We Survived ROCK THE MALL

I can summarize ROCK THE MALL in just one word:  CRAZY.

Over 250,000 Girl Scouts descended on the Washington Mall last Saturday.  I know that I am stating the obvious here, but a quarter of a million people is an incredibly large amount of people.  There were Girl Scouts everywhere you looked. I felt like a Girl Scout ant.

You can't capture that many people in a single picture, but here was my widest angle:

Here's a photo of the crowd projected from the stage:

We had a grand time acting like silly tourists and riding the carousel.

Through the magic of cell phones (set on vibrate because it was way too loud to hear a phone ring) we successfully met up with a few of our friends from the Great Valley Service Unit.  I still find this a bit miraculous given how many people were there.  We spent the afternoon with our friends, wandering among the hoards of Girl Scouts trading SWAPs and meeting girls from at least 30 different states and Canada.  The swapping was fast and furious for a few hours, and the girls came home with some amazing treasures, including a hand-painted dessert scene from a new friend from Arizona, a tiny bag of sand and seashells from south Florida, and a beautiful hand-made piece of (foam) birthday cake from Minnesota.

It was over 90 degrees on Saturday, and it was HOT on the mall.  Really, really HOT.  After about 3 hours swapping and sweating on the Mall, the girls and I decided it was time to find some ice cream and some shade.  We paid outrageously high prices for ice cream treats from a DC vender, and I tell you the ice cream was worth every penny.

We made our way back to the Metro, found our car, and started to drive home.  But I was sooooo tired, I knew I needed some coffee.  So we stopped at.....

 

......The WAFFLE HOUSE restaurant, if you're loosely defining the word restaurant.  I asked the girls if they wanted breakfast for dinner, and you'd have thought they won the lottery.  "Breakfast for dinner??  You are the best mom ever!!!!"   Honestly, that might have been the best coffee and bacon I ever ate. Probably also, the greasiest dinner ever.  But, what is a road trip without a greasy diner visit, right?!

To cap off the end to our adventure, Abby lost a tooth at the Waffle House, so here is her new smile, less one canine tooth.

Overall, ROCK THE MALL was a neat experience.  It was hot, crowded, exhausting, and crazy, but we would totally do it again (now that I've had a week to recover and reflect)!

Ready to ROCK THE MALL - S.W.A.P.S.

I am fairly sure that I have lost my mind, but I have decided to brave the crowds and take Abby and Caroline to Washington, D.C., bright and early tomorrow to go to the Girl Scout's ROCK THE MALL event.  ROCK THE MALL is an enormous sing-a-long to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting held right on the Washington Mall.  The organizers are expecting 150,000 to 200,000 girl scouts.  Streets will be closed and it is going to be a spectacle.

I think this is either going to be an amazing experience or a complete disaster.  I am so worried about losing Caroline in the crowds, that I took a Sharpee marker and wrote Caroline's name and my cell phone number on her belly after her bath.  I'm not even kidding.  She's inked.  

On the less neurotic side, one of the neat things about Girl Scouting events of this type is that all the girls bring along SWAPs that they have made and then they trade their SWAPs with those keepsakes made by girls from around the country. SWAPs is an acronym for "Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere " or, alternately, "Something With A Pin."  Typically the SWAPs are made to be representative of something special from your area of the country or a particular type of activity.

We weren't able to attend the SWAP-making workshop for our service unit, but I stole a few ideas from them, found a few ideas on the web, and created a few things myself.  Abby, Caroline and I spent quite a few hours creating a glittery, beady, glue-gunny mess in the dining room, but their SWAPs are ready to trade.  And, I think they turned out pretty well.

The end results (we made about 20 of each type pictured).  I must say the girls really got into this!  Wish us luck tomorrow and I'll post some photos from the event after I recover.

Philadelphia Pretzels

Mushroom Capital of the World

(Chester County, PA)

Philadelphia Phillies

 

Girl Scout Pins

Magic Friendship Seeds (Magic =Glitter)

Philadelphia Eagles

Happy 5th Birthday to Ben!!

Yesterday was Benny Boy's 5th birthday!  It is hard to believe that my little ray of sunshine is 5 now!

Scott and I asked Ben what kind of dinner he would like for his birthday, and he picked the "restaurant with the fish tank," which (for the locals) is Margaret Kuo's in Frazier. Ben loves the shrimp tempura rolls for dinner and a giant bowl of free spicy pickles while he waits for them.  He likes the spicy pickles so much that he grabs the bowl provided for the table all for himself, takes his fork, and sits quietly eating all the pickles at his place for the next 10 minutes or so while the rest of us just stare at him with our mouths wide open.  I'm exaggerating a little bit, but not that much.  The boy can really put away pickles.  And shrimp tempura roll.  And pot stickers.  And white rice.  And orange slices.  And the "cookies with the words at the end."

Fortunately, everyone in the family loves Margaret Kuo's too, so we had a splendid and tasty birthday dinner. Grandma and Pops joined us for the very festive celebration.  Scott decided to try ordering a Peking Duck, so we enjoyed a special carving ceremony too.  The highlight of the evening, aside from the pickles, was that the waitstaff let Ben ring the gong for the Peking Duck delivery because it was his birthday.  He definitely got a kick out of that.

The birthday dinner was followed by a tasty brownie cake in the shape of a Lego mini-figure (made in a very cool Lego baking mold found by my mom).  There were some presents too, most of which were the Lego variety.  Ben did not want to go to School Camp today because he wanted to stay at home and build Legos.  Mean mother that I am, I made Ben go to school so I could head over to the teaching store to pick-up Summer Bridging workbooks for everyone (see?! I really am a mean mom).  And then, Ben a.k.a. The Lego Taskmaster rode me hard all afternoon to help him assemble superhero Legos.

How cute is this cake mold?!

Memorial Parade Weekend

This weekend our town hosted its 144th annual Memorial Day Parade, so we've been enjoying a FULL weekend of neighborhood fun events, including a Saturday afternoon neighborhood kickball game with an incredible 24 kids participating, Saturday night block party, hosting a Girl Scout BBQ on Sunday, walking with the Scouts in the parade, and even a few post-parade activities too.

One unexpected highlight was that Abby and Caroline were both big winners in the Cake Walk.  I contributed a castle-shaped bundt cake, so the girls were desperately hoping to get the cake I made.  Abby won early on, but my cake was already taken.  Instead, she selected a lemon cake because it was the largest cake still available.  (I love her logic!!)  Caroline won the very last cake of the event, hence she received a pineapple upside down cake.  I highly doubt she will even try a bite, but she was still absolutely thrilled to be a winner.  I wish I had a shot of her sprinting around the cake walk circle raising her arm in victory.

Some shots from the parade (we were lucky that storm to the north missed us)

Field Day Fun

It definitely feels like summer already, both in temperature and in mindset.  Fortunately, Abby and Caroline didn't have to concentrate too hard at school today because it was Field Day.

Field Day was originally scheduled for last week.  As required, I sent the girls to school wearing green, lathered up with sunscreen, and ready to play.  Horror of horrors, it was cancelled at the last possible minute (the children were lined up in the hallway waiting to go outside) due to rainy weather and slippery conditions.  I'm thinking the delay was probably worse for the teachers than the kids, but it was very disappointing for the kids.  Fortunately this morning it was sunny and beautiful for a day of very serious and competitive games, such as

Inflatable relay races (Abby pictured)

Abby's three years of field hockey paying off here...

And, the highlight of Caroline's Field Day -- rolling Eartha around.

I

Memorial Day Milestones

Well.....I blinked....and two months sped by.  Too much has happened to capture everything in a single post, but here are a few of the really big highlights:

1) Caroline has a brand new, adorable smile as of about 5pm today.  She lost TWO teeth right before dinner.

Caroline's top right tooth has been really loose for at least a week, and despite my urging, she would not pull it out.  Instead, she kept walking up to me saying, "Look how loose it is NOW."   Ew.  Last night, Abby helped expedite the tooth loss process by accidentally clocking Caroline under the chin.  And, low and behold, we'll be having a visit from the tooth fairy tonight.

2)  Ben graduated from preschool.  After six consecutive years, our family has finished with preschool and is moving into elementary school.  With the sole exception of carpool line, I loved our preschool.  The artwork sent home was always adorable, full of hand prints and wobbly-written first names.  The hallways always smelled of tempura paint and crayons, and everyone was just so little and cute.

Example of adorable preschool art (thumbprint flower pot) with handwritten name for Mother's Day

3) Ben also graduated into a "big boy" bed this weekend.

Ben didn't really fit in the toddler bed anymore....

Now, he has lots and lots of space (and the whole family is excited about Star Wars sheets).

4) Caroline bridged from a Daisy girl scout to a Brownie girl scout.

5) And, last but not least, Abby bridged from a Brownie Girl Scout into a Junior Girl Scout

Frankly, I don't know if I can handle so much growing up all at once.  All of the above has happened since Tuesday!  This week should be much more calm, although I am umpiring my first ever State Tournament lacrosse game on Wednesday.

The Big Year

While I was validating groundwater data in front of my computer today, I couldn't help but daydream about traveling to some far away National Park.  Today, my mind was back in Yosemite. I know this is a classic sign of spring fever, and the warm weather today is partly to blame.

I think the other reason for my (practically total) lack of focus is because Scott and I watched the best movie on Saturday night, The Big Year.  I haven't really connected with a movie in a long time, and this film was a refreshing surprise for both of us.  A quick summary:  The characters in this story are birders, who each in a competition to see as many birds as they can in a single year.  This story is based on truth. "The Big Year" is an actual goal for a few hard core birders, and the current single year record stands in the 740s.  While I have no aspirations to conduct to attempt this sort of adventure, I absolutely love the idea of spending a year traveling to all of the wonderful unspoiled parts of the United States and reconnecting with the more natural side of things. 

Now, if you are believe the reviews on RottenTomatoes.com, you would think this movie is a dud.  Quoting the caption on RottenTomatoes, "Though made with care and affection for its characters, The Big Year plods along, rarely reaching any comedic heights."  Ok.  I do agree this movie isn't funny.  But, I don't think it is supposed to be.  The story is about commitment and sacrifice and obsession.  And the scenery!!  Just watch it for the marvelous panoramic vistas throughout the film.  And the birds!!  The bird footage is amazing. (Yes, I know I am biased.)   

So, now I am now second guessing my thoughts on taking the kids to an artificially created place like Disney World in the fall.  I really feel like we need to go to Alaska and see albatrosses.  Or go to Maine to see puffins.  Or go to the dessert to see roadrunners.  Scott and I have some big cross-country trip plans for about 5 years from now, so I think all those dreams are on hold until everyone is a little older and I can stand taking long car trips with them.

After the movie, Scott and I were discussing the favorite birding experiences we've shared together.  Well.... to be more accurate, I was reminiscing and Scott was staring at me with his mouth agape.  But -- we've had some really stunning birding moments: 

1) California condor soaring the in the Grand Canyon
2) Blue Grouse sitting in a pine tree stand and calling for its mate at about 10,000 feet elevation in Yosemite National Park
3) Wood Storks feeding in the Everglades
4) Flock of Sandhill cranes wading in a pond at a Florida rest stop of all places
5) Indigo bunting perched atop a hemlock tree along the Appalachian Trail up in the Lehigh Valley, PA
6) Osprey making a spectacular dive for and then and flying off with my fishing lure up at Lake Gowganda in Canada (no worries, it released the lure after about 200 feet)

I could easily rattle off another 20 favorite birding memories...I'll spare you....But, you know what I found out?  Scott doesn't remember the birds!  He "sorta" remembers all those things (he wasn't there for #6).  He has vague recollections, but nothing sticks out.  My memories of these days are crystal clear.  In contrast, he is just as baffled by my inability to remember sports statistics or players or specific plays from PSU football or baseball games, even though I was sitting next to him at the games.  Isn't it interesting how people are wired differently?

Anyway.... I'm going to go back to staring out the window hoping for an early sighting of a rose-breasted grosbeak.  It's probably time to get back to work.