next meeting

deb is mailing out postcards tomorrow to announce our next meeting:
Saturday Jan. 10 2-4p.m. deb's house,
back up date is Jan. 17 same time & place.
Brownies will earn Working It Out & My Body.
Juniors will earn The Choice Is Yours & Stress Less.
Will have to look in the book to see what the activities will earn for Moriah.
will do several stress reducing actitivies, lots of circle discussion, & write letters to our penpals.

Food to Food Pantry

Katie & Deb dropped off the canned goods the girls brought to the Christmas party December 23rd at the Mercer County Food Pantry.
Postmistress Donna Beavers told me the other day that she was eating at Dottie & Chub's when the girls were caroling & really enjoyed it!

package from our NY penpals

with christmas cards & swaps.
Hi From Your Pen Pals in Rochester NY

We received your 2nd package of letters and the girls were excited to read them. We read them after helping sort PJS for the Women's shelter on Dec. 1st. 2008. Our troop also just made scarves for Hillside Family Children's Homes for Christmas. They turned out great!
We were all sorry to hear about Kelsie's house catching on fire. It's great to have friends & neighbors to help when it really matters.
Let us know how you like the new Journey books, we haven't decided if we will use them during Jrs. yet.
The girls were wondering if the Zack that a lot of your girls wrote about was all the same boy. They were having lots of fun with that.
We had our Christmas party at the bowling alley this year. It was a great time. We took pictures that we will send with our next letters. Our next meeting isnt' until January 15th, 2009. I hope the girls will have their letters and pictures ready to mail that week. We are sending our hope that all of you stay safe and loved through this Christmas season and the new year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Your Sisters in Scouting Troop 67.
Ms. Diane, Ms. Gina, Ms. Joanne, Amanda, Rebecca, Kelly, Shelly, Katherine, Emma, Mary, Madison, Milanne, Alexa, Samantha, Brianna, Taylor, Kayci.

cookie prizes

Girl Scouts lets the girls earn prizes by the amount of boxes they sell, but everyone works hard, whether they're the top girl or one of the other girls, so my theory is, we won't all earn the cool Girl Scout prizes, but we can all get something!
From our trusty friends at Oriental Trading Company we ordered a dozen bright colored 45" plush snakes as a thank you to each girl.
Each Brownie will receive a Smart Cookie Try-It.
Each Junior will receive a Cookie Biz Badge.
Moriah, our Cadette, will receive a Cookies & Dough Badge.

Top seller Ms. Cortney will receive Cookie the Dog plush.
2nd place seller Ms. Lindsay will receive the Junior Journey's Keepsake Bracelet.
3rd place seller Ms. Mackenzie will receive the Brownie Journey Keepsake Necklace.

will send in orders on Monday via mail.

meanwhile, Katie has been going thru the Junior Badge Book planning future meetings!

so where DID our grandparents come from?

when asked where their grandparents came from, the girls replied...
Cortney: Alabama/North Carolina
Morgan: Florida
Breanna & Jazmine: Florida/Iowa
Dominique & Morrisa: Texas/Iowa
Lindsay: Germany
Mackenzie: Iowa
Moriah: Kansas City/California/Iowa
Katie: Indiana/Virginia

It's a Girl Scout Christmas!

We did the Girl Scout Promise, the Girl Scout Law with motions, started time capsules, made snow dough men & glittery ornaments, played Pass the Present, made family coupons, drew family pictures, learned about hypothermia & frostbite, talked about dressing for winter weather & what we should have in the car in case we're stranded, talked about where our grandparents came from, drew a name to make a Girl Scout Friendship book for (Moriah), & drew a name to take Carly Cardinal home to visit (Lindsay.) Whew! We also caroled around the square at Tiki Hut, Grammy's Grocery, Mercer Pizza Plus, & Dottie & Chub's. Lindsay read the Maine postcard aloud & we passed it around. We signed Xmas cards for our penpals. We read the Brownie Elf story aloud from the Brownie Journey book. Morgan has her book now.
Mackenzie, Jazmine, Cortney, Morgan, Morrisa, & Dominique earned All in the Family. Katie, Lindsay, & Breanna earned Frosty Fun. Moriah earned Family Living.

rec'd holiday swaps today!

got some really awesome ones!

All State Swaps II

rec'd our 2 batches of swaps today~Kate got to pick first since we financed the deal~is that fair? will let the girls divvy them up at the Xmas meeting Friday.

cookie orders turned in

gave them to Sarah at Princeton.


moriah's registration mailed in.

the tallies are in...GOOD JOB, GIRLS!

all cookie sheets are turned in.
deb thinks the paperwork is ready to turn in.

the girls sold a total of 1194 boxes!
(102 cases!)

#1 selling cookie was Thin Mints with 295 boxes
#2 selling cookie was Caramel Delights with 249 boxes
#3 selling cookie was Peanut Butter Patties with 245 boxes

#1 seller was Miss Cortney with 200 boxes!
#2 seller was Miss Lindsay with 168 boxes!
#3 seller was Miss Mackenzie with 154 boxes!

will find cool plushies & patches for everyone, & 3 top prizes.

cookie sheets continued...

Dominique, Morrisa, Kelsie, Cortney, Lindsay, Mackenzie turned in cookie sheets today, leaving Morgan, Kayla, & Moriah.

cookie sales sheets/missing mascot

Sara from Princeton called today to remind me she needs cookie info Friday or Saturday. Tracy brought Breanna & Jazmine's cookie sheets here, & of course I have Katie's. Deb called to say she would drop Cortney's off tomorrow.

emailed Roxanna yesterday about the mascot we were supposed to host this month that never arrived. she was going to check with the co-leader who was supposed to mail it.

a postcard from Maine

(a picture of Maine State Capitol and the Blaine House, Augusta, Maine.)
"Hi from Brownie Troop 2497 in Belgrade, Maine USA. Our goal is to earn 15 try its this year. We are all 3rd graders and our ages are 8&9. We are doing a penny drive to help with fuel assistance. Maine can be warm and sunny in the Summer and cold and snowy in the winter. During the fall we have beautiful foliage. For our community project last year we made busy bags to hand out at a nursing home. Thanks for trading. Sarah, Alexis G, Kaytie, Alexis P., Libby"

rec'd swaps from Troop 41216 in Ipswich, SD

each bag has several corn kernels & this label...
"A Corny Swap from SD!
Did you know corn is used in:
fabric
feed for livestock
sweetening pop/candy
gasoline (ethanol)
tires
aspirin
shaving cream
latex paint
disposable diapers
penicillin
plastics
recycled paper
Now you know:)"

will pass out at the Xmas meeting, if I can ever find a time to have it that will be before Xmas & not conflict with the zillion other things going on around Xmas...

ordered Kelsie's replacement badges & sash

did the best I could, some of the badges couldn't be replaced, like the dated cookie sales & fall fund raiser ones, so I did some improvising. I think Koren & Kate both have the Mom & Me and My Dad is a Do Dad, if I find Koren's, will give one set to Kelsie, since they are really really cute & I couldn't find anything similiar.

Also left a message at M&M Apparel to have them make another t-shirt for Kelsie.

mailed our pen pal letters

2 Rochester today. also ordered 2 sets of badges to send with future letters...Missouri badges from Advantage, & Still A Girl Scout badges from go shop (they were clearanced...they may be out.) Next month will send them Cardinal ornaments if there are enough left...it should work out perfectly.

Flat Alice left for United Kingdom today

it's a little pricey doing international Flat Stacies, but I think it's worth it.

The Journeys Begin...

Mackenzie, Moriah, Katie, Kelsie, Morrisa, Dominique, Jazmine, Breanna, Cortney, & Lindsay seemed excited about the new Journey books...they wrote their names on them, started reading the stories & doing the activities...

we recieved a package of pen pal letters from Girl Scout Troop #067 in Rochester, NY. They sent NY patches & postcards.
Rochester is in the northern part of the state, population 1,039,029. They live in the Greece and Hilton suburbs, 14 5th grade juniors are in the troop. They meet in the school cafeteria twice a month. They do a lot of charity & service projects: helping clean up a local wetland bay & park, collected pajamas for a womens shelter, made a care package for a local soldier, working with a Brownie Troop to earn Junior Aide & Leadership awards.
They have earned several badges & patches already this year. They are a very active troop & get along great. They are working on their Bronze award & making Boa Scarves for needy kids & families. They'll make about 75 for Xmas. Their council had a Trunk or Treat night, where they decorated their van for Halloween & the troops came around to trick or treat! They also celebrated Juliette Low's birthday that night. We love to write letters to other troops & get letters & postcards to find out what they are doing. Mrs. Diane, Mrs. Gina, Mrs. Joanna, Alexa, Amanda, Brianna, Mary, Emma, Katherine, Kaycie, Kelly, Madison, Milanne, Taylor, Rochelle, Samanta, & Rebecca."
STATE SYMBOLS OF NEW YORK
fruit: apple
tree: sugar maple
flower: rose
bird: bluebird
gem:garnet
bush:lilac
famous: Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglas, George Eastman, Pamela McIroy, Abby Wambach
they sent pictures of their troop, too!
The girls were very pleased with the letters they rec'd & couldn't get started on their replies soon enough. We also took pictures of each girl to send with their penpal letters.

we started something new: everyone at the meeting wrote a page about what makes Kelsie special. We'll do one each meeting for a different girl until everyone has one. (I got the idea from Carly Cardinals Brag Book).

Breanna & Jazmine forgot to bring Carly back, they will bring her next meeting, then someone else will take her home for a visit. The plan is that after she has visited everyone, we'll record her journeys, then will have a drawing for someone to adopt her permantly.

Katie found this question in the Junior Journey Book: "Who Is Your Hero?"
Jazmine: my Grandma Barb
Kelsie: the fire department
Morrisa: my dad the fireman
Cortney: my puppy Boxer
Moriah: my dad
Dominique: my dog Lady
Breanna: my mom & dad
Zach: Uncle Tony
Katie: my sister
Mackenzie: my mom
Lindsay: my daddy
I was impressed that not one of the kids mentioned someone famous! Everyday people are heroes, too~

Each kid (our guest Zach included!) selected 2 of the All States Swaps we rec'd. There was definitely something for everyone! There are a handful left for Morgan & Kayla, will mix in the leftovers with the next shipment of All States Swaps we receive.

our next meeting will be Christmas!

it's in the mail...

sent 20 swaps to the GirlScoutSwapsStyle holiday exchange, & 12 swaps to another troop.

Kelsie's family lost everything in a house fire Saturday nite. Our troop needs to think of something nice to do for Kelsie to help her deal with all that's going on.
I plan on replacing her Brownie badges, sash, & her red Girl Scout shirt. Her mom was waiting to get into the house to see what was left, the girls room was still standing, but don't know if anything could escape the water & smoke damage.

meeting scheduled

for Saturday November 15th fromn 10 a.m.-noon here. We will read our penpal letters, write letters to our penpals, make holiday swaps for a swaps exchange, & start on our Journeys.

the last cookie sheet is handed out!

now Kelsie has her cookie stuff, too, & the sales can begin!

permission slips

have handed out cookie slips/first box badge/collected permission slips from Mackenzie, Morgan, Kayla, & Cortney.

cookie order sheets

Lindsay, Moriah, Breanna, Jazmine, Dominique, Morrisa, & Katie have all picked up their cookie order sheets & have signed parent permission slips. All but Moriah have their first box patch (I forgot). Cookie Sales run November 1-30.

Flat Emily & Flat Niamh Are Here!

they arrived today from West Roxbury, MA!

Niamh's journal
"Hi I am six. I am homeschooled. I like art. I like French. My name is Irish, it sounds like Neeve."

Nikolia's journal
"My name is Nikolia. I am 7 years old. We live in Boston. I have 3 brothers and sisters. We home-school like everyone else in our Brownies group. We had a lot of fun last year in Brownies. My sisters & I sold 1000 boxes. My favorite food is Pastitsio. My favorite thing to do is play with my baby brother. I like to swim, run, and play piano. Have fun with my Emily!"

Katie's Flat Stacie is home

she was visiting a Troop in West Roxbury, MA.
She stayed with Alexa who is 6 years old. She loves to read. She likes mysteries. Boston is where she lives.
There is a picture of Flat Karly & Alexa in a bikeathon of some type. They were number 101.
She also stayed with Sasa who is 7. She took Flat Karly to Davis Mega Maze and President Kennedy's birthplace which is in her neighborhood in "Brookiine, Massachusetts".
They had lots of fun!!! She sent a picture of her & Flat Karly at JFK's birthplace, & a postcard from the maze.

cookie meeting

Katie & I picked up our cookie stuff at Princeton, sending out letters tomorrow telling everyone I have the stuff, I'll be home all nite Wednesday, & if that doesn't work, they can call to arrange something else. We sell Nov. 1-30, orders have to be to Sara by Dec. 4th.
Got returned checks from bank, KC did cash our membership check, so they must've "found" our "lost" registration forms.

journeys cont.

I screwed up & am one Brownie book short, so will order that along with a lot of cool new patches I just know Katie will want on her Girl Scout quilt that I promise to start as soon as I get a new sewing machine, can't get mine to work right & it was a cheap one on sale, so will buy another cheap one on sale...got a lot of sewing out of the last one!

Journeys

I had bought one each of the Brownie, Junior, & Cadette Journey books with troop money, thinking I could make copies for the various activities since the books are $7 each. Then the Council bought each troop the book/guide set, so we got another Junior & Brownie Journey book. Last nite Katie & I were looking at the books to see how we wanted to start with it, she had so much fun reading the Junior book, & there are lots of cool fill in areas & scrapbook type stuff, so I ordered a book for each girl. (had to order 7 more books).
Thinking we'll split into 2 groups, Brownies for an hour, Juniors/Cadette for an hour. The leader book says you can do seven 1 hr. sessions, but they don't have to do everything to get the badge set. Will wait till the new books arrive, then set up a meeting. We usually have 1 meeting a month, with the exceptions of dance practices when they decide to dance somewhere. That would make the "journey" take the rest of the year. We usually have a party meeting with games & crafts for Xmas & Easter, so that gets rid of 2 hours...& will have to vote & see if they want to do the Mom & Me Tea again...several of the moms thought it was a lot of fun (It wasn't just me!)
I need to finish reading the leader guides.

Mom t-shirts

Jill, Marcy, Deb, & Deb all have their spiffy red Mercer Girl Scout mom t-shirts, artfully made by Melanie at M&M Apparel in Princeton. All are paid for. Thanks, moms!

Girl Scout Ghostly Gala

Morgan was a punk rock star, Kelsie was "Ghostly Bones", Breanna an evil evil little witch, Mackenzie a punk star, Dominique a black cat, Morrisa Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, Cortney a Rose Maiden, Jazmine Hannah Montana, Rayne a scary evil ghost, Kayla a Red Hot Devil Glamour Girl, Katie a punk goth angel, & Nicole a young lady with a scary face all recieved costume trophies.
we did experiments: That Balloon Won't Pop (it actually did pop!); Marvel at the Magic Money Clip; The Potato Plummet; Shorten a Stack; and we made our own bouncy balls.
Games: costume parade; "dunk" for apples; Monster Mash dancing; ghost story; horrible haunted house; Cat Eyes Hike; Gross Food Guesses, & we made halloween swaps.
We posed for pictures with Brownie the Dog & Flat Alice. We read about Carly's adventures in Maryland, she went home with Breanna & Jazmine for a visit. They will bring her back next meeting for someone else to host.
Snack was "Make Your Own Popcorn"...we had optional toppings: chocolate chips, gummy worms, grated cheese, sugar & cinnamon.
Katie did a super job on her Horrible Haunted House. Even though Moriah couldn't attend because she had a family trip, she was in the ghostly pictures. Poor Lindsay had the flu so couldn't come.

Carly is Home!

she returned from Maryland today. They made her a bed, sent tons of souveniors & pictures of her adventures...she stayed with Ms Tabi, Chyanne & Ty. Ty wanted to take Carly to school on his first day, but she flew up on a shelf!
Carly went to a Longaberger basket party, The Centre at Salisbury (mall), Salisbury Zoo, a Troop 1108 meeeting where they worked on the Girl Scouting in the USA badge, Ocean City where they played in the sand on the beach & walked in the water, went to a college football game, it rained for the Girl Scout campout, so they camped in the house, did a library tour with the Girl Scout Troop, & now Carly is home!

a visiting Stacie!

Alice arrived today from 1st Shenley Rainbows. She has very good manners and always follows the Girl Guide Law so shouldn't be any trouble. She likes to go to Girl Guiding Events & loves to be in photos with other Girl Guides.
Their troop has 20 girls aged 5-7. There are 2 leaders, Rainbow Owl and Snowy Owl, 1Unit Helper called Sunbeam, 1 Young Leader called Lunar and a Rainbow Helper called Lightening (from the Guide section.)
They are an active unit & meet every week. They work towards different badges and have lots of fun.
She lives in Milton Keynes, it is a large town in South East England, about 45 miles north-west of London. Milton Keynes is in the borough of Buckinghamshire. there are around 184,506 people that live in Milton Keynes. there are a lot of shops and a dry ski slope here. There is also The National Badminton Centre where their Olympic team train and MK Dons Milton Keynes Football team.
They have a lot of rain in the United Kingdom and snow in January and February.

1st Shenley Rainbows
37 Avington
Great Holm
Milton Keynes
buckinghamshire
MK8 9DG
UK

leaders meeting

I mailed in the 10 membership forms with checks...they are lost in KC. I have to make copies & get them to Linda, & call the bank to see if my check has went thru yet...horrors!
cookie meeting Oct. 26 2 p.m.

School Variety Show

traditionally, the Mercer Girl Scouts dance at Mercer Homecoming & the School Variety Show. We only had 2 girls dance this year, our sisters Breanna & Jazmine, & they were *G*O*O*D*. There was a one act rule this year, & the other girls decided to do other things...Kelsie & Kayla had solos, the 2nd grade girls (Morgan, Cortney, Morrisa) made up their own dance, Katie & Moriah danced with MJK, Dominique & Lindsay watched the show, & Mackenzie goes to school at Lineville, so couldn't dance.
Kevin picked up the Girl Scout Mom shirts @ M&M Apparel.

more SWAPS

I signed up for IOWA for the All-States Swap Database II--used the themes of National Balloon Classic in Indianola, The Butter Cow at the Iowa State Fair, & Adventureland @ Altoona.
there were still 7 open states the last time I checked, if they don't get selected, someone will have to do them.
I am kind of addicted to making swaps. And the more we send in, the more the girls will have to split up...I've figured that with 3 batches sent in, we'll get 153 swaps divided by 12 girls, 11 swaps each.

It's in the mail....

today I mailed :

1.)the penpal letters & swaps to our newest batch of pen pals, Troop 67 in Rochester, NY. {we haven't heard from the 2 troops we had sent letters to).

2.) the registration forms I had. Will mail in Moriah & Morgan's when I get them.

3.)a letter to all the girls about the Variety Show @ School & the Girl Scout Ghostly Gala October 17th.

Girl Scout Meeting

Jazmine, Breanna, Morrisa, Dominique, Lindsay, Moriah, & Katie met on a brisk autumn evening at Mercer City Park, where they did the Girl Scout Law with motions; the Girl Scout Promise; voted that Breanna, Morrisa, Jazmine, & Dominique would like to dance in the School Variety Show next Friday; passed around Morrisa's Flat Stacie that (finally) came home; passed around Brownie the Dog & all her things that she is visiting from Texas with; wrote pen pal letters to Troop 67 in Rochester, New York; made basketball swaps for us & her our penpals, & took a walk around the walking trail. Breanna & Jazmine will be out of town the weekend I planned on having the Girl Scout Ghostly Gala, so will plan on Friday, Oct. 17th.

Happy Holidays SWAP

I signed our troop up! SWAPS have to be mailed by November 24th. Need to make another Fun Foam run! will have to come up with a theme.
I also intend to sign us up for the All States Christmas Ornament Exchange...

All State Swaps I & II

I signed up for Missouri Swaps for Database I, then signed up for Wyoming SWAPS for Database II. Sent them out this morning.
for Missouri SWAPS I used the themes of KC Royals, KC Chiefs, Calamity Jane, & PSF.
for Wyoming SWAPS I used the theme of Equality for Women & Wild Bill Hickock.
(I also used lots of fun foam, beads, glitter glue, markers,glue, safety pins, tape, & computer clip art.
I ordered patches for the whole troop, even though I hogged all the fun to myself. When the SWAPS come in, we'll draw #s for the girls to each get some to keep. (I'll have to take pics of them first!)

Ashley & Flat Jenni are headed to their next troop

they jumped back in their box today with a bunch of souveniors from their adventures here in Mercer, & went to Mercer Post Office to start on the next leg of their journey!
Carly Cardinal is supposed to leave her host troop & head for home next week.

postcard from Poland

Katie didn't want to do the World Wide Thinking Day Postcard Exchange again, but she has fun arranging the post cards that come home with her Flat Stacies, so when a troop from Poland emailed me off site about exchanging post cards, I sent them one, & they sent us one back that arrived today,complete with cool artwork on the card! and the Polish stamps & postmarks from the envelope it arrived in!

Brownie the Dog

has arrived from Mckinney, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Welcome to Mercer!!!

Katie's Flat Stacie has arrived at her destination!

rec'd email confirmation today. They asked if we could host more than one Stacie, which they plan to send out the end of the month. I plan on this being our last Flat Stacie exchange, so we'll go out with a bang!

Outdoor Adventure/Wildlife Meeting

ended up being an indoor meeting because of recent rain. Mackenzie, Moriah, Morrisa, Katie, Dominique, Lindsay, Jazmine, Breanna, & Cortney had lots of fun. We started with the Girl Scout Law in a circle with motions, then passed around the visiting mascot & Stacie, their postcards, Maryland book, handed out the swaps they sent us, & listened to Ashley of Assateague's story.
we drew #s for the swaps we recieved from Swapmania, nobody claimed the Lucky Bunny Flat Stacie, so we drew for the stuff in her box that she came home from New York with.
We did an indoor imaginary nature investigation, talking about what we could see in our circle if we were at the park. We learned about endangered animals in Missouri.
We played Crows & Cranes, did an indoor Touch Smell Listen, What's in a Name, made pet rock swaps & pet rocks.
We had s'mores for our snack.
Moriah got her swap hat & made her name swap.
Shelley & Deb want mom shirts. Will check with the other moms.
Registration forms turned in:
Deb & Cortney
Deb & Katie
Lindsay
Breanna
Jazmine
Mackenzie
Dominique
Morrisa
Kayla

need:
Moriah
Kelsie
Morgan

the girls had a lot of fun making pet rocks! There was lots & lots of giggling
We ended our meeting with a Friendship Circle & Friendship Squeeze.

rec'd an email

that our mascot has arrived safely in Sioux City, Iowa!

leaders meetings

will be the 2nd Monday 5:30 @ Hal England Center...no meeting in December.
registrations due end of September & can be mailed to the address in booklet. Linda gave us a few extra blank forms.

SWAPmania

rec'd our 15 swaps the other day, will put #s on them & draw for them at our next meeting. they are all different & very cute! the swaps are from Utah,Ohio, California, & Georgia!
I have also signed our troop up to make 50 swaps for the upcoming All-State SWAP- will buy some foam sheets & come up with an idea (hopefully...)
The swaps are supposed to represent Missouri...I was thinking a state shape with something from Missouri on it...a roller coaster for Worlds of Fun, the Arch, football for the Chiefs or baseball for the Royals or Cardinals...will probably sign us up for the X-mas one as well.

Carly Cardinal has reached her destination

she arrived there August 25th. They mailed their mascot to us today.

mascot exchange

today we mailed Bianca Bluebird to Troop 68 in Sioux City, IA. she will visit them 2months, then spend 2 months with Troop 71710 in Cambrige, MA., then 2 months with Troop 1221 in Mckinney, TX.

we should recieve a mascot from Troop 1221 any day.
We should also be recieving a mascot from the troop we sent Carly Cardinal to.

mascot update

last week we sent our 1st mascot Carly Cardinal to Troop 1108 in
Salisbury, MD.
Tonite we're getting our 2nd mascot Bianca Bluebird ready to mail to Troop 68 in Sioux City, IA; Troop 71710 in Cambridge, MA; & Troop 1221 in Mckinney, TX.
She'll visit 2 months in each spot.
(deb was confused, I had signed up for 2 exchanges, & couldn't remember where Carly had went...but I think I got it all straightened out!)

scheduled a meeting

for Saturday September 13 @ Mercer City Park, where the Juniors/Cadette will earn Wildlife & Brownies will earn Outdoor Adventure. Sent the letters out today, hopefully there won't be a conflict with something else...

katie's last flat stacie hits the road

Karly is on her way to West Roxbury, MA. They will send us a stacie to host, as well. We still have 8 flat stacies visiting in Michigan, 2 in Minnesota, & 2 that never did get back to us from I don't exactly remember where (they went with Kelsie's flat stacie.) The Flat Stacie Exchange is winding down, this year we are going to do mascot exchanges & swaps. We have sent our first mascot out, but haven't rec'd one yet. Should come any day.

bringin' down the house

Troop 8044 performed a dance at the Mercer Homecoming Local Entertainment Show that Mackenzie & Katie had made up to Emily Osments "I Don't Think About It." Lindsay didn't want to dance. Jazmine, Breanna, Dominique, Morrisa, Kayla, Katie, Kelsie, Cortney, Morgan, Moriah, & Mackenzie did a SUPER JOB! The new Mercer Girl Scout t-shirts looked really sharp, too.

Michigan Flat Stacies return home

deb dropped them off at the Mercer Post Office at approximately 11:30a.m. to begin their journey home.

Homecoming Baby Show

Kelsie, Moriah, Katie, Lindsay, Dominique, Cortney, Morgan, & Morrisa worked at the Homecoming Baby Show. Kayla was supposed to be there, her mom Jill & sister Kylie filled in for her. (Kayla had spent the nite @ Nicole's, they got there right after the baby show was done.)
Jill helped Kelsie & Katie announce, Lindsay handed ribbons to Miss Mercer, all the girls helped carry & set up & put away, then graciously posed on the stage for a group picture, even though it was real hot & they all wanted a cold drink.
Lindsay's mom & Cortney's mom signed up the babies, Cortney's Grandma, Katie's Grandma, & Katie's Grandpa's girlfriend were the judges.
Katie's mom wasn't very helpful, but she was there.
Lots of the girls stayed after for the kids games.

Jill & I talked about a Girl Scout Float in next years parade, Jill said she would help.
Deb & I talked about ordering Girl Scout Mom shirts, Jill would like one too, will talk to the other moms before we order.
Will set up a September meeting at the park, have had 1 phone call from an interested possible Girl Scout, & Sierra's mom said Sierra was interested, & Hannah said she would like to join. Moriah also plans on joining.

meetings of the past

I was cleaning out my Girl Scout book & found some notes from past meetings before I started blogging, so will put these on too...
We had a HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY at Siemer Trucking 2006.
Katie & Danielle showed the girls the X-mas dance they made up to a Cheetah Girls song, we voted to learn the dance & do it at Pearls for the residents.
we voted on navy t-shirts.
We taught the new girls the Girl Scout Promise, sign, handshake, The Brownie Ring, quiet sign, friendship circle & friendship squeeze.
Read the Juliette Low story & passed out Juliette Low crosswords for the girls.
Melanie had found fun Halloween games on-line, Peggy found every thing we needed for the games, set them up, & ran them for the girls & everyone had lots of fun!!!
We had birthday cake & Halloween Oreos for Juliette Low's birthday (Deb forgot the forks, it got a bit messy!)
Sent home the Girl Scout Promise, Law, & Brownie Smile song for the girls to take home.
Attending: Nicole,Rayne, Katie, Kelsie, Dominique, Morrisa, Cortney, Kayla, Danielle, Breanna, Jazmine, & Lindsay. Special guests were Shelby, a friend Dominique & Morrisa brought (Deb is awful with names & I didn't write it down!), Zac, Megan, & Michelle.
I called Susan with our shirt order.
Everyone attending got work down on Girl Scout Ways & Her Story Try-Its.

NOVEMBER 1st
I turned in registration packet to Susan.

NOVEMBER 15
we had dance practice at our house, worked on Let's Pretend Try-It, started Friendship books. Peggy set up Pearls for us to dance.

NOVEMBER 29
freezing rain. cancelled dance practicel

DECEMBER 4
I had told Nellie the wrong time, so she wasn't there to open the Community Building for our dance practice, so we went to our house. Passed out Santa hats for the girls to wear to dance. Cortney, Lindsay, Kayla, Katie, Morgan, Jazmine, & Breanna were here. Linday, Morgan, Kayla, Katie, Breanna, & Jazmine turned in fundraiser $.

DECEMBER 6
practiced "The Whole Show" complete with singing X-mas songs & the Brownie Smile Song. Cortney absent.
Peggy handed out t-shirts and Xmas party invites, I turned in fall product $ I had.
I screwed up the order, we were missing 1 mom shirt.

DECEMBER 8th
Peggy picked up cookie stuff at Bethany.

DECEMBER 9
All 13 girls to Pearls-Jazmine didn't want to sing or dance-but she cheered for the girls (interesting side note: they weren't ready for our show when we got there, so I posed the girls by the Xmas tree for pictures with my old 35mm camera...none of the pictures turned out. I was bummed.)
They danced to the Cheetah Girls "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", sang "The Brownie Smile Song", "Jingle Bells", & "We Wish You A Merry Christmas."

DECEMBER 13
Brownie Xmas Party 3:30-5:00 Community Building, earned Girl Sports & Playing Around the World Try-Its, played X-mas Simon Says & Musical Reindeer & made X-mas charm bracelets. Each girl brought 2 canned goods that we'll donate to the food pantry in Princeton. Peggy made yummy X-mas treats. The girls worked on their Friendship Books & voted to be penpals with the Canadian Troop Katie's Aunt Lisa found for us.

DECEMBER 20
Katie & I took 26 cans from the Xmas Party to Green Hills Community Action Center in Princeton.

JANUARY 12
cookie sales kick off meeting...sleet. Peg handed out Fall Product Sales prizes. The girls sampled the new Lemonades Cookie. (this cookie beat out Deb's very favorite cookie Thin Mints. Who would've thought?)

FEBRUARY 3
We earned the Senses & Brownie Girl Scouts Through the Years Try-Its.
Rayne, Dominique, & Morrisa were sick, Danielle & Nicole had Tumbling Class, & Kelsie was also absent. (We let these girls make up the activities at a later meeting & they all earned the Try-Its, too.)
Our special guests Zac, Whitney, & Kylie did all the activities right along with us! The girls took turns reading the new & old Brownie stories. Sent in our Troops Juliette Low World Friendship Day contribution.

FEBRUARY 17
Founders Day. Breanna, Jazmine, Kayla & Danielle absent. We finished the Caring & Sharing & Her Story Try-Its. For Something I Care About Show & Tell Lindsay brought her dog Max; Morgan brought seashells; Cortney her big stuffed purple horse from her mom & dad; Katie had her Amazing Allyson & her monkey. The other girls told us about things that were important to them. (& I didn't write them down...)
Everyone who attended earned the World Thinking Day patch.

MARCH 10
we earned Ms. President & Careers Try-Its & wrote penpal letters. Peggy brought Shamrock cupcakes for our snack.
we played Career Charades, Career Dress up & Fashion Show, What I Want To Be When I Grow Up, What My Mom & Dad do for a living---Lindsay was prepared, she had her mom write down descriptions of their jobs for Lindsay to read to us!!!
Kelsie & Morgan were absent.

MARCH 11
Girl Scout Sunday, Katie,Lindsay, Kelsie,Kayla, Danielle, Rayne,Nicole, Dominique, & Morrisa attended church at Mercer Assembly of God. (Deb put their picture in The Mirror.) It was also Kite Sunday at church, so the girls got a free kite to fly afterwards, & Nicole & Rayne won a special kite for bringing the most guests.
in the afternoon we went to the Mercer County Girl Scout Swimming Party at the Stacy Center in Princeton. Katie, Lindsay, Kayla, Nicole, Rayne, Kelsie, & Danielle attended. There was a situation at the Snacks Table, & it'll be hard to convince any of the girls to go again!!! (but they did go back for the next swimming party, & all was well.) The girls donated shoes, socks, or shoelaces to the Shoes for Orphan Souls project, & will each recieve a Girl Scout Week patch.

Monday 19 dance practice, Katie made up a dance to Bratz's "Best Friends" for an upcoming Relay for Life Variety Show.

Tuesday 20 dance practice.

Monday 26th dance practice 100%

Thursday 29th dance practice 100%

Monday APRIL 2
last Best Friends Dance Practice. 100%.
did Scout Codes for Friends Are Fun Try-It. Got all "My Favorite Thing About Brownies" Quotes. Kevin & I counted cookie $. Mailed pen pal letters.

APRIL 3 deposited $3994 cookie $ in account.

APRIL 5
danced in the Variety Show. Most of the girls attended the dinner first, our girls didn't get to dance until about 9 p.m., we have some young girls & some of them were getting very tired, but they did a *G*R*E*A*T* job! Katie had her Grandma Janet, Grandpa Lije & his girl friend, Great Grandma Marie, Aunt Lisa, & Cousins Max & Logan there. There was an Easter Basket Sale in the Commons, & several of the girls selected cool Easter baskets on their way out the door.

APRIL 17
Easter meeting at City Park, we finished the Friends Are Fun Try-It, played Me & My Shadow, had an Easter Egg Hunt & played Easter games. All but Danielle were there.
Set Awards Ceremony for May 6th 6p.m. Community Building. Each mom will bring a dozen cookies, Peg will supply drink.s

APRIL 18
ordered all the badges the girls had earned on my credit card. (was reimbursed by the Troop).

APRIL 24
G.S.M. called to confirm badge order.

MAY 6
Awards Ceremony, all but Morgan attended, most of the girls had their entire families there, plus grandparents, aunts, uncles, & cousins!
We did a Rainbow Candle Ceremony, Girl Scout Promise, Brownie Smile Song, the 2nd grade girls did short speeches about different aspects of Girl Scouts & our activities during the year, presented awards & badges, did the Friendship Circle & squeeze, & sang "Make New Friends But Keep The Old."
then we had snacks. Deb had the Girl Scout Scrapbook on display. Took group pictures.

AUGSUT 23 2007 Best of Both Worlds dance practice 3:30-4:30. 100% participation!

SEPTEMBER 11 2007
all but Rayne & Nicole met at the Mercer Bandstand to earn Listening to the Past Try-It. We played old fashioned games, made handkerchief dolls, had My Favorite Doll Show & Tell, read a Little House story segment about Laura's corncob doll & Mary's rag doll, & had Flavor Burst Ice Cream Cones at Sunny side Diner.

Dance Practice

Katie, Kelsie, Kayla, Morgan, Mackenzie, Cortney, Dominique, Morrisa, Breanna, & Jazmine met at the Mercer City Park shelter house to practice their dance to Emily Osment's "I Don't Think About It." We also wrote letters to our new penpals in Texas & Nevada, did the Girl Scout Law with motions in the circle, & took Mascot pictures (again!) Deb handed out the sign up forms to the girls that were there (have to catch Moriah & Lindsay). Kayla's mom & Mackenzie's mom both filled out their forms & turned in their membership fees. Deb filled out hers & Katie's after we got home.
got the pen pal letters ready to send, enclosing pics of the girls writing their letters. think we have the mascot package ready. and the postcard goes to Poland tomorrow. Whew!

girl scout news

today I ordered our red "Mercer Girl Scouts" t-shirts with the girls names on the back from M&M Apparel in Princeton.
Got our confirmation email from the Mascot Exchange, Katie named our mascot "Carly Cardinal" & wrote a story for her journal.

Flat Lizzie & Flat Lucky Bunny Come Home!

they were visiting Maddy of Troop 521 in Buffalo NY. They sure were busy!
they went to a Girl Scout Rollerskating party-visited Maddy's cabin, found a wild painted turtle, went to Girl Scouts Day at the Ballpark---they saw the Buffalo Bisons vs. Richmond Braves @ Dunn Tire Park in Buffalo. After the game, the Girl Scouts got to go on the field & watch the movie "Enchanted." They went to Buffalo Zoo, went to Maddy's birthday party with a inflatable pool/waterslide, went to McDonalds, Chuckie Cheeses, went to Midway State Park, Chautauqua Park, took a cruise on the Chautauqua Belle, on of the last known steamships east of the Mississipi River. The trip took just under 2 hours and was lots of fun!
They visited Maddy's school, which will be back in session Sept. 3rd.
We went to Niagara Falls! One of the 7 wonders of the world! They posed on "Three Sisters Island." Canada is on the other side of the falls.
They took a picture with "Buffalo Wings", one of our "Herd About Buffalo" statues around Western New York. We went to the aquarium at Niagara Falls. We took a picture at the entrance to Canada, we didn't get to go into Canada because the kids don't have passports yet.
We came home with:
Explore New York Festival Book
Chautauqua County Travel Guide
American's Fair 169th Erie County Fair brochure
Midway State Park brochure
McDonalds book
Aquarium of Niagara brochure
Niagara Falls Travel Guide brochure
Prk Visitor Welcome Kit
invite to Maddy's birthday party
Buffalo Zoo Map
Bison Ball Team Schedule
Shasta Daisy Seeds
tiny picnic basket of candy
goodie bag from Maddy's party
Buffalo Zoo Cup

dance practice

Mackenzie, Morgan, Cortney, Dominique, Morrisa, Breanna, Jazmine, Moriah & Katie met at the park shelter. Katie & Mackenzie made up a new dance last nite to Emily Osment's I Don't Think About It. It looks good.
We voted to order red shirts from M&M Apparel in Princeton with Mercer Girl Scouts on front & the girls names on back.
We tried a thing Deb found on one of her Yahoo Groups...motions to go with the Girl Scout Law. It was a lot of fun! Will try to remember to do this at every meeting!
Have had several emails expressing interest in being our penpals. Will get the girls writing letters next week (we were going to tonite, but ran out of time.)
The mascot exchange will start next month, Deb took pics of the girls with our Cardinal mascot, but they disappeared off the card? So, that is on next weeks list of things to do at dance practice, too.
Our next practice is scheduled for next Thursday 6-7 p.m.

Flat Madeleine Returns Home

she was visiting us from Kenmore, NY.

dance practice

Morgan, Cortney, Jazmine, Breanna, Dominique, Morrisa, Katie, & Mackenzie met at the park for dance practice. They listened to both songs, Bad to the Bone lost to What I Like About You.
Cortney, Jazmine, Breanna, Dominique, & Morrisa picked their swap hats & made name pins while we listened to the cd Morgan had brought. She also made a cool Girl Scout picture to hang in our window for Girl Scout Week!! They also selected their troop nicknames!
Jazmine: Jazzy
Breanna: Bre Bre or Bee Bee
Dominique: Domino
Morrisa: Rissy or Missy
Cortney: Cort or Giggles

we took group shots with the visiting Stacies, played at the park, & sent home notes for the next dance practice: next Friday 6-7p.m. @ the park.

Morrisa & Lindsay's Missing Stacies

got an email today from the leader who has their Stacies, she had sent one back. The girls who took these dolls home were supposed to send them back, she will try to find them. In the meantime, they have 'twins' out on another trip. Kelsie's girl came back, she also has a 'twin' out on the road. The more the merrier, I guess!

Journeys

our new Girl Scout Catalog arrived recently, I was reading the ads for the new Brownie & Junior Journeys...they look cool, so ordered one of each book for the troop to use & we'll try this in addition to the regular badges. The badges you earn are really really cool, plus you can get a bracelet or necklace, too!

Kelsie's Flat Stacie Comes Home

(I thought she was lost, so made a "Twin" of her to send to a Daisy Troop so she'd get a recorded trip, she was visiting West Fairview in Central Pennsylvania Troop Daisy/Brownie Troop #621.)
Kelsie visited the State Capital in Harrisburg where she saw the fountain & had her picture taken in front of it. She also went around our town & saw the Fire House. She was on the fire engine wtih Sarah one of the Brownies. She also attended our town's Memorial Day Parade with us. Thanks for sending Kelsie to PA. I hope she had a good time with our troop!
Kelsie came home with a PA postcard, brochure, & books from the Pennsylvania Capitol & The PA. House of Representatives.

Space Explorer/Sky Search

Kelsie, Kayla, Katie, Lindsay, Mackenzie, & Morgan met at the butterfly garden at Mercer City Park for a Girl Scout meeting...they picked out swap hats, made their first swaps (their names), & picked troop nicknames.
S.W.A.P.S. are Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere or Swap With A Pal, a tradition started by Native Americans.
Troop Nicknames:
Kayla: Angel
Lindsay: Lulu
Morgan: Hannah Montana
Mackenzie: Swifty
Katie: Boo
Kelsie: Farmer Girl

We took group pictures with the visiting Stacies.
We named the planets, talked about constellations, read a Paiute Legend about the North Star, & learned about "Follow The Dipping Gourd", a slave song with directions to use the North Star to find your way North to freedom.

we star gazed, took a flashlight hike, wished upon a star, & sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
we told a group take turns Ghost Story.
Lindsay: "Once upon a time there was 2 little kids who went in the forest to go trick or treating and got lost."
Mackenzie: "there was a girl named Brooklyn, she moved into a creepy house, when she moved in there was a bunch of spooky stuff like cobwebs and skeletons in the closet."
Katie: "they came upon a house in the forest they had never seen before. They knocked on the door to get candy, but no one answered and the door creaked open. Brooklyn said, 'Let's go inside.' So they started looking around the house."
Morgan: "And once they searched around they heard a noise. They looked all over but couldn't see anything then all of a sudden came a witch! And Brooklyn got scared and hid because there were 3 witches and then Brooklyn got ate by a dragon."
Kayla: "and then overlooked the house and found a mountain lion mark and then they found a mountain lion and it killed them."
Lindsay: "Their cousins came looking for them because their mom and dad got worried, and then they found the creepy old house and they found a body, and then they didn't know what they got killed from so they go in-they had hid from the mountain lion. It was high up and had babies-later once they're still looking they find a phone and the mountain lion and her cubs and the dad mountain lion killed them."
Mackenzie: "There was another family who moved in-a black wave came out of a door-it grabbed them and took them into a black hole inside. Nobody died, but there was a shiny star inside. The star gave all of them at least 4 wishes. They wished for a baby."
Katie: "Then the parents got worried because it was midnight and the cousins still weren't home yet. So they creeped out into this haunted house, they heard screams. So they followed it and found the bodies. So they stepped inside-they saw the black hole-andthen they turned around and saw Brooklyn's body rising from the dead. Brooklyn stepped up and she started doing the Monster Mash. And she got closer and closer and then she was so close she was actually hitting them while she was doing the Monster Mash and she broke her fathers nose!"
Kayla: "there was this little baby sister, she knocked at the door. The mountain lion grabbed her in and killed her. And then a little boy came in and got another star and he made a wish that all the bodies would come alive. The bodies came alive and they killed him, then the mountain lion killed them. Now they're all dead."
Morgan: "and then Hannah Montana came in and Jake Ryan and then they got married and had a baby. The end."
We took home little bags of "stardust."

May-Ling-ni comes home (again)

She was in Indianapolis, Indiana with Cadette/Junior Troop 414. This was her 2nd trip, & boy did she have fun! They also had a Moose named Monty from Montana visiting. She went to the 4th Annual Intertribal Eagle Creek Pow Wow. They had a garage sale, then they went to the movies to see Lions 3D Roar of the Kalahari at the Imax, a radio station had donated tickets to their troop, they took their parents, friends, & other troops. They went to a special water park event @ Splash Island for girls that sold over 500 boxes of cookies. The water park was closed to the public,it was ALL Girl Scouts! We went to meetings. They went to see "Alvin & The Chipmunks" movie at a local park. They went to a Symphony performance at Garfield Park. We made fleece blankets for local charities. They did a few Native American stories for an IP. They went to a Koala exhibit at Indianapolis Zoo, since they are doing Australia for their next Thinking Day. They all got to pet sharks! And feed giraffes, see the elephant show, ride a roller coaster, the train, & the carousel, watched a dolphin show, ate ice cream, & went to the gift shop.
They sent her back with tons of pictures, journal entries with really pretty handwriting, a Pow Wow 07-08 patch, Water Fun patch, brochures from Indianapolis Zoo, Lions 3d Imax, Symphony in the Park, & 2 Native American Stories. What an awesome journal!

visiting Stacies

8 Flat Stacies arrived today from Daisy Troop 2049 in Pinckney, Michigan. They are a very busy troop with 12 girls. Our guests are Abigail, Madison, Catie, Hailee, Rachel, Jenna, Skyler, & Bailey. Welcome to Mercer!

Kelsie's Lost Stacie

got an email today with a photo album on Snapfish from the troop in Pennsylvania that has had Kelsie's Stacie, the earliest photos were dated May. She's been to a fire station & a lake & a fountain...she will be coming home soon.
Meanwhile, she was one of the "Lost Girls" I made "twins" of & sent to a Daisy Troop. So, Kelsie's girl is going places!

Katie's shoebox was a success!

this is the email we received from the Katie we sent it to:

Thanks so much to Katie in MO for the fantastic shoebox! The t-shirt is
awesome (Katie wore it to cheer practice the very day she got it...lol)
and my hubby scarfed the popcorn...LOL Thanks again y'all!
Connie and Katie

dentist

took the day off to go to the dentist (another bridge). So, now have my temp. teeth & go back mid August for the 'real' ones.

going on vacation....

Lindsay, Nicole, Morrisa, Kelsie, & Danielle all have flats that went on vacation & never came back. I posted on the group sites for any info on the missing girls, & emailed the ones I could find email addresses for. Then I got onto a yahoo group & found a Daisy Troop that wanted to trade, so I made copies of the girls, made them new journals, & now Nicole, Lindsay, Morrisa, Kelsie, & Danielle have Flat Stacies on the way to Troop #2049 in Pinckney, MI! Also sent the unclaimed doll we found on the table that Katie finished coloring & named "Hayley" & 2 of Katie's dolls (Samantha & Charcoal) are going on a 2nd trip. Their troop is sending us 8 girls, as well!
So, here we go again! We could always get the original girls back, which would be super cool!

Dairy Queen

will try to get to DQ to try the Girl Scout Mint Blizzard.
Katie wonders if the trick the Girl Scout uses on the commercial would work...how would they deliver a MILLION BOXES of cookies?????

katie's shoebox

We signed up for the Summer Shoe Box Exchange week 5. This was the first time, you can sign up every week from the end of May thru August. Katie rec'd a shoebox from Katie in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It was full of craft things, & had a picture of Katie & a guidebook to Hattiesburg. Very cool.
About impossible to top. But we tried.
Katie put together a scrapbook on northern Missouri...pics of the big bull outside Unionville Sale Barn, the Calamity Jane marker on Princeton square, Lake Paho, Mt. Moriah, the highway by Mom & Dad's...
we threw in a Cherry Mash (made in St Joe), popcorn made in Trenton, a Missouri Conservationist, a KC Travel Magazine, brochures from Great Wolf, Watkins Mill, a map from Worlds of Fun, various Missouri postcards, a GSNE&NWMO council patch, several SWAPS we'd made, a picture of Katie with all the cool things that came in her box, & a pink Worlds of Fun t-shirt (we'd emailed her, asking size & fave colors...she loves roller coasters as much as our Katie does!)
Put it in the mail today. Hope she likes it!

Cortney's Flat Stacie comes home!

She was visiting Taylor in Crosby, TX, troop #9315. Taylor is 6 & a Daisy. They went to the Crosby Fire Station to learn about Fire Safety, went to the Father Daughter Dance, went to Old Cowtown in Wichita, KS which is full of people &
things from the 1800's & they even went on a wagon ride! They also went to the Girl Scout Path Ceremony with Taylor & her friend Jazyln. Wow! What a trip!

summer shoe box exchange,etc.

I signed Katie up for the first time for the week 5 exchange, her partner was Katie from Hattiesburg, MI. She sent a huge box full of crafts & swaps! My Katie kept busy for most of the afternoon making things from her box. Mississippi Katie also sent a picture of herself.
Katie is working on the box she will send...so far have popcorn from Popcorn World in Trenton, a Cherry Mash made in St Joe, a Missouri Conservationist Magazine, a scrapbook we made about Mercer County, a picture of Katie, a Missouri postcard, swaps we've made. We will buy a Worlds of Fun t-shirt on vacation to finish the box, & some Great Wolf souveniors, as well.
The Stacies we're hosting will also get brochures & souveniors.
We're sending 15 "Little House" book swaps we made to SWAPMANIA in Sandy, Utah.

End-of-Year-Party!

July 12th finally arrived, & Troop 8044 went to Fast Lanes Bowling Center in Chillicothe. We bowled for an hour, had a pizza & pop party, won cool prizes playing arcade games, & handed back the Flat Stacies that had returned, & passed out SWAPS we'd gotten. We talked about doing the Troop Mascot Exchange & SWAPS next year. The girls sashes are full, will get everyone a vest next year.
We were supposed to play Lazer Tag, too, but it was broken. They still seemed to have a blast!
Partying Girl Scout Style today were Jazmine, Breanna, Danielle, Dominique, Morrisa, Lindsay, Kelsie, Kayla, Morgan, Nicole, Rayne, & Katie, with special guests Zach, Shelby, Nellie, Peggy, Shelley, Chris & Tracy, & Deb.
All the girls attending will get a bowling fun patch!

Flat Madeleine is here!

she's visiting from Troop 521, Kenmore, NY!
Madeleine is 6 & lives with her mom, dad, sister, dog Otis, & cats Seymour & Gracie.
She came with 2 cool postcards, & a brochure about her part of New York!

Flat Stacies from Sandy, Utah

Stephanie & Victoria arrived today from Junior Troop 2236. They started this year & have 9 girls in their troop. They are into pie, Hannah Montana, cooking, & anything new! They LOVE swaps & their goal is to earn badges.
Welcome to Mercer, Missouri!

Back To Texas

Daelynn & Dastasia are headed back Troop 9315 in Crosby Texas.
thanks for visiting us!

Kelsie & Katie's Flat Stacies Come Home!

They were visiting Troop 271 in Altadena, California.
They went to the Los Angeles Zoo & the Gene Autry Museum & helped the girls they stayed with do community garden work, plant a tree, stamp ministry, postal food drive, make lots of swaps, worked on badges every other Friday at meetings, & HAVE FUN!
They worked on "Wildlife" and "Plants and Animals" badges, & the Bronze Award.
They came home with Horseback Riding, 2007 Tree Jamboree, & Stamp Ministry badges, Girl Scout stickers, California postcards, pictures, & 5 swaps each: bag of s'mores, bad hair day, tic tac toe to go, California Republic & don't squeeze the Charmin. They came home with 5 extra swaps, so will give the other 5 to girls whose girls haven't made it back yet...still have a lot of Stacies out on vacation.

Mascot exchange is coming together!

deb bought a Ty Beanie Cardinal (for the Mercer Cardinals!), & our troop has been accepted into a mascot exchange group, where your mascot will visit 5 other troops. It is suggested that we send with the mascot: a disposable camera, council patch,information about your hometown, swaps, letters from the girls in your troop.
They need 4 more troops to sign up so we can get started, so in the meantime deb will work on putting a box together, & girls, be ready to write some letters!
Katie thinks this sounds like fun!
After all the Flat Stacies get home, we'll work on MASCOT EXCHANGE & SWAPS! Something new & different, so no one gets bored!

Isabella Corrine

Katie's very first Flat Stacie,is leaving today on a trip to visit Troop 401 in Crossville, TN. She went on the very first Stacie trip to Ivyland, PA.

Dominique's Flat Stacie comes home!

She visited Troop 277 in Rolling Prairie, Indiana. She stayed with Sydney in LaPorte, Indiana. They worked on a Court Sports badge, went to Brookfield Zoo, saw Lake Michigan, ate at Giordano's Famous Stuffed Pizza, went to Zoo Island in Valparaiso where the girls played mini golf, rode bumper cars & drove go carts.
Stacy took a road trip with Sydney's family. They drove 4 1/2 hours to Cincinnati, Ohio, & stayed in a very comfy hotel. They crossed the Ohio River to visit the aquarium in Newport, KY. They saw all kinds of fish & frogs & Sydney got to pet sharks and feed lorikeets. Then we crossed the bridge back to Ohio & went to an Underground Railroad Museum. After another nite at the hotel, they headed back to Indiana. They stopped at Ball State University & saw the dorm where Sydney's cousin lives. They stopped in Kokomo, IN to see the worlds largest tree stump.
Flat Stacie visited 5 states with Sydney's family!!!
She had an envelope stuffed full of cool stuff---a Girl Scout Day at Brookfield Zoo patch, an Indy 500 swap, a Singing Sands swap, a map from Brookfield Zoo, menu from Giordano's Famous Stuffed Pizza, Indiana Dunes map, Newport Aquarium brochure, Indiana map, a rubbing they did at the Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
What a trip!!!

katie's flat stacie comes home from overseas!

"Kelly" was visiting the 4th Evesham Brownies in Worcestershire, United Kingdom!
She stayed with Ayse. She loved every minute of her stay & is looking forward to her next adventure.
She earned a Toymaker badge with the troop, they made a glove puppet while she was there & are going to make a noughts and crosses game out of newspaper, sellotape, & gift wrapping paper.
"Kelly" also came home with a 4th Evesham Brownie name tape that they wear on their badge sashes, a Wocestershire cloth badge, a postcard & picture from Cotswold Falconry Center where they held an European Eagle Owl which was really heavy. They saw lots of different birds. They also went to the Batsford Arboretum which was really pretty.

travelin' to Sandy, Utah

the very last Stacie is on her first trip~someone made her at a meeting~she was left on the table~one of Jazmine's Stacies is on her 2nd trip out. They left June 13, 2008.

we're home!

Breanna, Morgan, Kelsie, & Danielle had Flat Stacies return from Lorain, Ohio on the banks of Lake Erie today.
They came home with Juliette Low swaps & postcards. And their journals are chock full of pictures & exciting adventures! There is a lot to do in Ohio!
They visited Troops 749, 387, 777, & 806.
They worked on backpacking & archery patches, filtered river water to drink, baked bread for SPREAD THE BREAD DAY, went to the Botanical Gardens in Cleveland, worked at a soup kitchen, went to a Council Recognition, went to Girl Scout meetings, celebrated Earth Day, had a bridging & awards ceremony dinner, went on six hikes, went to the airport & sat in the rescue helicopter with 18 Girl Scouts, searched for geo caches, planted a tree, toured an Amish farm & rode in an Amish buggy, made Mothers Day gifts, cleaned a cemetery, went to a fancy tea party, went to the beach, went to NASA's 50th anniversary, cleaned up the police safety town, went to a sleepover, and panned for gold.
They practiced their flag twirling routine for the Memorial Day Parade, they are the SILVER ROSETTS.
They met Emily Grace, Taylor, Marissa, Maddy, Briana, Merciana, Julia, Nyaha, Ariaha, Brittany B., Brittany S., Gabrielle, Alison, Lorraine, Hayley, Michelle Ann, Emily T., Emily S., Jillian, & Robin.

On Summer Vacation.....

Katie's "Nikki" & the unclaimed bunny Katie named "Lucky Bunny" that was left at the meeting where we made Flat Stacies are on their way to visit Brownie Troop 521 in Kenmore, NY. Have fun!
There is one more unclaimed Flat Stacie to go on vacation, then we can start sending girls on their 2nd trip.
Mackenzie has retired both her Stacies.
Rayne retired her Stacie also.
deb will keep sending them out as long as the girls are having fun.
Nikki & Lucky Bunny are the first ones to go out with 'permission slips'. I got this idea from the Flat Stacies we sent to Minnesota...their leader requested permission slips after I had already mailed them...it's a good idea!

Bye Bye Stacies

Miss Stacy, Miss Salina May, Miss Macy, & Miss Gio are on their way back to Cranston, RI.
Miss Lucy is going back to Camp Hill, PA.
And Miss Megan is our her way home to Worcestershire, United Kingdom.
While they visited Mercer they went to field day at school, to ECW/SMACKDOWN wrestling in Des Moines, the Calamity Jane marker on Princeton square, Katie's dance recital, the movies, Adventureland, several pee wee softball girls games, Grandpa Lije's farm, they helped Great Grandma Marie bake cookies, played at Lineville Park, went swimming....

a cool new patch!

A group of Girl Scouts have raised money to restore Juliette Low's gravesite in Savannah. Go here to see their progress, (help & get patch):

http://www.patchworkdesigns.net/JLRestPHOT.htm

each patch is $5.50 (includes shipping) & all proceeds go to the restoration project.
We have ambitious plans to make a denim quilt to put all Katie's fun patches & Try-Its on, actually have the stack of old jeans washed & ready to cut up...

Mackenzie & Kayla's Flat Stacies come home!

Mackenzie & Kayla had Flat Stacies visit Girl Scout Troop 1225 in West Richland, Washington. They returned today! They took a field trip to Paradise Neighborhood Park, worked at cookie booths, & went to Girl Scout meetings.
They worked on the SOUNDS OF MUSIC, SENSES, EARTH & SKY Try-Its with the Brownies .
They worked on MODEL CITIZEN & the CHOICE IS YOURS patch, & a Bronze project with the Juniors.
The Juniors went to a Cadette meeting, painted a sign at the park & planted flowers, & made a cookie commercial they performed for the troop.
They came home with lots of pictures, a tambourine swap, a cookie box swap, a friendship bracelet , a Washington postcard, a Lewis & Clark postcard, & patches, patches, patches!
-Flat Stacie patch
_Girl Scouts Passport to Adventure patch
-Sister to Sister patch
-Swap patch
_Community Service patch
_Washington patch

It is fun to see what the Stacies come home with!

more visiting Stacies!

we have a houseful-a record EIGHT at one time! Daelynn & Dastasia arrived today from Troop 9315 in Crosby Texas.

handed out more badges

at tonite's softball game, gave Dominique & Morrisa their cookie badges & dogs; Jessica all her badges; & Kelsie her cookie badges.

Flat Stacies home from New Jersey!

Katie & Jazmine's Flat Stacies returned from visiting Brownie Troop 62396 in Williamstown, NJ today & boy did they have adventures!
they came home with a schedule from the train they rode from Hammonton to Atlantic City, a postcard from Jackson, NJ, & pictures of their adventures.
The train was very crowded, & they met lots of other flats. In Atlantic City they went to a candy store called "It's Sugar" where they made candy necklaces, chocolate bars, & ice cream sundaes. They saw a water/light/music show, took a walk on the beach, where they buried themselves in the sand & enjoyed the view of the Atlantic Ocean. They saw a parade on the board walk with bands, mummers string bands & fancy cars! Then they rode the train back home.

more Flat Stacies leaving mercer...

tomorrow will send one of Katie's (she made a million of them!) & the tiger cat wearing the blue brownie shirt with little tab tie, brown brownie pants, & brown shoes that was left here unclaimed after the meeting where we made Stacies....will have to figure out who it belongs to....
anyway, they are going to visit Junior Troop #294 in Billings, MT!

update

gave Danielle, Rayne, Nicole,Morgan, & Lindsay their cookie badges & fall festival certificates at the softball game Weds. p.m., Lindsay also rec'd her dog.
gave Mackenzie her certificates/badges & dog at Lineville Park Thursday p.m. She decided to keep her Stacie, her traveling days are over!

Danielle recieves badges

gave Danielle her badges at softball practice May 19th. Just have to catch Jessica & Kayla, then all badges will be handed out.

Flat Stacies Update

Mackenzie & Katie's returned from Brownie Troop 2585 in Taylors, SC.
Mackenzie's doll stayed with Addie& Autumn, Katie's doll stayed with Gracelyn & Hannah.
They walked for the American Diabetes Association, they went to Falls Park in Greenville & climbed on rocks & went to an overnight camp! They went to a princess party, a Fairy Myst Festival, went rollerskating, to the zoo, helped pack boxes of goodies for soldiers In Iraq, made pinecone bird feeders, & they sent home 2 swaps!

Macy, Stacy, Salina May, & Gio arrived from Troop 407 in Cranston, RI.
Keelan is here from Troop 621 in Enola, PA.
Megan is here from 4th Eversham Brownies, Worcestershire, UK!

Awards Ceremony

was held @ 7:00p.m., May 16, 2008 @ the Mercer Community Building.  Jazmine, Cortney, Morgan, Dominique, Morrisa, Rayne, Mackenzie, Katie, Kelsie, Lindsay, Breanna, & Nicole attended, along with their parents & some of their grandparents!We started off with the Girl Scout Promise & Girl Scout Law.
Then we did a "Scouting is a Candle" Ceremony:
Scouting is a candle that will light you on your way
It's trying on your honor and helping every day
Exploring worlds around you and looking wider still
Pitching tents out in the woods or hiking up a hill
Guitars and voices blended under God's majestic sky
Loving those around you Friendships that never die
The  meaning in a moment, in a smile or a tear
Makes you a little taller with each Girl Scouting year.
A promise to your God and to your country, too.
Makes you a part of your world and your world a part of you.
It's something you may carry on wherever you may go
You can't hide the happiness, you can't hide the glow.
That's the kind of secret that you want the world to know.
A candle glows forever it shines eternally.
(everyone) make it shine on everyone, that's the way the world should be.
Deb handed out badges.
Jazmine has been in Girl Scouts 2 years.  She earned Ready Set Go Camping, Earth & Sky, Stitch It Together, Listening to the Past, Manners, Write Away, Make It Eat It, Making Music, Girl Scout Ways, Science in Action, & Science Wonders.
Morgan has been in Girl Scouts 2 years. She earned Making Music, Manners, Write Away, Listening to the Past, Stitch it Together, & Make It Eat It.
Cortney has been in Girl Scouts 2 years.  She earned Watching Wildlife, Animals, Write Away, Ready Set Go Camping, Eco Explorer, Stitch it Together, Science in Action, Make It Eat It, Girl Scout Ways, Making Music, Listening to the Past, Earth & Sky, & Science Wonders.
Dominique has been in Girl Scouts 2 years.  She earned Ready Set Go Camping, Making Music, Earth & Sky, Listening to the Past, Science in Action, Manners, Science Wonders, Stitch it Together, Write Away, Girl Scout Ways.
Rayne has been in Girl Scouts 3 years.  She earned Girl Scout Ways, Make It Eat It, Science Wonders, Science in Action, Stitch it Together, Making Music, Earth & Sky, & Ready Set Go Camping.
Morrisa has been in Girl Scouts 2 years.  She earned Earth & Sky, Listening to the Past, Manners, Ready Set Go Camping, Making Music, Stitch it Together, Write Away, Science in Action, Science Wonders, & Girl Scout Ways.
Mackenzie joined Girl Scouts this year.  She earned Science Wonders, Science in Action, Manners, Making Music, Write Away, Stitch it Together, & Make It Eat It.
Danielle has been in Girl Scouts 2 years.  She earned Ready Set Go Camping, Listening to the Past, Watching Wildlife, Science Wonders, Eco Explorer, Make It Eat It, Science In Action, Earth & Sky, Animals, Stitch it Together, Making Music, & Girl Scout Ways.
Breanna has been in Girl Scouts 3 years. She earned Listening to the Past, Ready Set Go Camping, Science Wonders, Manners, Earth & Sky, Stitch it Together, Write Away, Make It Eat It, Girl Scout Ways,  & Science in Action.
Kayla has been in Girl Scouts 2 years.  She earned Make It Eat It, Write Away, Making Music, Listening to the Past, Stitch it Together, Science Wonders, & Science in Action.
Kelsie has been in Girl Scouts 3 years.  She earned Watching Wildlife, Animals, Stitch It Together, Science in Action, Science Wonders, Write Away, Ready Set Go Camping, Making Music, Earth & Sky, Girl Scout Ways, Eco Explorer, & Listening to the Past.
Nicole has been in Girl Scouts 4 years.  She earned Stitch It Together, Make It Eat It, Girl Scout Ways, Ready Set Go Camping, Earth & Sky, Making Music, Science In Action, & Science Wonders.
Lindsay has been in Girl Scouts 2 years.  She earned Make It Eat IT, Animals, Eco Explorer, Watching Wildlife, Listening to the Past, Science Wonders, Science in Action, Stitch it Together, Girl Scout Ways, Earth & Sky, Ready Set Go Camping, Making Music.
Katie has been in Girl Scouts 4 years.  She earned Stitch it Together, Earth & Sky, Girl Scout Ways, Animals, Manners, Ready Set Go Camping, Watching Wildlife, Write Away, Listening to the Past, Make It Eat It, Eco Explorer, Making Music, Science In Action, & Science Wonders.
Jessica joined Girl Scouts this year.  She earned the Junior Sew Simple badge.
Kelsie, Lindsay, & Katie  recieved Good Deeds patches for working at the Homecoming Baby Show.
“It’s hard to get to Girl Scout meetings, working around school, family, sports, illness…thanks for coming!” Katie had perfect attendance!Cortney, Breanna, Jazmine, Kelsie, Mackenzie, Dominique, Morrisa, Danielle,& Lindsay had great attendance-Kayla, Morgan, Nicole,& Rayne had good attendance.
Lindsay, Cortney, & Danielle were top fall product sellers.
Cortney, Mackenzie, & Lindsay were the top cookie sellers. 
Our girls sold 1215 boxes of cookies! 
Bridging: “Lindsay, Danielle, Nicole, Kayla, Kelsie, Katie, & Breanna have fulfilled their responsibilities as Brownie Girl Scouts.  They have served their community, their troop, and the Girl Scout movement well, and are prepared to bridge into Junior Girl Scouts.  Today we are locking in our hearts the fun, laughter, hard work, and good times that their Brownie Girl Scout Years have brought.”
Girls: Take my hand in friendship
I give to you this day
Remember all the good times
We had along the way.
Take my hand in helping
Other people that we know
The more we give to others
The more that we will grow
Take my hand in learning
To camp on nature’s ground
Enjoying trails and campfires
With new friends that we have found
Take my hand in givingOur knowledge of true scouts
To girls we meet and talk to
Who have so many doubts
Take my hand in thanking
Our leader and our guide
With sincere appreciation
For standing by our side.
Take my hand in eagerness
To be an older scout
We’re proud to be bridging
Is what we’re going to shout
So take my hand to follow
New scouting paths in sight
We’re joining hands with each
And in friendship we’ll unite
(all) we give our hands in promise
To hold our country dear
And abide the Girl Scout Law
Each day throughout the year.
the girls had voted to have Cake & punch, we bought a beautiful cake with red & white roses & Girl Scout Troop 8044 on it.
Have set up our end of year party. Saturday July 12 2p.m. Fast Lanes, Chillicothe.  1hour of bowling, shoes, pizza, pop, & lazer tag for each girl.
thanks to Deb & Peg for helping set up & tear down.
the girls seemed to have fun!

Rayne decided to retire her Stacie doll & take it home with her. She was quite pleased with the maple syrup stick, & the other girls thought it was awesome as well!

Rayne's Flat Stacie comes home from Michigan!

She was in Willis visiting Daisy Troop 532, where she met Emma, Cassidy, Mariah, Makaila, Corinthia, & Cathy. They went to Camp Crawford in Milan, learned how to tap maple syrup, & went to a troop meeting where they earned the green petal for using resources wisely. They sent her home a stick with maple sugar on it, & a "Horse Tail", which they learned was something the early settlers used to scrape the junk off their teeth before Colgate & Crest were invented!

Kelsie's Flat Stacie

is going to visit Troop 621 in Camp Hill, PA.

Flat Stacie to Evesham, United Kingdom

sent another of Katie's 'extra' Stacies. We should be receiving a lot of Stacies soon---we have sent a bunch out & they are supposed to be sending us dolls, as well.

Flat Stacie on vacation

Katie has sent a Stacie to Brownie Troop 300 in Dunkirk, Ohio.
Kelsie has one more Stacie to send on her maiden voyage, then we can start sending dolls out on 2nd trips!

Awards Ceremony Is Scheduled

Friday May 16 2008Mercer Community Building
7:00 p.m.

Stacies to New Jersey

Katie & Jazmine are sending Flat Stacies to Williamstown, NJ.

first trip out!

tomorrow Nicole's Flat Stacie will travel to Troop 562 in Los Angeles, CA.
Breanna, Morgan, Kelsie, & Danielle have Flat Stacies traveling to Troops 749, 387, 777, & 806 in Lorain, OH.
At this point, everyone should have a Stacie who has hit the road. Some girls made more than one Stacie, will get them out on vacation, too! As the dolls come home, you'll get the 'goodies' that come with them, if you want to keep your doll & journal, that's fine, or we can find them another vacation to go on. It's up to you!

Flat Stacie Status

Sage & Rebecca returned to West Richland, WA; Alysia will return to LaPorte, IN as soon as deb gets to the post office, AND Cortney, Lindsay, & Morrisa will have Stacies on the way to visit Crosby, TX, as well!
deb has been on-line researching Great Lanes Bowling in Chillicothe, as soon as I see a May school calander, will try to get dates for the Awards Ceremony & End Of Year Trip.
we'll take June off since so many of the girls play ball, then will try to have fun summer meetings in July & August....I'm looking at learning about horses, star gazing, hiking, rock collecting....

Mom & Me Tea

Saturday was the Mom & Me Tea---we discussed an end of the year trip---the girls present want to go to Chillicothe to bowl, play lazer tag, & eat pizza.  For Awards Ceremony, they want cake & a candle ceremony.We passed around the journals & swaps that came home from Bronx, NY with Jazmine & Katie's Stacies, all the girls signed the journals for Flat Stacie Rebecca & Flat Stacie Sage from West Richland, Washington & the Flat Stacie Alysia from LaPorte, Indiana, then we took a group picture.presented Cortney with her Brownie Bear for being Top Cookie Seller. We played dress up, some of the girls receieved "makeovers", Mother May I, made bling rings for us & our guest, made Mexican Bean Bracelets & Manners Napkins.  We tried to read our fortunes in tea leaves, circles, sharks, dragons & birds were spotted.  We had little sandwiches, cookies, petit fours, tea, & lemonade.Attending were Mackenzie, Jazmine, Breanna, Danielle, Cortney, Morrisa, Dominique, Kelsie, & Katie.  Each girl will receive a "Mom & Me Tea" fun patch. Guests were Jessica, Mackenzie's grandma, Jazmine & Breanna's mom, Morrisa & Dominique's mom & little sister Shelby, Cortney's mom, Kelsie's mom, & Katie's mom.After the tea party, the moms had quite a conversation about weight & their worries about how their daughters saw themselves.The girls seemed to have a lot of fun, will try to make this an annual event!Debra & Nellie have volunteered to help Deb next year!

Flat Stacies on Vacation

Dominique's Flat Stacie left for LaPort, IN today.
Rayne's Flat Stacie is on the way to Willis, MI today.

returning stacies

our 2 visiting Stacies came home from Bronx, New York today. Jazmine sent a doll & Katie sent "Charcoal". They came back with pictures & diary entries & swaps from a Juliette Low Rally!

Girls Gone Packing

Mackenzie & Kayla sent Flat Stacies to West Richland, Washington.

visiting Stacies

Sage & Rebecca are visiting from West Richland, Washington!
The Stacies we sent back to Bronx, NY came back today, will have to try sending them again! Hope their girls aren't missing them too much! Emailed to let them know what's going on.

Easter Egg Hunt

It was a blustery day at Mercer City Park when 5 brave little Brownies & 1 brave brother gathered for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Lindsay, Jazmine, Breanna, Kelsie, Katie, & Zack did the Bunny Hop, played Duck, Duck, Goose & did the Hokey Pokey. We read the journals from our Stacies that visited Pennsylvania, & took pictures with the visiting Stacie from Washington. She kept trying to blow away! We drew #s to win bags with gifts sent from the PA troop---Swedish flag swaps, Dala horse crafts, & a patch from their Winter Cookie Dance. Everyone got 2!
We took turns reading Beanie Baby Facts, we giggled through the 5 versions of
Beans Beans the Musical Fruit that Deb found on-line. We named 12 kinds of beans: Kidney, Green, Black, Pinto, Chili, Jelly, Jumping, hot dog beans (Beenie Weenies), Navy, Beanie Babies, Beanie Pugs, & Beanie Bears.
We drew #s to win a chocolate bunny---Jazmine was the lucky winner.
We played 'hot potato' chicken.
The girls decided they wanted to walk on the "balance beam" around the park.
We tried to have carrot car races & jelly bean races while Shelley & Tracy hid eggs.
Jazmine was the 1st to figure out how to blow up the ballloons on the cars, Lindsay soon caught on, Zack blew his up too big & it exploded! The wind made racing a bit tricky, too, but the kids kept right on trying.
There was some drama, Deb's boxes of stuff kept blowing off across the park.
We think we found all the eggs! If not, the next batch of kids playing at the park will have a nice surprise!
We were going to make Mexican Bean Bracelets to go with our Human Bean Theme, but it was just way too windy. Same for snacks, divided up the Rainbow Twizzlers among the kids & we called it a day.
Will plan our Mom & Me Tea as an inside activity, so we can do the Mexican Bean Bracelets then.

& the money is turned in.

Katie & I turned in the correct amount of cookie money to Terri Henley today....
a BIG THANK YOU to EVERYONE! You are AWESOME!

cookie $

is all collected, & the numbers all add up! Good Job, Troop 8044!

troop news

we're hosting a Flat Stacie from California.
Rayne, Nicole, Morrisa, Dominique, Danielle,& Lindsay have turned in their cookie $. THANK YOU!

cookie $ is due very soon....

Nicole, Rayne, Dominique, & Morrisa have turned in their cookie $. THANK YOU!!!!!

Stacies Everywhere!

have sent Stacies to California, Illinois, & Kansas. We should be receiving visitors from them soon!

Flat Stacies on the road

sent 2 to South Carolina today!
received an email that one of the Stacies we'd sent to Pennsylvania was lost at their Thinking Day Celebration...then she was found by another Girl Scout so will be back home soon!

Girl Scout Week 2008

Saturday we had a Girl Scout Pajama Party, Jazmine, Breanna, Dominique, Morrisa, Mackenzie, Katie, Morgan, & Katie's guest Moriah played Simon Says, Who's That Famous Person, had a high heeled race & a cookie eating contest (Breanna & Moriah won), had a pj fashion show, took a Girl Scout History Quiz, decorated a window at Ragan's Grocery, & earned our Manners Try-It by talking about respect for others, practicing our telephone & table manners, introductions, learning about manners in other countries, & making plans for a Mom & Me Tea. The girls voted to dress up for the party, & to have little sandwiches, Caramel Delites & other cookies, tea & lemonade for our party. The girls decided that Toot-Toots & Golden Corral were really fancy places to eat that would require their best manners.
from the Girl Scout History Quiz we learned that Juliette Low sold her pearls to raise money to start the first troop, the first Girl Scout was her niece, Daisy Gordon, to play basketball outdoors Girl Scouts had to draw curtains around the court so the public could not see their bloomers, & one requirement to earn the Girl Scout War Service Award in 1918 was to knit 2 pounds of wool for the Red Cross.
Sticking to tradition, we also told a circle story. Here goes:
deb: Once upon a time, it was Girl Scout Week.
Morrisa: It was cold outside when they went to the Girl Scout meeting.
Moriah: We were playing lots of games and having fun.
Katie: But then they heard something
Breanna: And it was haunted & there was a green witch that shot out red lava snot
Jazmine: And there was green snot on the grass & it hit Katie.
Dominique: And then there was a cheetah outside.
Mackenzie: Then there was a tree and it busted thru the window because it was alive.
Morgan: & then Hannah Montana came & she said, "Good golly, Miss Dolly."
Mackenzie: Then Katie's eye popped out.
Moriah: The witch's pet cheetah started to attack the Girl Scouts.
Katie: & then Breanna turned into a dragon & Mackenzie turned into an alligator.
Breanna: Since I was a dragon, I was going to poop on her.
Jazmine: There is a ghost who was trying to chase Breanna & eat her up.
Dominique: & then there was a vampire who sucked his blood.
Morgan: It was turning night time & Hannah Montana was wearing golden shoes & she was kidnapped by the witch!
Morrisa: And the Girl Scouts lived happily ever after.
THANK YOU to Nellie for letting us into the Community Building, & cleaning up afterwards!

On Sunday Katie, Kelsie, Kayla, Lindsay, Danielle, Rayne, & Nicole went to the Mercer Methodist Church for Girl Scout Sunday. They had fun singing on stage with Tristen West, Bob & Cathy Speck, & Boyd Miller!
Kelsie, Kayla, & Danielle went home with Katie for lunch, then Katie, Kayla, Kelsie, Lindsay, Nicole, Rayne, Mackenzie, Danielle, & Katie's guest Moriah went to the Stacy Center to join the Princeton Girl Scouts for a swimming party. The Stacy Center gave each girl a glow bracelet, some of the girls also received balloons!

All the cookies have been picked up from deb's house (THANK YOU!). Our next meeting will be the annual Easter Egg Hunt, hopefully in the next few weeks the mud will dry up...

cookie pick up

a big THANK YOU to Mackenzie's dad for picking up her cookies yesterday!

girl scout cookies, they're everywhere!

we went to Bethany tonite & ate supper at Toot-Toot's (one of my fave places to eat...) & I ate smorgasboard as usual. Kate went to help me pick out a dessert, & they had GIRL SCOUT COOKIES with the desserts! Lemonades & Thin Mints on a fancy glass serving platter. How awesome is that!

I talked to Nina Ragan today, she said of course we could decorate one of her store windows for Girl Scout Week next week, maybe we'll have time during our meeting Saturday.
Dominique, Morrisa, Morgan, Cortney, Kelsie, Kayla, Danielle, Jazmine, Breanna, & Lindsay's moms have picked up their cookies.

Bronx Flat Stacies

They started on their trip home today, courtesy of the US Postal Service. Our flats are staying in New York for their troop's Thinking Day.

and the cookies are here...

Kevin & I picked them up at Hal England Center, he somehow got them all wedged into the truck. We came home, KJ helped me carry them, Katie stacked them in groups, then helped Kevin & I divide them up, we were doing great until the end, I had too many leftovers....it was the last 2 orders I'd messed up. Katie worked herself into a frazzle! Made a few calls, but it was getting late, will try to leave everyone else messages tomorrow. Katie had her 1st Lemonade of the season, we think it is our new favorite cookie!

Cookies are Coming.

Cookies will arrive in Princeton Monday. They have to be out of the Hal England Center by 6p.m. Deb will call everyone after we get the cookies sorted so they can be picked up & delivered.

Flat Stacies in NYC!

rec'd an email today that our Flat Stacies arrived in Bronx, New York! we're hosting 2 Flat Stacies from this troop.

still receiving postcards...

Troop 537 VA
Troop 759 OR
Troop 1999 KS
Troop 245 NY
Troop 1335 MD

We Celebrate World Thinking Day!

This year the focus is on water facts & why fresh water is important for every Girl Scout around the world--the 3rd graders already knew these, but we went over them anyway...
97% of all the water that is found on earth is "salt water" found in the ocean & seas.
1% of the earth's water is available for drinking. the other 2% is still frozen.
Our human bodies are about 2/3 water, some parts of the body contain more water than others. 70% of your skin is water.
Human survival requires water, the human body can only survive 5-7 days without it. The body can go approximately a month without food.
An 8oz glass can be filled 15,000 for the same cost of a six-pack of pop.
we played games: High School Musical questions, The Story of Juliette Low, A Girl Scout Right Left Story, Rabbit Without a House, Mr. Bear. Shelby played Rabbit Without A House, too!
Everyone signed the journals for the Flat Stacies from Bronx, NY, then we took pictures with them. Deb mailed 2 Flat Stacies to Bronx, NY.
The shirts arrived during the meeting, Jazmine, Breanna, Lindsay, Katie, Kayla got theirs, Mackenzie was sick, so will get hers later. Morgan & Cortney's haven't arrived yet. Also have sashes for Jessica & Mackenzie. We didn't have time to glue on the patches, Nellie, Tracy, Shelley, Deb, & Melanie took bottles of patch glue home to work on sashes. One of the Henley girls is missing a patch from Fall Product Sales. Will remedy that. Gave Kayla the Girl Scout pen she ordered from cookie sale.
The girls got their original Stacies back, all except for Breanna, maybe her name wasn't on it? Will have to do some investigating. Deb took the Stacies going to United Kingdom to laminate for us!
Handed out Talent Show patches to all present, will mail to the others.
Attending & earning World Thinking Day 2008 patches were: Jazmine, Cortney, Morgan, Dominique, Morrisa, Kayla, Kelsie, Katie, Danielle, Breanna, & Lindsay.
Next meeting is the Girl Scout Week Fun Day Pajama Party March 8th at the Community Building.

More Visiting Stacies!

2 arrived today from Bronx, New York! Katie & Kelsie took them to the last home basketball game. They will be at our troop meeting Thursday & celebrate World Thinking Day with us!
Mackenzie & Jessica's sashes have arrived.

postcards rec'd...

today we got:
CT Troop 553
2nd Westbury Wiltshire Brownies
Bronx NY Troop 1419

still receiving postcards...

NY Troop 422
Elmont, NY Juliette
WV Troop 5833
MT Troop 458
CA Troops 306/309
TX Troop 896
Alaska Troop 945
IL Troop 1016
England 3rd Tunbridge Wells
Capon Bridge, WV Troop
1st Balsall Common Brownies
NH Troop 766

turned cookie forms into Terri

so we are done for now...(if I filled everything out correctly..)

cookie sales

have all cookie sheets turned in, we sold a total of 1215 boxes!!!!!
got hold of Terri the Cookie Chair, she told me to wait till Tuesday to turn our stuff in, we're ahead of the game. I was trying to get everything done before Kevin's surgery tomorrow...

Make It Eat It Try It

Deb & Katie had Brownie Soup in the crockpot, we made a Brownie Ring, recited our promise & law, sang the Brownie Smile Song. The red shirts we ordered are no longer available, we're getting the brown Brownies Can Do Anything shirts instead.
Favorite Foods:
Breanna-tacos, ice cream, candy, soda, chips, junk food
Morrisa-bean dip
Mackenzie-lasagna
Rayne-ice cream
Morgan-soup, yogurt
Katie-fries
Kayla-KFC chicken, ice cream, brownies, banana bread, candy, Pepsi
Lindsay-KFC chicken, monkey bread
Dominique-tacos, pretty much ice cream
Jazmine-candy, ice cream, oranges, bananas
Nicole-fruit, chili dogs, nachos, pop
Cortney-pizza
Least Favorite Foods:
Breanna-spinach, vegetables, lettuce, olives
Morrisa-cauliflower
Mackenzie-vegetables, onions, fish
Rayne-fish, cauliflower, lettuce, tomatoes
Morgan-candy
Katie-beans, onions, cauliflower, tomatoes, pickles, broccoli
Kayla-cauliflower, broccoli, onions, beans not in chili
Lindsay-vegetables
Dominique-mustard
Jazmine-spinach, cauliflower, beans, chili
Cortney-candy, snow
Nicole-candy
we read from the Flat Stanley book, passed around the Flat Stacies we'd received from Pennsylvania & read the bios in their journals, then took a group picture with the visiting Stacies & made some of our own!
We tried the Brownie Soup---since a lot of the girls don't care for vegetables, our cats outside got healthy servings of soup! They really liked it! We also made Katie's Sweet Sipper recipe.
We copied the recipes the girls brought in & made cookbooks.
all cookie orders are turned in but Kelsie & Jessica's.
Everyone got a Flat Stacie patch.
Our next meeting is Feb. 21st, we'll try out the patch glue & try to get the patches on our sashes, & observe World Thinking Day.

postcards...

keep on straggling in...
the latest we've rec'd are..
Troop 371 Las Vegas
Fort Leonard Wood, MO Troop 192
Troop 237 TN
Troop 264 GA
Troop 603 IL
PA Brownie TroopTX Troop 2415
1st Cumberland Sparks British Columbia

deb has started a binder, & will try to keep it out at meetings
if anyone wants to look at it! Remind her!

Visiting Stacies!

rec'd the 5 Flat Stacies from Pennsylvania today! The girls who sent them are all first graders. We will host them 2-3 weeks then send them back. Plan on taking pictures of the dolls with our troop at the next meeting!

the postcards keep coming in....

today is the last day of the website for exchanges.
The latest postcards we're rec'd:
First Dauphin Pathfinder & First Dauphin Guide Unit
Virginia Troop 258
Texas Troop 62101
OK Troop 1015
Tx -Jennifer, Stacie, Natasha, Alexis, Arlene, Jazlynn, Emma, Vicky,
Taylor, , Brianna & our little man Brandon
MD Troop 2515
CO Troop 160
AZ Troop 777
GA Troop 390
TN Troop 515.
did a few last minute exchanges, so could recieve a few more postcards...deb plans on putting these into some kind of a book. Haven't got started on that yet...

more Flat Stacies....

and once again, deb has bitten off more than she can chew...she posted on 3 different sites looking for troops to trade Flat Stacies with. We sent the 5 to Pennsyvlania today, & got an email that a troop from Wales, UK will trade 16 with us! Wow! Katie is busily making Stacies. If anyone wants to volunteer theirs to travel after we make them at our next meeting, we'll get them on their way. Or make copies of them, so their "twins" can travel the country!

The Girls Are All Packed For Vacation...

Katie helped me get our first 5 Stacies ready to travel to Pennsylvania...she gave them names & helped write bios for their travel journals. If I get off work in time tomorrow, will send them on their first adventure! Five Pennsylvania Stacies are headed our way, & one from New York!

Flat Stacies!

we have been contacted by a troop that is going to send a Flat Stacie for us to host! We will have "adventures" with the Stacie, taking pictures of her, & write about what she did while she was here in her journal, & send pictures & local momentoes back with her.
I am excited! Have ordered supplies to make our own Flat Stacies, ordered cool Missouri patches to send to troops that let us host their Stacies, & am thinking we can take pics of the Stacies at the Welcome to Mercer sign, the Welcome to Missouri sign, by the Calamity Jane memorial in Princeton, & the Girl Scout Mural in Chillicothe. Whew!
We'll have to make a journal for the Stacies we host for us to keep...I hope the girls have as much fun with this as I do!
Flat Stacies are based on the Flat Stanley books...we will read a Flat Stanley book at our next meeting.

postcards rec'd

World Thinking Day Postcards rec'd so far...we sent out 70 some.
Plan on making a scrapbook out of these...they are awesome!
NY Troop 927
CA Troop 3154
OH Troop 50167
NY Troop 2169
VA Troop 4006
AL Troop 141
WI Troop 855
NY Troop 187
CT Trooop 490
OH Troop 545
NY Troop---your girl scout friend Jenna
OH Troop 68
PA Troop 1256
Canada 19th Prince George Brownies
FL Troop 373
AZ Troop 1576
CA Troop 20398
Ashford England-Emily, Grace, Ayesha, Nancy, Bethany, Cathleen,
Nicole, Steph, Carlate, Beth, Hannah...
TX -ElizabethOR Troop 786
Winchester KY
TX Troop 2280
1st Little Paxton Brownies
San Juan Capistrano, CA Troop 878
GA Troop 2019
TX Troop 1550
Great Pacific Northwest Troop 50797
TX Troop 288
NY Troop 2239
VA Troop 4419
GA Troop 2814
NY troop 1137
CA Troop 1831
IL Troop 387
New Zealand 20th Northland Lone Brownies & 19th Northland Lone
Pippins
HI Troop 559
AZ Troop 1507
CA Troop 658
OR Troop 337
TN Troop 1146
CO Troop 1017
Washington DC Troop 1710
NH Troop 2795
MO Troop 1658

Girl Scout premiums

they came today---and are they AWESOME!!!! One of Katie's Aunt Lisa's high school friends saw in Lisa's blog that her niece Katie was selling cookies & emailed us to order!
On the Girl Scout Controversies Yahoo Group site, many of the posters are concerned about Girl Scout cookies being sold on eBay....and cookies being sold before official sale date.
My little Brownie waited until Saturday to begin selling, & now has sold 6 boxes, so she has earned 2 patches so far. She'd really really really like to have that 100+ patch. We have some girls who will get that, the girls do a really impressive job of selling. Will have to come up with an awesome end of the year reward trip---Katie has suggested a movie or Adventureland....

Flat Stacies

Deb has been on-line again, found templates to make Flat Stacies, & emailed the co-ordinator so we can get started! I think it'll be a lot of fun, other troops will host our Stacies, & we will host Stacies from other troops, taking pictures of them, writing in a journal about our area, etc. Will have to find some cool local stuff to send back with the Stacies we host.

cookie sales

Nina Ragan has hung the big Cookie Sales banner in the front window of Ragan's Grocery!
Katie sold 38 boxes of cookies today!
I went on-line to www.girlscoutksmo.org to order cookie sales premiums for my hard working Brownie Girl Scout.

Write Away Try-It

Cortney, Mackenzie, Katie, Kelsie, Kayla, Dominique, Morgan, Jazmine, Morrisa, & Breanna earned the Write Away Try-It. They listened to a biography about Nellie Bly,a newspaper reporter who traveled around the world based on Jules Verne's book & had herself committed to an insane asylum for a story, she also married a millionare & patented several inventions. Then they did a take-turns story, told about their favorite books, signed postcards for the World Thinking Day exchange, read the postcards we've received so far, interviewed each other, & wrote their autobiography. Whew!
Jessica, Danielle, Nicole, Rayne, Lindsay, Cortney, Mackenzie, Katie, Kelsie, Kayla, Dominque, Morgan, Jazmine, Morrisa, & Breanna get a 2008 Postcard Exchange patch.
We also learned some cool cookie facts. The pictures on the cookie boxes? Kansas City Missouri Girl Scouts! Thin mints are made in an oven as long as a football field! Approximately 200 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies are sold each year! The first cookie sale was in 1917--the girls baked cookies at home with their mothers to sell! During WWII basic ingredients were in short supply, so Girl Scouts sold calendars. Erin Sanders (Quinn on Zoey 101) was discovered while selling Girl Scout Cookies!
Some of the girls are ordering red t-shirts.
Have all cookie permission slips signed except for Nicole, Rayne, Danielle, & Jessica.

Our taking turns story:
Cortney: Once upon a time there was a girl named Sheridan.
Breanna: Then she saw a green witch and it shot out green snot.
Katie: She ducked but then it still got her and she said "ewww."
Kelsie: and then she met a cow that had a cow army.
Dominique: and then she thought she would visit cheetahs.
Kayla: Well then she changed her name to Miley and the Jonas Brothers came and kissed Katie on the cheek.
Mackenzie: Then she came out with an axe with ketchup on it.
Morrisa: Then she found a chicken that was really wild and had ketchup on its tongue.
Morgan: and when she was in the garden she dug and found gold.
Mackenzie: Then when she found the gold guarding it was a stringy haired squid.
Katie: Kayla looked in the mirror and screamed because she was a wimp.

Cortney's mom Deb reminded us that last year at the cookie kick off meeting, it was sleeting & the roads were getting bad. This year it was snowing. And the roads got bad...

Next meeting: Saturday Feb.9th 2-4 at Deb & Katie's house, we'll make Brownie Soup & earn the Make It, Eat It try-it.

Leader's Meeting

Cookie Training.
I am excited...you can buy the cool plush dog! (as opposed to selling 4 billion boxes of cookies to earn one.)
Service Unit will swim at Stacy Center Pool 2-4 p.m. March 9th, Girl Scout Sunday. Bring a snack to share.
The service project is collecting shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. to donate to the Women's Shelter @ Trenton.
We have 73 post cards to send out for the World Thinking Day Post Card Exchange.
Have rec'd several.