Camping in Sedona

It has been crazy busy around here this past week.

Thursday, September 17 was my big quarterly activity for my women's group at church. I organized a "Seriously Simple Craft" night. We made framed magnet boards, silver-leafed quotes in frames, honey pots, clear pebble magnets, and no-sew canvas bags. Everything turned out great. The crafts were super easy to make and really cute (especially the bags). We had a great turn out and had fun visiting. We snacked on a seriously simple dessert of cookies and milk. Now it is time to start planning the next one . . . well, maybe next week.

Last Friday was our church's camp out at Chavez Crossing in Sedona. Heather invited a couple of cousins and we left after everyone got out of school. We ended up stopping for dinner at Subway and setting up our tent in the dark (it is getting darker much earlier now, in case you didn't notice). The girls were helpful and held flashlights while I set up the tent (fortunately, it is an easy tent to set up). We enjoyed the evening sitting around the campfire and eating s'mores and Dutch oven desserts. Phil Gray made the best strawberry cobbler!

Later in the evening a good friend, Mark Boirum, had an attack of kidney stones. His wife took him to the hospital and sure enough, he had two. They got back to camp after everyone was asleep. Since they were in the tent next door to us, I heard them and got up to help them pack up their stuff so Mark could pass his stones in the comfort of his own home. He was in a lot of pain. He is doing okay now.

I love camping, but didn't sleep well. My sleeping bag was so hot! So I would get too hot, wake up, and get out of it. A few minutes later, I would wake up freezing. Hot, cold, hot, cold . . . all night. The girls slept great. Fortunately, no one had to use the potty during the night. There were a few ginormous bug-like creatures in there. Everytime I went in there, I had visions of X-Files -- Tooms peering up from the bottom of the outhouse.

In the morning, Terry Starks made his famous big breakfast: pancakes, French toast, quesadillas, egg cassarole, and tang. I look forward to that big yummy breakfast every year.

Taylor and Heather

After breakfast, the girls went hiking and played a few games (like egg golf). I think Maddie won the mummy wrapping contest.

Maddie Heywood: The Mummy

They also had fun swimming in Oak Creek.

The Girls: Carrie, Heather, Cambria, Jessie, Allie, Maddie, Annie, Taylor, Dana

Heather ran into a branch and gave herself a scar on her forhead. She is very proud of her "Harry Potter" scar.

We broke camp at lunch time and went to Wildflower for lunch. While we were there, we saw the nerdy kid, Neville, from the Nickelodeon show i-Carly. All the young girls in the restaurant were squealing except for Heather, Dana, and Taylor because they didn't figure out who he was until he walked out of the restaurant. So no pictures, but they were excited to have seen somebody famous. And then because Coldstone Creamery was next door, we had to get some ice cream. We headed home after that. Dana slept most of the way. Heather and Taylor talked Harry Potter the whole way.

On Sunday, I decided to spend the day recovering because I was so tired, but it is Wednesday and I am STILL pooped! I hope to recover soon, because it is Girl's Night Out tomorrow night! :-)