Things I Learned While Kickin' It At Girl's Camp Last Week.

---Teenagers don't say things like "Kickin' It" anymore. But they did until they heard ME say it, therefore making it officially uncool.

---You can't fit teenagers into one little mold. There are all types of girls and we had them ALL up there. The shy ones that say nothing the entire time. The bossy ones that try take over and sass the leaders. The ones who act like everything is boring to them. The immature ones who don't QUITE get what testimony meeting is all about. The ones who would much rather help in the kitchen than be with the other girls. The loud ones who don't quit chattering until their leaders bribe them with slushies from the local convenience store. They are all so different, but all 29 of them had something wonderful to contribute to our little group. I fell in love with them!

---I am not a fan of outdoor cooking for the following reasons: 1) It takes freaking forever. 2) Those tinfoil dinners? Burned on the outside, raw in the middle. 3) I get tired of hearing, "Is this a bug or a piece of dirt?" Really, at that point, does it matter?

--Teenage girls like to hug each other. A lot. I got hugged almost ten times a day. And I hugged OTHER people probably that much too! It was a hug fest. And I don't EVEN want to know what kind of Google searches I am going to be on because of these five sentences.

---Don't drink the hot chocolate. Unless you sift it through your teeth first. I was in charge of ladling the water into the cups for the girls. There were lots of creepy crawlies flying around and an assortment of bugs was floating in my pot 'o' hot water. I tried to skim them off to no avail. I did my best to avoid the them, but I KNOW someone must have gotten a couple. I heard nary a complaint though. Maybe they were under the impression that hot chocolate should be chewy? Hmm.

---If you go to the river, expect to get wet. Really wet. I decided to join the girls for a nice, leisurley wade. They wanted me to get in all the way and I told them no thanks. Up to my ankles is just fine by me, thank you. All of the sudden it got really quiet and ATTACK!!!!!! I was tackled from behind and thrown headfirst into the water. They were very proud of themselves for "getting me" and brought it up repeatedly at church on Sunday. I pretended I hated it of course, but loved every minute of it.

---I hate sleeping in tents. I knew this before, but camping last week was a not-so-pleasant reminder of how much I loathe sleeping on the ground. I tossed, I turned, I imagined that there were skunks and ravenous beasts lying in wait on the outside of the tent, just in case I got up to pee in the middle of the night. I had to go SO BAD but I was too scared so I waited until morning. Man was that a LONG night.

---Port-o-Potties = Disgusting. I had to close my eyes while I hovered over the growing mound of human waste. And I tried not to breathe. I dowsed myself with hand sanitizer afterwards but that stuff is only 99.9% effective against germs. And we all know that other .1% is what is going to kill us off. It really is a wonder that we are all still alive.

---I can probably go my whole life again without hearing THIS phrase: "OUR WARD LOVES! (OUR WARD LOVES!) GIRLS CAMP! (GIRLS CAMP!) OH DEEP DOWN IN OUR HEARTS, OH DEEP DOWN IN OUR HEARTS, OH DEEP DEEP OH DEEP DEEP OH DEEP DOWN IN OUR HEARTS! OH....SNAP!!!!!!" I totally don't get the "Oh Snap" thing. Can someone please explain it to me? I know. I'm horrible. I just can't get into the peppy cheers.

---Sometimes my perception is way off. You know those kinds of women that have it all together and can do everything with style and flair? The women that have the perfect families and the perfect amount of spirituality and excel in absolutely everything that they do? Well, I went to girls camp with a leader just like that. Before I started working with her in this calling, I couldn't stand her. She drove me nuts because she was so freaking perfect. I thought she had this Holier Than Thou attitude. I actually cried when I found out she would be working with me in Young Women's. I felt so intimidated by her!

I spent time with her before camp and had one of those lightbulb moments where I realized that she isn't the awful person I was painting her to be. She has great talents, but doesn't flaunt them. She gives 110% because she loves serving the Lord, not because she wants glory. Man, do I feel humbled.

So Applemom, when you read this and I know you will, I love you and I'm sorry that I thought you were so awful. You are a great example to me. And just so you know, slacking a LITTLE bit on SOMETHING wouldn't be so bad so that the rest of us could feel like we were keeping up with you, haha. And thanks for laughing when I told you how I REALLY felt. You have become a good friend.

So there is my week at Girl's Camp. I had an amazing, spiritual, exciting, fun and exhausting time. I got to know so many fantastic girls and leaders and it was so amazing to watch them get to know each other. We had girls that felt friendless leave arm in arm with other girls. We watched them bond, we watched them grow closer to Heavenly Father. I feel honored to be part of such an extraordinary experience. Not only did I get to watch the girls grow and change, but I got to grow and change myself. I came home with a clear knowledge of why I am here and how much I am loved. I came home ready to be a better person.

But just so we are clear, I'm not going camping any time soon.