Trip to Utah Part 3 - Young Women's Camp and Family Reunions

Papa's Note: We had Veronika write about the adventure that she and Lina had attending Young Women camp with the Mountain View 8th Ward girls.  I'll pick up the writing when we talk about family reunions a bit later.

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This year, we were finally able to go to Girls' Camp for the first time! We haven't been able to in the past, because of issues with the timing. Lina and I were really excited as we went shopping for supplies we would need while we were there. On Monday, the day we were leaving, we packed our supplies in tubs that Oma bought us, and drove to the church building. Our dad dropped us off, and we waited for the others to arrive.

Waiting in the shade for the other girls to arrive.

This photo was taken right before we left to camp.

We had an interesting experience on the way up to Bennion Creek, the campsite. It had started raining while we were on the highway, and once we drove into Spanish Fork Canyon, we made a turn up a road that wasn't paved. As we drove further up, it started raining harder, and the roads began to be very muddy. Sister Waite, who was driving her trailer in front of everyone, started to make a turn on the road, and her trailer got stuck. What was worse, was that it started slipping down the side of the hill, because the road was too narrow. We had to wait for about an hour until some of the husbands of the Young Women leaders were able to calm everyone down and get the trailer out. Luckily, the rest of the way up was less difficult, although each car was zigzagging its way through the slippery mud. Everyone made it alive and in one piece.
After that adventure, we had a lot of fun at camp!We took turns making our meals, and did a lot of fun activities and projects.

Helping set up the tents. It was a bit hard because the ground was wet.

Resting by the campfire after a long day.

Opening bags full of surprises after receiving matching hoodies.

Warming ourselves by the campfire. The smoke was constantly in our faces.

Sitting by the campfire early one morning.

The Mia-maids were making breakfast, and I made most of the bacon.

Contemplating whether to get in the water or not.

One of the girls, Jackie, decided to swing into the water.

When I jumped in, I realized that the water was freezing!

Learning how to make boondoggles.

My dad, who volunteered to help out for 2 days of camp, is talking to Sister Davis.

Papa talks to everyone about his life choices that brought him to where he is now.

Lina and her friend, Addie, were working on their boondoggles late at night.

Working on a fun project.

This was a fun activity to test our first aid skills.

Working on projects in pajamas.

Playing games.

Learning how to make anklets.

Charades.

More games.

Even though Girls' Camp was really exciting and an amazing experience, I was glad to be going home. Spending 5 days up in the mountains without showering, sharing one bathroom with 30 other people, sleeping in tents, and being away from civilization, made me appreciate the comforts of home.

Home at last!

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While the girls were away at camp, we made a trip down to Ephraim and Manti to see the last year of the Mormon Miracle Pageant.  We stopped and swam at the Activity Center in Ephraim and then went and dropped off our things at Clyde and Becky Bailey's house (Becky is the daughter of my Dad's Uncle Arch).  We went and ate the turkey dinner at the Manti armory and then went back and visited with the Baileys for a bit.  We ran into my cousin Jeff Huffman at the dinner, so we had a nice visit with him as well.

It was a bit rainy, but not too bad.  We had agreed to meet my friend Jonathan Peterson and his family.  We finally connected with them and sat near them and their extended family for the performance.  We got a bit of rain, but it let up toward the end of the performance.  There were a lot of nice things in the pageant, and we were glad we went, but we could see why the Church is moving away from such large-scale performances and commitments as well.

Manti Temple.

Sitting and waiting for dark.

The sun peeked out for a minute!

We spent the night at the Baileys and woke up early.  We stopped by the pancake breakfast, but it was a bit crowded, so we drove to Ephraim and had breakfast at McDonald's instead.  After McDonald's we stopped by the Peterson's house (Jon's parents' house) and visited with them for a bit before heading home to Payson.

On Saturday morning we had a reunion planned at the Payson park.  Once the girls were home from their girls' camp, we joined everyone.  The Petersons stopped by so that Kate could see Nika and Lina since they really missed each other.  They still Skype and chat - the two years they were here in Kazakhstan was so much fun for all of them.

Nika playing with Kate's Ukulele

Peterson - Willardson photo

The Reunion was the Crane Reunion, but it was mostly just our family and a few of the Aunts and Uncles.  It is harder and harder to get everyone together, so Mom decided this would be the last year of the reunion.  We had a good time hanging out, eating, telling stories, and just enjoying each others' company.

Kid cousins hanging out at the park.

Kids playing Croquet

The Girl cousins minus Emma who was babysitting in Las Vegas!

Our little family!

We go home and visit our family each year.  It is one of the best benefits of working in Kazakhstan.  We really love seeing everyone, so each small or large reunion is time that we cherish.  This year was no exception.