Gabby’s Stars & Stripes

We celebrated Gabby’s Stars & Stripes Award just over a week ago. We had people from both our current church and our previous one, as well as friends from three troops (our old, new, and even one we met at camp), and my parents came down from Kentucky.

Some of her memories—her Tenderheart vest was made into a bag many years ago, her letter from Patti Garibay, congratulating her, photos, and SWAPS

Katie issued the challenge, and some dear friends and leaders spoke.  They shared sweet memories and funny ones too—staying up chatting at camp, the fellow at the Space and Rocket center in the scuba tank who was teasing the girls, and all of her accomplishments, from badges to hours serving.

Gabby had the opportunity to thank those who have taught her and supported her over the past ten years

Her siblings had the honor to support her too

And these two are forever silly together

Congratulations Gabriella!!

Since her project was to help an organization that is all about getting books into children’s hands her reception was storybook themed:

Cake—chocolate base cake with vanilla book cake

Left to right: True Love Kiss (Hershey’s kisses), Fairy Godmother’s Wands (pretzel sticks), Just Right popcorn (sweet on the left, salty on the right, and mixed ‘just right’ in the middle, Snow White’s Apple (fruit tray), Three Little Pigs in a blanket, Story Book Cake, The Little Mermaid’s Water (salt removed), and punch

Full

 

In July we moved

With help of friends and family

Headed off to camp with these two before the other house was even empty

Turned in our key

Gabby completed her Stars & Stripes Project

She built bookcases

Put wallpaper under the benches

And created a mobile, with help from friends

Gabby finished Driver’s Ed (and ACT Prep)

Ellie started gymnastics

And that brings us to the start of school:

Aesthetics 

Home

And dual enrollment through Union (English)

Stars & Stripes

Katie earned her Stars & Stripes Award through American Heritage Girls.  Her project was updating our church’s playground.  It was a big project in addition to all if the other requirements.

Today we were able to celebrate her award and all of her accomplishments along the way.  Her youth minister, troop unit leader, and the children’s minister (since she served the children’s program through this project and over the past several years), and mentor all spoke about her growth.  When the open opportunity to speak about her came, so many people came forward—adults who have seen her love their girls, her peers who spoke of how she is a wonderful friend, and younger girls who look up to her and appreciate that she sees them. I didn’t take a single picture during the ceremony, wanting to soak it all up.

Then we had our party.  In the midst of the process of getting her project approved, there were gaps of time in which we waited awhile, and as mom, I was to step back and let the project be hers anyway, so I’d been planning the party in fits and spurts for months.

I ran across the ‘build your own trail mix bar,’ and she loved it—it fit well with her troop experiences and was fun too.

The cake table—we had a chocolate sheet cake (via Sam’s), I made a vanilla cake, and Katie made the vegan cupcakes for those who needed them.

Close up of the cake I made—Captain America style, per her request

The cake we ordered

A fruit basket (with star cutout fruits) , punch, and water

Each of the tables had a centerpiece based around her favorite badge from each of the badge frontiers.  The photo board of her project and various mementoes are in the background—there are too many faces of girls whose families would prefer us not to post, so no close up of that table here.

Centerpieces in preparation—clockwise from 10 o’clock, Our Flag, cake decorating, creative writing, camping, book adventurer, and astronomy. Each had a label describing why that was her favorite.

Her favor was a SWAP

Here is the explanation of those SWAPS, since not everyone knows what they are!

Congratulations Katie-Girl!  You did it!

Love always,

Mama 

End of Year

Last week my gals had their end of year AHG ceremony.  It was actually held in a building!  It was the second time this year we were in a building—once before we met under thunderstorm warnings inside, but less than half our troop came that time.

Ellie received her badges.

Gabby transitioned from the middle school group to the high school unit, earning her Harriet Tubman level award.

We walked her to the bridge.

Katie met her on the other side.

And Katie received her Dolley Madison Level Award.  Since she did not have a new uniform piece to receive, she received a bouquet of flowers.

It took a few days, but I finally got all the badges, patches, and stars on.  Ellie’s blue stars are 5 hours each, white are 15, and gold are 20.  They’ve done a lot of hours of service, a great deal of learning through badge requirements, and had a lot of fun activities.

The gap on Gabby’s sash, is the place to put the six required badges for her next level award (Abigail Adams)—the girls must earn at least one badge from each of six areas: Heritage, Family Living, Arts, Outdoor Skills, Personal Well Being, and Science & Technology for a level award, plus several other requirements showing service, leadership, and religious growth.

Nate’s turn won’t come until the end of the summer, but we are very proud of all the work he’s put into his awards too.

Lately

Nate and Ellie had a book club Zoom call for The Penderwicks in Summer—a book we love around here.  They made Churchie’s gingerbread.

Later we visited a Civil War hospital (a house in our area that was used for that purpose).  The Confederate soldiers who died, and were not subsequently moved by their families, are buried in the yard, near the family and enslaved persons of the household) after reading The Perilous Road.

Ellie list her two front teeth!

We’ve been trying different prom hair styles—hard to believe that gal is heading off to prom soon!

I was able to make a baby quilt for a friend who is expecting a new little one.

We had finals week and finished up school super early this year.  We couldn’t go to the pool last summer, so by July we started doing school days here and there when the weather was poor and nothing fun was happening.  We skipped fall and spring break, since Justin’s schedule was the same.  There were a few groans during the year as we kept going straight through, but everyone is happy we did that now!

We wrapped up the last regular AHG troop meeting of the year.  We’ve been outside due to Covid.  One of our amazing families let us set up in their yard all year long.  We kept our supplies in a trailer on site and would pull out our clipboards, name tags, scissors and tables.  It was and adventure.

We are hoping to be back inside for the fall, but it was a year we won’t forget!!

We loaded up to go camping at two different locations—the girls with AHG and the fellows with Trail Life.  We’d never both gone the same weekend before, so the logistics were a bit tricky...like who gets the French press!

Lucy got to go spend the weekend with our friends and their dog Brandy.  We hear she minded her manners.  We’d never left her before, so that was good to hear.

It was a wet weekend, but the girls had a good time.  Katie and some of the other older girls taught a badge, Gabby spent the day at archery.  Ellie rotated through: earning Archery, Toys & Games with Katie and friends, and Hiking.  I taught the kindergartners the AHG Joining Badge with a good friend of mine.

I don’t have pictures of the fellows, but they did knot tying, relay races, and orienteering.  Justin managed to cut himself setting up one of the courses, but thankfully didn’t need stitches, and a couple of the other fellows bandaged him up.

Our (very, very muddy) campsite

Thankfully the fellows had less mud, despite similar rainfalls.

Our elementary girls started walking back and forth quacking.  The once dirt road became a mud slick.  It was a bit challenging, but we made it through!  The only way to get gear to our site was to be hauled up by a Gator.  If we’d managed to keep the mud off anything, by the time the Gator went through the splattering mud taking us back to the car, it wasn’t clean anymore!  The last of the laundry is finally in the wash—six sleeping bags, six camp pillows, extra blankets, rain jackets, winter coats, and every item of clothing anyone took was damp, even if it wasn’t worn.

Lately

 We had some blue sky, beautiful days this past week.  I finally had enough of being cooped up, so I took the crew to visit the property our church has purchased to build on.

It has a little creek to cross, that then runs along side the trail. Lucy thought the creek was the most amazing thing she had ever seen.

This is where we think our sanctuary will be, along with a soccer field, play ground, pavilion, and fire pits.  We can’t wait to see!

The trail is a bit rough right now since we recently had some flooding over it.

That evening Katie and one of her friends had their Boards of Review for their last AHG level award (Dolley Madison).

Here they are at their Harriet Tubman Boards of Review (2 years ago)

And Lewis and Clark Boards of Review (4!? years ago)

To celebrate, the passed Board, we got Katie movie tickets.  She and Gabby saw Chaos Walking.

The girls joined their AHG troop in bringing 708 pounds of supplies to a local pantry (many of our neighbors were kind enough to pass donations to us).

Saturday afternoon, Justin and I went to play mini golf.  We had been running children to and fro every night the past week except Monday, so we thought it would be nice to do something together without the crew, who have become, delightfully self sufficient for short stints!

That’s life here lately!!