In short, girls camp was AMAZING... Like 100% absolutely insanely incredible. Words can not express how much fun I had. I soooo hope I get asked again next year. Seriously, it was perfection. The days were long and busy. I was typically up by 5:30 and working in the kitchen by 6. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we got at least an hour or two of a break. Friday there was zero time for any breaks and I worked in the kitchen for over 14 hours straight. Some nights we didn't finish up until after 10:30 (after dinner we had to clean up and then get started on the following morning's breakfast like French toast casserole or breakfast burritos) and then didn't get to bed until around 1. The craziest thing to me was that our days were so long that we all (I was relieved that it wasn't just me) would think that that morning was yesterday morning because each day seemed the length of two. The other craziest thing was that I had so much energy and nothing really felt like work because it was so fun and I was constantly hanging out and joking around with people. All day long I was running around (I was the official trash person and one of the main dish washers) and up and down stairs (our pantry space and freezers and the huge walk in fridge were all downstairs in the basement) and doing a lot of heavy lifting moving tables and emptying huge trash cans etc and it just didn't even phase me. I could tell that some of the other women were getting tired or burned out more quickly than I was and I was specifically grateful for my heathy and able and youthful body that was able to keep working when others weren't awake yet or had already gone to bed.
The whole week was so much fun and I made some great friends. Tina and I had tons and tons of fun and were constantly laughing and joking. We went to Colorado city on Thursday to shower at the rec center and it was hilarious. The building was covered in a weird mural that looked like graffiti and since I hadn't brought a towel to camp Tina and I had to get creative sharing what she had. Tina also brought an iPod of music including the Wonder Woman theme song (the girls camp theme was super heroes) and "I need a hero" which we danced to in the kitchen and out of the kitchen and ummm, several other places too. I sincerely hope no one got any of that on video. It was a blast though to let loose and be a little crazy like my friends and I always were at our girls camp. The YCLs even borrowed our aprons and did a skit about Tina and I dancing to Wonder Woman while the girls went through the sandwich line to pack their sack lunches. And I got a "hero holla" for it too which I wasn't expecting since those are anonymously written and submitted by the girls.
The food was awesome and the French toast casserole recipe I submitted was perfect. Super quick to make, easy to dish, and we made the perfect amount and only had less than a pan left over (which is pretty exact considering we made 20 or 21 pans of it) and everyone was asking for the recipe. And when I was hanging out with the girls friday night while we were all brushing teeth, they were raving about the food and voted the French toast casserole to be their favorite thing of the week tied with the cafe rio pork salads we had that night.
Fun and memorable things to remember:
the nasty gluten free cream of mushroom soup for the Hawaiian haystacks that all of our gluten free people opted out of except for one and Angie (head cook) herself said looked like a mix of diarrhea and vomit.
The terribly ineffective triple sink that was made for someone in the four foot range. Our backs all killed from leaning over to wash so many dishes.
I grilled hamburgers and bacon... And I actually did a good job! It was the only real cooking (where food is altered by heat) I did the entire week. I stayed away from the oven and stove although I did use the microwave to melt some butter.
I now know the best way to cut romaine and feel confident that when it comes to bell peppers, strawberries, and tomatoes, I am the least wasteful person and get the most from my produce.
At the end of the week, we realized that no one had space to truck the recycling 45 minutes away to pueblo and had to just throw it all away. Melanie put her arm around me and said "I just want you to know that if they didn't need my truck for anything, I was going to load up all of your beloved recycling and take it to pueblo for you. Because I would really do that." I told her she didn't even need to tell me that because I already knew that she wouldn't hesitate to do that for me if she could. Sadly though, she couldn't. But at least we had managed to recylce our first 48 hours of stuff earlier in the week.
Sara kept reminding me of Emmy. They're both six feet and have dark, curly hair, and even similar personalities. I really loved that and was super sad that Sara had I leave Thursday afternoon instead of being able to stay until Saturday morning.
Saturday mornings are always the worst. It's true of stuff like snowbird and the beach, and camp was no exception. It's sad because everyone knows it's done and you're taking down decorations and clearing out the fridge and cleaning everything for the lat time so it looks just as untouched and impersonal as when you arrived. I was thinking about it though and I'm grateful for that... I think it makes it easier to leave. Because all week I was on a high and there was no place I'd rather be, but Saturday morning got me trunky enough to want to get home to my normal life.
Speaking of normal life, I got home and Abigail cuddled with me and we told each other how much we love each other and within five or so minutes, she was crying because I couldn't understand how she wanted me to tie her fairy princess slippers and I could feel my temper rising. People didn't believe me when I told them girls camp felt fun and easy like a vacation but the thing is, everyone (including myself) forgets how emotionally taxing it is to mother young children. It was a great "break" and I'm obviously rusty and out of practice. Thankfully, my honey was honing his skills while I was away and he's showing me up and steering the boat. I don't know how I'd ever survive without that guy.
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