Slow Sunday

 I have been making quick work of the Frosty's this week. As it gets closer to the end of this series, I seem to stitch faster! Well, life is a wee bit slower after the crazy busy month of February. That helps a lot! This is Frosty #10 with his o in snow completed, and Frosty #11 just needing his face finished and a few snowflakes stitched above him. The last one is all traced and ready to start. Linking up with the other Slow Stitchers. The kids are off to Grandma's house today for the first time in about 6 weeks. I plan on visiting my sewing machine and relaxing with some fabric. The kids are off school for Spring Break.

I am enjoying a relaxing day (still in my jammies!) today. Despite the time change of losing an hour, I slept in until close to 10! I needed the sleep. It was a long day on Saturday with 4 girls hiking around Camp Wildwood at an encampment for the older girls (grades 6-12 only) and searching for and solving clues to the mystery all day. We met at my house at 7:30AM to head to the camp. I was tapped to help out with the opening ceremonies - to help raise the flag! I just helped unroll it and hold it so it did not touch the ground while it was being hitched to the string and raised up on the pole. My first time doing that! Normally the girls handle it but since it was their encampment, they got to not work and just enjoy their day. 

walking to our first clue at the theater. None of the girls had been out there before!

looking for our troop's clue.

exploring the theater.

we did do a little archery. I even got to shoot and hit the target twice!

After we solved the mystery, we had a couple of hours until closing ceremonies. None of them had been out to the Homestead area - and it was only a 20 minute hike from where we were, so we headed out there for a visit. Relaxing on the porch to enjoy the view of the lake!

The girls decided to stay for the campfire and smores. Ranger Courtney and Toni got the fire started. Since her normal helpers were nowhere to be found (her daughter Cam and sidekick Ally), Ms. Jill and I volunteered to help out at the smores making station. 

A dark walk back to the front of the camp and a car ride home with a full car of girls and my long day was over close to 9PM! 

I did find out this morning that my son finally took the proctored drivers test and passed. We need to schedule his appointment to go get his learners permit this week since they are off school. If I didn't have too much grey hair before, I have a feeling I really will after he has that permit in hand!

A day in the woods at Girl Scout Camp

I spent Saturday helping at a Girl Scout Encampment at our local property about 25 minutes from my house. I had 2 girls attending for the day from my old troop and the new leader was there as well. I was in charge of planning one of the activities in the rotation. We had an Outer Space rotation where for 30 minutes they constructed a rocket and then got to set them off using air and a pvc pipe. They did it last year and with some lessons learned it went much smoother this year. The other half of that rotation was my planning. There is a space science explorer badge. I came up with some activities that kept them occupied for the other half of the time. They all got to do Oreo phases of the moon, made a box constellation by using pins to prick the constellations and then added a little light so it will light up tonight for them. The littles were going to do shadow drawings of toys, but the sun did not cooperate. The juniors did a giant walk to Mars to see the distance of the planets from the sun. I had 4 'helpers' in high school that I explained things to and they handled that half hour. I got to relax and help with the rockets, chat with the adults and play with the catapult - and I got the tennis ball into the bucket!

Some of the other rotations were a Pirate Hike searching for clues and treasure throughout the camp ('our' troop found the gold coin and won a $50 ice cream party!), Dinosaur dig where they hammered into dinosaur eggs and got to keep the egg and the little dino piece. Not sure if they had the discover the bones dig or not. With a Magic School Bus theme, they did some science experiments and made volcano's. The pool time was cancelled due to cool weather (it was 50's to low 60's) and they did an under the sea adventure - but I'm not sure what that one ended up being. They enjoyed a bonfire and smores and camp songs tonight before bed.

It was a very relaxing day! I also got to take a little exploring hike with 2 of the older girls to the Ampitheater. I had been to the Nature Center on the other side of the property and out to the Hammocks and the Homestead area by the lake but did not know about this theater!  I snapped some photos along the way of the camp's nearly 600 acres. 

BeautyBerry bush.

The natural amphitheater. I was standing on the platform.

looking down the trail.

One of the trees - crazy branches!

pine tree.

the little pond at the theater.

We heard donkey's braying and got to see these 4 on our walk back.

Two paths - reminds me of the Robert Frost poem - The Road Less Travelled.

This was one of the higher awards a troop did in 2020. 

After 12,000 steps on my Fitbit today, I enjoyed a nice hot soak in the tub tonight and will enjoy my nice soft and warm bed at my house. I do not miss sleeping in the cabins at all this weekend!

 

Monday... Well, I think I survived the weekend.

I was sick Sunday...slept all day yesterday once I got home though. I am hoping it was exhaustion/dehydration from Saturdays 90 degree temps. I did drink lots of water and Propel waters all day (80oz at least). So far so good this morning. My Fitbit said I got 20,791 steps on Saturday.... I was around 17K after the campfire and smores and we got back to our cabin, but we had an unexpected 10:30 PM hike across camp to retrieve a little sister that was having issues with being away from family for the first time so we went and retrieved her. Grandma and her 2 older sisters were in our cabin for the weekend. My whole troop and one girl from another did the late night (boy was it dark!) trek through the woods to gather her and bring her to our area for the night.

All 4 of the quilts were picked by the girls yesterday. I had taken one for my bed and an extra... which my co-leader claimed! She got the Grandmothers Choice Sew along from 2012 that I finished in 2017. I just shot her an e-mail of the info behind the quit in case she was interested. He daughter claimed the Spring Blossoms quilt. 

I guess word got out that I gifted the girls the quilts as I was asked Sunday morning by a couple of adults if they could see the quilts that I gifted the girls. I pulled up the blog and showed the 4 quilts and which girl selected which quilt. 

I had taken my knitting - the standard dish cloth with no thinking. (Cast on 4, knit 2, YO, knit to end...until around 50 stitched on the needles then start the decrease - knit 1, K2T, YO,K2T, knit to end until down to 4 stitched on needles. Cast off) Emily grabbed it Friday night and asked how to do it - so I showed her the knit and YO since I was around 37 on the needles at that point. She did great..... just a little tight for tension. She got to the decrease and after showing her once and her asking me to check the next couple of rows she has got it! Another adult asked on Saturday night when she had learned how - and I said last night! It was the first time she expressed an interest.... =)