Trains, Carriages and Lots of Walking . . .

Ok, so I mentioned in my last blog post that I was taking my Girl Scouts to Savannah, Georgia, to visit the Juliette Low House (founder of Girl Scouts for those of you who don't know) and I am just now starting to get back to a normal routine!

So last Friday we all played hooky from school and headed to the train station in Tampa for a weekend of fun.

Liv and her "buddy", Taylor, waiting for the bus that takes us to the train - in Orlando!

GS Troop 824 waiting for the bus.
I never realized how beautiful this train station was. 

Waiting for the train with some fun games.

The train is finally here!

We were all thrilled with the cleanliness of the train
and the amount of legroom.
You could barely reach the seat in front of you!
Sweet!!

After arriving in Savannah and checking in to our hotel, we walked up to River Street to eat dinner. We chose Five Guys and Fries and boy, did that hit the spot! We took a little walk by the river and then headed back to our hotel for a busy day tomorrow.

After a great breakfast buffet, we took a walk around some of the squares. 

The famous Mercer House for those of you familiar
with the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil".

After our quick tour of some of the Savannah squares,
we headed back to our hotel for a pool and pizza party.
Being a Girl Scout event, we had to have a lifeguard,
which made me and the other moms happy!

I just love this shot!

After showering and having a nail painting party,
we all put on our matching troop shirts and headed out.
Aren't they the cutest 14 girls you've ever seen?

Buddies!

I still look a little awake in this photo.
Wait 'til later after three nights with 14 girls!

After selling ALL those Girl Scout cookies,
we deserved a splurge and had the buffet dinner at
Paula Deen's Lady & Sons.

Yes, it was all as good as it looks.
Yes, there is a little green on my plate (under the fried chicken and mac & cheese).
The girls devoured the buffet.
We were in a separate area, off the main dining hall, and we had the room
to ourselves, and our own buffet. That worked out
perfectly because the girls could be a little loud and not disturb everyone!
We had fantastic service by Elaine and her crew
and will definitely be back again.

We had to drag ourselves out of Lady & Sons and
head to the Savannah Candy Kitchen for a tour and tasting.

The girls favorite part was watching the taffy being made and
then the workers throwing candy to everyone.
After getting the girls good and sugared up,
we headed back to the hotel for some very much needed R & R.

The girls in my room ready for the next day.

All the girls look dapper in their uniforms -
see, they do clean up nicely!

When we arrived at the Juliette Low House, I had to check in and they sent the girls on a scavenger hunt in the park with the other mom chaperones. After I was done, I was able to get a Diet Coke and sit in the gardens for about 15 minutes by myself. The birds were chirping, church bells were ringing and my caffeinated drink was bubbling. Life was good (and quiet!). Then the little darlings came back and we started our tour. We learned about Juliette Low's life and the founding of Girl Scouts. The girls were very impressed with what an amazing woman she was and felt very proud to be a part of her legacy. Next on our agenda was a tour of the house.

After the tour, we held our pinning ceremony in the gardens.
The girls pinned each other with a pin you only can purchase if you
have toured the house.
I loved this moment and got teary-eyed watching it.

The girls went around the Circle of Friends and each stated what
being a Girl Scout meant to them.
Then we sung taps and did the hand-squeeze.

Saying the Girl Scout promise and law.

Girl Scout Junior Troop 824

After lunch in the park, we headed back to the house
for our afternoon activity. - Games from the Past.
I was not sure how this was going to go because of the
girls' addictions with electronics (we allowed them on
the train but once we get to Savannah, we collected
all electronics and did not give them back until the night before we
left so they could charge them) but all these games
and crafts were a big hit!
Don't you love the "throwback" outfits?
Especially with the Converse?

We played charades, told stories, learned etiquette, made
yarn dolls and just had a great time!

Liv's voodooish doll!

After we finished at the JL House, we headed down to the river for some
dinner and shopping. We had a great meal and service
at the River House.

The girls on those wonky Savannah steps.
(I did rotate this photo but for the love of God,
cannot get it to show that change on this post,
so it is what it is!.

Found a man making balloon animals while waiting for
our Haunted Horse & Carriage tour.

Our beautiful horses.

Waiting for the train to take us home, after a super early 5 a.m. wake-up call!

All-in-all, it was a fantastic trip filled with lots of laughter, great food and wonderful memories. I hope all the girls remember what a fun time they had with all their Girl Scout friends (and leaders) and will look forward to bringing their own daughters here.

Needless to say, between this trip and another Relay for Life last night, I did not get much done around the house (but I did make A.N.O.T.H.E.R. trip to Pier 1) but that is for another post!

DIY Fall Leaf Candle Holders . .

 

Ok, so last year (or maybe it was two years ago), I came across a craft I thought my Girl Scouts would love and it would be easy - these beautiful fall leaf candle holders.  I did this before I really blogged so I don't have step-by-step photos (see, I am not good with the tutorials) but it's super easy.

First, take a lump of clay. I used Amaco Mexican Pottery Self-Hardening Clay. At the time, I couldn't find the clay I wanted in my local stores but my mom found it in her neck-of-the-woods at Hobby Lobby. Thanks Mom. So the girls rolled the clay out to about a half-inch thick. Before the meeting, I printed out outlines of maple leaves on regular paper. The girls cut the leaves out. Then they laid the cut out leaf on top of the flattened clay. They used a plastic knife to cut around the outside edges of the paper leaf and removed any excess clay. Then, before removing the leaf, the girls traced the veins of the paper leaf with a dull pencil so the impression would leave marks on the clay.

See the lines?
It makes it a little more realistic.

When that was all done, we put a candle on it to make sure the main part would be flat and hold a candle nicely. Next, the girls folded up the sides anyway they wanted it. Some girls did not want to use it as a candle holder, they wanted to hang it or just use as decoration, which was perfectly fine. For those who wanted to hang theirs, we put a hole through the top with the pencil (don't forget to sign your name and date it).

Then you let it dry, and dry, and dry. I can't really remember how long it takes to dry because our GS troop meets every week, but I want to say 24-48 hours.

Then comes more fun - painting! The key is to smear the colors together before they dry and make it look natural.

We made sure to paint all the edges but my daughter didn't want to paint the backside of the leaf so that's ok.

Don't they look great?

Another great Girl Scout project! Thanks girls!!

Inexpensive Homemade Gift Ideas . . .

Ok, so I am little behind in posting this because this is something I made back in May (truthfully, it slipped my mind). I needed a last minute gift for my Girl Scout troop parent volunteers. Having been a Girl Scout leader for the past 8 years (1 more to go!), I had run out of ideas for homemade gifts. Normally, the girls make the gifts but we also ran out of meetings so I was left to my own skills (ha, ha!) such as they are.  So I looked in my craft cabinet, found 4 tall glass cylinders and some Modge Podge, and got to work! 

I believe I got these from the Dollare Tree - the dollar store where the items actually cost only $1.

I printed out the GS Promise and Law on regular paper.

I had some old Mod Podge (yeah, look at the top of the jar!). I have used a version of
watering down glue for projects in the past and they have worked just as well as the Modge Podge - I just had it on hand and like saying Modge Podge. I tore strips of the poems and haphazardly started gluing them on. I did the top and then turned the jar over to do the rest.

Once all spots were covered, I put one more layer of Mod Modge all over the outside.

I didn't like the rough edges showing so I added the ribbon to the top and bottom.
Here's a close-up version of the finished project.
We filled them with daisies (sorry, no photo) and the moms loved them!

The next day, and still on a Mod Podge roll (no it wasn't the smell of the glue), I needed a gift for one of the days of Teacher Appreciation Week. Each day of the week, we are assigned items to bring in, this day being candy. I did not have time (or the forethought) to run to the Dollar Store so I had these canning jars. 

I found some poems about teachers and printed them out. 

Back to gluing!

Almost finished project - I decided, after taking the photo - of course, to add a ring of ribbon to the top and it gave it that finished look. We filled the jars with Hershey's Hugs and Kisses for a couple of the teachers who particularly loved them and Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Squares for two who are on Weight Watchers (and added a note for how many Points in each square!). My daughter then wrote a note of thanks and we were good to go.

I think they look great - use your imagination for the ribbon!!

As I was making the gifts, I realized that they could be made for any occasion. You could use sheet music or lyrics for the piano teacher, scores and schedules for an athletic Coach, you get the idea.

Now back to organizing my craft room, but that's for another post!