YOUTH WORKOUT/YOGA

The Laurel Class was in charge of Mutual this month... and we had not had a REAL Presidency Meeting yet this year. Being in my current AMAZING- PREGNANT- FORGETTING- THINGS- ALL- THE- TIME- STATE I realized while I was with the youth on our Temple Trip that we did not have a plan for THIS WEEKS mutual... AHHHHHHHH!
It really was lovely that we were at the Temple because I was able to get inspiration like never before. It just came to me... YOGA. My Laurel Class President (whom I LOVE and ADORE) was at a Choir Performance, but her little brother and parents were on the trip so I was able to talk with her mom about my ideas...

After I told her YOGA she let me know that she used to teach aerobic classes of some sort and this was right up her ally! OH that made me feel SO much better! She offered to help her daughter lead the class (which she did AMAZINGLY!! Thank you Sister Escobar!!) 

and I was SO grateful  I was having NIGHTMARES that my prego belly was going to try to show these Young Women AND Young Men some "workout moves" can you IMAGINE?? UGH!

SO we decided to make it a LITTLE more Young Men friendly and made it more of a "Workout Night" than a "Yoga Night"... I think it was a success!!

We had 32 youth show up, and it was fun watching them WORK IT!

 They started out with warm ups. They did them walking around in a circle... 

See the Video Below for how fun that was!!

 Then they moved to the floor for some stretching moves and exercise!!

Then they got up and worked on some balancing and core strength moves... 

At the end of the workout Sister Escobar informed us that they had worked out 

EVERY MUSCLE in the workout! 

It is a TOTAL BODY WORKOUT that she had them do!

Then ended the night with a little YOGA and Relaxation...

Video with the kids Just Beginning the night having some FUN!!

We promised an AMAZING TREAT...

I made Healthy Banana Muffins with Oats and VERY little sugar

Smoothies with only Juice, Fruit and Ice...

and Cuties (California Clementines) for extra measure!

What a GREAT way to start of the Year with our Youth!!

Stand Ye In Holy Places Craft

This year the L.D.S. Youth Theme is:

"Stand ye in Holy Places and be not moved"

I love Love LOVE this theme. Not only is it a perfect reminder for the youth of what they need to be doing, but it is a WONDERFUL helpful reminder for me!!

I found this adorable poster that I plan on incorporating in the girls Birthday Presents for the year...

Needless to say; we wanted the kids to REALLY understand the concept. My counselors and I talked about what we could do to start the year off on the right foot, and we decided we wanted the girls to make something that speaks to them...

So we bought some Plain White T's and I brought my ilovetocreate.com collection from home and we let them CRAFT AWAY!!

The girls made some AMAZING shirts and they also learned about some new and fun products that they had never seen before...

~ Beads in a Bottle

~ Tulip Fabric Spray Paint

~ Scribbles Alphabet Stamp Kit

~ Fabric Paint

~ Stamps and Stamp Pads

~ Tulip Fabric Markers

and of course we had the good old Puffy Paint...

These girls REALLY DO amazing work!! 

I am going to LOVE working with these girls this year!!

Y.W. in Excellence

Our Y.W. Presidency has been PLANNING for this event for MONTHS!

Young Women's in Excellence is a yearly celebration we have to showcase the girls working on Personal Progress. And it is a celebration of the girls that received their Personal Progress Medallions that year as well. My main thought was

 "How can I show these girls how important Personal Progress is to their Daily Lives?" 

We decided our Theme was going to be "Becoming YOU through Personal Progress"
We also decided on a black and white color scheme.
(It quickly turned into Black and White Polka Dots after I went shopping for the decorations!)

We made a special gift for each girl to remember the night with. I saw this wording "Be-YOU-tiful" on Pinterest and I REALLY wanted to make something to give the girls with that. Those signs are HOMEMADE! We cut, sanded, painted, stuck on the vinyl, and put ribbon on each one ourselves. (ok, i have to admit our husbands cut them down, but we did everything else!) We also had AMAZING treats thanks to our Secretary Kimmy Sorensen. She is co-owner of a local cupcake business All Things Frosted. I LOVE her cupcakes! And she and my second counselor Katrina Reider made sure we had plenty to drink!!

 The girls were asked to pick a value and then present and display something they did (either an experience or the project) for that value. I think at first the girls were a little worried about what we were asking them to do. I had prepped them for 2 months. They were to go on stage and talk for 1-2 minutes about that value, what they did, and how personal progress has helped their lives...

 It was SO fun to see these girls LIGHT up on the stage. We had a few girls that were sick or had prior engagements that were not able to attend. However, I have to say EACH and EVERY girl that go up to share with us about personal progress touched my heart! These girls are SO amazing and it is nice to know we have young women in the world choosing the right path

 We have had one girl receive her Young Womanhood Medallion since we were put in as leaders. We had her display her own table and she got a special Willow Tree statue for her hard work! She had made a decision when she became a YW that she would complete the Personal Progress Program while she was a Beehive. She kept that promise with herself and finished a little bit before her 14th birthday.

We also had some special Musical Numbers. Two of our girls did a Piano and Oboe duet that was BEAUTIFUL! And all our YW and Leaders sang a song His Image in your Countenance. Our Bishop ended the night and we were able to eat and mingle. I am SO thankful for these girls in my life! I LOVE being YW President and I know they are changing lives of others around them just by being amazing!

I would like to thank ALL the people who helped plan, set up, take down, and help have the evening run smoothly! We would not be able to do this without support from our ward! GREAT JOB CLOVIS 3rd YW! You are THE BEST!!