Youth Conference 2010

I have to say, not bragging or anything, that our Youth Conference this year was the BEST ONE EVER!!!  We had a torrential downpour of rain MOST of the time, and we were missing some key individuals that didn’t come to play, but it still was FANTASTIC!  We missed the rest of you guys and wished you were here.

We started out with our destination set on BEAR LAKE, and our little car huffed and puffed (and sometimes hydroplaned) its way there and only went the wrong way twice… Not too bad right?  haha!  BUT FINALLY… We made it…  Just in time for a QUICK ‘N’ TASTY dinner!  Nothing better than a BEAR LAKE MONSTER BURGER (right Aaron) and a FAMOUS SHAKE!

 

    

AFTER our TUMMIES were full (or Aaron’s was hardly satisfied) we headed back to camp… Which just happened to be at Bishop Nielsen’s sister’s cabin.  The boys pitched their tents on the lawn and the Girls?  YEP, we got the FURNISHED and PLUSH room over the garage…  AND A WARM ONE AT THAT!!! 

We played some incredible games…

   

We followed up the games with treats and watching the BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME:  CONDORMAN!!!! 

At approx. 4:30AM the girls finally fell asleep only to be woken up at 8AM to make breakfast, present fantastic devotional and start our service project…

Pam, Bishop Nielsen’s sister had us put together reading books for children and it was so much fun!  We chatted and enjoyed each other’s company while helping children…  IT ALWAYS FEELS GOOD TO SERVE!

We then had lunch and headed off to Minnetonka Cave…  Where we learned all about STALAGTITES, STALAGMITES as well as THE SEVEN DWARFS, KERMITS CASTLE, THE BRIDE and GROOM, and how there are NO INDIGINOUS VAMPIRES in the cave.  Our tour guide Michael (Pronounced Mickel) was just what we needed to bring humor (unbeknownst to him) into a cave tour…  Just ask him to describe a Packrat and you will know what we mean!  WE LOVE YOU MICKEL…  Or GRUMPY (Right Bishop Smalley?)…  You just keep treckin’ your way to the top!  Even if your top may well be an ACCOUNTANT or MORTITIAN…

After the MOST INCREDIBLE CAVE TOUR IN THE WORLD, we came home and played games, went to Jesse Webb’s parent’s house and had Dutch oven dinner which included Bishop Nielsen’s FAMOUS HOMEMADE ROOT BEER, a wonderful devotional, and a very spiritual testimony meeting…

FINALLY, let me explain a little something about the cold…  The first day we arrived we were insulated with warmth from the sun we have been having during the week.  We arrived, played, had a great time and slept in the warmth of the room above the garage…  Then we awoke to RAIN and LOTS OF IT!  The temperature dropped and dropped…  We never actually felt warm again until we got back to our warm homes, took our warm showers, and thawed.  While we were at Jesse’s parent’s home, some (not all) of the young women and young men decided it would be fun to swim in the lake…  We decided to let them choose for themselves (since our church is a church that believes we must make our own choices…)  we did tell them the consequences of their choices may be brutal, but we let them make their choices anyways…  There were a couple of YM that got in…  Our girls actually were pretty smart because, well I guess we taught them well… haha!  Well, let’s just say that one of the YM (ahem… Austin… ahem….) couldn’t even feel the heat of the fire that was right in front of him when he was through…  YIKES!  IT was COLD!!!

This really was a WONDERFUL Youth Conference…  We missed the ones that couldn’t be here and hope they come next time!  Thank You Pam for letting us barge in on you…  And a HUGE THANK YOU to our good friend (and to be Mackenzie’s Boyfriend) Mickel for making us laugh until we cried without him even knowing it!  Mickel, you are one in a million- DON’T YOU DARE EVER CHANGE!!!