YSA Camp Lo Mia Service Project May 11th & 12th 2001

Ten Years ago today....
I arrived at the Skyline seminary building armed with a sleeping bag and a backpack.
The plan was for everyone to meet at the seminary building. Then, we'd all carpool up to camp Lo Mia located in Pine AZ for a YSA conference and service project..
For a while it looked like I would be the the only one riding up with Adam in his truck. What a perfect opportunity for us to get to know each other even better and maybe this alone time would be the perfect setting for Adam to finally hold my hand!  But, just as we were about to leave the parking lot the driver of another car asked Adam if he had room for one more. Adam said we did, and a guy jumped out of the car and hopped in with us.
The good news was, I had to scoot over and sit right up next to Adam. The bad news was we wouldn't be having any deep, heartfelt conversations on the drive up.
As soon as we got to the camp I threw my stuff in the "girls cabin" and then went to help my grandparents prepare dinner. (Remember, they were the YSA advisers for the stake) They had driven up earlier in the day to get things set up. Before long, Adam was helping too. I loved the way Adam was always so concerned about my grandparents. He worried that my grandma was overdoing it, and after dinner he insisted that she go sit down and relax, while he took care of dinner clean up. I also noticed that while he was walking around camp, if he saw trash on the ground, or something out of place, he would simply pick it up, throw it away and take care of it. I could tell that this wasn't an act but that it was natural for him to take care of things and get things done.
The next morning, we drove over to the cabin we'd be working on that day. The cabin needed a concrete retaining wall built on one side of it to keep mud and water that ran down the mountain side away from the cabin walls.
Adam's experience and knowledge in the construction industry made him the natural leader for the job. He instructed the rest of us on how to dig the footing, and set the concrete forms for the wall. I couldn't help but notice what a hard worker he was. He was honestly the hardest worker I'd ever seen. When everyone else would stop for a break Adam would just keep working. I started bringing him drinks every once in a while because the weather was so hot and sunny and he wouldn't even take a break to get a drink. He did the hardest tasks himself, and was the last one to leave the job site. It felt so natural to be working side by side with him. I knew I was falling hard for him. In fact, when the cement  had set enough to remove the forms, I took a nail and secretly scratched our initials into the soft concrete.....A bold move considering we hadn't even held hands yet. ( Orchard camp, cabin nine, on the front end of the retaining wall down low if you brush some of the dirt away you can still see RQ + AG 2001)
By the end of the day we were exhausted. I was glad not to be driving, and on the ride home I closed my eyes and rested my head against the back of the seat. I woke up some time later and realised that my head was actually resting on Adam's shoulder. I quickly sat up and apologised. I was so embarrassed!!!
He said it was O.K. (Later he told me that he was about to fall asleep at the wheel but as soon as my head fell on his shoulder he was wide awake. He still had trouble focusing on the road, but for different reasons. He also said he was very glad that my head didn't fall to the shoulder of the guy on the other side of me.)
Once we got back to the valley, Adam went out of his way to drop the other guy off at his house before taking me back to my car. Once we were alone, Adam started telling me about his family's traditional week long trip to their little cabin in Silverton Colorado. He started stumbling over his words as he told me when they were going and how the girls would be sleeping in the travel trailer, and his mom said it wouldn't be inappropriate...and that he should...he could ask me....
Then it hit me... that in his adorable, bashful, awkward way Adam was inviting me to spend the week with him and family in Colorado!!! THIS WAS WAY BETTER THAN HIM HOLDING MY HAND!!!
Luckily, I had the entire summer off from teaching and I told him I would love to go!
Then, Adam asked me to come to a party later that evening at his parent's house for his brother-in-law who'd just graduated from ASU.
I don't remember a lot about that party except that at one point Adam's Uncle Marsh "Welcomed" me "to the Family".
Adam seemed a little embarrassed by the comment, but I didn't mind it one bit!