First, in American hospitals, pain management is taken very seriously.  For the most part, they really try to stay on top of the pain and make you comfortable.  If you go into an ER and you're in extreme pain, they're going to take care of that fairly quickly.  At least, that has always been our experience in the past.  That's not the way it is in Germany.  Alex broke his arm at 8:30 and had his surgery shortly after 12 midnight.  During that whole time he was never given anything for the pain.  Nothing.  He was crying the entire time.  Broke my heart.  They gave him something after the surgery, and when they sent us home they said we could just use Tylenol if we had that at home already.  I know that ours was not a unique case.  My friend said that when her son had his appendix out, all they wanted to give him was Tylenol too, and I have heard similar things from other friends as well.

Second, German homes and buildings do not have central air conditioning, and they do NOT use fans.  In fact, similar to Koreans (but probably not has bad), they don't think using fans is good for your health.  We were in the middle of a heat wave when this all happened, and it was rather warm in the hospital.  The morning after Alex's surgery, when I came to pick up Joe and Alex, I walked into the room where they had spent the night and I about died - it was SO HOT!  I felt terrible for them, and Joe said it was one of the worst nights he had ever spent.  It seems to me like that kind of heat would be much worse for the health of sick people than a fan, but to each his own I guess.

The same day Alex broke his arm, we had gone to a splash park earlier. 

Here Alex is, pre-broken arm, enjoying a Bratwurst, dripping wet from frolicking in the splash park - not a care in the world.

4 weeks in the summer time without being able to go to a splash park or pool is a LONG 4 weeks.  Poor kid.  We told the kids that they were all going to have to sign contracts that they would not break any bones, or have any other serious injuries that would send them to the hospital - AND that there would be stiff penalties for breaking the terms of said contract.  I don't think they took us seriously....at least, nobody has signed anything yet.

Coincidently, my nephew broke his arm the VERY NEXT DAY after Alex. 

I couldn't believe when I saw my sister's post on fb about it.  That is her second kid to have a broken arm.  She obviously didn't have her kids sign any contracts either ;)

Maddy

I'm late posting this, but we DID celebrate Madelyn's birthday.  Actually, back at the very end of May we had a COMBINED birthday party for Alex and Madelyn.  Remember how we were supposed to have a party for Alex, and it kept getting later and later, and Madelyn kept reminding/bugging me about it?  Well, I finally suggested that we do theirs together, and they actually thought it was a good idea.  Phew!  And then I got even luckier when they decided they wanted a Messy Party.  I thought they might be too old to want to do that, but I guess you're never too old to get messy.  It's my go-to, super easy party - playing with shaving cream, finger painting, whipped cream pie eating contest, decorating their own cupcakes, and a water fight.  I got ONE picture.  Sorry kids.

We later celebrated Madelyn's birthday as a family, like we do with every birthday.  Madelyn is our little spitfire.  Always has been, probably always will be.  The same things that make it hard to parent her are going to be the things that serve her well as an adult.  At least, that's what I keep telling myself.  I don't want to be the one to put out her fire...but it's a challenge ;)  She does light up our lives though, and we are blessed to have her. 

 

 

We'll keep her.