Admittedly not my best day!

So last Sunday I was released from my church calling with the young women. As a matter of fact all of the leaders were released and an entirely new presidency put in. It was a good change and definitely a much needed change but it's still a little emotional because I have really loved working with the girls.

The only kink, however, was that this week was our annual girls' camp. The new leaders hadn't had time to get off work or arrange child care or plan anything, so we were asked to go ahead with what we'd planned for camp. I had wanted to go up all week with them, but with my mom out of town & my in-laws both having to work I didn't have a dedicated place for Gideon plus Cub Scout pack meeting was Wednesday night anyway so there was just no way I could swing being gone that long. Instead I went up early Thursday morning, which actually worked out very well because one of the other leaders had to work Friday so she was leaving Thursday afternoon and they were down a leader anyway.

It was a good couple of days. Girls' camp always is. Sure with teenage girls you're always going to have a little drama, but getting them away from their computers and cell phones and boys, making them pitch tents and cook over a camp stove is actually a really good for them. So many of them bond together and really begin feel how loved and appreciated they are by both their peers and leaders and their Heavenly Father. For our baker's dozen (yes, we had 13 girls this year) it was a great experience. I think they all grew spiritually and some of them even emotionally. We had a fantastic devotional & testimony meeting last night where many of the girls cried and talk about how wonderful the week has been and how much they loved the Gospel. As outgoing leaders, we all took our turn to tell them how much we loved them.

The last night of camp is always the craziest and last night was no exception. The older girls' took the younger ones on a snipe hunt, many pranks and practical jokes were played all around. (The bats someone hung in the latrine didn't even phase me. I went through half a dozen of these camps in my own teenage years, I know what goes on.) By the time the other leaders and I went to bed (if you can call a foam pad and sleeping bag a bed) somewhere around 1:30, there was still laughing and craziness in some of the other camps, but our chicks were all safely tucked in.

We had to get up at 7 to have breakfast and start breaking camp before the 9am devotional/closing ceremony. Afterward we finished breaking camp so that we could head home. There was only one little problem.

My keys were locked in the truck.

Travis took the jeep to Utah this week so save money on his commute, and so I took the truck up to West Piney. (It's about an hour from here up in the mountains.) I packed up all my things this morning and threw them in the truck, locking them in when I went back to camp for another load. Only realizing about an hour later that I didn't have the keys. We looked all over, but I really don't think I dropped them anywhere. I'm quite afraid they're in my purse which is sitting on the front seat of the truck, locked up tight. Poor Trevor Thomas (a neighbor and friend) tried for more than half an hour to jimmy the lock with a coat hanger, but it's a new enough vehicle that it's quite resistant to that kind of break in.

Finally we decided that I'd just ride back down to town with everyone else, get the spare keys and get a ride back up to camp for the truck. (Actually Trevor and his wife, Wendy are absolute gems and offered to take me back up as soon as we could get the keys and they could unhook their trailer.) So with no purse, wallet, cash, phone, house keys or anything else vital, I left camp with them. I explained to the care taker at the camp what was going on and he gladly agreed to keep an eye on things and make sure the truck didn't get broken into (by anyone but me.) Then I got to find out en route that the spare keys to the truck were in Utah with Travis. Why? Don't ask me!

Soooooooo, Trevor and Wendy dropped me off and my in-laws house where I at least got to see Gideon. Fortunately they have a spare key to my house and were kind enough to bring us home and let us in. When I walked down the block to the bank I ran into another friend, Lori, who, upon hearing my plight, was really worried about me not having a phone (she knows that we don't have a land line so a cell phone is really my only phone) so she gave me her cell phone for the rest of the day. She promised she was just going to be home and wouldn't need it because she does have a land line.

And so now I'm just waiting for Travis to get home, so we can load up in the jeep and head up to rescue his truck. Did I mention I'm exhausted?