Spirit Bear Suicide and the insightful quirkiness of preschoolers

So, Girls Camp. Can't say much. There's that rule (that I usually break just a little). It was fun...it was a lot of work....and this year, it was full of drama. But being my usual self, I find crazy ways to try and ease the drama. I'm not sure it worked this year but I did have fun. On one of the first nights of girls camp the stake introduced the spirit bear. Whichever ward cheered and sang the loudest would get the spirit bear. Our little beehives screamed until our ears bled. There were several headaches induced by the screaming (if you think I'm exaggerating ask anyone who was there, but particularly ask Hailey M.). We should have won the spirit bear. Really. It should have been ours. But I think the stake decided that since we were one of the biggest wards, being the loudest shouldn't be the only prerequisite. In other words, we were robbed. So in the spirit of girls camp, the next day a few of the girls (what? you think I had something to do with it????) decided to kidnap the spirit bear and leave a ransom note. Sister Kendell (camp director extraordinaire.....seriously, she had a sash that someone awesome made her and everything but I digress....) didn't want the bear to be kidnapped. She kept pointing out that our value was integrity and that kidnapping was certainly not an integrity-filled act. We (ahem, I mean "they") took a little walk. As a little side note, if you're trying to do a covert mission, do NOT include every single 1st year. It will not be covert. "They" discovered the spirit bear was well protected. Disheartened we (eek, I mean they) returned to camp. Later, during dinner, the stake brought the mail. Imagine our surprise when there was a note from the spirit bear himself. It was addressed to Sister Kendell. The spirit bear wrote that he had not been fed since Windsor Meadows had received him. He also wrote, in great detail and horror, that he had been tied to the top of a tent and left out overnight. Poor, poor spirit bear. In the note, the spirit bear pleaded for someone, anyone, especially someone who was a preschool teacher (*cough Bess cough*) to come rescue him. Unfortunately, this tale does not end well. The spirit bear was never rescued. In fact, I have it on good authority that the spirit bear hung itself in a tree in the Kendell's front yard along with all the honey. Poor poor spirit bear. I also have on good authority that the spirit bear left a note saying something along the lines of the following:

"I thought you would come for me but alas, I have come to you instead. I would like to be cremated and have my ashes spread over Cobble Creek. I hereby bequeath all my honey to the Young Women of the West Park ward. I'm sorry. I just didn't have the spirit to go on."

So the question that comes to mind is this....where is the honey?

Now, a totally unrelated question. If you tell a little tiny white lie at girls camp (or you know, anywhere) in order to perpetuate a really funny (ok, at least to some of us) prank can you still answer "yes" to that question in your temple recommend interview? Hypothetically speaking of course.



So I went with Shannon to the last summer movie thingy at the movie theater. (Wow, that was one eloquent sentence). Half an hour after the start time, we're still sitting in our chairs waiting. Shannon went to see what was wrong. She came back to tell me the projector was having problems. I asked her "mental problems"? (ha ha, I think I'm so funny) To which Jaden replied "no Kim, you have mental problems". What an insightful 3 year old.

And my insightful little preschooler gave me this nugget last week. She came home from church all upset. Some girl in her class (in order to protect her mother's pride, I will not name names) told Ashley that she wasn't pretty. I said to Ashley "that's weird, you're gorgeous," to which she replied, "I know!!! Her eyes must be broken or something." Oh that we could all have Ashley's confidence in ourselves.