Pictures of Camp

Sorry this was so long coming, but here are some snapshots from Service Area Weekend!

The allure of a campfire at night


Making S'mores!






Singing campfire songs.


S'more assembly line


Bedding down for the night (but first, a few ghost stories!)






Warming up the next morning at breakfast!


Opening ceremony Saturday morning


Knot-tying


Sleeping bag races


More fun with string


Semaphore training


Don't worry. I won't cut you.


Learning to use knives safely




Learning to build fires


A successful fire!


Eagerly awaiting horseback riding


About to go in the barn!


Those horses got a lot of love!






Heading off on the trail ride

Campout THIS WEEKEND!

Yay! It is that time of year again: Service Area Weekend.

Highlights include a 3-hour trail ride on the horses, building our own fire and cooking our own dinner on said fire.

Here are the details parents should know:

DROP-OFF/PICKUP:

Please arrive at Camp Coleman NO LATER than 5:00pm, Friday, October 15. I'm planning to go up as soon after school lets out as possible. If you need a ride for your daughter, I have 4 extra seats in my car to offer. Just let me know if you would like for me to give your daughter a ride (Kari: 215-3789). We need the girls to be punctual so that we will have enough time to build a fire and prepare our dinner.

Please pick up your daughter from Camp Coleman shortly after 4:30 Saturday afternoon. (Or she can ride with me if you let me know ahead of time, since I have only 4 extra seats.)

WHAT TO PACK:

• Sleeping bag and a twin fitted sheet to put over cot mattress
• Pillow
• Light jacket
  
• HARD SOLED riding shoes for the trail ride Saturday morning. Tennis shoes will NOT be permitted.They don't have to be "riding boots" per se, but they do need to have a hard sole with a slightly elevated heel (so that feet don't slip out of stirrups). Should also cover the ankle if possible.
  
• Tennis shoes for all other activities
• Jeans for the trail ride on Saturday. Shorts will not be permitted. Your daughter may bring shorts to wear for other activities.
• Pink troop shirt that we made at last meeting. We will wear this on Saturday. If you left your daughter's shirt at my house, don't worry; I will bring it for her to wear. If you're not sure if you have it or not, give me a call (215-3789).
• LUNCH for Saturday. (Troop is providing dinner Friday and breakfast Saturday)
• flashlight
• simple toiletries such as toothbrush and toothpaste
• WARM pajamas! Although it is pleasant during the day, it gets quite cold at night and we are in open-air cabins.
• Bug spray/sunscreen
• Hat or bandana for hiking

We are really excited and think the girls are going to have a blast. Please let me or Heather know if you have any questions.

Cheers!
kari
205-215-3789

First Meeting a Success!

I think we had a great first meeting on Friday! The girls seemed really excited by the new badge book and were eagerly telling me the ones they wanted to work on.

It was tough to narrow it down, but the top three voted badges were "Outdoor Cook", "Wildlife", and the new "Design Your Own" badge. I was impressed that the girls came up with idea of doing something to help out the Gulf relief effort. We'll talk more about this in the coming weeks to decide what they want to do to earn these particular badges. Feel free to read about each of these badges in the new Badge Book we sent home on Friday.

There was also a heated debate over whether or not to earn the "Pet Care" badge or the "Horse Rider" badge. Heather and I think that perhaps we will determine which girls would like to go for each of these and figure out a way to let them have special activities to fit each badge. We will discuss more and fill you in later.

As always, if there is a particular badge that your daughter is really eager to earn that we did NOT vote on as a troop, please encourage her to think about fulfilling the requirements on her own. Just let us know, and we will do whatever we can to help her.

Also, at the top of the blog, I'm going to post a current list of who has signed up to attend the Service Area Weekend at Camp Coleman on Oct. 15-16 and the overnight trip to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville on Nov. 15-16. Just let us know (call, send an email, or post a comment on the blog) if you want to add your daughter or yourself to either of these lists.

Finally, I'm posting a list of the parents who have volunteered to help out with particular meetings. We are asking all parents to volunteer to help out with at least one meeting this year if they can.

I had fun with the girls Friday and look forward to next Friday's meeting!

Cheers,
Kari

Welcome to the Blog!

Hi, Everyone,

We're going to try this new-fangled blog thing to see if it will help everyone stay more informed about all the exciting activities we have going on this year in Girl Scouts. Feel free to drop in regularly to see what is going on and become acquainted with our Calendar.

Coming up in the month of October, we have 2 events:

• October 2-3 — Campout at American Village
• October 15-16 — Service Area Weekend Campout at Camp Coleman

Our regular troop meetings will be October 1 and 29, at Kari Whitaker's house (8248 Wynwood Drive) Please pickup your daughter from meetings between 4:45 and 5:00.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Heather (567-0494) or Kari (215-3789). Thanks!