HANG ON: A Few YW Camp Highlights

What an AMAZING time we had!  Our only sorrow: that there were girls we wished were there with us!

The theme for Camp this year was "Hang On", D&C 121:7-9... very uplifting!

This year at Camp we had a small, but mighty Albany Branch in attendance.  Jenna was a YCL this year, with Zane and Ellen attending the 4th Year Canoe Trip with Sis. Smith, and Sarah and Sariah as 2nd Years back at Camp with Sis. Haddock.  We all had a blast! 
Our flag was ADORABLE, as were our shirts.  Everyone else was stuck on a monkey theme.  Owls definitely rocked at Camp this year!  Our small group made new friends with the other 2nd and 4th Years, YCLs, and some amazing leaders.  And our skits were stand-outs. 

Our 4th Years sang a beautiful song, entitled "Down To the River To Pray".  These ladies have some amazing pipes.  It was truly inspiring! I wish we had a video of THEM singing.  Here 's a YouTube of this gorgeous song.

Those of us back at Camp did something a little less spiritual...  We decided that humor was the way to go.  We need to make a video of this, as well... basically the girls laid on a table on their backs, hung their heads upside down over the side and sang.  Their chins became faces, complete with googly eyes.  Here's a pic of Sariah and Jenna (sans eyes), with Sis. Haddock under the table as Jenna's "hands".  Very silly...

Sariah won the "Sunshine" Award for being the friendliest at Camp on Day 2!  We were so proud of her!

Sarah proved she has some MEAN cleaning skills at every chore time.  And that she is a serious CARD SHARK!  Watch out for that one! 

Jenna is an amazing Youth Leader and has some serious camp skills!  And she LOVES Sis Haddock's hugs!  LOL.  Oh, and she almost DIED with a serious WEDGIE!  Ask her about it! ;)

Zane was brave-ish, except for her near drowning experience (where she nearly drowned Ellen, as well).  She worked hard and survived the Canoe Trip, all smiles!

Ellen loved her first year of Camp and did some really cool things on the Canoe Trip.  We were so glad to get some bonding time with her!   What an amazing girl!

Sis. Smith is awesome for going and SURVIVING the Canoe Trip!  Woohoo!  She's such a great leader!  We love her!

Sis. Haddock has proven that she is as goofy as she professes to be.  She was a dancing fool at Camp this year.  If only the video of her dancing skills could have uploaded on our blog!  Here's a link to her FB page, where you can check it out for yourselves...
http://www.facebook.com/#!/amie.haddock

We'll get some more stuff posted soon!  Just know it was SO MUCH FUN!!! We CANNOT wait till next year!

Cultural Celebration Video Clips

I found these videos online and thought I should post them.   At least we can see a little of the Celebration now.

This clip is from the Church News Department And the next 3 are from youtube.  Unfortunatley there are no clips of the Kansas City Kitty or Maple Leaf Rag performances.  :(

Girls' Camp Countdown

There is less than a week until the Platte City Stake Young Women's Camp!  We have 5 YW and 2 leaders from the Branch attending the entire week.  We are expecting a few more visitors during the week, as well.  We are all going to have an AMAZING time! 

The theme this year is "Hang On", based on D&C 121: 7-9

 7 My son [or daughter], peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

 8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

 9 Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

Each Branch/Ward was asked to make a flag.  We decided to go with a cute owl theme.  Our flag has lots of colorful, unique owls on a lovely tree.  The flag will read, "Albany Branch YW" and "Hang Onto WHOOO You Are.".  Cuteness!  Aren't we creative?!

Because we are so awesome, we have also made shirts that are ADORABLE!  The following is my shirt.  But note that each is a different color scheme, decorated by each unique individual.  Appliques, embroidery floss, buttons... Our ladies are artists!

Okay... so I should have ironed the shirt.  But you get the general idea, right?!



There are a few days left to do our packing and the last bit of planning.  This is gonna be a BLAST!

Courageous

Sarah and Kaleigh at the Kansas City Temple

We are so excited that Kaleigh is officially HOME!  She recently had surgery at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City.  She was very brave about the whole thing, despite the pain. 

Some of the girls were able to visit her in the hospital last Sunday.  It was so wonderful to see her smile!  Visiting with her and seeing her be so positive was such a blessing. We are so grateful to have such a good example of courage and faith.  Kaleigh, you are very loved by us all!

"Of One Heart in the Heartland"

May 5th, 2012 was a wonderful day.  The Youth of the Kansas City Temple District performed in the Youth Cultural Celebration for their prophet.  We had 6 YW from our Branch involved.  Here's a pic of one of their performance pieces.  It was fantastic!

President Thomas S. Monson presided and made the opening remarks.  He repeated a statement he made in 2008. "I am an advocate for such events.  They enable our youth to participate in something they truly find unforgettable.  The friendships they form and the memories they make will be theirs forever." He continued by reminding the youth that they should record in their journals the feelings they had.  He promised them that this would be an experience that would always be with them and that they will gladly tell their children and grandchildren about it one day.

The performance was wonderful.  The youth did their parts with zeal and near perfection.  It was so touching to be able to see the Prophet's responses and emotions.  He was excited, enthusiastic, and playful.  And he showed a great love for the youth. 

We all had perfect seats.  We could see our Branch Youth clearly as they danced AND see the Prophet very well.  I, Sister Haddock, watched his reactions to one song in particular: "We Believe", written by Jenny Phillips.  He was overcome with emotion as the youth sang about their commitment to being virtuous despite the evil of this day.  So was I!

Here is a youtube video of the song with words.  Beautiful!

As a special treat, Kenneth Cope sang "Broken" for the portion about the Joplin Recovery.  Here's a youtube of that song.

As amazing as the entire performance was, I was even more amazed after speaking to my husband.  Basically all that day had been completely chaotic.  First off, the venue was planned for 1500 kids.  By the performance date 3600 kids wished to perform!  Over 500 had decided to join in on the fun within the last week.  And the kids never actually were able to do a complete run-through of the performance, due to many factors.  Their dress rehearsal was their performance!  But you could not tell.  They did so well!

Way to go: Kayleigh, Sarah L, Blayre, Zane, Sarah P, and Sariah!

Here's a LDS Church News Article about the performance, etc.
http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/62319/Kansas-City-Missouri-Temple-The-reason-for-this-great-celebration.html