Bridging to Juniors

Last Sunday, Rosie "bridged" over from Brownies to Juniors. The leaders did a really nice job on the bridging ceremony. The girls each said one part of a poem & then walked across a little bridge to officially be Junior Girl Scouts. They are all very excited! Girl Scouts is a great program, and my memories from scouting are so positive and good. My mom was my leader, and she was AWESOME! I am continually baffled as to how she raised 6 kids, coached softball, lead all the Girl Scout troops, kept us fed with a great meal each night & was never crabby like I am daily!

Waiting in line before the ceremony - some of the girls (like Rosie) came directly from our softball game!

The bridge....

Big Bed Time

We are very early moving Jo to a big bed, but my sister wants the crib. She is not expecting her baby until August, but she's a planner.... Love ya Joanie! Jo is awesome in her toddler bed though. She keeps saying "big bed" and slept like a trooper the last two nights. I think it is because she sleeps in a similar one at daycare, and it is only a few inches off the floor. The only issue is that she can get out of it now - I found her asleep with Anna this morning. Pretty cute, but I have a feeling she may end up there more & more. We may have a sleeping room for the three girls & a play room in the other bedroom.

Tooth Fairy

Anna lost her first tooth yesterday at school. She has been wiggling it like crazy, and it fell out while eating her apple. Too cute!!! She is so excited & so proud!!

Softball Update

My 3rd grade team is pitching now, and we are doing GREAT! We've had 2 games (no pics since I am busy coaching - need to get Pete on that!), and we won one game & lost one on Sunday. The girls were a bit wiped out after camping (me too), but it was a dust bowl at the field. My 2nd/3rd pitchers walked 7 runs each, and our bats were very very quiet. Need runs to win - our fielding was good though. Must focus on the positive! Needless to say, we will be at the cages this week!! Go Chargers - I'm very excited about this team - really good athletes, good listeners & pretty focused.

Anna is also playing on her first softball team, and she loves it too. I am helping with her team, and she is usually my helper during 3rd grade softball practice. She has a darn good arm & is not afraid of any ball thrown to her. She is going to the cages with me today too - I bet she will be the best hitter at her game on Saturday. I missed her first game due to GS camping....

Girl Scout Camping

Super fun weekend with Rosie's Girl Scout troop!!! I have to mention first that Marlene, Carrie & I helped raise $9300 on Friday during the first Music Trivia at St. MM!!! We threw it together at the last minute because we needed one more fundraiser at school with the economy in such despair. We did great & even had an anonymous donor give $4200 with a company match to come over in 6 months. We are so excited!! We made awesome t-shirts for the workers, great music trivia & people are still commenting on how fun it was!! Yeah!

OK - back to Girl Scouts! We camped in Steelville, MO at the Petry "lodge." The lodge is their home away from home (80 acres, beautiful setting, great house), so we were not really "camping" since we slept inside. The girls made the meals (mostly), cleaned up, took a LONG hike, got lots of tics, made God's eyes, practiced knot tying & had fun with each other. The adults had fun too - I am definitely going to make "brown bears" at home - the best cinnamon sugar dessert ever!!!

Can't remember their troop # but here are 9 of the 14 (a few couldn't make the trip). Nicole got them matching bandanas & we needed them - it was a warm weekend plus it kept the tics out of our hair.

You can see that the scenery was amazing, but this patio was incredible! From this vantage point, it looks like the girls are hanging on for dear life! Pretty funny!

On the hike - we made it to the river!

A Moment to Remember

Well, it was amazing! After months of planning, my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration was even better than we could have imagined. A beautiful, touching Mass & then the reception that was absolutely perfect! There are so many moments to mention that I'm not sure my words will do it justice. The theme was "A Moment to Remember" as they danced to this song by the Four Lads 50 years ago.

Here are some "moments":

• Aunt El and cousin Diane making the trip from California (thank you so much!)
• Having the family participate in the Mass & making it so personal
• Rachel & Adam being the best servers & coming over to kiss Mom & Dad
• Tearing up when they renewed their vows
• Lauren & Stephanie who were the best planners & "doers" - amazing invitations & program
• Setting up on Friday night until midnight (all worth it)
• The totally fun "Paul & Carol Bingo" that my brother Tim invented
• The longest speech ever by my Dad - my battery died during it!
• Mary drinking a bottle of Fat Bastard & her & Pat making out in the photo booth!
• The photo booth - it was a total HIT! Thanks Tim!
• Wishing we could have eaten more of the awesome food!
• Josephine drinking cups of Coke & never being tired (I wonder why)
• How many times did Joanie redo the seating arrangement?
• Kay & I cleaning out the chocolate fountain (I'm laughing right now about it)
• My sister, Mary, who did the best job being the planner - she's amazing!
• Bonding with my siblings again during the "planning phase"& seeing our parents so happy & still so in love....

Easter Thoughts

Happy Easter! What a wonderful time of year. During Lent, my kids never ceased to amaze me. They "gave up" and "did positive things" during Lent that made me very proud. They gave up their Nintendo DS and did not cheat once, and I know it was hard for them at times. I never heard them complain even once. They worked on positive Lenten activities like giving away their dessert to a friend (Anna did that) or help a friend in need.

Rosie was most interested in the Triduum as each year she develops a new understanding of the magnitude of Jesus' love for us. We went to all the services as they discuss their meanings in class and of course, ask lots of questions for Pete & me. I love the Holy Thursday & Good Friday services as they really hold so much emotion. If I did not have Sunday Mass, I'm not sure I could make it through the week. I now understand why my mother has attended daily Mass for so many years. It is such a calming force for me. I know He calls me more & I must listen.

The kids & I also helped clean the church before Palm Sunday, and they were troopers because it was hard work. I love my children, and I thank Jesus for them every day.