Courtney's EFY in Santa Barbara

We were so excited for Courtney to go to Especially For Youth this year. She actually doesn't turn 14 until August 29, but she was still eligible to go. I went to EFY three times when I was a teenager. I absolutely LOVED it and still consider it one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. EFY is not cheap, it costs $450, but I knew it would be worth it. I told Courtney to consider it her 8th grade graduation gift. We decided to have her go to EFY in Santa Barbara the week of July 6-10. We didn't really want to drive all the way to Utah and we thought we could spend a few days in Santa Barbara. Her roommate for EFY was Jurnee Walker, a cute girl from our neighboring ward. Jurnee was a real trooper traveling in our full minivan with lots of little kids. She was very patient and understanding. Here's a picture of Courtney and Jurnee in front of their dorm room at UC Santa Barbara. Here's the inside of their room.
Cute girls!
Here's Courtney with some of the girls from her group. They got very close and had a lot of fun together.They still keep in touch via facebook.
This is Courtney with her counselor, Ann. Courtney said she was lots of fun and made all the girls feel included.

Here's all the girls before the big dance on Friday night. They all look so pretty.
Here they are with the guys.

Courtney's favorite things about EFY were:

1- dances

2- pizza party

3- spiritual classes with awesome speakers

4- friends

5- variety show

She's already looking forward to next year!