Photography

Finally making an earnest effort to get my little photography business off the ground, and it feels good!

Girl Scout Camporee

Camporee was awesome... though hot. We went up there Wednesday night to get familiarized with the camp, since we'd never been to that particular property before. We slept in Kornhauser Lodge (pictured below). It was soooo hot... we ate dinner (if lunchables can be considered a dinner) and walked around a bit, trying to stay in the shady spots. When it was bedtime, my youngest started to spike a fever. She felt really hot to the touch. I took her to the nurse's station and got her some ibuprofen, and she cooled down right away. I think it was heat from the day, but whatever the case, I stationed her in front of the only fan. She cooled down and slept well.

Me, on the other hand... let's just say fat girl didn't do so well in the heat!

The next morning, we woke and ate breakfast, then went out to meet the campers! I was one of two Daisy unit leaders, so my baby was with me, while my two older girls went with their Junior unit (a little too happy to be away from mom, if you ask me). The first day, we did crafts. We tie dyed bandanas, decorated foam visors, and made bracelets & necklaces with beads that corresponded to the Girl Scout law. We played on the giant inflatable slip 'n' slide. Then we decided we'd like to take a hike... so we asked the camp director for the shortest, most level path at camp. HA!!!! We were pointed onto the yellow path... which wound up being a mile long (with 5 girls ages 5 1/2-6 1/2) and really up and down - not level at all! This picture is of the only really level part of the path! And about halfway in, the path stopped being so clear and became narrow and overgrown. Needless to say, by the time we got back to the mess hall for supper, everyone was just about too hot and exhausted to eat! After supper we showered and got the girls ready for their campwide activity, which was carnival games in the dark! Super fun!

The next morning was breakfast and kapers, and then we had unit time. We played on the giant inflatable slip 'n' slide, which the girls loved. Then we had lunch. We made nametags with our camp names on them, and we made bracelets filled with colored sand. Very cool! Then it was time for the "wide game," where the aides took the girls and helped them earn a badge. The Brownies earned "Let's Pretend," and the Juniors earned "Theater." My baby was a Daisy but earned her first Brownie try-it! She actually completed all the requirements to bridge to Brownies, and she hasn't even begun her first year as a Daisy yet! My other two girls, who are both Juniors, earned Theater, Finding My Way, and Jewelry badges. Then we had supper (grilled hot dogs and potato packets cooked over the fire), and then the girls gathered around the campfire and made s'mores. Then they went on a night hike to the graveyard (yes, it was an actual graveyard) and told stories. My girl was pooped when she got back! That night at 3:47 a.m., the weather radio went off. Thank goodness it only woke me and two other adults, and not the 30+ girls who were asleep in the building! It went off twice more (alerting us to thunderstorms nearby), and then I fell back asleep.

 

This is the giant inflatable slip n slide.

 This is the bandana that I tie-dyed.

 This is the blister I got on my pinky as a result of dropping hot glue from a high temp hot glue gun on my finger. It swelled up to twice this size later on.

The next morning was a flurry of activity - breakfast, packing up, and getting the girls ready to go! It was bittersweet when it was time to leave, but in the end we had a ton of fun, and we're excited for next year already!

Homemade fudgesicles

My girls made these yesterday, and ate them today... wowzers! Talk about a hit! So to make your own fudgesicles, you'll need:

a package of jell-o instant chocolate pudding
chocolate milk

Mix the pudding according to directions on the box, except substituting the chocolate milk in place of the regular milk.

Spoon mixture into ramekins, ice cube trays, or popsicle molds. Freeze for at least 5 hours.

Enjoy!