SUMMER!!!

I can't believe how close it is to being summer. We only have fourteen days left of school. I swear time has gone by so fast. It seemed like just a couple of weeks ago we stared the new semester and now it is almost over. I think it is crazy. I seems like have been so busy and not have had very much free time. I have been so busy doing home work and other activities. It is just so amazing how fast time has flown by. I am so excited for summer to finally be here, but I am kind of sad too. Since I am going to be going to Davis High School, and a lot of my friends are going to be going to Layton High School. I really don't think that the district should split up the school, because most of my friends, one of my friends has been best friends since first grade, are going to a different high school than me and also a lot of people that I have been going to school with since I was in Elementary. But, I am totally excited for summer to come. I am not really sure what I am going to be doing, but I really am convince my parents to let me get a Lagoon season pass. But, the very first week after school gets out I am going on the Pioneer Trek for my church. I am not paticularly excited about it, but my mom and dad really are pressuring me to go. We are going up to Deseret Land and Livestock for the trek. Here is what the trek will kind of be like: For three days, some 220 teenagers pushed 725-pound handcarts up and down hills for 22 miles. Dinner on the first day at 10:30 p.m. consisted of a bullion based barley soup and a roll. Prior to bed, they brushed their teeth with baking soda instead of toothpaste.
No shorts or t-shirts were allowed. The girls wore bonnets, bloomers and skirts. The boys donned long sleeve shirts and cowboys hats. No Ipods, Gameboys, cell phones or even sunglasses. No candy or soda. And the group from the Canyon Rim Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints loved what sounds more like a hard-labor camp than a time for spiritual growth. “It feels good to do something hard”, said youth leader Kristin Monson. “The kids loved pulling up hard hills and were high-fiving each other with encouragement after they made it up top.” The youth were separated from their best friends and assigned to temporary families consisting of a ma and pa, aunt and uncle and several brothers and sisters. No tents were used, no soft foam pads allowed and there were no showers for three days. The trek took place recently on the 220,000-acre Deseret Land and Livestock Ranch in eastern Utah near the Wyoming border. The 14- to 18-year-old youth took on the journey knowing full well they were leaving behind the comforts of home for a few days in order to get a glimpse of what early pioneers went through. Some 70 adults consisting of medical professionals, transportation personnel, food services and other staff oversaw the event, which was at least a year in the planning. There were squares dances, tomahawk throwing, concerts and homemade taffy pulling. There was teamwork, testimonies and bonding. There were illuminated skies of stars at night and songs of praise by day. Singer and songwriter Kenneth Cope gave an impromptu concert of several of his songs and group sing-a-longs. Why put these youth through the rigors of pioneer life? “This is a pivotal generation,” said Canyon Rim Stake President Bruce McDonough, who was quoting author Sheri Dew. “We want to give the youth every advantage we can to help them succeed in life.” LDS Church service missionary Monty Bolton praised the Canyon Rim group. “I hate to brag about one group,” said Bolton, assigned to escort the numerous youth trek groups, “but this has been the best group this summer. The leaders were well organized and supported and they brought in mountain men to entertain the kids. It was a lot of fun to watch.” Only minor injuries such as blisters, sunburn, heat fatigue, were reported. Temperatures ranged from 48 degrees at night to 95 degrees during the day. That doesn't sound very fun to me, but oh well. I'm not really sure what I am going to do the rest of the summer, but I am going to try and make it really fun.