99 bottles of Jam on the wall...

I love to have homemade strawberry freezer jam with my toast in the mornings. A few months ago, Poobie made some and it was delicious! We've been out for a couple weeks. I have been waiting for the berries to go on sale. The mothership and I were at the Reams, and I noticed EVERYONE had cases of strawberries in their carts. After scoping it out, I found the pallet of strawberries. I couldn't remember how much a case made, neither could my mom. We figured a case would make 8. I pick up 2 cases thinking I'd get 16 total bottles. That afternoon I started. The first batch, I wasn't really paying attention to the directions and added the sugar before the pectin and lemon juice...after successfully getting out most the sugar and actually reading the directions(who knew you couldn't just add everything at once?) I finished up 4 batches(1 case) and had 16 bottles of jam!! I still had another case!  I spent another morning/afternoon making the other case. I now have 30 bottles of strawberry freezer jam!

"99 bottles of jam on the wall, 99 bottles of jam. If ones of those bottles should happen to break, I have a extra you're welcome to take. 99 bottles of jam on the wall....."

All the jam.

Survival.

This past week, I was up at the Heber Valley Camp attending Grels Camp. Here is a run down of what we did on the different days:
Tuesday: Up at 7, to meet up and travel by bus to the camp ground. It takes about an hour and 15 to make it up there. Once everyone got settled in, we met with the missionaries who are serving up there for an orientation about how to treat the camp. They were so sweet. Also that day, we had ward night(where members of the ward come up) and presentation of skits.

What the cabins looks like, some are round to.

Wednesday: We went on the lake. The adult leaders get to use the paddle boats, while the girls get to use canoes. I got to be in a boat with my mom. It was fun. We ate mint mentos, laughed, and I discovered I was doing most of the paddling. One funny experience- The steering for the boat was down on the seat, so just passing by, you couldn't tell how we were moving the boat. One group of girls in a canoe asked my mom and I how we were steering, we replied 'with our minds' and promptly turned the boat and paddled away. The commitment hike was in the evening. It's a hike that is planned to help the girls feel the spirit. This year we walked around the lake, stopping every so often to hear inspirational stories. I was the fireside speaker that evening. It went well.

The value colors greet you at the entrance to camp.

Thursday: The confidence course(ropes course) was today. The main challenge was getting up a 40 foot cargo net which lead to a suspension bridge that we had to cross, then jumping off a platform to enjoy a zip line. It was fun!  They had other activities where the girls were able to work on teamwork and trust. Testimony meeting was that evening. It rained so hard for about 30 minutes and some of the grels were soaked by the time they got to the pavilion. The testimonies were nice.

Friday: We packed up, ate breakie and headed for home! My group had potty patrol, so along with cleaning out our cabin, we cleaned those too.

Conclusions: They have hot water, flushing toilets, and warm showers.  I didn't use any bug spray and only got bit once on my hand. I didn't sleep. The birds are loud at 5 am. I showered morning and night. I didn't eat any candy, but I ate lots of beef jerky. It's nice to have an ice machine while camping. I forgot my camera. Sunscreen prevents sunburns. My hat rocked. I didn't do any pranks. I missed eating lots of greens. I didn't see any ticks or snakes. Groomed trails are the way to hike. Always carry a water bottle. Be nice to the cooks and missionaries. While camping isn't my favorite thing, I did survive. I enjoyed being the young women. Would I go again? Um, not sure. I'd prefer not to, but if God needs me to camp, I'd do it.

Grels Camp Play Along

There is a song called "Lamb Chops Play Along" that my fam has changed into
'Girls(Grels) Camp Play Along'
Our version goes like this:
"Grels camp play along where girls go to play along and fun stuff is all they ever do...."

Well, I'm going to grels camp. I haven't been since I was a youth leader.  I'm not a huge camping fan, or really even a small camping fan. Everything that moves is a snake...whether not it actually is. I don't like getting all dirty, the food isn't always up to par, I have to leave my bed...It's just hard any way I look at it.
I'm going up as a Cabin Group Leader for the "Germany" cabin. Not only am I now in charge of 12-14 girls, but I am also the fireside speaker.

What did I get myself into??

We want s'more!

I got to visit Bair's again. They are such a fun fam! We got to make s'mores, which was a first for the childrens.  S'mores almost didn't happen because the weather was rainy and the wood wasn't dry enough. Not to disappoint the fam, Deaner took care of the problem. If he would have had hair, it would have singed off(something about pouring gas on the logs?). We want S'more!!

The C-Note made me one too!

Ole showing the correct eating technique.

Jacque showing us how to get 'er done.

I believe this was right after the HUGE FIRE EXPLOSION.

She ate the most.

Candy Grandma's African Violets

Great Grandma, or Candy Grandma as I knew her by, grew African Violets. While I don't know the whole story about them, I do remember seeing a picture of her with her prize winning violets. I couple years ago, I inherited a pot of African Violets from my sister. Someone she knew gave them to her, but I like to pretend they came from Candy Grandma. My violets are in bloom right now and look so pretty. Thanks Candy Grandma!

"The African Violet originates in Africa and isn’t a violet at all, but belongs to the family of Gesneriaceae. The common name comes from the primary flower color, although you can find the “violets” in pink, blue and white flowers.

The botanical name “Saintpaulia” honors Baron Walter von Saint Paul who first discovered them and brought the plants back to Europe in 1893. They adapt almost perfectly to indoor life and they bloom almost continually."

A bad day all week.

Last week was lame. Well it all started on the 4th of June.
-The Art City 5k. Not only did I get beat by Siwa and Cabanna, but I didn't even place in my age group. Who knew a 23 was slow....next year. They all better watch out.
-My pharm tech class got canceled. I have been waiting for that class for months. I even got the books. Now I have to rethink all my plans. There are multiple options I am looking at.
-I strained my quad. Doing what? I couldn't tell you. I just woke up with it hurting, which means no running. I work out all my problems when I run.
-I usually don't enjoy being set up, but for people I respect I tell them whatever. You can give the dude my number(99% of the time they never call which is fine with me) and we'll see what happens. Well, the guy called, but called me Rachel. Great.
-I don't usually get allergies, but you guessed it. They are in full force in my head.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, so here are the goods that happened.
-Got to head to Logan for a lovely birthday celebration for my Aunt! It was so fun.
-Because I didn't place in the 5k, I have a greater resolve to run harder and longer.
-Played kick ball and had the most amazing catch of my life.
-Ordered new running shoes.
-Got to see fireworks with MandyLouHoo and Cabanna-the glasses made all the difference.

Day 10 without candy

I LOVE CANDY!
I discovered I was eating way way to much of it....I mean what good does a green smoothie do if you eat a handful(or multiple handfuls) of peanut butter M&M's, starburst jellies, rolos and junior mints afterwards. I had to draw the line somewhere. I drew it 10 days ago and stepped across the no candy line.
The detox has not been smooth sailing. I couldn't go to the Reams yesterday cause I knew the candy would jump into my cart, and I'd have to eat it to make sure it didn't feel bad. Candy does have feelings.  One minute I'm happy as a clam, the next I'm falling apart. I tell the fam that it's just the candy talking and I really don't want to give them a punch in the face.  The first few weeks of the candy detox are killers. Soon, I'll be back to my airy fairy self. Until then, remember, If I ever say 'how about a punch in the face' it's not really me, that's the candy talking.