Camp Pahatse: Varsity Challenge

Camp Pahatse

By:

Samuel Elmer

 

We arrived on Friday and the first item was to

set-up Ultimate Dodgeball,

our contribution to the Varsity Challenge games.

As you can see,

in the center of the court was a giant log.

The boys wanted to place the spike-rittled log in

the center of the court for added awesomeness.

We said, "YES".

And there it is.

Bro. Womeldorf kindly cooked breakfast.

After some service we headed to the Potato Gun.

It shot the length of two football fields and

the boys were deathly afraid of it.

Not me.

Skill level ranged wildly at the archery range.

Dodgeball:

We were creamed at our own game.

Score:  0-5

Not awesome.

Back at camp for break and refreshment.

You'll notice the a table is lacking.

That's because I left it in my garage at home.

Whoopsie!

Who's bad?

Me shooting a 500 Magnum Pistol.

Awesome!

More guns!

More awesome!

Throwing tomohawks is harder than it looks.

Can it get any worse than 0-5 in Dodgeball?

Yes.

Swamping the canoe and being disqualified.

Raft-building was our strongest event.

Finally.

Old-fashioned Two-man Saw

We rocked this too.

Capture the Flag

Closing Ceremonies

The boys had a blast and really came together working hard. 

I really enjoyed getting to know our boys better,

and they're wonderful priesthood holders.

I missed my family.

And was excited to share this great experience with them.

Snow!

Lending a Hand

This year Bella and I tackled the

Mormon's Helping Hands Project

at a local park.

Our task:

To locate, clear, and stake oak seedlings.

I also volunteered to take photos of the event

and loved my instructions:

"Avoid taking pictures of smiley people staring a the camera."

What?!?

But it's a bunch of Mormons!

My Bella

Happily NOT smiling.

There's the one and only oak seedling we found!

Seriously,

it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack...

or a frown admidst this crowd!

{ he-he}

Allergies aside,

it was a great day!

I LOVE spending time with my daughter,

and lunch afterwards is always a treat.

Thanks for a wonderful day, Isabella!

I love working beside you, sweetheart!

Love,

Mom

April 2011 General Conference

To me, General Conference

is a weekend filled with peace.

To cancel out all calendar events,

and gather the family together at

the feet of the prophets

is a wonderful, and rare, thing.

Elder Richard G. Scott holds a special place in my heart,

and this conference he spoke on the eternal blessings of marriage.

"It is so rewarding to be married.

Marriage is wonderful.

In time you begin to think alike and

have the same ideas and impressions.

You have times when you are extremely happy,

times of testing,

and times of trial,

but the Lord guides you

through all of those growth experiences together."

...

Marriage IS wonderful!

And hard!

But yes, wonderful!

...

This is only one of many, MANY talks meant

for me.

And I'm so grateful for the opportunity to

learn, ponder, and

-the hard part!-

apply these principles!

The Early Bird Gets the Muffin...The Lazy Bird Skips Santa!

Don't ask me how,

but every year we fail miserably

at getting to the

come-in-your-jammies 

Ward Christmas Breakfast,

and as everyone knows,

the yummy breakfast disappears fast!

This year,

we got our heinies into gear and

actually made it on time!

While munching on

fruit, muffins, eggs, bacon,

and the all important cereal,

we visited with friends

and enjoyed the spirit of the season.

...

My favorite part?

Skipping Santa.

I know.

Sounds horrible. 

We must be super-mean parents.

But last year,

Samuel and I waited in the Santa line

all by ourselves!

Then,

when it was time to jump on the big guys knee,

we had to corral them all back-

which was no easy feat!

Nope.

I'm not doing that again!

This year we laid down the law:

If you want to see Santa,

you have to stand in line yourself. 

The whole time.

Ava considered it for all of two seconds

before she said, "No thanks."

The other kids quickly agreed.

And there you go:

No Santa!

...

Merry Christmas

to the

Man in Red!

You got a break this year!

Conference Sunday Brunch & Learning What Matters Most

When Conference Sunday rolls around,

everyone gets excited.

Yes, it means p.j.'s and a delicious brunch,

but above and beyond that is the opportunity to squish

into the couch with notepads and pen

to listen and learn at the feet of

modern day prophets.

This time around,

I was really struck by President Uchtdorf's remarks

regarding what matters most.

Of Things That Matter Most

As we turn to our Heavenly Father

and seek His wisdom regarding the things that matter most,

we learn over and over again

the importance of four key relationships:

with our God, with our families, with our fellowman, and with ourselves.

As we evaluate our own lives with a willing mind,

we will see where we have drifted from the more excellent way.
The eyes of our understanding will be opened,

and we will recognize what needs to be done

to purify our heart and refocus our life.

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Second Counselor in the First Presidency
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

His counsel to,

"...slow down a little,

steady the course,

and focus on the essentials

when experiencing adverse conditions..."

Hits the nail on the head.

I like to think I'm level-headed and very "even-keel",

but unfortunately I know

I'm passionate and extremely emotional about

even the tiniest of things!

To say this throws me off-balance occasionally

is a huge understatement!

So what to do?

Take this counsel and run with it! 

Okay, since we're "slowing down",

how about we walk with it?

Try it on for size,

and see

what happens!

The scriptures exhort us to:

...awake, and arise from the dust,

O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments,

O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes

and enlarge thy borders forever,

that thou mayest no more be confounded,

that the covenants of the Eternal Father

which he hath made unto thee,

O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.

Yea, come unto Christ,

and be perfected in him,

and deny yourselves of all ungodliness;

and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness,

and love God with all your might, mind and strength,

then is his grace sufficient for you,

that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ;

and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ,

ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ,

and deny not his power,

then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God,

through the shedding of the blood of Christ,

which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins,

that ye become holy,

without spot.

Moroni 10:31-33

I want to arise,

be strengthened,

perfected,

and certainly without spot!

And it IS possible,

through faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ,

and through following him.

...

If you'd like to check out other Conference highlights,

please visit here!

I'm Going There Some Day...

At least once a month we pack a small picnic

and take the whole family to the temple.

In good weather,

it's the best.

In bad,

we sit in the parking lot and cozy it up with hot chocolate.

Either way,

it's loads of fun.

And it makes me happy to know that one day,

our entire family won't just walk the grounds of the temple,

we'll all go inside the temple.

Together.

I can't wait.

We'll be back!

Church at 1 PM: Tea Parties, Robes, & Forts

 As much as we'd LOVE to meet
at an earlier timefor church on Sunday,

meeting at 1 PM does have some benefits.

For example...

Elegant Tea Parties

Where the dress code ranges from
semi-formal to very casual!

Cozy robes!

And monstrous forts!

It is a wonder to watch and listen as your children just...

play!

And play in peace, no less.

Now that's a blessing!