I can safely say this is the best summer I’ve ever had. Here’s just a few of the things I did on My Summer Vacation: Camp Invention-I was a Counselor In Training at Camp Invention for a week, along with two of my friends. It was great to get to work with all the little kids, and I had a lot of fun teaching them new things. Junior Scholar Institute-JSI is a wonderful program in Iowa where kids in grades 6-8 stay in the college dorms for a week while taking a class of their choice. It was a great feeling like a "real" college student! I took the Japanese course and had a lot of fun. I also made many friends during the week. Bethel Horizons: Rock and River-This camp wasn’t quite as fun as the others (I had a panic attack after almost falling off a high rocky hill), but I still enjoyed myself. We went canoeing on the Wisconsin River, then stayed overnight on a sandbar. We went rock climbing at Devil’s Lake (where I almost fell). It was a pretty good week, and I met the … [Read more...]
Girl Scouts Day at the Capitol
One thing I love about Girl Scouts is the simple fact that they have a TON Of great programs that you can do either as a troop or by yourself. The Girl Scouts Day at the Capitol is a great example of that -- and was a ton of fun! Girl Scouts Day at the Capitol Show your Girl Scout pride and interest in citizenship as we spend a day at the Capitol. Meet women from our Legislature and hear why they chose this path- of representing us! When you are NOT with your troop - you tend to meet other great girls and create new friendships! That happened to me - I met and made friends with a gal who has the same goofy humor as I do. As part of Girl Scouts Day, we got a behind-the-scenes tour of the beautiful building and even met a few representatives, so we actually met all the qualifications to earn the Inside Government Patch! Here we are deciding how we plan to vote for the proposed motion.. It was a fun day and I really learned a lot about our local government - perfect … [Read more...]
EZ Grip Balls Survive Girl Scouts
Disclaimer: We were sent a set of EZ Grip Balls to try; all thoughts are entirely our own. For many months now, my family and I have been frozen to the bone. While some states experienced a rather mild winter, here in my hometown, it's been nonstop freezing temperatures and snow. When Jimmy, the groundhog, predicted an early spring it seemed too good to be true. Were we going to see a thaw in the frozen ground and experience the sun again? As it turned out, yes, we would! It has been a slow thaw, but spring has arrived. (Yes, it snows in May in Wisconsin !) We're still experiencing cooler temperatures than we'd like and are super jealous of southern states who are rejoicing in summer weather but I know we'll get there soon. It's only a matter of time before summer weather starts streaming in. Of course until then we're still stuck in doors for most of the day but thankfully for us we've been creative with the ways we've started keeping ourselves amused until the arrival of summer. … [Read more...]
Summer Planning – CAMP!
My Mom is awesome -- she finds so many cool things for me to do and is very creative about it! This summer shapes up to be incredible --she has outdone herself. It's time to talk about Summer Planning - CAMP! We planned on being fairly low key as we were bringing back (and paying to do so) the girl who we had two years ago from the Ukraine in the Circle of Love project through our church. Diana is 2 years older than me and just like a big sister! SO....the rest of the summer plans were a total surprise until we reviewed the family calendar: Final Exams are over for me on May 18th...but I am going to still be in elementary school for 3 more weeks...if my Mom's trip to Cuba works out, then I only have 2 weeks of school because I would get to skip one for traveling! The week after school is out, we have Camp Invention. My Mom is the camp parent and working NOW so I can attend FREE! (More on Camp Invention HERE!) The day after camp ends, it is my birthday AND Diana arrives … [Read more...]
I Earned My Simple Meals Patch in Girl Scouts!
My troop visited our Local Hy-Vee and had a class with their dietician. We made so many wonderful things while we learned a few new cooking skills! This let my troop earn their Simple Meals Patch in Girl Scouts. First we made cupcakes - from scratch! They turned out lighter and fluffier than anything I have ever made from a boxed mix and were super easy to make. While there were in the oven, we pan fried eggs and made breakfast sandwiches. It's a good thing my mom is our troop leader, she was treated to mine as I am not a big fan of fried eggs. Or ham. Next was quesadillas, and we all picked our own ingredients to melt in our whole wheat tortillas. Then a one pot meal which none of us was super fond of: I think it was the quinoa. It was like a Mexican rice dish. While that was wrapping up we made a quick buttercream frosting and decorated our own cupcakes. It was a ton of fun, the dietician was super nice and we learned a lot! This badge teaches Juniors how … [Read more...]
20 Things Kids Should Do Before They “Grow up”
I think that when the movie "The Bucket List" was released in 2007, the term became a whole lot more popular. If you don't already know what the term bucket list means it is basically where you create a list of things or goals that you want to do and achieve before you die. Well, I was thinking about creating a childhood bucket list for kids! So obviously this is not a list of things to do before you die, but more or less a list of 20 things kids should do before they grow up. This is not a set list of things that every kid needs or has to do in their lives, but it's just a list of fun things to do as a kid. 20 Things Kids Should Do Before They "Grow up" 1. Go to Disney Land/World: Disney is known as "The Happiest Place on Earth" and I think every kid dreams of visiting Disney at one point. Whether they get one chance to go or several chances to go, going to Disney is a once in a lifetime experience. 2. Go to an Overnight Camp: Going to an overnight camp … [Read more...]
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