Girls Camp

A view of the camp from half way to the summit.
The first year girls. They were too cute.
The Camp Director with me, her assistant. Glamorous shot, I know.

This year I got sucked into going to girls camp again. It seems weird that I'm old enough to be a leader in YW. I mean, when I'm with all the girls and all the leaders, I feel much more like I'm 17 or 18 than 30 or older. And I'll be honest, when I first heard about Camp Mia Shalom, I finally realized how spoiled I was when I went to camp up in Washington. We had electricity in half of the cabins, we had warm showers, we had a pool, and we had a lodge with a dining hall. Camp Mia Shalom had NONE of the above. Most everyone went without a shower for the whole week. Not me though, no thanks. I'd rather take a freezing cold shower than none at all. And yes, it was freezing! We also had to cook every single meal for the entire week. Luckily, we brought along a lady who cooks delicious food on the fire and on camp stoves so it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Even though we were roughing it a bit more than I would prefer to, we had a lot of fun. I've never met a more happy and friendly group of girls. They were awesome to be around. I also had a lot of fun getting to know the other leaders better. Yay for making more friends in the ward!

Here are some highlights of the trip:
1. The hike to the summit. We could see forever in every direction.
2. Canoeing on the lake. It was too bad that we couldn't go swimming though. The lake was crystal clear so you could see right to the bottom. It didn't feel too cold either, and since it was so hot up there, it would have been a great way to cool down.
3. Morning runs at 10,000 feet. I don't think I've ever had to work so hard to breath. Great way to train though.
4. Singing around the lake.
5. Tin foil calzones. Delicious.
6. The scenery. It was beautiful up there. Reminded me a lot of Oregon.
7. Cute little first years with extra camp enthusiasm.
8. Camp fire stories.
9. Watching the moon rise each night. It would come up from behind a mountain and light up the sky. There were a gazillion stars out too.
10. And I'll be honest, I felt pretty lucky that I got to come home a day early to go up to Jeff's family reunion in Idaho. I got to shower before everyone else, and I didn't have to help clean up! Haha.

I Have A Dream

Of living in a beautiful home settled between a fancy golf course and a LAKE! So then Jeff could golf all he wanted and we could own a BOAT and spend our summer days out on the water.

Jeff and I went to Talon's Cove Golf Course yesterday in Saratoga Springs and I must confess that I coveted a lot. A LOT! The houses were gorgeous and they all had boats and a great view of Utah Lake. The only negative thing: Saratoga Springs is in the middle of nowhere.

But I'm gonna keep on dreaming that we'll find a place like that someday. And that we'll be able to afford that. Yeah, I know. Keep dreaming, Brianne. Keep dreaming.

Bringing Home the Bacon

That's what I'll be doing this weekend while everyone else is getting their party on. I'm working from 2pm to 10:30 pm tomorrow (Friday) night and then from 6am to 10:30pm on the Fourth. I'm slightly sad that I won't be doing anything fun this weekend and that I have to be here at home all alone. But I don't think I'll regret it when I see 16 hours worth of time and half on my next paycheck. Yeah, baby! Have fun everyone :)

2 Years Down. Eternity to Go!

Monday was our second anniversary. Man time goes by fast! Jeff is the cutest husband and had a little adventure planned for us. We went up to SLC and tried a new restaurant called Biaggi's. It was a yummy Italian place that was very nice. But we both agreed Gloria's (a scrumptious place in downtown Provo), Johnny Carino's, and Olive Garden beat it out. We stayed up in SLC for the night and went to Cherry Hill the next day. I had never been to Cherry Hill before and I have to admit, I was a little skeptical at first sight. But it was soooo fun! We felt like little kids having a blast. The water slides were awesome and I almost beat Jeff in mini golf. Almost! And despite numerous applications of water-proof sunscreen, we still got fried.

Oh and yup, we forgot the camera. So no pictures, sorry! I know, I've got to get better at that!

But I do have a picture of the super cute watch Jeff got me. It's the kind Krista blogged about a while back. Now I have one, too!

Thanks Jeff for being the sweetest ever! I love you so much for who you are and for all you have done for me in the past couple of years. I don't know what I'd do without you! Xoxo.

A House Full of Boys

For those of you who don't know this already, my dad got remarried in January. That marriage brought me three new step brothers. Yes, more brothers for me. That brings the total to: 8 brothers! It's fun to see peoples' reactions when I say that. Anyway...my dad, his wife, Becky, my two youngest brothers, and three new step brothers came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Wow. These kids are ages 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. Jeff and I had to rethink our desire to have 5-6 children when we realized how much food it takes to feed them. I went through over two loaves of bread when I made french toast one morning. Insane.

These poor boys had been saving their money for a month so that they could go to Seven Peaks. And then...it rained. Actually, that's an understatement. We went to the park anyway cause we thought we could handle the rain. But after about 45 minutes, there was thunder and lightning and a torrential downpour. Jeff said it right when he said it was like a bomb went off. People started screaming and running every which way in an attempt to get out of the storm. Of course, with lightning, we got kicked out. Fortunately, they got their hard-earned money back. This picture DOES NOT do the weather justice. It was crazy!They got to stay through Father's Day which was fun because I haven't been with my dad on that day for a few years. I was, once again, very bad at taking pictures. But we also went camping up Hobble Creek Canyon where it was BEAUTIFUL. It reminded me of good 'ole Oregon. And we played a lot of football :)

It was fun trying to squeeze seven more people into our tiny two bedroom apartment. Thanks for coming guys!