Girl Scouts on a hike at Leader/Daughter Weekend. 2009

It was decided that we wanted to check out a trail at camp Pamunkey. Funny I think I was the only one who did not notice the "Experienced hikers only" sign. We thought if the troop in front of us could do it so could we! We took our group picture at Overlook. It was beautiful. Two leaders stayed behind and two of us took 5 girls down the trail. What a start! I felt like we should have been rappelling! We finally make it to the bottom and take a quick rest. We admire the beauty of the Pamunkey River. We then start down the trail. After a while we rest and then it starts to sprinkle. Rachel ever the prepared scout had her poncho! The girls had fun with that! We run across what we think are deer bones and the girls take them for souvenirs. A little while later we see tracks in the mud. Lots of different animals! I was grateful my co-leader Paige knew what they were! At this point we were not sure our trail was going to go where we thought. The troop ahead yelled out to cross over the puddle and go up at the sign. We decided that was a good plan. We crossed the puddle found the sign and looked up. Well it didn't look as bad as what we had come down so we were happy. We started up. We came to what we thought was the top. Nope. Climbing higher we plateaued again. STILL not the top! Finally we reach the top however we still were not quite sure where we were on the trail. No sign of the troop ahead only the stillness of the forest! Paige states that when in doubt go right... so we did! We came to a huge soy bean field. Ahhh!! We see civilization!! We stop under a tree for a quick break. We have done some hiking. We receive a call from our co-leader Noreen who is just "Checking in" with us. She states that they will send out helicopters for us if we need them. Two minutes after hanging up the helicopter shows up. No faith is our leadership apparently! However the rescue pilot does not see us so on we march. (We stopped by to say hello to the neighbors and have a quick photo opportunity!) We finally reach a road and must hitch hike the 3 steps to camp. Finally we have made it!! As we go down the road to camp we learned we cannot trespass. We also must only go 5 miles an hour. No problem at this point. Were tired! Cookie Lane here we come! They "rescued" us with a golf cart inside the camp. What luck!

Girl Scout Jamboree at Williamsburg 10-3-09

What a fun time we had! My friend and co-leader Noreen and I took our girls to Williamsburg, VA for the Girl Scout Jamboree. They had a lot of fun things to do there. They also earned patches! Noreen's daughter Rebekah and Kyra even were allowed an hour to discover Williamsburg on their own! They even took pictures! Our favorite parts of the day were "sacrificed sandwich" (so we could eat bee free), the jail, the special house they opened just for girl scouts, and when we were asked how to bring 4000 Girl Scouts to attention by the drum and fife band. Signs up!! We finished the day marching with them down to the courthouse where we said the pledge of allegiance and the Girl Scout promise. We then visited a couple shops with Glenna and her troop. Toys and Candy what could be better??!! Finally we stopped at a 50's McDonald's on the way home for dinner. It was almost 11 before we got settled in bed for church the next morning. It was a gloriously beautiful day with great friends!

Kyra's 4th grade Junior Troop feeds the homeless.

The 4th grade Junior girl scouts in Troop 884 participated in feeding the homeless for their Journey project. The girls enjoyed handing out the hot dogs, chips, fruit, snack, and bottle waters to each individual who came. They also went around as people enjoyed their food to sing or pass out a "S.W.A.P" created just for them. The girls learned that everyone was unique and had a different story. They learned that their S.W.A.P. was useful as well as one man said he really needed the safety pin! We even noticed that they were slipping on their fingers the "rings" of gold and silver from the S.W.A.P! The girls were touched and asked to participate on a regular basis. They also noticed the need for backpacks because a lot of people used plastic bags to hold their personal belongings. They decided to put together backpacks with toiletries and clothing. During the girls Journey project they "Discovered" a need- the backpacks. They are "Connecting" with the community and local businesses by collecting donations. They are "Taking Action" by collecting and distributing the needed backpacks.

We closed our day with a circle where everyone held hands. The girls sang “Make New Friends” as each one went home with several new friends that day.

Visit to Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace

What a wonderful time Kyra and I had visiting the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace! It is located in Savannah, GA.
Michael was kind enough to drop us off to tour the home while he and Kyle chilled out in the car.

For those that don't know about Juliette Gordon Low, she is the founder of Girl Scouts. It is a privilege for girls to tour the home. There are troops that spend years fund raising to be able to take a week trip and participate in activities that they provide. They won't let you take pictures inside but a lady on the street snapped this of us when we came out. Do you like the police car in the background? The gardens on the property are beautiful. Kyra took some lovely shots.