Ward Campout

My boys and I were blessed to participate in the ward camp out on Friday evening. It was held at Squaw Leap (oh, wait, they call it something else now...I can't remember what it is, though.) The boys set up our tent for us, and we had a great time! The dinner Friday night was pulled pork, beans, carrots, and other yummy stuff. We were running a bit late because another ward member needed a ride at the last minute, so we were VERY happy to find that there was still food for us to eat.

After dinner, Bishop gave a great talk about the priesthood, with three wonderful stories about people who learned to honor the promises they made to the Lord and received tremendous blessings in return. This was held around a campfire with our ward family there among the tee pees, with the great expanse of beautiful stars and planets above us and the hills around us. It was truly beautiful.

When the boys and I got back to our tent, we read our scriptures by lamp light, said our prayers, and crawled into our tent to sing hymns and for our "scary story exchange."  We sang "Called to Serve" and "I Love to see the Temple." Then Johnny started his scary story, and before he finished, Joe fell asleep. I listened to the families around us, singing, playing cards, talking, and wondered if this was what it would have been like to be pioneers.

As it turned out, I had a lot of time to think about a lot of things that night. Earlier in the evening I had been "attacked" by allergies. I had forgotten how allergic I am to oak trees, wildflower pollen, and grasses. Even though I took an allergy pill, I could not get the symptoms under control, and some irritant had gotten into one of my eyes, such that it kept leaking and making mucous all night. I kept waking up with one eye sealed shut, feeling unable to breathe from asthma, and with the urgent need to blow my nose. I barely slept, and instead kept thinking about people that I loved, about my family, and about my future. When the sun finally came up, I went to my van to look in the mirror and discovered that the left side of my face was swollen so much that my left eye was almost completely closed. (My right eye looked terrible, too, but that was lack of sleep.)

I applied an ice pack to it for several hours, and kept rinsing my eye out, and by about ten, it was much improved. Breakfast was pancakes, sausage and bacon...most delicious! Hot chocolate and wassail made the morning complete.

After breakfast, the boys left to go find the caves, and I went with Katie and Keith to hike to the gorge and bridge area over the San Joaquin river. We saw beautiful wildflowers, lots of birds and lots of friends as we encountered others on the trail. The gorge was breathtaking...the breeze blowing up canyon was well worth the hike. The river was flowing beautifully. The hike was an easy one and we all had fun.

After the hike we returned to Fresno. I'm always grateful for these trips into nature. They remind me how much our Father in Heaven must love us, and keep my heart grateful for all the beauty he has surrounded us with. The earth testifies of Christ! I'm also grateful for our ward family. We always feel so loved and supported when we are with them. We are truly blessed!