A Busy Month!

I can't believe that it's been more than a month since I wrote something for this blog.  [pause] Well, actually I can.  It's been very busy up here in Alaska. I have thrown myself into my new commitments. Two of the fun things that I've gotten involved in are Girl Scouts & the Family Readiness Group.

I am now an official Daisy Scout leader. We are part of the Northern-most Girl Scout Council. I started out just volunteering to help my friend Veronica, and had such a nice time with the little Daisies that I agreed to continue. Our first big adventure that I worked on was a nature scavenger hunt. We've now added a couple more girls, but here are the original four starting out on our hunt with Miss Veronica.

We found Birch trees, Pine cones, Fireweed, Black Spruce trees & Boxwood. The girls were really enthusiastic and collected samples of all our finds.  At the same time, we collected leaves and made a fall foliage 'stained glass window'. We talked about each plant and what was really fun was a few days later they got to share the information in class. They came running up to Miss Veronica at the Girl Scouts Fiesta! and were so excited that they were able to share Birch tree facts in their class. (They're in first grade.) It was very gratifying. Since then, we've made our own compasses and learned the cardinal directions. We've talked about friendship and being helpful so they can start earning their petals. Last week we learned about the history of Jack O' Lanterns and decorated our own wooden ones. We've also talked about Halloween safety.  Tomorrow, Miss Veronica will be leading the group on her own and they will be visited by the cadet troupe. The cadet girls are going to lead a lesson on Juliette Low.
I'll be going to a First Aid class.

Also over this past month I've gotten very involved with the Family Readiness Group (FRG). We've been planning a Halloween party, Bake sale & Chili Cook-off as a fund-raiser. The event is this Friday, so we're coming down to the wire! I've been in charge of a lot of the art projects, which is fun and allows me to be creative. I designed a logo - which I hope to be able to share soon. I've been making bean bags & bean bag toss games. I've made stencils for skeleton footprints to lead the children through the 'Haunted Hallway'. I've made 50 bats to hang from the ceiling, and more! And yesterday Adam helped me make chocolate caramel apples with crushed Oreos & regular caramel apples with walnuts. There will be a coloring contest and a costume contest (both for the little ones)...and the chili cook-off for the grown-ups.  Adam & I are each entering our own pot of chili. Adam's been so supportive and has been working very hard to drum up interest among the guys...so he has been talking a lot of chili 'smack'. They trapped me at the last FRG meeting and basically insisted that since he had been boasting so much he had to make his own. That'll be fun anyway. We got a second crock pot from Value Village for only $7...and it is really cute. (Adam has also volunteered to be a mummy in the Haunted Hallway - isn't he great?!)

In addition, there has been Key Caller training, regular FRG business and Troop babies to make hats for. It's nice to have an outlet for creativity and my need to feel productive.  There's still a bunch to do - including the "Food Handling" class, and decorating everything...so I'll still be a little crazy until this weekend is over.

I apologize for the long wait for a new read, but I think that until our Thanksgiving nuptials are finished, my brain will be running in ten different directions. But I still have LOTS of fun things to share...so stay tuned!