Another GS Weekend

This past weekend was the Louisville Science Center overnight trip. Me, the troop leader, and 6 girls went. It was a nice change of pace from the previous weekend's camping trip!

We arrived at the Louisville Science Center and settled in for the evening. There were 6 other troops there so it was going to be a busy night.

Our center host was a very nice lady who clearly had overseen these GS overnights many times. She knew just how to talk to us, make us quiet, and instruct us.

After an initial orientation, our girls were part of the group that got free exhibit time. So, the girls grabbed their buddies and they were off!

The center is three stories worth of science broken into sections that are called "the world . . ." fill in the blank - we create, around us, within us, etc. It's a pretty hands on center and the girls liked playing with all of the various exhibits.

After the hour of free time, the girls went into one of the classrooms for a lesson on the amazon. They talked about reptiles and trees, then they had to build a tree using brooms, hangers, boxes and tape. The girls did a good job working together to build a sturdy tree.

At about 10pm, almost all of the lights were turned out and we went on a scavenger hunt thru the museum. It was very cool and my group of girls came in third place!

The IMAX was next. We watched a movie on the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. Robert Redford narrated it and it was really good - beautiful footage. Some of the girls fell asleep!

After the movie we moved to our spot for sleeping. We got the best exhibit to sleep in - THE AMAZON!! There were snakes and amazonian shacks and fish in aquariums - it was cool.

We slept okay. We were on the floor so it was a bit rough. I had to do a lot of stretching before I could get up!

We hit the road and said goodbye to Louisville. Yay, Girl Scout events!!

So Much For Good Intentions!

Well, I tried to keep up with this blog! I am gonna have to post about three recent events that have kept me away from the computer. It's been a busy month. April, who knew!?

The first post is about Olivia's Girl Scout Horse Camp that I chaperoned, by myself, a couple of weekends ago. It ended up being an okay trip but I was nervous to go it alone. Especially since I am not much of a camper!

Olivia was super excited to go on this trip. Being outdoors and getting to ride a horse was exactly what she wanted to be doing.

We went with four other girls, Livi's friend Caroline being one of them. They stayed in a tent together (me too) and were pretty much inseparable the whole weekend.

The Camp is a little over an hour from our house and it's just up the road from Carter Caves (remember that post!?). So, basically we are talking out in the middle of almost nowhere.

Our first night there we got settled into our tents and headed to the tack house for a mini orientation. When we got there, the horses were in the outer stalls and it was really cool to see them. The girls, especially, were happy to see them! After getting introduced to the weekend plans, we went to the campfire site. Luckily, it was less than 50 feet from our set of tents. It very quickly got dark and the campfire songs began. Some old standards that even I recognized and some new ones to learn. I was looking forward to the s'mores and pretty soon the fire was ready for the marshmallows. The girls didn't really want s'mores, they just wanted to char the marshmallows! It was really fun and then it was time for bed . . . this is where it gets bad.

It was FREEZING!! We had sleeping bags and blankets and socks and p.j.'s and layers and it was SO COLD! I don't think I have ever had such a miserable sleeping experience. And, I could hear the cars on the road down the hill and all I kept thinking was that any axe wielding murderer could park their car and climb up the hill and hack us to bits!! But, morning came and we survived.

Saturday was jam packed with activities. Horsey education, Caving, more horsey stuff with breakfast lunch and dinner thrown in. It was a pretty fun day.



I think the girls really liked the caving the best. Initially, they were all looking forward to the horses but it turned out that they really just did a lot of watching instructors interact with the horses and didn't get to do as much as they had hoped themselves.


The caving was amazing. We went into Cascade cave at Carter Caves. And we went off the tourist trail. Scary!! At first, I was a bit freaked out and so were some of the girls. But, pretty soon we started to feel more comfortable and then we were actually enjoying ourselves! The trek was somewhat treacherous. Holes in the floor, very dark spaces, crawling on your belly, going thru streams - these were just some of the trials and tribulations of the cave voyage! It was also very beautiful in the cave. Cool experience for sure.

Getting back to the horse part of the camp - the rest of Saturday afternoon was spent learning about grooming, riding, and feeding a horse. Eventually, the girls got to hop up on a horse and ride in a large arena for about 30 minutes. While it was very cool, the girls felt a bit jipped as they were expecting to go ride on a trail.

The last evening, the girls did a skit for the rest of the campers. Livi came up with the idea and the group filled in the details. It was really cute!

Thankfully the temp improved greatly and the second night was much more comfortable for sleeping.

Sunday morning came and it was time to pack up and hit the road. Goodbye Camp Cardinal!

Easter Fun

Easter weekend was very busy but very fun. We had a lot going on. Everything from egg dyeing to sound checks to band performances to the bunny's arrival on Sunday morn.

After the kids checked out their bounty and hunted for eggs (out in the chilly morning air!), we got all dolled up and headed to church. It was a lovely service, great sermon too! Made it home for an afternoon nap or at least some lounging around and really slowed it down for the rest of the day. Ahhh! Relaxing.

Of course the day wouldn't be complete without some pictures to document the day. Nothing like mommy coming at you when your eyes are barely open! I just wanted to capture the Easter bunny moment, come on! Is that so wrong!?

Thankfully the kids were ready to comply by the time they were dressed and ready for church. I even got some silly shots!

Puddles!

We have had some crazy weather in the last week. Rain, snow, warm, cold - it's been a little strange! Aidan was just dying to jump in some rain puddles and he finally got his wish on a warm, raining day.

Once he got the go ahead from me, he ran in the house and got his cute little red boots. He put them on by himself and started hopping in the one puddle we had on our sidewalk!


He was loving it and before I knew it, his boots were off and he was feeling the wet water between his toes. It was so fun to see the happiness that a little rain and a little bare feet could provide!

Spring Break Adventure!

So, we have been on Spring Break. It has been sooooo nice! I really needed this break. I have gotten quite a bit done around the house and some projects that I have been wanting to accomplish.

Mid-week we went to Carter Caves. It is about an hour northeast of us and, obviously it is a cave site. There are about 20 different small cave systems there, but we only went thru the largest one. With Aidan, we had to choose the most interesting and least strenuous. So, we went into Cascade Cave. It was really three caves, one of which you had to back track to get out. We weren't quite sure what to expect. Rick hadn't been in a cave system since he was about Olivia's age, and I went to Carlsbad Caverns when I was little, but have no idea how old I really was. So, we were curious for sure.

The first cave was very large and it almost looked fake! The tour group was probably about 40 people and we easily fit inside the cave. After a little history lesson from the park ranger, we headed further into the cave. Once we rounded the corner, it opened up into a beautiful area with a small lake. This was also the area that was the coldest. A bit more info and history from the PR and we continued on. The cave systems are locked with these very heavy metal doors. Everytime we went in or out of a cave system, the PR locked the door - creepy!

So, after the lake room, we went thru a metal door and outside. We walked along a pretty little stream and into the next cave entrance. It was beautiful!

The next cave system housed a bunch of really cool stalagmites and stalagtites. We also found some sleeping bats. They were very tiny, about 2 inches long. They didn't mind us a bit. Slept right thru our visit!

The last cave was very long and had much more interesting formations and walkways. More narrow areas and dark, creepy sections that you couldn't go down. I wonder what amazing creatures were living in there!

Our final stop was the underground, 30 foot waterfall - it was gorgeous!! You had to walk single file to get to it and water dripped on your head the whole way, but it was totally worth it!

Great family outing in a part of Kentucky that we hadn't explored yet. Very cool!

Aidan's 4th Birthday Party

Aidan's first birthday party with little friends went off without a hitch! It was last Saturday, 10am to noon and it was SO much fun. I was a little worried that it would just be two hours of chaos, but it ended up that we had the whole place to ourselves for almost an hour! Oh, we were at Chuck E. Cheese btw. This was Aidan's request. He really wanted to have his party with the mouse!



All of Aidan's friends and their parents arrived by 10:15, and they just jumped right into playing games, riding rides, and climbing thru the tunnel on the ceiling. Thank goodness the parents stayed with their kids because there was no way I was gonna be able to keep up with them! They are fast!!


I knew going in that I was gonna have to just go with the flow. I am so glad I prepared myself. Sitting down to eat pizza turned out to be an up and down affair! The kids were so distracted that they just could not sit still and eat. No problem though, I kinda figured that would happen so - I just went to my happy place and let it roll! Same thing happened with the cake and ice cream eating. Some of the parents offered to help get the kids settled down, but what was the point? They were having fun and that's what it was all about. I wasn't upset at all that they were all over the place!


Aidan was so excited to open his presents. He was really looking forward to that part! He got some great stuff from his pals. The trend these days is to say no presents, but isn't that part of the birthday fun? I mean, I don't think you need to spend an arm and a leg, but no presents at all? At this age, I am not sure how I feel about that.

Anyway, it was a great time and I really enjoyed getting to know some of Aidan's preschool buddies better.