American Heritage Girl Camp

I was nervous and excited for the girls to go to camp for the first time a few weeks ago.  Nervous because it was their first times ever camping. Also I was nervous because Nate was out of town for the week.  I had my mom come visit to help out.  We camped at the Boy Scout GameHaven Reservation Camp here in Rochester. Camp started early on a Monday morning with Elyana's unit. We worked on earning badges all day and ended the day with a fun campfire and delicious S mores sandwiched between fudge striped cookies.  Elyana was so excited to sleep in a tent as you can see in her picture below. Nate came to get Elyana the next morning after breakfast and dropped off Mikayla.  My mom stayed at home to watch Elyana and Nate left for his trip.  Mikayla worked on earning 3 badges Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  I was so excited to see her try so many new things!  I learned a lot and tried tons of new things too.  I led all 40 something girls throughout the week with crafts.  Our favorite was the smashed leaf journals we created from gathering various flowers and leafs on our many nature walks.

The girls playing on one of the many obstacles of the obstacle course.

Mikayla and her buddy Hannah.

Mikayla about to canoe for the first time!

So excited to sleep in a tent!

Walking to breakfast, or lunch, or dinner...

Mikayla liked archery so much!

I really liked shooting BB Guns.

Outside of Mikayla's tent.

Some of our smash leaf journals.

I was so nervous letting her learn to use a Swiss army knife.

Throwing tomahawks!

Random Summer Pictures!

We were on our way to swim somewhere.  Mikayla is liking nose plugs this summer. She can focus on her strokes and not holding her nose now.

We spent many days this summer at Foster Arrend Pond.

We got this ice cream maker brand new at GoodWill. After we exploded ice cream inside our freezer, we learned how to make ice cream that can just freeze for several hours inside a tupperware container. Comment if you want the recipes! Only 4 ingredients!

The girls have been making Rapunzel hair with boas and scarves clipped together.

A little end of summer fun at Mall of America with Cousin Sophia!

A Few of My Ideas This Summer

The bath puff suction cup hooks are perfect for drying wet swimsuits in the shower!

Reuse an old lanyard tag to make after school reminders for your child's backpacks. This would work great to remind your child about bus numbers/stops, or for day care reminders.

This is a smash leaf journal cover. Pick leaves and flowers, lay them flat on a piece of wood, spread a thin cotton material on top of your findings, tack it down tight, and hammer with a rubber mallet. Decorate your journal! This was done for an AHG Camp Craft. See next post...

A Bit Belated, but Elyana's Birthday

I realized that August has become so busy that I forgot to post Elyana's birthday photos from June. The problem with the photos from her party was that the batteries kept dying in first our video camera, then our digital camera.  I used my cell phone to take a few, but it isn't the best quality.  My mom was there to take tons, but I still need to show her how to upload her photos from her digital camera.  So, here is what I have:

Waiting patiently for her cake to be lit!

Dora Loves Boots Cake

The crown she's wearing flew off instantly once inside the free ticket machine.She was so focused on catching her hat, she didn't catch very many tickets.

Elyana had saved up money for a very long time, combined with her birthday money, and gift cards, we unleashed her in Toys R Us! 

Mikayla's 9th Birthday!

Elyana was working on her cake decorating badge and helped me make the cupcakes for Mikayla's party. I love baking with her and I hope she keeps up her passion for cooking.

We went to the House of Bounce and the girls had so much fun.

Backyard Summer Memories

 We have really been enjoying our pool we have this summer.  That float Elyana and I are on is no longer.  The girls were watching that Wipe Out show on TV and decided to play a version of their own by jumping onto it from the the pool ladder.  I am sad that the days have already been shorter and the weather is turning cooler. I hope we can squeeze in a few more memories!

Hell?

     I thought that post title would catch your eye!  I put this out on Facebook earlier today and realized I should put it on the blog too. Here's another funny quote from Elyana:

Elyana watched construction workers digging a hole in the street yesterday. As we passed by, she said, "I guess they're looking for hell." I honestly couldn't tell if she was joking or not.  Mikayla pipes in, "You can't dig to hell, Ellie!"

 

     I'm behind on posting photos of the girls' birthday parties, but I hope to do that this weekend before next week. Next week the girls are going camping for the first time and with their American Heritage Girls troop.  Monday night I am camping with Elyana and on Tuesday, she gets picked up and Mikayla gets dropped off for 2 nights of camping.  I will definitely take a lot of photos.  Pray for good weather and a safe fun time!

      The school year is closing in quickly and so I'm trying to get as much of my teaching prep work done as possible.  If only I had my own laminating machine I wouldn't be at a standstill on a few things...  One can only dream and possibly save up for next year.