I think I already mentioned it, but Courtney and I are the Ward Activity Chairs. It’s a calling I both really like and really hate. I’m a little bit too much of a control freak and worry wart to really sit back and enjoy it, but it is also very much my element as far as where I like to be and what I like to do.
This last weekend was the ward campout, and I have been solidly dreading this for almost three months now. We spent the better part of a week prepping and gathering all the gear and making plans. While we had tremendous support from the ward and especially from the rest of the activities committee, I still spent the better part of the week worried that we wouldn’t have enough food, that it’d be too cold (which it was), and about so many other problems. I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a pessimist or anything, but I do worry a lot, especially when it is my name on the line. What can I say? I like to be successful and success in this case means that everyone enjoys themselves.
Stressful.
But now it is done. I spent all Saturday cleaning a mountain of dutch ovens and returning borrowed gear. I’m still somewhat amazed that we did what we did and that enough people stepped up to the plate to make it happen. I used to think it was rough planning a camping trip for just us, but after doing it for a ward of almost 500 people and guesstimating attendance and supplies…. Yeah. I’ll take the family trip any day.
Highlights of the trip:
- Onions–To prep for supper, the night before the campout, our neighbors downstairs, Courtney, and I chopped almost 25 pounds of onions. I have never cried so hard in my entire life, and our neighbor eventually ran down stairs and wore these ridiculous goggles for the rest of the night. It was hilarious and reminded me distinctly of that scene from Julie and Julia, which, by the way, if you have not seen yet, you need to.
- Dutch oven dinner–A tasty recipe of cheese, bacon, potatoes, broccoli, onions, and cream of chicken soup.
- Coobler around the evening fire
- Piles of dutch ovens, which I cleaned twice. Two of them, borrowed from the young men, still had food in them from who knows how long ago. Nasty. Add in the cooler from the young men that was filled with mold….
- Jason and breakfast–A good friend of mine who volunteered to cook breakfast with me. Honestly one of a relatively small group of people on this planet that truly makes me smile each time I see him.
- The voice mail–A highlight yes, but not a good one. My phone died, of course, so I finally got it charged and working again just in time to get a voice mail from someone wanting to come and see the house. The message said they’d come by sometime between 11:30 and 12:30. When I got the message, it was already 12:15, and I was at the church putting all the gear away. Courtney, to her credit, scrambled as fast as she could to put our house back together. She didn’t quite make it, but she did her best to explain away the campfire smell and mountain of dirty laundry and camping gear scattered throughout the house.
I doubt they buy…. 🙂 - Going to bed–I always get so crushed by campouts. I don’t sleep well, I forget to drink water, and I otherwise end up physically ruined. As is usual, the migraine set in about 4:00 Saturday afternoon, and I was in bed and fast asleep by 6:00. I missed the adult session of stake conference because of it, but oh how glorious it was to sleep for 12 hours. Wonderful.
And now we have at least a year until the next one.
We hope.
The Prodigal 
Ahhhhhhh hahahahahaha!!!! I like how the automatically generated possibly related post is:
A place to die
That’s just really funny to me for some reason.
Do dutch ovens really make camping easier? Our ward has us bring our own stuff for dinner and they provide just the breakfast and smores. Works out nicely and there’s usually a lot of leftover food (I think everyone worries about too little food). Matt and I bring hot dogs or something to roast. Definitely not delicious, but very little clean-up.
We do have a dutch oven activity minus the camping. Just a picnic. 🙂
Holy cow. That’s an intense ward activity. We don’t do a campout. We usually just have a potluck picnic in the church parking lot…
I’ve got a book for you, “The Underachiever’s Manifesto”
Sarah L–I used to be annoyed that at previous ward campouts, we’d generally do nothing more than sloppy joes. Now I see why, and yes, next year will be a dinner somewhat similar to that. Easy and little clean up.
Sarah B–That sounds like a hilarious book. I’ll have to read it, and hopefully just a little bit of it rubs off. 😉
Oh, and did I mention I have to plan the food for a wedding this Saturday?
why do those who worry the most also tend to be over achievers, too? love that ward camp out, don’t think you’re going to get away with no dutch oven next year:) you have set the standard now!!!!
wow.
In a way I can sympathise but I admit… yours was a lot more stressful and difficult than mine. I have a hard time not trying to top someone else’s bad experience… but in this case I got nuthin.
What? Food for a wedding? you are, of course, serving mini totinos pizzas with the finest creamery ranch and little beef’n’cheez melts. And red juice. And Porcupine pie with a side of vanilla soup. And Zuchini steamed, chopped, and in bread form.
Sadly no, nsg. Simple BYU catering.
But I did appreciate the Neil Diamond reference. An odd but enjoyable song.
I’ve only ever heard it sung by a slightly-off-key older man who only knows how to strum a guitar 🙂 Niel probably sings it better. I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt here, see???