Girls Camp!

This past week, Jenessa, Jaycee and myself spent a week at girls camp. I was called to be a girls camp leader about 3 weeks ago, so missed all the planning and just got to go and have fun! This was Jaycee's first camp, so it was fun to watch her experience it for the first time. Jenessa was a 4th year, so she got to leave a day earlier and do the overnight backpack hike. We went to Camp Zarahemla which is about 2 1/2 hours from us. Clear Lake was beautiful, but absolutely freezing!! The girls were not allowed to be in the water for longer than 8 minutes. There were over 200 girls at this camp and only a handful stayed in that long. Even though Jenessa is a swimmer, she was in for only about 30 seconds. Jaycee actually did the polar bear dip, which is where you jump in then jump right out at 7:00 a.m. She did this two mornings in a row. Got to love the excitement of a Beehive. Ness slept through it all! I actually tried knife and tomahawk throwing and got a bulls eye in both. Who would have thought? Overall, it was a fun week and the girls didn't mind too much that I was there. Or at least, that is what they tell me.

A Good Read

I have recently started to ride the bus to work. It has been over 18 years since I rode a bus on my mission. I was a bit reluctant at first, but the combination of my new longer commute along with higher gas prices has convinced me that it is a great way to get from here to there. The bus has turned out to be a great thing. Not only has my travel expenses gone from over $250 to $25 per month, but I love the time to read, do emails, prep for meetings and just think. It is also a perfect place to do some people watching. There are all types that commute on the bus.
The other day I had some very early calls so I missed my regular bus that goes directly into Seattle. Due to the later hour, I had to make a transfer in Renton to another bus that went through a more diverse part of town. The further we went, the more diverse the ride got. I heard no fewer than 5 languages.

I told you that story so I could tell you this story. :)

During this ride, a young girl from some oriental country sat next to me. At the time, I was reading a book called "The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible"

At times this book is very funny...I mean laugh out loud funny. I am sure the girl I was sitting next to thought I was a bit strange.
Anyway, I just finished reading the book and loved it. I needed a good read too. I had just finished "The Catcher in The Rye" and did not like it at all. I didn't read the book while growing up and thought I would see what it was all about. Rather than give a review, let me just say that I do not recommend it. It was a drag.

I was not surprised that the living biblically book would be funny given the Moses like pose of the author holding some tablets that look like the 10 commandments in one hand and a Starbucks like cup of coffee in the other hand. I was surprised though, at how much it made me reflect on my life and what I am doing with it. In short, I recommend it.

Salt Creek

Over the 4th we went camping in the Port Angeles area. For those of you that do not live here it is just north of the Olympic National Park. We stayed in a campground called the Salt Creek Recreation Area. It is a county run park and is a great place for families to camp. It is located on the Strait of Juan De Fuca.
Again, we are amazed at the beauty that surrounds us!

This camp trip was scheduled pretty close to our last one and we were having a hard time feeling motivated; even on the morning we were set to leave. Once we got on the road though we were feeling good about being able to get out and away for the holiday.

I don't know how you all feel but when we are away from all the distractions of life (myspace, tv, work, blogs, chores) we find it easier to love being a family. We play more games together. We find more things to laugh about. We just enjoy each other's company more. Makes me wonder why we jump right back into the distractions when we get home. Like right now everyone is off doing their own thing. I guess that is why you need to schedule "together" activities so that you have time to reconnect and remain close as a family. It is even more important now as our kids get older. They are becoming more and more independent and before we know it, they will be out on their own starting their own lives. We were taken back when we thought about the fact that we will probably only have three more full summers with Jenessa before she is on her own. Excuse me, I need to dry my eye.............................Okay I am back.

Here are some pics...

The favorite part of the trip for everyone was the hike to Sol Duc Falls. It is one of the most amazing waterfalls we have seen. The pictures we took really do not do it justice. Here is a view from a different angle.