Whipple Cave Rappelling Trip with my Mia maids

I was the advisor to the Mia maid class in my ward ( I have just recently got called as second Counselor under Jackie Noorda, who used to be the first Counselor, whom I worked with in the Mia maids. Did that make sense?) Any way, on the 18 and 19th of April we went on an overnight camping trip to rappel down into Whipple Cave (that is located somewhere off a dirt road about an hour North of Alamo Nevada) I was a little apprehensive about this trip only because I am not a "camper". My parents idea of camping growing up was in a huge motor home or a hotel. But I took the challenge, only because I love these girls and wanted to be there when they faced their fears and to help them overcome this challenge. Here is a picture of those adorable girls taken after a Wednesday night activity to get ready for this trip. None of them had been rappelling before so we let them learn at the park on a wall that was no taller than 15 feet. They were scared but they all took the challenge and went over the wall.

When we got to the actual cave sight the mood was much different than it was at the park. The girls started getting very somber and nervous. Some of them wanted to throw up. When it got closer to my turn my stomach started to churn as well. I had rappelled some as a teenager with my older brothers, but never into a cave that was 90 feet deep. But I am proud to say that every single girl went down. Most of them cried as they were doing it (seriously bawled), but they faced their fears and accomplished their goal. I was so proud of them.

Here I am going down into what felt like the depths of despair. My heart was racing and I was trying to be brave. Once I got over the initial ledge it was fun and I was able to jump a little. My brothers would be proud!


Here is a view of us in the cave. The camera had to be zoomed in all the way in order to make out who each person was. It was a long way down. And very cold I might add.
I love this picture. This is my fearless leader Jackie. The last 8 feet or so is a drop off where you just let your self down. Well no one told Jackie this and she jumped and caught herself upside down screaming. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants (remember I am pregnant, which makes it that much easier). Anyway, maybe you had to be there!
These are our fearless bishopric members that led us into this adventure. Tom Prince and his wife Sarah. Sarah and Tom cooked all the food for us and it was fabulous!

Brother Doug Green and his wife Jill. They were fun to be around. And who knew Jill was a professional at rappelling?


Here we all are deep in the caves. We explored for over an hour. It was very cold and dirty but that did not even faze these girls. They are tough and adventurous. I feel so grateful to have been able to spend this weekend with them to bond with them and get to know them better. What a treasured memory I will never forget. I hope they remember how hard it was for them to get over the edge of that cliff and that they did it. I want them to remember that when hard things come up in their lives, they can look back on this experience and it will help them remember that they can get through it. It may take many tears and many prayers but anything is possible!

Our "Missy Moo"

"Missy Moo" aka Madeline is a Daddy's girl. Scott gave her this nickname when she was just tiny and it has stuck. In fact they have a little game that they play almost daily. Scott asks Madeline "Are you my Missy Moo?" and Madeline replies, "I'm not your Missy Moo" and this goes on a few times until she relents and giggles "I am your Missy Moo." It is amazing to me how developed her sense of humor is. She loves to be teased and she knows how to tease right back.

The reason for this post was to tell about her most recent injury. Madeline is the biggest tease and the most injury prone in our family. The day after we got home from vacation our little "Missy Moo" was drawing on the art board and lost her balance, knocking herself into the wall. Well, as you know she is a big girl and heavy at that (anyone who has held her can attest to that), the bang was strong enough to cause a shelf I had on the wall to come crashing down on her. I am still not sure what hit her but she ended up with a gash in her forehead. I contemplated whether it was bad enough to need stitches or medical attention. My better safe than sorry side won so I took her to the doctor. He said it was definitely deep enough to be stitched or glued. Who knew that you could glue a wound. That is what I opted for and he was done in a matter of minutes with no tears shed. It was amazing! Madeline had brought in some lip gloss (which is one of her passions, next to gu gus or Popsicles) and as long as no one touched her lip gloss she didn't care that they were scrubbing her open wound. She is a funny girl that knows what she wants!