Since Warnicks have been living at Camp Z, it has been a whirlwind of craziness trying to get ready for Girls Camp. The
night before Warnicks arrived, we had a bus load of Kittitas 6th
graders here overnight. They were
extremely well behaved and left the camp clean.
It was fun having laughter ringing through the trees again. The
principal of the Middle School wants to bring his family back...he has a lot of
“light” and loves Dad…we plan to give him a Book of Mormon.
One thing I
forgot to include in the letter about our friends Elaine and Clark Rice is that
when they were young parents, they would get a babysitter every week and go to
the temple with a group of friends to do sealings for an hour…then they would
go out to dinner or dessert. Rices had nine children, and each of the other families
were large as well. Of all their
children put together, all of their sons have gone on missions and many of
their daughters...all have been sealed in the temple and are living exemplary
lives. They attribute it in large degree to their faithful, consistent, and
unifying temple work. Now, they get
together with the same group for family home evening (“empty nesters”) to study
the scriptures and institute manual. They still have a temple/date night as
individual couples.
We had our 39th anniversary this month.
When we were in Yakima for our P-Day, Wayne and Ellen took us out to
dinner to our favorite restaurant. Our
days have been filled with deep cleaning and computer training.
This last
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Brother Brian Fauver volunteered his labor to
lay tile in the Caretakers’ House. He
and Dad worked like slaves from sun up to sun down Thursday and Friday. Saturday, they grouted what they were able to
lay and will finish the project in two weeks.
The tile goes into the hall and bathroom...also into the laundry room. It looks amazing! During this project there were days when we were without a toilet! At the Brigham Young home in St. George, he had a beautiful “chamber pot” in the bedroom. I got to experience first hand what that would have been like for them! The Warnicks will have new
tile, a new refrigerator, and a deep-cleaned camp when they take over! We feel
great about that.
We had two fathers and sons groups camping and all of the
cabins and lodge full recently...it made for some craziness. We had the cutest non-member Hispanic
family in Cabin One…they came in place of Rusty Walker’s family. Rusty is a pediatric dentist in Richland
(the Hispanic father works for him). He
is one of our favorite people!...he always brings us fruit from Costco. Well,
this time, he out did himself! He sent
(via Rick Hernandez…whose eyes sparkle with the light of Christ!) a box of
strawberries, a watermelon, 3 cantaloupe, 2 pineapples, a lattice apple pie, 2
trays of muffins, and last but not least, $30+ of steak for Chuck!…well, he did
say he would share with our families that are coming up for the 4th
of July!
Saturday,
after Chuck and Brother Fauver finished cleaning up at about noon, Carol decided to
throw a bag in the car and drive to Connell to see Eliza’s and Miriam’s ballet
recital! Chuck stayed to care for the camp…there was still a family reunion
going on. He is the best man on earth! So, the ballet was a
grandmother’s dream!...and Eliza and Miriam were without a doubt the very best
in each of their groups!..and I am not
prejudiced! After the
ballet, we enjoyed a potluck dinner – Joanna and Andrea came with their
children and contributions. It was fun
to see how Jocelyn has grown up...she made us all laugh with, “Woa! Look Mom!” Then, the children swam, and swam
and swam, while the moms life-guarded. It
was just what the doctor ordered for me...utterly decompressing! I went to
church with Melissa’s family, gathered some greens from the garden, and then I was on the road back to Camp Z.
Camp Helaman was our first group to come...the boys busied themselves serving the Camp! Each evening when things quieted down, Chuck tried to sneak away for a little fishing.
