Kiln Fun!

Last fall my Mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I said, "a kiln!" I was only half kidding, but when she asked how much they cost, we got on Craigstlist to check it out. We picked up this kiln plus all of the "kiln furniture," some greenware and bisque, tools, glaze, kiln wash, etc for $500! Woohoo! Meanwhile, it took quite some time to get some parts ordered and get an electrician out to wire in an appropriate receptacle in the garage. And even longer for me to work up the courage to fire the thing. We had some cub scouts and girl scouts over to make clay art. The kids made their pieces and glazed in one sitting. I followed up with the clear topcoat. Jay and I started the firing at 6 pm and it was well after midnight before we looked through the peephole and saw our appropriate "cone" had tipped, indicating doneness. The projects turned out nicely and the kids were excited to see their work! I am seeing a fun summer activity here...

Girl Scout Service Unit Campout

Our whole Daisy Troop went to Camp Grady Spruce with our Service Unit...moms and girls. (Thank goodness - I couldn't have relaxed for a minute if it had been just leaders and girls! Thank goodness they let the Daisy Troops bring moms!)

Katie made this cute little fire scar with her own finds. We hiked up Johnson's Peak on Sunday morning before returning home. The highlights of the trip were the horseback riding and the boat ride to Devil's Island.

Cub Scout Bridging Ceremony at Hidden Lake Ranch

Andy and his den bridged from 1st year to 2nd year Webelos at Danny Mims' Ranch. Mr. Mims is a scoutmaster who opens his property to various scout groups for all sorts of events, and he always makes it special. One year the fire was lit by a torch that came down to the firescar on a hidden wire! This is Andy's last Bridging with Pack 280, since by next February he will be bridging to Boy Scouts. Where has the time gone?

Daisy Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony

Our girls are bridging from First-Year Daisies to Second-Year Daisies. We'll make a bigger production next year when the bridge to Brownies. But we used the bridge, conveniently built by Uncle Ken, and we had a nice blue cake made by Ms. Denise. Andy even put on his cub scout uniform to assist an wrangling the kindergarteners!

Katelyn's 6th Birthday Party

Every year I pride myself on baking the kids' birthday cakes myself, just like my Mom did for me. But this year, Katie unwittingly gave me a break - we were at Walmart a week or so before the party, and she went over to the bakery, selected this cute cake, and informed me that this was what she wanted. I was sad at first that she didn't want a "Mom's Special," but in the end, this saved me the bigges chunk of party prep time!

Katie had a pool party, which is why we waited until May for the pool to be a bit warmer. We had a sack race, egg relay, and musical chairs. This year Katie didn't cry when getting eliminated from the chairs - her friend Beth did (it's always someone!)

Kindergarten Field Trip to the Fort Worth Zoo

Katelyn got lucky - her class field trip is on her 6th birthday! Mom got to be the chaperone for Katelyn plus her 2 girl scout pals, Caelyn and Beth. We had a great time, and everyone was completely worn out afterwards! Katelyn got to share a birthday treat (brownies) with her class when we got back to the school.

Daisy Scouts plant spring flowers for our school

For our Pink Petal, our Troop planted the spring flowers for the front flower beds at our school. The girls will be so proud since everyone at school will get to see their hard work! Mom was really surprised at how hard the girls worked without complaining, and everyone enjoyed getting their hands dirty (except one, who was the master of the rake instead.) I hope these flowers live all summer and are still there to enjoy in the fall. Many thanks to Lydia and Beth for monitoring the watering - it's great to live across the street from the school, but sometimes you get taken advantage of. :)