Jam Packed

This weekend was jam packed with events, mostly which we (the YW) were in charge of. It started with Friday night Fall Festival. Lots of people showed up with amazing soups and the kids really enjoyed the games we set up for them in different rooms. We had- Donut Strings, Mummy Wrap, Bean Bag Toss, Pumpkin Bowling and a Cupcake Walk.


We decorated the cultural hall with a "wallpaper" of crate paper in 3 different colors.



The Mummy Wrap was the biggest hit with the little kids.

And the Cupcake Walk was the biggest hit with the bigger kids. Possibly because it was dark- we only had balloons with glow sticks for lighting. I thought it was a genius idea! 



Saturday I spent most of the day shopping with some girlfriends before we headed to the stake center for a youth activity. I've never had such a successful shopping trip in all my life! I feel blessed for this little gift especially because lately  I don't feel like trying on anything. 


Sunday we had our Young Women in Excellence Program and thought it turned out really lovely. I felt the Spirit really strongly and was a complete basket case when it was my time to talk. Hopefully the girls got the message we were trying to teach. The theme was "Your Happily Ever After" based on the talk given by President Uchtdorft. 


Here's a low-down of what we did.... 


We had a "real-life" fairy tale table that the leaders decorated with photos, albums, dresses, and memorabilia.  For the back drop Cony helped me cut out old maps so I could make a "life atlas". I should say the girls brought projects and items that represented them and displayed them on tables. From their tables we had little markings to look like a "foot trail" that lead to our "real life" fairy tale table. I wrote things like praying, scripture study, attend church meetings, etc. on the road map to represent the things that help us stay on the Lord's path. 





The center pieces were decorated by a different leader that represented fairy tale characters who had big trials in their journey that lead them to their happily ever after. There was....


Snow White



Little Red Riding Hood



Cinderella and 3 Little Pigs (which the picture was too blurry to show but is in the background)



Food Table (sooo bummed that some balloons popped!)



My favorite Alexis in the world made the cupcakes and I couldn't get over how beautiful they were. She decorated each flower in every value color- including gold! 

For my dear friends who have NO idea what all this is... we have a program at church called Young Women's for the girls that are ages 12-18. Each year we do a program that highlights any projects or activities they've been involved in and help them feel Heavenly Father's love for them as His daughters. We stand and recite a theme each week that states our willingness to follow these values:

Faith

Divine Nature

Individual Worth

Knowledge

Choice & Accountability

Integrity

Good Works & 

Virtue 

Each value has a different color. Our hope is that the girls will carry these values with them the rest of their lives. And I can attest that these same values have helped me face certain trials in my life. I never dreamed that I would experience divorce, death or infertility. But I have and I'm stronger because of those trials.