Girl Scouts

A few weeks ago, Gwyn and Celee got to go to Survivor Camp at Camp Whipporwhil in Annapolis.  We thought it was going to be about surviving, but it was actually supposed to be themed around the tv show Survivor.  I think I may have seen one episode of the first season way back when, and my girls have never seen it, so we were a little clueless as to some of the particulars.  The girls were sorted into "tribes" and sent off to make their base camps.  They were given certain tasks that they had to interpret and work together as a tribe to complete.  Then they got beads based on how well they did.

It was interesting (and frustrating at times) seeing how all these pre-teen girls did or did not read instructions or work together for some of the tasks.  The adults weren't allowed to help them, so I just got to walk around and watch for most of the weekend.

Campouts are almost always fun, even when things go awry.  I'm glad Gwyn and Celee had such a good time!

Later Gwyn and Celee both got to participate in a Rock climbing day.  This was cool because they got to climb as much as they wanted for two hours.  They are both very good at climbing walls!  Celee even got a little bored and ended up trying to climb with her eyes closed toward the end.

We all got to go to the Big Outdoor Event at Camp Ilchester in Ellicot City.  Because we registered early for the events each girl got a free geode.  They picked one out at a big table and then they got to crank a machine to crack the geode open.  I just think it's super cool to think that you're getting to see something that has been sealed up for 20 million years that's never been seen before.
The girls also got to do archery and cook smores.  Lyla and her friend didn't want to wait in line for archery because, "We can do that at home."  They did get excited about the owls.  There was a large barred owl and two little screech owls there.  The screech owls were so cute they didn't look real!

So it's been Girl Scouts, Girl Scouts, Girl Scouts.  I'm glad we get to do so many cool things and that they girls have some really great girls in their troops, but man things get busy in the Spring!  

Sproutwood Fairie Festival

Fairie Festival?  Yes!   The girls were super excited to go to the Sproutwood Fairie Festival.  We read about it in the local paper and they were dying to go!  It ended up that I was beginning to get what turned out to be a "flu-like virus" and started feeling bad the day of the festival, but at the last minute I decided that we couldn't miss it.  Put on your wings!  We all dressed up in our very fairy-est costumes and went for the adternoon.

Sproutwood is a really neat CSA farm just over the Pennsylvania border from us.  They have all kinds of educational programs and just fun programs and two big festivals each year.  There were three different stages with very interesting music.  There's lots of audience participation too!  Two ogres (I think) chased the girls for one song.  There was a green goblin-lady walking around with her pet insect.  The girls got to make fairie wands.  They had a fairie tea party with purple tea of some sort and lavender cookies.  

We also went on a magical journey into the fairie realm where people, and fairies I suppose, had built fairie houses to attract the fairies back each year.  I honestly don't know how much that the lady in charge was telling us was playing along or real to her.  And the girls came away convinced that fairies live near ourhouse because  we have lots of skunk cabbage and thorns, which apparently are signs of fairies.  The girls even built a fairie house and were told that the fairies would then recognize their scent on a fairie house if they built one on our property and will

trust it to be safe.

There were tons of things to do at the festival.  The girls wrote letters to the fairies at the fairie post.  And we got to view sunspots through the observatory telescope.  This place has a little of everything!

Including snakes.  And lizards.  And tortoises.  Which the girls got to pet and wear.  There was surprisingly little adult supervision with the reptiles.  

And who doesn't love a rope swing? Again with little to no supervision.  But like the reptiles, it seemed to be ok here.  Which was very surprising and nice.  

We stayed until the festival closed that evening and still the girls didn't want to leave.  It was an awesome location and an awesome festival.  I don't know how crowded it would be if we'd gone on Saturday instead of Friday, but the crowd was perfect!  Just enough people to see all the cool costumes and feel like the place was filled, but not so many that you had to wait in line for things or feel crowded.  

The girls already made me promise to take them next year and they're already planning their costumes.  I can't wait myself!