#GS1810ToPaloDuro

Just like my blog title says- I have been a BUSY BEE! This summer I spent the month of June working as a librarian for summer school (Monday-Thursday), teaching swim lessons (Monday-Wednesday), and then lifeguarding Friday/Saturday. 

In September of 2018 our troop made a timeline of all the places they wanted to go and things they wanted to accomplish (they were Brownies- oh they were so little!!)

Our first big adventure would be to NASA (they have a fabulous sleepover!) We made it there in October of 2019. Our next big adventure would be to Canyon, Texas. We are in the Dallas area which makes Canyon about a 6-hour drive.  I was SUPER excited to take the troop to Canyon for several reasons.  The main one is- it is my hometown!  Canyon is super small-but there are some great things to do around the area.  Although I know the area and things to do- I wanted this to be girl-led.  We did research on the different activities to do in the area, we researched cost, and the troop decided how they wanted to spend their money and what to do.

The rest of this blog will be full of links/pictures/and information on how we made it happen!

A little bit of background: 

-This troop now consists of Daisy-Cadettes.  

-We took 17 (9 girls and 8 adults) people altogether (it was supposed to be 19- gosh dog Covid- but they did show up in all of our pictures!) 

-The troop paid for the girls- backpack/materials/museum passes/backstage tour/spray paint/TEXAS tickets/TEXAS BBQ/hotel/pizza on Thursday night.  The rest of the meals and souvenirs were on their own.

-We are based out of the Dallas area

-It was about $150 per person (without the food)

Here is our block planning for our adventure. Click on this link to take you to the Google Doc

Preparing for the Trip:

-Made LOTS of phone calls!

-asked all girls and moms to give me songs for a Spotify Playlist! You can find our playlist here

-printed pictures of our girls that couldn't go (Thanks Amber!)

-printed letters that spelled out Thank you troop 1810

-Purchased bags from Eddie Bauer (I purchased these for both troops because we will both be traveling)

-Had keychains made for each girl that had their name on it one side and troop number on the other side (Thanks Preserve the Moments)

-created water bottles- We had a virtual meeting two weeks before where we made our code of conduct and also talked about the importance of starting to drink extra water now.- I found this file on Etsy for our Water Bottles

-Created matching t-shirts- Thanks to Horizon Imprinting for our awesome TEXAS shirts. I also LOVED this file that I got off Etsy

-Created a travel binder for each girl- File 1 from Etsy  File 2 from Etsy

-collecting boxes of cookies to give to the different people that helped us out

Day 1-

We met at our usual meeting location and took our first Thank you picture. Each girl was in charge of a letter and we posed, loaded up cars, and were on our way! Each day the girls also wore matching shirts (we all wore the same shirts to the play TEXAS)

We stopped at Hardeman County Rest Stop for outdoor lunch and GORP making. If you are ever traveling through Texas, these rest stops are amazing.

Our next big stop was the Big Texan. Our plan was to have dessert here, but the wait was too long so we went in, shopped the gift shop, and took some fun pictures.

We then headed to the hotel to check in and for swimming! In March I became a certified lifeguard so I could make sure our troop was taken care of when we travel (that then turned into actual lifeguarding for the city- because there is a shortage of lifeguards)

We ordered pizza for dinner and then headed to my parent's house for stargazing and homemade ice cream. I grew up about 5 miles outside of town and let me tell you the sky is absolutely beautiful! This was probably also one of my favorite things that we did as well.  Here is my sappy piece- I have written about my infertility journey before- but this trip gave me experiences that I would not have had otherwise. I was able to take my troop and show them where I grew up.  We set out blankets and lawn chairs and ATE SO MUCH HOMEMADE ICE CREAM.  We were even able to watch the moon rise.

Day 2- We did group rate on this day for the museum/backstage passes/TEXAS Musical

For Day 2 we all wore our new purple Palo Duro Canyon shirts.  After continental breakfast, we headed to the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum.  I spent many hours volunteering for this museum. (some of our girls loved it.. and some of our girls were ehh)  Each group did lunch on their own and then we headed to Palo Duro Canyon for a van tour.  HUGE Shout Out to Park Ranger Bradley and his crew for a fantastic van tour.  Did I mention it was HOT???? This tour took about an hour and a half and we learned so much about the formations of Palo Duro Canyon and the different history.  During the summer they also have a fantastic outdoor musical called TEXAS. We opted for backstage passes and the BBQ beforehand. Our troop even got a shout out at the beginning of the play.

Day 3-

We opted for a little later start and made our first stop to the Canyon Square where they were having their Saturday Farmers Market.  We had lunch at Taco Villa (Taco Villa is one of those fast food places that you have to try at least once) and then headed to Cadillac Ranch.  I used my Cricut to make a trefoil so we could add it to one of the cars.  They do sell spray paint out there now, but I brought my own along with gloves and sharpie markers.  I just chose to bring black and white spray paint to make life easy.  After swimming that afternoon we had dinner at Feldman's Wrong Way Diner (they did a great job of taking care of our big party!) We ended the evening at the Snoball Stop (which was one of my FIRST ever jobs!) and had some fantastic snocones. 

 

Day 4

Was our final day.  We started our day at Journey Canyon Coffee Journey is owned by some AMAZING people. I had reached out to Stephanie a few months ago because I saw her in a pic of another girl scout troop.  She talked to our girls about owning a business, the different kinds of coffee.. and how to make coffee!! Not only that, the girls then got to make their moms a drink! The chef even came out and talked to the girls about making some of the sandwiches.  It was a fabulous way to end our trip.  Once everyone had their drink we were back on the road home. 

Each stop that helped us we got into your Thank You formation and I nabbed a pic. I used CANVA and have created little thank you cards that I am going to send the businesses (we also gave them cookies!) These pics I also plan to start posting on social media and tagging the businesses. It was super easy to do and looks so cute!

I don't think words can ever express my love for these girls and their families (and also Troop 6458) I am so very thankful that have allowed me to lead their girls in this crazy world.  Check out this shirt they got me that says Hello Sunshine and is signed by everyone!

Also a HUGE shout out to all those leaders that are leading troops, all the parents that make sure girls get to where they need to go, all the people that purchase Girl Scout Cookies or help with fundraisers.

Next up- 6458 is taking on New York!!

1810 has plans to head to Savannah, GA, and then eventually overseas!

A little disclaimer- I did stay with my parents (to save troop money) and also took my own car (it was the catch-all for all of the items)  I was able to drive if needed.  I also was able to have a coffee date every morning while I was there with some of my best friends who I don't see very often. I also had a chance to run into so many people that I know (welcome to growing up in a small town!) I also got to spend time with my parents (which was much needed!)

Next up for me-I start school tomorrow and I am headed to High School!!

Experiences- National Infertility Week

 This week I head to the Texas Library Association Conference which I am SUPER excited about! Number 22 on my #50by50 list is to present at this conference!  I made this #50by50 list so I could document the experiences I wanted to have and goals for myself.

This week is also National Infertility Week. You can find more information here.  I think the last time I shared my story was in 2019. You can find that blog here with all the different links to previous blogs.  As always, I write these blogs to share my own journey to where I am and what it looks like. I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) When my husband and I first got married we tried to start our family. I have shed SO many tears over so much heartache.  I have often felt betrayed by my own body for why it can not do the things that I feel it should do.  We spent thousands of dollars and did lots of treatments and lots of medication.  We never got to the IVF stage, because that was not in our journey. We have now been married for almost 17 years and as I have grown older (and hopefully wiser) I realize one of the biggest things I was worried about was experiences.

These last two weeks have really helped me reflect on why I wanted kids.  I wanted kids to be able to grow into contributing members of society.  I wanted kids to be able to go to band concerts, choir concerts, athletic games, or anything that they wanted to be a part of.  I wanted to be able to listen to what they were going through and help them grow through it. I wanted to see them dressed in matching PJs at Christmas. I wanted to be able to travel with them and go on adventures. I wanted to be able to have a group of moms where all of our kids hung out together. This list could go On and On.  

But, as I was reflecting on the many reasons I wanted kids, I realized I just kept going on the experiences that I wanted. Sometimes, something is staring you right in the face.  I know that I won't have the experiences as an official "mom" or "parent" but I have been able to have experiences because of the activities that I attend at school- I go to the games- I go to the concerts- I want those kids to see me the stands and know that I am supporting them.  I am  able to have experiences because of traveling and watching kids grow through my Destination ImagiNation teams (did I mention that they are going to Globals)

But- most of my experiences have come through my Girl Scout Troops.  Girl Scouts is so important to me to help girls grow- but my two troops are a whole different level. 

This is only a small portion of my troop, but because of these amazing young women and their families- I am able to get the experiences I might not have had otherwise.  I have had the chance to watch them grow (some I have been hanging out with since they were in kindergarten and now they are 5th and 6th graders).  I have had experiences of dressing in matching clothes (I mean check out this pic) I have had SO many adventures with them (and we have even more adventures coming up like heading to Canyon, Texas.. and New York!)  Not only am I able to have experiences with these girls, I have also found a place with moms.  Instead of a #momsquad we call ourselves the groupies.  They don't look at me any different because I do not have a daughter of my own but trust me enough to help them become strong women in society (these girls are going to change the world)

There are times when I cry because I know that there won't be a child in my house that I can tuck in at night or one that officially calls me mom.  There will be some experiences that I won't be able to have.  But, there are oh so many experiences I am able to have because of the people I surround myself with.

I end with this- if you too are suffering from infertility- know that your journey will be filled with so many experiences- surround yourself with people that support you for who you are. I am SO happy for all the parents that are able to have children of their own, adopt, foster.. or have families in any way that they can.  I too have my sad times where I think of the things I will not have (I am human)

Thank you to those that are on my journey and allow me to have experiences that I might not be able to have otherwise. 

Lamar Would be a Circus Without our Teachers

I know I know.. Teacher Appreciation was the first of May, but guys- May was a doozy of a month! I LOVE helping plan for Teacher Appreciation.
Some previous Teacher Appreciation Blogs
*80s Theme
*Hollywood
*Around the World
*Camp
*Wizard of Oz (which was completely virtual)

This year with the help of April Richmond, Mary Anne Send and admin we used the Circus Theme (I finally watched the Greatest Showman and LOVED it!)

To prepare- I created my own little display in the library- My Mother In Law traveled with the Clyde Beatty Cole Brothers Circus (she is holding the snake in one of the pics.. and yes.. my husband also traveled with them when he was younger as well)

One of my FAVORITE things that admin did this year was personal shout outs.  They recorded a Flipgrid for each staff member with a short shout out of why/how they made a difference and then put that into a mixed tape. Each day during our DEN time they showed a video that had 10-20 staff mentioned on it for the whole school to see.

We used Canva to create daily reminders of what was going on.

Monday we created a concession stand and invited staff to come to grab sweet and salty treats.

Tuesday we had individual bags of popcorn with all the fixings (m&m's, seasoning) and sodas with add-ins such as cherry/vanilla and more. It was also May the 4th- so Star Wars Day

Wednesday The Ringmaster of Lamar (our admin) grilled and served hotdogs, brauts, and links.

Thursday we had Kona Ice visit- I LOVE a snowcone!

Friday we passed out Lamar umbrellas (which are huge!) to ALL of the staff.  We played circus music and hand-delivered over 100 umbrellas.

I can't wait to start working on next year!

Update on #50by50

 About 3 years before I turned 40, I made a #40by40 list.. and got several marked off.. but I knew I wanted to start one for before I turn 50! You can find my full #50by50 list here.  Today has been sort of a bummer- because I didn't get a position that I applied for..but as I look at my list.. there are still some things I want to accomplish that require me to be in a school setting. But, when I get down.. I think about the things I have accomplished- and what I want to accomplish and it makes me feel better.

1. Book and pay for a vacation to Ireland
2. Take Mom to New York
3. Go on a cruise
4. Drive Route 66
5. Camp in a national park
6. Float the river
7. Go on a Segway or bike tour
8. See the Grand Canyon
9. Go Fishing with dad
10. Take Girl Scout Troop overseas
11. Go wine tasting in California
12. Attend a balloon festival
13. Go to New Orleans for the food
14. Indoor skydive
15. See a drive in movie-This is on my Summer List
16. Recreate our first date
17. Have a Christmas in July
18. Take a photography class- Thanks to Elaine I took an AWESOME class from Fort Worth Camera- I still have lots to learn, but my photos are already getting better.

19. Go to a horse race
20. Watch a meteor shower
21. Be an extra in a movie
22. Present at Texas Library Association Conference- I did present on a panel virtually in 2021- but I am currently working on proposals right now!
23. Be recognized by the board-So.. my real goal on this is to be recognized by the board at one of the monthly meetings..but I was pretty pleased to be recognized as  District Game Changer in August 2020

24. Grow vegetables
25. Cook a 3 course meal
26. Renew vows
27. Have family pictures taken-we sort of did this June 2021. I would like to have more of my sister and her husband and myself and my husband- but it was nice to get some with my parents.

28. Recreate a childhood picture
29. Become a TALL Texan- I applied in 2021 (this year) but didn't make it in- will be trying again next year
30. Go ax throwing
31. Visit the missions in San Antonio
32. View the Marfa lights
33. Visit Shiner Texas
34. Publish a book
35. Write an article for a well known magazine
36. Meet Pam Munoz Ryan (and have an autograph and picture!)-before the world shut down we had the North Texas Teen Book Festival in Person in March 2020.. and thanks to Rose Brock it happened! (excuse the giddy face)

37. Have 3 months of bills saved
38. Sew a full outfit
39. Zipline
40. Rock Climb
41. Attend a high school reunion
42. Learn how to hand letter
43. Meet someone famous
44. Get a DNA Test
45. Get a gold ticket for Destination ImagiNation
46. Attend a televised parade
47. Take the Amtrak train
48 Own my own car.
49. See a Broadway musical
50. Get new luggage

Not a bad start for the start of my #50by50 list when the first year was pretty much a pandemic.  I also have a summer bucket list!

Do you have a summer bucket list? Do you have a list of adventures you want to accomplish?