We had our ward youth confence over the weekend. The spanish branch in our stake joined with us. We met at the church Thursday night and split the kids and leaders up into 4 groups each having a different colored bandana.
Here are some of them playing get to know you games
Aysia, Bailee and McKayla
I think he looks pretty good as a cowboy!
The first night the kids learned about gratitude. They learned about how people live in other parts of the world. I think they were pretty surprised at how much we have here and the conditions others live in. They were put into 3 groups to come in for dinner. It wasn't what they expected. The first group was put at a nice table with all the food they could ever want, the second group here with Aysia had to sit on the floor with a blanket and had cans for water and metal plates to eat out of and they got a tortilla with beans and rice. The 3rd group sat on the bare floor with only a can for water and they had to eat a tortilla with only rice out of their hands. It was interesting to see the reaction of the groups. The group at the table with all the food couldn't eat they felt so bad. In the end they all decided they would share their food with the other groups. It was a great learning experience for them.
On Friday we went to a ropes course in Provo where we focused on strength. We got to play some games that were fairly easy and then we had some opportunities to face more difficult challenges. Here they are playing blind tag. McKayla who is in the striped shirt is leading Aysia in the green. She is trying to keep her away from being tagged by those who are it. After each challenge we discussed what we had learned and how we can apply that to our lives and to the gospel and how we live.
This is Jessica Alba our young womens president in the pink and Stephanie Thacker the 2nd counselor. They are the best!!
Aysia climbed up this tree to a log about 30-40 feet in the air. Then she had to walk across a beam that was held between the trees that high in the air
You can't tell very well but in the middle of the picture is Colton swinging on this huge
swing that is very high in the air
Our team which included me and Heiko had to climb up this tree and stand on this platform. It was very high. Then out front quite a bit higher there was a big ring that we were told to jump to and try to catch. Quite scary but we all did it
Here is Heiko getting ready to jump. He actually caught the ring. Most of us didn't
Here I am getting ready to jump to the ring!
We also got do do the zip line which I had never done before. We again had to climb up a big
tall pole to get to the platform. This is me going down. It was a lot of fun
This is Heiko getting ready to go on the zip line
Aysia loves to climb. Here she is on this huge rock wall. She actually made
it all the way to the top. Way to go Aysia!
The last day was all about service. We split up into 3 groups. One group went to the Food Bank, one to the DI and the last group to an older ladies home in the spanish branch to do yard work. Our group went to the DI and it was great being able to help out there for 2 hours. I was impressed with the youth and how much they loved helping and felt like we needed to be there longer than we were. What a great way to spend a weekend!
I'm not sure the name of the girl on the left. The rest are in our ward. Kathryn Porter
Jenny Maples and she is our young womens 1st counselor and then Aysia
Our ward held a Court of Honor for the boys last night. Colton earned another 6 merit badges and his 1st class rank advancement. He pretty much has what he needs for his eagle except for a couple of service projects and waiting out the time in between each advancement.
Here he is pinning the 1st class rank mothers pin on me. That always makes him nervous!
Aysia, Bailee and McKayla
I think he looks pretty good as a cowboy!
The first night the kids learned about gratitude. They learned about how people live in other parts of the world. I think they were pretty surprised at how much we have here and the conditions others live in. They were put into 3 groups to come in for dinner. It wasn't what they expected. The first group was put at a nice table with all the food they could ever want, the second group here with Aysia had to sit on the floor with a blanket and had cans for water and metal plates to eat out of and they got a tortilla with beans and rice. The 3rd group sat on the bare floor with only a can for water and they had to eat a tortilla with only rice out of their hands. It was interesting to see the reaction of the groups. The group at the table with all the food couldn't eat they felt so bad. In the end they all decided they would share their food with the other groups. It was a great learning experience for them.
On Friday we went to a ropes course in Provo where we focused on strength. We got to play some games that were fairly easy and then we had some opportunities to face more difficult challenges. Here they are playing blind tag. McKayla who is in the striped shirt is leading Aysia in the green. She is trying to keep her away from being tagged by those who are it. After each challenge we discussed what we had learned and how we can apply that to our lives and to the gospel and how we live.
This is Jessica Alba our young womens president in the pink and Stephanie Thacker the 2nd counselor. They are the best!!
Aysia climbed up this tree to a log about 30-40 feet in the air. Then she had to walk across a beam that was held between the trees that high in the air
You can't tell very well but in the middle of the picture is Colton swinging on this huge
Our team which included me and Heiko had to climb up this tree and stand on this platform. It was very high. Then out front quite a bit higher there was a big ring that we were told to jump to and try to catch. Quite scary but we all did it
Here is Heiko getting ready to jump. He actually caught the ring. Most of us didn't
Here I am getting ready to jump to the ring!
We also got do do the zip line which I had never done before. We again had to climb up a big
This is Heiko getting ready to go on the zip line
Aysia loves to climb. Here she is on this huge rock wall. She actually made
I'm not sure the name of the girl on the left. The rest are in our ward. Kathryn Porter
Colton's 15th birthday was yesterday and I really didn't know what to get him so this is what his dad came home with. A piece of Americana. It is a M1 carbine rifle used in WWII. He said it was better than getting an XBox 360 which is the only thing he said he wanted. He was pretty excited. I don't know much about guns so if you want to know more about it Heiko is the one to ask. The only other thing he wants now is his driving permit! 
Me and my sister Tanya took the kids to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. Grandpa went with us even though he was sick. He can't stay home when he knows something is going on!! Here is a picture of him with the Austin, Ayisa holding Wesley and Hadlie on Josies lap. Colton was at scout camp the whole week thats why he isn't with us. We all went to lunch after and then the kids swam in our pool for a while. It was a nice day. 
