A girly weekend

Ceara, Laura & Lisa had their 'North Wind Girl's Club' retreat (a Catholic girl's group) last weekend at a Catholic church in a neighboring town. They were among about 30 other girls, ages 10 - 15, all very grounded in their faith. They had been signed up for the retreat for several weeks and had been so looking forward to it. All was well when we dropped the girls off and got them settled in. They had a fun and energetic first evening, but at about 2:00 am we got a call from the 14 year old. She wasn't feeling well and could we please come and pick her up, she asked. So Wayne, (good 'ole dad), got up, dressed, and jumped into the van to venture the 20+ miles to pick her up. The two other girls stayed at the retreat, in fact, not even realizing that their older sister was missing till an hour into the next morning. The next afternoon, when the retreat ended, we went and picked up them up.

What a great time they all had --- not a lot of sleep, but a lot of laughing, playing around, and great fellowship...worshipping, praying the Rosary, and singing...playing games and acting out skits and videotaping them...and listening to a few speakers on the topic of modesty.

Ceara was disappointed that she had missed about half of the retreat...but she slept for a solid 12+ hours after getting home, and rested throughout the weekend. She was feeling much better by the time we went to pick up Laura & Lisa.

At the end of the retreat, the leaders gave out little rewards...and funny little gifts to each team and to some of the individual girls who had shown a certain trait throughout the weekend.

Lisa was awarded the "Miss Smiley" title, for always having a smile on her face and a pleasant attitude. (Her prize---a toothbrush!) Her dad & I were amazed when they called her name, since at home she could easily be awarded the "Miss Pouty" award!

Laura's team, "The Geiko's" (???...they named their own teams...not sure what it even means!)
won prizes for the most energetic.

Lisa's team, "The Holy Chicks", won for being the kindest.

Ceara's team, "The Pink Damsels", won for being the most creative.

It was cool to see all the girls cheering one another on, and the older girls helping out the younger ones. It was a great weekend for them...the next retreat will be in 2 months, and they're already looking forward to it!