Trek!

 Victoria and Kai got the chance to finally participate in Trek. First and last chance for Victoria, probably for Kai too. While I never got to go on Trek (I don't think we even did it in CA where I grew up), I heard so many good things about it and wanted my kids to have a chance to go. 

It was supposed to be a very hot few days, which I don't think it ended up too bad, but Kai had been planning on wearing my denim overalls, which she was permitted to, but then they advised her to just wear a skirt because it would be cooler.  She decided it was a good idea and chose my two pioneer-looking black skirts with white blouses and looked very regal! Luckily,  Victoria had her eyes on the floral prints, so no arguments ensued over what to wear!

They had to fit all their belongings in this 5-gallon bucket, minus their sleeping bags. 

My Pioneers!

Our Ward group

I don't know exactly what they did,  but I know they pushed and pulled handcarts, ate legit food from Pioneer times (cornmeal mush, beef stew, apple crisp, molasses cookies, Johnny cakes..), made group flags with whom they got to know really well as their "families ", and had a hoedown dance. My girls particularly loved the dance, even Kai, which I think surprised a lot of people because she doesn't usually get up and dance in front of our ward friends like that, but they don't see us at home! There was a quiet time to reflect, journal, read scriptures, and read a letter from their parents, followed by a testimony meeting. Before going, they each prepared an index card of information about an ancestor to think about and share about. Victoria chose her great-great-grandmother on my mom's side, Aagot, and Kai choose her 5th great-grandma on my dad's side, Anna Knight, from the Knight family who were personal friends with Joseph Smith.

The Itinerary

Kai got some rips in her hands from a rope warp wall, but she was still smiling!

Part of her orange apron is showing that she didn't wear much.

Learning parts of the hoe-down dances.

Victoria is in the group on the left and Kai is in the group on the right.

When they returned,  I was so happy to hear about the positive experiences they had and the people they grew closer to. I was also very happy to know that all the youth survived very well for 2 nights and 2 1/2 days without their phones! I was a little worried about that for Girl's camp this July since it's the first Stake camp in over two years and these kids aren't used to going without their phones! I was very grateful to some of my friends who got to go on Trek and were the ones responsible for taking all these cute pics!

Teaching Austin some of the square dances after Trek.