Christmas 2008

It is a wonderful Christmas morning in the Sampson home. We have Tiffany's family visiting with us. Janelle and her children arrived a few days ago. Her husband, Ed, flew in yesterday. Last night we had a fondue and gormet dinner, with a chocolate fountain as an extra treat for the kiddies (all 9 of them). Sydney gave a wonderful dinner prayer that made sure the "Guest of Honor" was a part of our Christmas festivities.

After dinner we gathered around the Christmas tree and read Luke 2. Then everyone opened one present from their secret Santa. I got Wii Carnival Games. Tiff scored with a copy of The Four Agreements and The Last Lecture. After that we listened to Christmas music, hung out, and made trips to the chocolate fountain again (and again and again). The younger kiddies tracked Santa's progress on the NORAD web site.

The Montenegro family came by with their two dozen kids (alright let's be fair, they only have one dozen kids, and one of them was adopted). They sang Christmas carols to us and hung around for a little while.

Ed and I took on Janelle and Tiff in Wii bowling. It is always a lot of fun when adults play video games.

As things settled down our children tucked into bed and Janelle's family gathered around the Christmas tree and read stories together before falling asleep in front of the tree (which meant Santa REALLY had to tip toe around to drop the gifts off). As they fell asleep I baked an apple pie so it could cool off in time to be enjoyed. Tiff and I stayed up till about 1:00 a.m. taking care of things before I about passed out from exhaustion.

We woke up this morning just before 7:00 a.m. and came down to open our presents. Everyone seemed to have a great time. When the gifts wer all unwrapped Tiffany started baking crepes for everyone. Daryl and I took off at about 9:45 a.m. to give my friend Gary his car back. Gary had loaned it to us while my truck had its fuel pump replaced. Daryl was just sick he had to follow me in the Porsche while I drove Gary's Pathfinder back to his house.

It is coming up on noon right now and everyone is taking turns playing Wii, X-Box, and snacking. I am hoping someone will join me for a run sometime today. It is a little overcast so I may choose to hit the gym instead. All in all it has been a wonderful Christmas 2008.

Tiffany replies

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper

2. Real tree or artificial? Real, but I have given in to the fake thing

3. When do you put up the tree? Monday after Thanksgiving

4. When do you take the tree down? right after Christmas

5. Do you like eggnog? no

7. The hardest person to buy for? since I love shopping sooo much and spend soooo much time doing it I can always come up with something for everyone

8. Easiest person to buy for? my girls

9. Do you have a Nativity Scene? ya the best Fontanini (I love collecting the whole village)

10. Mail or Christmas cards? I don't get the question but I do send cards in hopes I will hear
back from everyone

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? disco light

12. Best Christmas gift you ever received? ijoy massage chair (best gift I have ever received)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas presents? Oct

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? yes

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? peanut butter fudge

16. Lights on the tree? yes the prelit fake thing

17. Favorite Christmas Song? Oh, Holy Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home until the day after, then traveling to a great family reunion

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes

20. What's on the top of the tree? Lighted star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? both

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? All the fattening treats people bring when I'm trying to be good.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Started collecting ornaments from the 14 countries I have visited

24. Favorite Christmas Dinner? cooking with the little pans. a tradition we brought back from Holland

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I already got my present. All my siblings are coming to the reunion

26. Who is your favorite Christmas Character? bimbi

27. Who is most likely to respond to this? Katie

28. Who is least likely to respond to this? any of my siblings

29. What is your favorite Christmas CD? "It's A Beautiful Christmas" with classic hits by Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Doris Day, Jonny Mathis and more

Santa Run

My nine year old, my seven year old, my three year old, and I ran the Opportunity Village Santa Run 5K yesterday (ok, the three year old rode in the stroller, I am not sadistic). The run happens in downtown Vegas every year. It is an annual attempt to break the world record for the most Santa's in one place at one time. Last year our entire family ran it (the photo from last year is below) and we broke the record, but it was broken again a few weeks later in Great Britan.

This year we had more participants than last year, but I have no idea if we broke the record again or not. The girls did great. We carried bells with us. I strapped a boom box to the stroller and played Christmas music throughout our run. People started running with us, commenting on how they appreciated the music. My daughters complaned the entire last mile that they would not be able to make it to the end, but as soon as it we crossed the finish line my girls begged me to take them on a walk of the Freemont Street Experience to gather all the freebie gifts and handouts that were available from all the sponsors of the event (as well as go into the blow up jump house that was set up on the Strip). They had a great time. Guess they had a few miles left in them after all.

It was a wonderful experience.

David is a MARATHON MAN!!!

Ok a little background is warranted before I get to the meat of what happened today. But even before that I need to say that if ANYONE completes a marathon they have accomplished something magnificent. Unfortunately (at least I am told it is unfortunate) whenever I accomplish something, or my daughters accomplish something, or Tiffany accomplishes something, I always tend to believe that those accomplishments are a little more wonderful than they would have been if someone else had accomplished the same thing. It's wrong, I know it, and I am still working on it after all these years. But I still suffer from that shortcoming. That being said, I believe that even if I did not have that shortcoming, and even if I was someone else on the outside looking in, I (or the someone else) would still believe that my accomplishment today was particularly amazing (or maybe I am really just THAT evil :-)

Now for the background that makes what I said above make a little more sense. A little over two years ago, to put it as mildly as I can, I was NOT a runner. I don't mean I was not a marathon runner, I was NOT a runner at all. You really need to understand what I mean by that. I weighed over (or at the time I would tell you "close to") 300 pounds and I was NOT a runner at all. It was so bad that it was truly physically impossible for a dog to "chase" me, because if a dog decided to come after me the only thing that would even enter my mind that I could possibly do about it was get bit!!

Perhaps this will illustrate the situation from a few years back.



I know.

Anyway, several years ago (I find myself starting more and more sentences with that phrase and it ticks me off) my friend Chris Jolley told me that the next time I run will be the first time, and he was correct. And that first time did not come until a little over two years ago. So two years ago Dawn Hooker, Tammy Harless and Thomas Christensen bought me a Mio watch with an on-board heart rate monitor. When I got the gift I thought it was the lamest gift anyone had ever given me in my life. Sorry Dawn Tammy and Thom, I know you meant well and at the time I did appreciate the thought, but when you give someone who weighs over 3-bills a watch that can track his heart rate, he cannot help but feel you are "rubbing it in". Now two years later I hold that watch sacred and consider it the greatest birthday present anyone ever gave me (sorry Tiff, I loved the guitar and amp you gave me in 1994, but your gift(s) has/have been topped. Feel free to get to work on reclaiming the title if you wish!!).

So I get the heart rate monitor watch and I take it out on a walk around my block and see what my heart rate does. Then I do the same thing the next day. Then I try to make it a mile. Then I try jogging a mile, then two miles, and within a few weeks I am jogging two miles a day 5-6 days a week. On a Saturday in November I go to my daughter's soccer game and after the game we go to the Black Bear restaurant for breakfast. While we are there several people come in wearing sweatshirts and runner bibs. They had just completed the "Turkey Trot", 5K and 10K run the Las Vegas Running Team sponsors the Saturday before Thanksgiving every year. Seeing the runners inspires me and I think "I could finish a 5K".

So I go online and see when the next 5K run will be held. Turned out it was Thanksgiving morning, five days later. So I sign up, knuckle down, and complete the 3.1 mile run to start my Thanksgiving. After my first 5K I started signing up for all of the 5K runs the Running Team held. They do about one a month, so it kept me training and kept me pushing. I ran a 10K (6.2 miles) in August 2007, and went after my first half marathon in January 2008. After that I decided I should go for a marathon. By this time I had lost 60 some odd pounds and everyone was asking me what was my secret. I told them running. When you tell people you run regularly you are always asked "have you done a marathon?" I was sick of saying "no", so I looked for a marathon to run. As it turns out most marathons are run on Sundays, which is not something I would chose to do. The only other marathons I found on a Saturday in 2008 was one at Lake Mead in August (110 degree heat), and the St. George marathon. I tried to get into St. George but they hold a lottery with a 50/50 chance of getting in if you are not a Utah resident. I did not make it in. I had pretty much given up on my goal of running a marathon in 2008 when Carl Christensen took the time to talk to me about what a marathon requires, options regarding marathons in the Nevada area, and most importantly, gave me a renewed motivation to GET MY GOAL ACCOMPLISHED. I took his kick in the behind and got on the stick (which hurts right after you have been kicked in the behind by the way).

I found the Valley of Fire marathon, which takes place in early November, on a Saturday, in relatively cool temperatures. Everyone I talked to about the VOF marathon said it is ridiculously HARD, and is by far the hardest marathon in Nevada each year. The VOF website even advertises that it "will not be your best time" but is a beautiful run you will never forget. With Carl's motivating influence I made the choice to not let anything stop me from accomplishing my goal (I have even called it a dream) of running a marathon in 2008. I signed up and started a training program that had me running 5-10 miles a day most days during the week and long runs, anywhere from 12-20 miles, on Saturdays. As I pursued the rigorous training I learned what those in the know mean when they say "26.2 is the easy part" because the day in day out training is so hard (I even ran wherever we went on vacation) that the 26.2 miles of the marathon pale in comparison.

Well today finally came and I woke my family up at 5:30 a.m. to get them to the VOF marathon start by 8:00. Tiffany agreed to entertain the girls at VOF (which is a State park in Nevada) while I ran. The participants lined up at the start and the starter's gun sounded. I was off.



Right out of the gate we made a right turn and ran straight up a STEEP hill for the first mile. I had been told the VOF run was particularly brutal but I had no idea how sadistic the route really was. After we topped the hill it was rollers out to the turn around. The race coordinators did a great job of placing aid stations every 2 miles. The turn around was a little over 6 and a half miles out because the race route had us run out and back in one direction to complete a half marathon (with the half marathon participants ending there) and then up and back in another direction to complete the second half of the marathon. Out and back for the first half was really fun. The rollers did not bother me that much and the aid stations made the time pass pretty quickly. It was a little hard to hear all the half-marathon participants yell out things like "half way there" and "thank goodness its almost over" when I had another half a marathon to still complete, but I got through it without cursing their names too much.



I finished the first half in 2 hours and 2 minutes (which was my finishing time in the half marathon I completed in January of this year). I gave a wave to my wife and daughters, enjoyed their screams of encouragement, banked a right turn and headed up the road for the second half. I say headed "up the road" because the soulless race coordinators had us run 13.1 miles, take a right, and then run over six and a half miles ALL UPHILL!!! It culminated at 18.5 miles when we ran straight up a way steep switchback road that went for half a mile. Not cool. After I hit the top of the hill things leveled off for the last mile to the 20 mile turn around. Now it was 6.2 miles downhill to the finish. I put a plan in effect that I came up with a few weeks ago, to run 20 miles (which is the farthest I had run before today) and then dedicate each of the remaining miles to a member of my family. Mile 20 was for Tiffany, miles 21, 22, 23, and 24 were each dedicated to one of my four daughters, and 25 - 26.2 was for ME. So I started the plan and things went pretty well (I'd be danged if I was going to quit on Tiffany's mile, or any of my girl's miles).



Before I continue the story I need to mention something else. As the run progressed I stopped at the aid stations for water and power gels. They also had bananas and orange slices. I ate an orange slice at two of the stops thinking it would be helpful. I obviously forgot about the last time I ate orange slices when running. It was the half marathon at Lake Mead in August of this year (Moonlight madness, it started after the sun went down so we only had to run in 100 degree heat, instead of the 110 heat during the day). After I completed that run I ate an orange and tried to cool down. About 15 minutes after I finished I threw up. That was the only time I had ever thrown up after running.

Back to the marathon - I finished Tiffany's mile, as well as mile 21. A quarter of a mile into mile 22 my stomach started feeling really bad. Not cramping, but nausea. I suppose you could also say I felt a little tightness as well (which is a word rarely, if ever, used to describe my stomach). At 22.5 miles I stepped off the road and put my hands on my knees. I no sooner bent over than I dry heaved and thought "here it comes". Sure enough I threw up. I stayed in that position for a little bit until I thought I was ready to continue. As I went to take my first step I collapsed onto one knee. A car happened to be coming toward me and pulled to the side of the road. A lady got out and asked me if I wanted some water. I told her no. She offered again and told me "I have a bottle you can take with you." I told her that the last thing I needed was water because I had just thrown up. She then asked me if I wanted a ride, to which I responded "NO!!!" Truth be told I may have responded to her by saying the opposite of "Heaven's yes". In any event I was just over 3 miles from the finish and was not going to give up at this point.

I started walking for 100 feet and, like most everyone probably experiences after vomiting, I began to feel better. I then broke into a slow trot that made its way into a slow jog, and finally a slow run. The last three miles were torture. I could not believe how hard it was to keep my body moving. I had been dealing with an off and on cramp in my right calf that really made itself known during the last little bit. I kept reminding myself that everyone was going to be asking how the run went and I would not be telling folks I made it 23 or 24 miles and then gave up. Two things became very apparent to me during miles 23 and 24, 1) finishing a marathon is a big freaking deal, and 2) those guys who say 26.2 is the easy part are full of GARBAGE!!!

The last mile was the easiest of the final 6. There was a slight climb before a big descent to the finish. When I passed mile 25 I could see the finish. At that point, as Thom Thomas (one of the guys I do my Red Rock runs with) puts it, "the horses can see the barn." I picked up my pace a little and pushed to complete the marathon. About a quarter of a mile from the end three of my daughters were standing just off the roadway and joined me for the last little bit.



I crossed in 4:41. It is a time I am happy to have, especially given the ridiculously difficult course. Tiffany has been spoiling me all day today, waiting on me hand and foot, and making sure I am feeling ok. She also hired a mobile massage company to come to our home and give both of us massages. She is a keeper!



At the beginning of all of this I said that I consider my marathon a remarkable accomplishment. While I do consider it remarkable, I know there is only one reason why I was able to accomplish it, and that reason is that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. If I can go from where I was for all of my life when it comes to running (up to two years ago) to running a marathon today then ANYONE CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING. Feel free to take that list of all the things you think you cannot do and PITCH IT IN THE TRASH!! While I don't outwardly express it (and for much of my life was probably too big of a doofball to believe it) I AM NO BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE IN THIS WORLD. There isn't anyone, anywhere, who does not have the ability to do anything they set their sights on and work hard enough to achieve.

Now I don't want this to turn into some "Just believe in yourself and everything you ever dreamed of will happen to you." Bologna! Two and a half years ago I could have believed harder than those dipwads who blow themselves up for Osama Bin Laden and it wouldn't have magically transformed me into a marathon man. It takes work, lots and lots (and lots) of work. But on the other side of that work you will see all of the things that make up your wildest dreams happen (and some you never even had the guts to dream about will happen too). When I ran my first 5K, running a marathon was not even on my list of crazy stuff that I may one day think about if I had millions of dollars, all day to train, and all the liposuction money could buy. It was not even CLOSE to something I would have ever envisioned even considering. In fact, when Chris Jolley was talking about running the St. George marathon last year I did not think he was crazy, I thought he was rubber-room-living, rabbit-boiling, thinking-his-dog-is-a-reincarnated-Indian-Chief (and talking to Chief Milo about running a marathon) NREAKING FUTS!

I hope I have given you some idea as to how "impossible" my ever running a marathon once was and how very real it all became today. I does not matter what your dreams are in life, none of them are as whacked out crazy as the idea of David Sampson running a marathon. You can achieve whatever your dreams are, just work hard for it and refuse to accept anything less than making your dreams come true. I promise you that you can do it.

Toxaway Run is DONE

I spent the last two days flying to Idaho, running the Toxaway Loop, and flying home. Tom Thomas, Chris Holmen, David Francis, and Steve Hamilton and I were the only ones who went through with what 13 runners originally sighed up for. We flew out Thursday afternoon to Boise, and took a van to Sun Valley. As an aside we stopped in Haley ID to visit Tom's parents. Tom's dad is Perry Thomas, of Thomas & Mack fame. We got a tour of their world famous stables and got to see Britina, the World's champion and bronze medalist at Athens.

We spent the night at Tom's cabin. Friday morning we drove up to Pettit Lake and started the run. It was a 19 mile hike/run with a climb of over 4,000 feet in elevation. We passed Pettit Lake, Alice Lake, Twin Lake (or something like that), and Toxaway Lake. It was a great experience. I finished third of the five of us. We all went for a dip in Pettit Lake at the end of the run to cool down.

After the run we got stuck because the pass to get back to Sun Valley was closed. The geniuses with the Idaho park service started a "control burn" right by the freeway on a Friday evening. The "control burn" got out of control and the rangers ended up having to close the road. After waiting a few hours we learned the road was not going to open that night, so we made an end-run around the mountain and took the long way through Challis ID and around back to Sun City. It was a little over an hour trip to get from Sun Valley To Pettit, but the trip back through Challis was about two and a half hours. This morning we got up, grabbed breakfast and drove to Boise. We hung out at the farmer's market in Boise before hitting the airport and getting on our plane home. Everyone is already talking about what our next trip will be. I am sure it will be a wonderful experience.

Weekend at Mammoth

This last Memorial Day weekend we went to the Cabin at Mammoth Creek. We had a load of fun fishing out back. I even convinced Tiffany to take the family up to the lost lake for a picnic. She was not a big fan of the drive up, but once we got there everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. On Saturday we drove over to Duck Creek and visited the Hodson family. They are a family in our Ward who happen to have a HUGE and AMAZING place in Duck Creek. Tiffany got bit by the cabin bug about as bad as ever. Tuesday night she was all over the web looking for a place in Duck Creek.

Oh, and I broke a window at the Cabin trying to kill a bee with an empty Gatorade bottle (and no, I did not throw the bottle). We got a piece of glass to replace the pane I broke, and installed it by relying on some of the abilities I gained while running a painting company in law school.

We did not leave until after 5:00 p.m. Monday evening, and got home around 9:00 p.m. Vegas time. It was a wonderful extended weekend.

Duct Tape Voyager

So a few weekends ago I notice that the Desert Breeze Park is going to have a cardboard regatta. You can make a boat out of cardboard and duct tape, and nothing else. I did not see it in time to put something together for the regatta, so instead I made one in my garage and threw it into my pool. It held me, and my daughters, for about half an hour before it fell to peices.

15 Years

Tiffany and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary yesterday. August 20, 1993 was a great day for us. For our commemoration we ate dinner at "Rising Sun", our favorite sushi bar. Then we went to see Danny Gans perform at the Mirage. After that we checked in to the Silverton Hotel for the evening. When we woke up today we had breakfast at the cafe and then walked around the Bass Pro Shop. It is a HUGE outdoors and sporting goods store. Tiff had a lot of fun checking out the camping equipment. I liked the trout and bass tanks, as well as looking at the boats.

When we got back home we packed up the girls and spent the afternoon at the Desert Breeze water park. Our girls loved it. Altogether it has been a wonderful last two days. When Tiff woke up this morning I told her "we have started our next 15 years". I cannot see how it could be possible, but I hope they are as magnificent as the first 15 years.

I am running a marathon

Earlier this year I set a goal to run a marathon in 2008. When I tried to find a marathon to run I did not have much luck. All the marathons I found were either on a Sunday or in August in Nevada in 110 degree heat. I put in to run the St. George marathon but I was not picked in their lottery. I had essentially given up and resigned myself to waiting until January 2009 to run the "Running from an Angel" marathon at Lake Mead. Then I got an email about the Valley of Fire marathon that will take place November 22, 2008. It is a Saturday and should be held in prime running temperature. I signed up and have started a formal marathon training program I found online through Runner's Magazine.

I cannot believe I have come this far. I do not mean to toot my own horn, but DANG!!! I AM GOING TO RUN A MARATHON IN THREE MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!! Two years ago I was 300+ pounds and would not run even if a dog was chasing me!! It just goes to show that nothing, and that really means NOTHING, is beyond your abilities if you apply yourself.

Kevin's graduation

This last weekend our family traveled to Tooele Utah to attend my younger brother's college graduation. My little bro (Kevin) received his Bachelor's degree in criminal justice which he plans to put to good use in moving up the ladder as a TSA guard at the Salt Lake City airport.

We left Thursday afternoon and got to Stockton (where my parents live) Thursday night. Friday Kevin and I played golf with my dad, and with Kevin's father in law (Bob). In the afternoon my girls and I went fishing with my father. Dad learned of a small reservoir outside Stockton that is packed with trout. That evening the whole family went to the Mandarin, which is our favorite restaurant in Utah. It is a local Chinese eatery in Bountiful.

Saturday my girls had breakfast at my parent's place while I ran 9.5 miles in Tooele. We then traveled to Salt Lake City for the graduation ceremony. It was a great event. During the ceremony it dawned on me (and I hope I am right) that in college when the instructors are teaching math, writing, science, or whatever else, underneath it all the lesson that every teacher is trying to get their students to learn is that there is nothing they cannot accomplish. When you think the lessons are difficult, or the homework is tough, or the tests are hard, it is because they are supposed to be. By challenging you in whatever area of study the instructor is teaching they are really teaching you that you can accomplish anything. That is the principle lesson you need to learn in college (or so it seems to me).

After the graduation the family went to the Mayan Adventure restaurant in Sandy Utah. It was a really interesting place. It is a HUGE restaurant that has four levels and a large pool in the center with cliffs and a waterfall. Every 20 minutes or so they had actors dressed like Mayan natives come out and put on a cliff diving show. Very interesting experience. I recommend it to anyone.

Sunday we went to Church with my parents and then drove home. The trip home went quick with only one stop in Filmore for a potty break for the girls, and one more potty stop in Hidden Valley, about 60 miles outside of Las Vegas. The entire trip had the girls either napping or watching DVD's in the car while Tiff read a book.

Moonlight Madness Half Marathon

A few months ago I signed up for the "Moonlight Madness Six Tunnels Half Marathon". It really seemed like a good idea at the time. I ran a half marathon last January and have a strong desire to run a marathon sometime this year or early next year. The Half Marathon started at 9:00 p.m. last night and passed through three different bike and/or walking trails along Lake Mead. I am told I finished 22nd overall. My time was really slow. It was 100 degrees outside. The course followed three out and back trails, two of which were gradual climbs and descents with the final trail being a not so gradual climb and descent. Running at night with a headlamp was interesting, but not much fun. There were a lot of complaints of dizziness after the 10 mile mark.

After I finished I loaded up on water. The course directors also had oranges available. I ate a few slices of an orange and it was the most disgusting orange I have ever tried. I don't know if it was the orange, too much water, or too much running, but when I got to my car to drive home I lost it and threw up in the parking lot. When I got home my abs and/or stomach ached and I could not sleep. I was up until about 5:30 a.m. and then fell asleep for an hour or so. I then went back to sleep around 9:30 a.m. until noon. Hopefully I will make it through the day and sleep VERY well tonight.

All in all it was a rewarding experience and I am glad I did it. Hopefully I will start feeling more like myself over the next few hours and bask in the accomplishment.

Camping in Pine Valley

Our family spent the second half of this week in Pine Valley. We camped in the South Juniper camp site. It was a pretty good set up. We rolled in Wednesday night and got set up at about 10:00 p.m. Thursday we got up and spent the day relaxing. I took my oldest fishing at the resevouir. The fishing was so so there, but down below the resevouir where it emptied in to the creek the fishing was AMAZING. There were two small pools at the base of the outlet that were both very hot. I would cast into one pool and get a strike, then cast into the next pool and get a strike. We were stricktly catch and release per Tiffany's orders.

Thursday night my oldest was attacked by mosquitos all night. She got over 40 bites!

Friday I ran 6.75 miles, which was no small feat given the altitude and the mountain roads I had to climb. Our family drove into a small town for supplies. We showered in a make shift structure of a tarp with some rope tied around three trees. Tiff set up a solar shower that got hot when left in the sun all day.

Friday evening a storm hit that dumped rain on us. Turns out our tent is pretty water tight so things were ok, but Tiff and I missed out on an evening in front of the fire that we were hoping for.

Saturday I did another 6.5 miles. We packed up and trucked back to Vegas.

Let's give this a try.

The Sampsons are finally part of the blog world! We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (commonly called Mormons). We live in Las Vegas where I work as an attorney and my wife cares for our children.

My wife, Tiffany, just finished our Church's Girls' Camp. She served as the Camp Director (she was responsible for a camp of 120 12-18 year old young ladies). It was a busy responsibilty for her but she got a lot of joy out of it.