Renassiance Festival...Round Two

I got to go back to the Ren Fest with my older girls this weekend...I had lots of extra fun because we had a really big group...and it was rather a motley crew of Scouts!!

So one of our challenges was to find Robin Hood!!

We had 11 girls from my own Cherry Bomb troop, plus two Boy Scouts, Joseph and Adam. Then, because Kate was taking her SAT's, and I had both Joseph and Savannah with me at the Fest, I had no one at home to babysit Brigham and Nicolette...so I had to bring them along, as well.

Then I had 3 moms and one dad who came to help out. So, I brought Jason as well to keep the other dad company and kinda keep up with the Boy and Cub Scouts, in case they didn't want to stick with the girls.

Jason chaperoned the Boy Scouts so they could get in on the fun and merriment of the Fest!!

So, I ended up getting to spend the day not only with my beloved Scouts, but almost my ENTIRE family as well!!

Having already done this year's Fair once with my Daisys, we were extremely efficient with the older girls, because i knew the layout and requirements of this years patch Program. We got to do all the fun stuff...explore encampments, watch the performers and parade, see the joust, and play the games.

Learning about herbs and cures at Ye Olde Apothecarie

Medieval armory instruction at the Paladin Society

Sword-swallower at the Hanseatic League

And, of course, the Tournament of Knights and Joust!!

This year, the girls were REALLY into getting fox or coyote tails, so that was the big purchase....but there was also plenty of pixie dust, elf ears, and dragon claws as well.

And we even managed to find the dastardly scoundrel, plague of the rich, and hero to the poor...Robin Hood!!!

There he is!! Robin of the Hood!! If only Kaitlyn were here...she'd start singing "Men in Tights"

 Now...if only we can get him out of that tree to collect the bounty!!

Basic Skills Core Camping with Girl Scouts

Just a quickie little update...

I'm having a great week, but am VERY busy...so I don't have a lot of time to waste away on the computer.

However...I wanted to share some pics of last weekend.

I was privileged to go camping with some of my Junior Girl Scouts over the weekend to our FAVORITE Girl Scout campground, Camp Nocatee. We attended a Basic Skill;s Core Camp, where the girls got to learn basic wilderness first aid, go hiking, try geocaching/letterboxing, practice their canoe skills, learn how to tie knots and wield a knife, and hone up on their tye-dying skills. We also learned fire safety and they cooked their own meals over a fire, roasted marshmallows for s'mores, and sang countless camp songs.

We really had a fabulous weekend...I truly love serving as a Girl Scout leader...I especially cherish all the extra time it gives me with my own daughters...but after all these years, the girls in my troop are like daughters as well, and I love each and every one of them.

My Cherry Bombs...Chuckles, Bandit, MarshMELlow, Cuckoo Bird, Peaches, Oreo, and Little Feet

We stayed in a campsite we have never stayed in before...called "Little Critter Village". Thankfully...it didn't live up to it's name...

New site!!

Although we DID see many cockroaches (big ones), spiders, and a darling frog the girls caught in the bathroom...

The little frog the girls caught in the bathroom and set free...

There wasn't a lot of animal action...definitely not as much as we've seen in previous years. I'm thinking it's because we normally visit Nocatee in May...and it's only March. Less critters...but also, much cooler weather...which was a bonus...

One critter we found...sadly, he was already dead...

The girls loved all the classes and skills workshops...but their FAVORITE activity was canoeing...

Savannah has lots of canoe experience

They also really loved the hike/geocache activity...it was REALLY fun. Geocaching is something our family is discovering with Joseph, since he is looking to earn a merit badge in it...so Savannah and I were both really keen to have fun with this activity...

On the trail...

The girls cooked their own meals over the fire. Most were really excited to break out their brand new mess kits for the activity...but Savannah has a very special mess kit.

It used to be her Grandma Sandys...who is no longer with us. Grandma Sandy had it when SHE was a Girl Scout...and it is actually a vintage Girl Scout treasure.

They don't make THESE anymore...

It even has Grandma Sandys initials painted on it in red nail polish..."SJ" for Sandra Johnston. How awesome is it that Savannah's initials are the very same? Using it in Girl Scouts has made Savannah feel that much closer to her Grandma Sandy...

I think it's great that Sandra and Savannah share something like Scouting...

We really had a great time, and I can't wait to go again. I really love doing this...and I hope my girls know that and feel my love for them, too...

Crazy Girl Scout Weekend...

I had a crazy Girl Scout weekend this weekend...with activities every day of the weekend.

On Friday night, we had Thinking Day...a world-wide celebration of the Girl Scout/Girl Guide movement where girls think about and celebrate their "sisters" all over the world. This year, our troop had a booth...we represented Spain (gee...wonder who picked THAT country?).

Our board for Thinking Day...

Other troops made booths with other countries, and the girls traveled around from booth to booth with a "passport"...they got stamps in it from the various countries represented and had the opportunity to buy SWAPS and food samples and learn about Girl Scouts from the country being represented.

My Daisy World Travelers...

My Junior World travelers...

That night, the girls also participated in a massive service project assembling hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to distribute to our local homeless community.

It's a PB&J mess for a GOOD CAUSE!!

The next day, my Juniors visited Old Davie Schoolhouse to get started on their Bronze Award project...helping Old Davie identify and correctly label several fruit trees they have planted on property.

Can you guess the  trees just by this blossom?

We were lucky to visit during Davie's Orange Blossom Festival and Rodeo, and get to see the schoolhouse in action...serving the community by offering educational experiences and allowing people to learn about what it was like to live in Florida during different time periods.

The docents taught the girls about pioneer life in Florida...

...and prepared delicious food for them to feast upon!!

That evening, my Junior troop attended a big council activity called Mall Madness...a lock-in at a mall.

Ready to shop till we drop!! (literally)

 It's attended by 2,500 Girl Scouts of all ages (yes...that IS NOT a typo...two-thousand-five-hundred)...stores stay open so the girls can shop all night long (it runs from 10pm until 5am), there are DJ's, bounce houses, rock walls, bungee jumpers, craft tables, henna tattoos, face painting, games and scavenger hunts...and did I mention the shopping?

Getting our shop on at ALL the little girl favorites...Justice, the Gap, and Claires!!

 I had a cancellation at the last minute, and so I took Nicolette as a replacement. She had a BLAST...and kept up with the big girls. In fact, some of my older girls passed out...but Nicolette never slowed...she had her ears pierced at Claires at 3:30am, and could be found dancing ON THE STAGE at 4:40am.

Nicolette holds my hand in anticipation of the pain...but she never cried or yelped!!

Look at my big all-grown-up girl with PIERCED EARS!!

 We had a lot of fun...it was better than I expected...although still too expensive for my tastes...but I imagine that we WILL be doing it again...

Now it's early Sunday morning...and I have to get ready for church, come home and bake cakes and clean, and then attend a Missionary Homecoming Open House. I haven't slept in 24 hours...and it doesn't look like I'll be sleeping anytime soon...

No rest for the wicked?

Well...if it's wicked to be a Girl Scout leader...then the answer is: "YES!!"

Renassiance Festival 2011...Part One

I took my cutie little Daisy Scouts to the Ren Fest today. It was their first time...

...can I get a collective "awwwwwwwww"?

We got to do all the cute little girl things that my bigger Junior Scouts are "too cool" to do...like attend "Princess Lessons"...

Meet the newest Princesses in the land...my Darling Darling daisy Scouts...

 I even brought Brigham along, because he's a Cub Scout now and has never been to the Ren Fest, either...

Brigham didn't WANT to go with the Daisies at first, but ended up having a great time...

We did the activities that are ALWAYS favorites...like visiting the Games Field...

The biggest Jenga game EVER...

Playing Giant Chess...

 Of course, we met LOTS of interesting characters...

The Catepillar/Butterfly Guy...

Urinia and Excretia, who clean the privies...the girls were grossed out and fascinated all at once...Brig thought it was genius!!

Fashion divas who sell their wares to the Duke of Bloomingdale and Lord Taylor...love the tongue in cheek humor around here...

We saw some great shows...the joust, the sword swallower, the parade, and a beautiful glass-blowing demonstration...

Kids...don't do this at home...

We cheered for Sir Roderick...the BAD GUY...although his squire kept saying he wasn't BAD...he was simply "morally grey"...

My little Daisy Scouts had a GREAT time...and enjoyed the food, fun, and merriment that goes along with the Renaissance Festival...and were innocent enough to not register the bawdiness...

Invest in the Ren Fest...their stocks are sound...

Or maybe it was just all the orange soda that kept them so happy?

Hehehehe...

 Either way...it was a good day!!

Masquerade Ball!!

Ready to PAR-TAY!!!

I got the chance to attend a Girl Scout Masquerade Ball with my girls last night.

And I don't just mean my "Girl Scout girls"...I mean MY girls...in the biological sense.

Now that Nicolette is an official Daisy Scout, I get to attend some activities with BOTH my daughters. Sure...sometimes we split up if age is an issue...but I really relish the times I get to be with both.

I really love being able to spend time with both my little ladies. And I also really love eliminating the whine factor every time I take off on a GS activity and Nicolette wants to goooooooooo...

Last night was one of those times, were we all got to dress up in our Mardi Gras favorites and dance the night away.

The Daisies learn the Macarena!!

There was pizza and pasta and cake (of which I had none...it was my last day on Master Cleanse...a- whole-NOTHER reason to celebrate!!!), a DJ spinning tunes all night long...

C'mon Daisies...let the big girls show you how it's done...

 ...pictures with the troops...and PRIZES (Savannah won a $15 gift card to Justice, which she can use at Mall Madness in a couple weeks!!).

Kat and Savvy show their FUN-KAY side...

We had a GREAT time...but in typical Johnson (or should I say "Shannan"?) fashion...there was a hiccup...I had bought this luxurious feather boa to go with my mask and outfit...and I was stroking it and playing with it all night. About halfway through the night, I looked down, and my hands were BLUE!!!

Uhhhh...Blue Woman Group, perhaps?

The dye had apparently worn off the boa and onto my hands AND the back of my neck!! After SEVERAL washings, it STILL wouldn't come off.

As I sit here typing this the morning after with blue hands, I can't help feel rather disappointed. I had hoped to use the boa in my Valentines Night ensemble I had especially picked out for Jason...

...but unless he's into Smurfs, I just don't think it's gonna work...

Blue in Florida,
Shannan

Karen and I at the Masquerade Ball!!

Ren Fest 2010

One of my favorite times of year is the annual Renaissance Festival here in South Florida. My girls and I go every year...and we always have a marvelous time. They have a fantastic Patch Program that allows the girls to get in for free and earn a patch by completing certain projects and talking to the different characters portrayed at the Faire. We learn a lot, it's always different, and there is plenty to see and do.

This year, some of my girls even dressed up. Next year...I am totally dressing up, too...I promise!!



Look at these shoes!! In Renaissance Venice...it was fashionable for woman to be very tall...taller than men even...so they wore these ridiculously high shoes. All I can say is...more power to them...

We NEVER miss the joust...this year we were cheering for Spain!!! The girls liked his long hair...although I preferred the English knights horse...

It's Robin Hood!! What kind of Festival would be complete without Robin and his Merry Men?

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We saw parades and shows, witnessed displays of black muskets, cannons, and the dreaded trebuchet, and of course, shopped our hearts out for fairy dust, elf ears, fox tails, wooden swords, and sparkly dragon claws.

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And during all that, we earned our patch!!

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I'm such a closet nerd...I just LOVE the Festival. I'm so glad I'm a Girl Scout Troop Leader so I can indulge in my kookiness under the guise that I'm doing it for the educational benefits it provides my troop.

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Some day, though, I'm sure they'll see through me. Hopefully by then, they"ll be just as geeky about it as me...

Halloween with Girl Scouts!!

Ahhhh!!! It's scary!! No...it's terrifying!! It's...it's...it's HALLOWEEN!!!!

My Girl Scouts LOVE Halloween, and this year, for the first time, our troop went to Camp Creepy!! Camp Creepy is held every year at Camp Welaka in Jupiter, about an hour and a half away. They transform the entire camp into a frightfully haunted playground, complete with haunted houses, carnival attractions, games and crafts, a dance hall, haunted hayride, and lots and lots of spooky characters.

First thing we did was purchase glowing necklaces and hit the dance hall to move and groove beneath spinning lights, strobes, and black lights...

Ms. Heidi, Ms. Desiree, and all the girls LOVE to dance...

There were also plenty of hula hoops to spin beneath the spooky decorations...

The haunted houses were very well done...in fact, after a couple of houses, some of the girls were too scared to try more, and waited outside while the braver souls went in. The last haunted house included a seance...and it was so incredibly well-done and spooky that the three girls brave enough to go in...Kaliayah, Danya, and Savannah...ran screaming from the house, and Savannah actually burst into tears.

(I tell ya - some of these older Girl Scouts are REALLY good actresses!!)

A much less frightening activity was launching Wish Boats into Lake Akalew (which, incidentally, is "Welaka" spelled backwards).

I'm not sure how the gator felt about all those candles on his water (name that movie)...but having been denied a very plump and tasty redhead last weekend during canoe training, I'm sure it just added insult to injury...

The girls all tried the Bungee Jumping...but it was Kaliayah who really "flipped"...

Danya kept her eyes closed for the Haunted Hayride...(just kidding...just an unfortunate shot. But Heidi and Oriana came out okay!!)

Festivities ended at midnight, and my girls made it ALL THE WAY (I didn't think they would,,,but boy, was I wrong!). We didn't get home until almost 2am.

The next morning, we had a service project at a local nursing home, where the girls got to go and cheer up some of the Grandmas and Grandpas being cared for there.

Savannah, Jessica, and Abi all arrived at about the same time...aren't they adorable?

Savannah instantly made friends with Ethel and Frank, and they helped each other play some rousing games of BINGO.

Katherine and Amanda met us there, and joined in the game!!

My co-leader, Karen and her daughter, Katherine...always look so beautiful...

We made Halloween cards for the residents who couldn't get out of bed to play with us...

All in all...a very fun day serving in our community and cheering those in need...

...now I need a nap.