The Youngbergs: August 2013

Saturday, August 24, 2013

End of summer happenings

It's crazy to think that school will be starting back up again soon! Since I've been back from camp we've been taking things pretty easy.

I've (mostly) potty trained Addison. I love how baggy her underwear is on her! She just needs to be reminded every so often.

The kids love the game "Spot it" and Addie loves to run around in just underwear.

A friend of mine arranged for a bunch of us to go on a duck tour. A car/boat that tours around town and then rides into the water. The kids loved it!

Addie's had some killer bedhead lately.

Hanging out with John's siblings (we're just missing Dustin and Cortney!)

Last week Mike took us on his boat to go salmon fishing. It was a gorgeous day, humpback whales showed up nearby and the kids got to help with reeling the fish in.

I wish I would have taken a video of them when the fish came on board! Their squeals were awesome!

(Written a day or two after I got back.)
I just got back from a wonderful week at Girls Camp. Travel to get there and back is pretty intense - we hopped on a ferry (Alaska Marine Highway) Saturday afternoon, slept on the floor that night, arrived in Juneau Sunday afternoon. A friend of mine from church came and we only had 6 younger girls to chaperone on the way up. On the way back we had 35 girls (but 4 more adults too) everyone getting off in different towns. We got on the ferry Friday afternoon and didn't get home until SUNDAY morning. It was a very long journey home but we saw so much wildlife and I had a great time getting to know the girls better. We saw several humpback whales jumping out of the water, seals, bald eagles, deer, and at a stop we walked and saw 6 black bears catching salmon in a river!
One of the highlights this trip was seeing my friend Rachel again. We had gone to camp together as youth and are now both serving in Young Womens. I stayed at their house the night before camp and then we were able to hike in together and spend some free time together while there.
My friend from Ketchikan worked together to certify knots, knives, emergency shelters, constellations and clouds. It was fun to get to work with her and get to know each of the girls at camp. With our extra time with them we taught them Spazz Uno and did some "hair fighting" with a few of them too. I met so many wonderful people and was impressed with the spiritual strength of so many of the girls.
The setting was beautiful, the girls were awesome and I had a great time! This week I'm grateful to be in my own bed, with my family, and flushing toilets!