If I Can Just Survive Summer....

Summer has been busy....VERY busy! After we got home from Seattle in May, we had to start preparing for J and I to go on a Pioneer Trek, where we re-enact the trek that the early church members endured when the were moving west to the Salt Lake Valley. J and I were a "Ma and Pa" to the 14 to 18 year old teenagers that were participating. I made my pioneer dress and Justin's pioneer shirt (which was actually very fun). We had nine "kids" in our family, and we pulled our loaded handcart 22 miles in two very rainy and very muddy days. I participated in trek when I was a teenager, but our circumstances were VERY different (as in DRY). There was no way of escaping the mud (and keep in mind that it was Nebraska mud..which ultimately translates into clay). To give you an idea of what the trek felt like....think of "The Never Ending Story" when Atrayu is trudging through the swamp of sadness with his horse Artax. While looking for the Ancient Morla, Artax is overtaken by the saddness of the swamp and slowly sinks pittifully into the mud.....ok...now you know how Trek went,except it was a tad happier. LOL. The experience has definately helped me understand a lot more clearly what pioneers went through to move their families accross the county, and I am VERY thankful for our modern conveniences of cars, airplanes, and shelter, and......plumbing. It was a great experience though. For family night the Monday after we got back, we took Bug and T-man to the Mormon Trail Center by the Winter Quarters Temple to teach them about what mommy and daddy had done. Bug loved dressing up as a pioneer girl and we took some pictures of her with a handcart.

Me sewing up Mary Jane, our pioneer baby. I had to perform surgery because she was so heavy that she split a seam. The rule was that she could NEVER be put down. Someone had to hold her at ALL times, and the little stinker was HEAVY! No one complained about the weight she magically lost. :)

This is how muddy I was after the first day. By the end of our 22 mile journey the next day, the mud went ALOT higher! lol (notice my muddy sock line)

Me 'm Pa with Mary Jane

Bug at the Mormon Trail Center learning about the pioneers.

Once we got home I had a week to prepare to go to Girl's Camp for a week, which was very fun, but we had the opposite problem as Trek. We arrived early on Monday morning at around 8 am, and we were completely drenched in sweat just from setting up our tents. It was rediculous. The first two days of camp were so rediculously hot that we had to cut back activities to 50% the first day, and the second day was so hot that we were limited to "essential activity" and we were supposed to be drinking 2 quarts of water PER HOUR!!!! GEEZE! The GIANT slip 'N slide got ALOT of use those two days! (with heat index it was close to 110 degrees...which, in AZ isn't a big deal, but in NE with humidity...it'll kill you...as we now know looking at the death tole of cattle that week. Close to 4,000) I'm not quite sure how we survived..OH WAIT...yes I do....that afternoon when we all thought we would wither to nothing, a thunder storm that hadn't been predicted randomly formed out of no where over Little Souix (the scout ranch we were camping at). The thunder, lightening, and rain lasted probably about an hour but cooled down the temperature by TWENTY DEGREES..Folks...that was quite literally HEAVEN SENT. Maybe our Heavenly Father knew that he would be 300 virtuous women shorter on Earth if he didn't send that rain storm. lol. I am sincerely convinced that it was an answer to alot of prayers for relief. Again, I wouldn't change the experience. Once the weather cooled down the girls came to life again and the rest of the time we had at camp was great. The camp Ranger also enlightened us on him and his family's experience a little over a year ago when the tornado hit little souix head on, killing four scouts. It was a miracle he and his family survived. He described his house as looking like it had been put in a blender (and they were burried underneath it all) and they lost 95% of their belongings. It was mind boggling to listen to his descriptions. It was very humbling to listen to him tell what he could remember of the tornado and the tramatic experiences with his family that followed. Everyone at camp was given a flower and we laid them at the spot the 4 scouts were lost.
I don't have any pictures of Girls Camp because I kinda forgot my camera at home and have to rely on what other people took. (I've gathered a few on facebook, but I'm still sad that I don't have my own) Now, I've had a week and a half break since camp and it's on to "Come Home to Kaneville" a play about...you guessed it...PIONEERS...lol. They stayed in Kaneville for a while until it was safe to continue their journey to Salt Lake. We have our first rehearsal tonight, and I'm excited (and very nervous) since I've never been in a play before. It will be a new experience. The practices will be pretty intense considering we only have nine days of rehearsal before it opens...yikes. So once I survive this months adventure, it will be on to another and I'm sure you'll hear about it!!!