Daisy Grace

Today Grace attended her first Girl Scout Meeting!  This has been a long time coming as we had attempted to register her here in town for Girl Scouts this past September only to learn that there was a good chance that there may not be a Kindergarten Daisy troop formed.  After hearing that we headed over to another town to see about registering her there only to have the people walk away from us upon hearing that we were a homeschool family.  We decided to give up on signing her up for Daisies and instead chose to go the 4-H route.  The club that she was a part of folded due to low enrollment, and after we went to Disney on Ice with our friends it reignited her interest in being a Daisy. 

Since the troop option was clearly not going to work out for her, and having learned that there was infact a group of homeschool Girl Scouts that gather a couple of times a month to do activities together, go on field trips and just give the girls the chance to come together as an unofficial troop we decided to give that a try.  She is registered as what is called a "Juliette", meaning that she is not part of an official troop and that she works on badges and things on her own while having all the other benefits of being a Girl Scout.  The other Juliettes in the troop are anywhere from Daisy level on up.  I love that this option is bringing girls of all ages together! 

From the moment that we arrived at the local Girl Scout store to buy her tunic, petals and handbook she has been so excited and anxiously waiting for her first meeting.  To pass the time to meeting day she asked if she could earn her petals. She loves to hear each story, complete the activities and see the flower on her tunic grow!  Finally, the much anticipated first meeting day had arrived!  She got ready and happily bopped out to the car.  We arrived at the meeting and she quickly and easily got settled.  Emma and I then headed over to the location where the parents and siblings were hanging out while the girls were in their meeting.  We had a great time, but couldn't help but wonder how Grace was doing.  Around 11:00am we had to get going (since today happened to be a Crickets day too) and Em and I went into the meeting room to get Grace who was sitting with her Girl Scout friends listening to a story.  I walked over to let her know we needed to leave and she reluctantly came.  She said good-bye to her leader (who was super sweet and said what a great addition Grace was to the group) and we went on our way.  As we walked (and Grace skipped) to the car she said to me: "Mama, I love being a Daisy and I can't wait to be a Brownie!  When do I get to go back?!"   Luckily, she won't have to wait long as they have a field trip to a veterinarian planned for next week!

Afternoon Tea

Our friend (and the girls beloved yoga teacher) Alexandra joined us for lunch and afternoon tea today!  It had been quite awhile since we last saw her and after some emailing back and forth Alexandra and I decided that we must have lunch and get caught up.  I had decided as soon as we made these plans that instead of telling the girls who was coming for lunch that I would leave it as "a friend we have not seen in awhile is coming to lunch today".  I love surprising the girls, and I knew that they would be over the moon to see her when she arrived today.  And they were!  As soon as she pulled into the driveway they headed out to see who was here.  There was much rejoicing in the land when they realized who it was. The excitement was palpable and could have easily powered a small village.  Emma pretty much ran up the deck stairs, grabbed my hand and said: "Mama!  Come see!"  and dragged me outside to show me who was here.  We welcomed Alexandra in and the girls quickly showed her around then we all sat down to a lovely meal followed (a little later on) by a lovely afternoon "tea" of apple cider and the delcious and beautiful cupcakes that Alexandra made. It was a simply delightful day!  Tonight at dinner Grace said to me "Mama, I am so happy that we got to see Alexandra today.  Can we do that again soon?!"  I certainly hope so sweet girl, I certainly hope so! 

{This Moment}

{This Moment} - A SouleMama Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. We wish you a weekend full of wonderous moments!

And Still More Adventures!

The next morning we:

had breakfast with our friends and poured over the program from Disney on Ice.

went swimming.

had lunch at the diner.

and then headed to the See Science Center (our final destination before heading home).

Yes, this millyard is made out of Legos!  To get the whole scoop click here.

It was a perfect ending to a perfect trip!  Thanks again Heather for inviting us to come along! We had a blast and can't wait till we see you all again!

Disney On Ice

(Photos courtesoy of Heather's iPhone)

What a magical night!  The girls were so captivated by what they were seeing that they sat there in total awe (and in the case of Emma on the edge of her seat the entire performace)!  Each time a new performer skated onto the ice they would just beam. It was incredible to watch them watching the show.  Disney magic was in full effect that night, and it is safe to say that this mama sat there just basking in the wonder of it all.  After the show ended we stayed around to see the "behind the magic" portion of the show. It was so neat to get to see all the different aspects of what it takes to put on a show like this.  One of the best parts was getting to see some of the skaters perform various leaps and tricks for us.  All of us sat there with wide eyed wonder as they effortlessley performed each one.  I am so eternally grateful to Heather for inviting us to come along (and take advantage of the discounted Girl Scout rate tickets she had access to)!  It is a night full of wonderful moments and memories that we will carry with us forever.  

Friday Night Diner Dinner and Dessert

On Friday after art class the girls and I headed to New Hampshire to meet up with our friends from Outnumbered for a fun filled weekend (or 24 hours, really) of adventures!  I hadn't told them much, just that we were going on a trip, seeing a show and staying overnight in a hotel.  I kept it really general and did not get into many specifics until right before it was time to go.  We arrived at the hotel late Friday afternoon, got settled, watched a little TV and then headed down to the diner that was attached to the hotel to get dinner.  I was thrilled to see that there was a diner right at the hotel as Grace had asked for a cheeseburger for dinner and this seemed like it should be the kind of place to have a really great cheeseburger.  And as luck would have it it totally was (and had a yummy BLT too)!

Having just gotten word that our friends were in the parking lot the girls decided to see if they could find them. 

After dinner we ordered dessert (pie, of course) to go and headed up to our room to eat it while our friends got settled.  Once they were ready, we put our dessert in the fridge and left for Disney on Ice (which needs its own seperate post).  The girls were so excited even though they had no idea what they were about to see!

And really, is there a better way to end a fabulous day than a late night snack in your jammies while watching the Food Network?  We think not!