Bridging to Juniors

My BEAUTIFUL BROWNIE is moving on.  Allie has spent many days attending brownie meetings, selling cookies in the cold, crafting and creating, engineering and coding, learning life and outdoor skills, camping, helping others....and making the world a better place...the list goes on and on.  Allie's brownie year concluded with selling over 1,000 boxes of cookies in which her troop used the funds to build a butterfly way station in the community.  I'm so thankful to have a group of ladies to lead our troop with me, who feel as compassionate as I do about girls scouting.  We want our girls to be confident, caring, compassionate, leaders and learners.  But most of all, we want them to build friendships with sister scouts that will last a lifetime, and have a blast while doing it.  

Allie's brownie vest displays her goals and accomplishments, her new found skills, and so many memories....I just love hearing her talk about some of her favorite patches she earned as she looks at her vest.  The Girl Scout Cookie Cruise, troop camping, and helping the dogs and cats at the Humane Society are some she spoke about.

Although Allie is hanging up her brownie vest...today she crossed the bridge to become a JUNIOR!  She is beyond excited to wear GREEN (brown is not a favorite girly color) and to do more mature and grownup things at our meetings...like have a say in which badges we earn and lead the requirements with her sister scouts.  She will also be able to earn a "high award" for the first time as a junior scout too!

  

Our ceremony was small in size due to Covid-19, but it was big at heart.  Special words were shared, a yummy treat was devoured, and the girls received a new hanger for their vests and a personalized flashlight for future camping trips! Everything is cuter with her name on it!

Baseball Star

It was one step forward and two steps back when this little guy started playing baseball this season...but now, oh my!  I’m so proud the progress he’s made and his CONFIDENCE!  When the season started, Ayden couldn’t swing or even catch! Now...he’s hitting, making runs and even played catcher by the end of the season! I’m so happy he’s happy. Lots of games with no strikes or outs!! Whoo-hooo!

This season he set the bar high!  What a great way to end his first season of baseball...winning the CHAMPIONSHIP game!  Yay, TIN🍎CAPS!! 

Toothless

Loosing just one of his front teeth, just wasn't good enough!  While eating breakfast, Ayden yelled for me to find his tooth in a mouthful of toast.  All day long we could see his other tooth wiggle and jiggle with every word he spoke.  During Ayden's bedtime snack of Cheeze-Its, the second one popped out!  The tooth fairy is going to be super happy to find a treasure of  TWO teeth.  Oh, how I love his little smile!

Lake Michigan

A little girls weekend away is just what us teachers needed this summer!  Lots of laughs were had while spending the afternoon dipping our toes in the great lake.  Carol's treehouse on the lake was as adorable as ever and the views were amazing.  However, the highlight of the trip was the Oreo tasting we devoured.  Us teachers love our Oreos!

Boomtown Build Lego League

Allie’s Lego League team knocked it out of the park this year with their best model yet! They were invited to showcase at LEGO WORLDS, but unfortunately didn’t get to go. This year’s theme was BOOMTOWN where the girls had to research how architects design buildings that are accessible, durable, and environmentally friendly. This year's team included Allie, Briella, and Brynn.

The BROWNIE BUILDERS decided to design a Girl Scout monument featuring GS founder Juliette Gordon Low. The team designed their own shirts and even hats!  The teamed learned about Juliette Gordon Low's interests.  She loved horses and animals, climbing, tennis, swimming, painting and drawing. 

The team then toured the Guardian Building and monuments in Detroit for inspiration.  

The model included THREE moving parts. The powered door made entering the building accessible for all. Also heat resistant and storm windows for hazardous weather.  She loved climbing so they created an adventure tree park complete with zip line.  Juliette loved gardening and all sports, but tennis was one of her favorites.  The top level had a petting farm because Juliet loved animals. The GS symbol was included. A solar panel and cooling fan conserved energy.  Juliette loved art, drawing and painting.  An art studio was included which featured the iconic GS rainbow on the wall. Accessible tables were included and an elevator to go from floor to floor.  Juliette loved horseback riding so a rink was placed at the bottom. The activity center was built on stilts for durability from flooding.

Unfortunately due to COVID, the showcase and Lego Worlds never happened.  These girls were so close to the end!  I'm so proud of how the whole concept came together.  I know they would have been a star at the Lego Worlds Showcase.  Great job, Brownie Builders!

Quarantined

Being stuck together at home sure did have its positives.  We made MANY memories in quarantine over the long 3 months.  We didn't really go anywhere, but we were busy, busy, busy spending time with each other...time we usually take for granted. 

Allie learned how to sew and cook by herself and Ayden and I baked a batch of cookies every few days.  Together as a family (but mostly Todd), we finished over fifteen 500+ puzzles.  Allie participated in virtual cheer classes daily and I completed 80 Day Obsession: 80 days of quarantine = 80 day of working out!  The kids loved building forts in the living room, watching movies, and playing Roblox for hours together.  Monopoly was a new fun games we learned to play...which usually took hours and was much more tolerable with a glass of wine.  We all Zoomed...for school, for playdates, for Girl Scouts, for birthday parties, and for Mom Happy Hour!  Family bike rides and runs occurred daily, even in the freezing temperatures in March. My mom friends "WINED" me and my students spoiled me for Teacher Appreciation Week.  I turned 41 and my friends surprised me with a birthday parade. Allie earned 5 girl scout badges that involved cooking, gardening, safety, and becoming knowledgeable about Covid.

Today, the governor opened the state of Michigan.  We are free to leave our homes and things will open again next week.  I pray that our quarantine habits stay with our family in the years to come.