aspen grove 2013

last week, we had a family reunion at aspen grove, a byu family camp up provo canyon. we went to aspen grove 15 years ago when i was 10, so it was a coming back of sorts. the first day, i realized that i remembered almost nothing from that long ago experience at camp, which meant it was almost like i had never been before, though i think coming back as an adult made the experience a lot different anyway.

i could write a huge long post about every day and what we did and what we ate and the fun we had and the things that maybe weren't so fun and how much i miss everyone and how i didn't expect to. but i'm not really in the mood for that, so how about just the highlights and maybe a few pictures?

things about the solomon family reunion at aspen grove 2013:

this is berg, btw. not me :)

--i pretty much lived in the arts and crafts cabin. i just wanted to paint! i made a bowl and a round box, and i also made my very own wood pen, which took me right back to middle school wood shop, which also meant things kept going wrong. i was always having issues in wood shop.
--the food situation was not looking good after the first couple meals--dry enchiladas for dinner, eggs and toast for breakfast?? no thanks--but things really started to pick up around sunday lunch, and pretty soon i was sold.
--our little cluster of cabins played games every night, and those were some of the most fun times for me.
--aspen follies, one of the few things i do remember from our first outing at aspen grove, were hilarious. 
--i somehow ended up sleeping in our cabin's little loft every night, and let me tell you, those things were not made for a grown person. the actual sleeping was fine, for the most part, but getting in and out, up

and down the ladder caused me a certain amount of dread each day. anything for the experience, right?
--it felt weird to be older than the staff, which is made up mostly of byu students. have i mentioned that sometimes i feel really old?
--i love being around kids, especially when they play games with me or imagine their own fairy worlds or come around and give everyone random hugs.
--even though our cabin quarters were tight and our stuff was everywhere, it was fun to be with the family all week. and it really wasn't that bad to walk down to the communal bathroom everyday. it felt like we were the only ones using it anyway, since we weirdly never saw any of the other families who were supposedly using it, too.
--the aspen grove schedule helped to get me into a better sleep schedule. i was super tired at night, but i also didn't want to miss breakfast, so i was up at 7:30 each morning.
--even though our family reunions are getting further and further apart, i am glad we have them. we celebrate nana and bopy's 75th birthdays this year. i 'm grateful for them! it was so fun to reconnect with everybody again, aunts,
 uncles, cousins, cousin's kids alike. should we start planning for norway 2015?