Another hike, an era comes to an end, and cooking for the masses

A few weeks ago I went on another hike with the Likin Hikin ladies- this time to Old Ephraims grave. I  have wanted to do this hike for awhile now, so was happy to be able to go.  The weather was perfect- cooler than usual and overcast for most of the time.  And the wildflowers were out in full force and so beautiful.  There is an amazing sink hole along the way that you have to wonder what caused it and how long it's been there.  It was a relatively easy 12 mile hike and I enjoyed the company and scenery very much.  It was interesting to learn more about the capture of Old Ephraim (a giant grizzly bear) as Nan read us the story while we ate our sack lunch.  A very enjoyable day!

 A day I had very much anticipated came on July 15th at 12:10 a.m. as I attended the midnight movie in Ogden of HARRY POTTER and the Deathly Hallows part 2 with Kylee, Jake and Cam.  I was more than a little sad that this movie means the END of all Harry Potter movies.  I had a severe case of depression for the next several days, and it was just starting to get better when we went to see it again Friday night, and the depression started all over again!  To say I'm a devoted fan of Harry Potter doesn't really explain how much I've loved the books and movies over the past 10 years.  It's been so fun and rewarding to read the books and watch the movies together with my family and anticipate each new book and movie.  I have no understanding or comprehension of people who aren't fans.  Needless to say, the movie exceeded my expectations and I'm just happy I love rereading books and rewatching movies.  Goodbye Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and all the other wonderful characters I've loved, hated and mourned over the years.

 In January, Mike and I were asked by a counselor in our stake presidency to be in charge of the food for our stakes (and 3 other stakes) APTC July 18-21.  APTC stands for Aaronic Priesthood Training Camp, and it's held annually for boys going into their senior year of high school and for boys who just graduated (who serve as the leaders for the younger boys).  It's like a mini-MTC experience while camping.  Since this program was started 10 years ago, we've heard so many amazing stories about how much the young men learn and are affected positively by it, so we were looking forward to our boys having that experience too.  Since Mike and I have practically no experience cooking for large groups of people, (we were told to plan on feeding 120 people, with 250 on parents night) to say were were overwhelmed would be an understatement.  We were happy when our friends the Lesters were called to help us, along with 2 other couples we didn't know.  Over the past several months, Mike and I have spent hours and hours figuring out the menu and equipment, how much to buy, where to buy it, and when to order it.  There were many areas of guesswork and cluelessness. It somehow all came together, and on Monday morning, we were ready to roll.  What helped immensely was  having plenty of cooking equipment (borrowed from a man in one of the stakes who lent us his trailer full of every piece of equipment you can imagine) and a refrigerated trailer so we didn't have to mess with coolers or making a bunch of trips into Logan to pick up food for each meal. We also had a nice, fully functional kitchen to cook in, plus a big covered pavilion with 25 picnic tables to serve in.  The whole experience was awesome as somehow the preparation for every meal was mostly stress free, and we had almost exactly the right amount of food (including seconds and thirds) for each meal.  It was amazing to be at the camp (and especially great to be there with Jake and his friends) and feel of the spirit there.  The spirit the boys felt was so strong that during the two testimony meetings we got to hear, most were crying when expressing their feelings and testimony.  It was amazing to witness.  I'm so grateful we had this opportunity, and for the help of the other couples with the cooking.  We had a lot of fun together, and it was great to spend 3 1/2 days with Mike plus the months of planning it together.

Besides three meals a day, we also prepared a 10:30 p.m. snack each night.  One night it was scones, and we had 10 pans of rolls rising to fry the 500 scones that the boys consumed and wished for more. I've never seen anything like what mealtime was like when 100 boys descended upon the food like vultures who hadn't eaten for a week. . . It really was incredible!

 One morning the boys spent having fun playing about 5 different team building/cooperation type games.  Walking around taking these pictures may have been the only thing I did for the whole time besides cooking, cleaning and preparing for the next meal!