#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!!

The Early Bird Gets Mall Madness

Every year I am TERRIBLE at Early Bird Registration for our Girl Scout troop.  I can never get my life together.. but this year.. Troop 1810 not only did Early Bird Registration, but also took advantage of Mall Madness!

Mall Madness is a yearly event set up by the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas as a perk of participating in Early Bird registration.  Mall Madness is exactly what it sounds like! It is a night where those that register are able to have a giant mall lock in! It is full of open shops, activities, vendors, a movie.. and NO sleeping.

It was our first mall madness to attend, so I had no expectations.. other than I knew I was going to be TIRED the next day (today is the next day.. and I have slept on and off throughout the day)

Check in was at 9pm.. so we met about 8:45pm... the line was long (there had to be over 700 people that were attending this event) but we enjoyed chatting and catching up.  We totally brought way too much stuff! Our girls brought blankets, sleeping bags and I brought games and my chair. We got checked in, got our wristbands for movie time and started the Instagram Scavenger hunt.  During the hunt we also visited several of the stores. Not going to lie.. I REALLY wanted a coffee, but I think every leader/adult had that same plan because the line at Barnes and Noble was SO long... I looked at it and decided it was not for me.

Troop 1810- some of us dressed up in the 80's or 90's garb for the costume contest.  Allie was one of the winners!

I loved that the mall was a contained area so our girls had a chance to be on their own.. but with us close enough to follow along at a distant pace (and as the time got earlier in the morning.. we were moving slow anyway!)

The girls LOVED that Claire's was opened! There were also several stores that stayed open late and various discounts that were available.  Because we completed the scavenger hunt our troop one these super fun glow sticks to use during the dance party happening in the food court.  We did miss the big photo op as we couldn't move!

The moms had more fun at the dance party than the girls

Okay, it is a blurry picture but it was 1 in the morning.. in a dark theater.. and were all tired!

During the night you could also sign up for a movie slot.  We got to see Wreck it Ralph Breaks the Internet at 1:10am in the morning.  Great movie with a great message.

Top 4 of the Night (there are easily more!)
1. Seeing our girls be more independent! This was a great space, enclosed, and set up for success for the girls to be more independent
2. Hanging out with these awesome moms that are a part of Troop 1810!
3. Scavenger Hunt! Anytime I have a chance to take pictures (selfies!) make me super happy!  I even came out of my #digitaldetox on Instagram (you can check out @akbusybee on Instagram for all my stories!)
Okay.. I have one more..
4. The WHOLE GSNETX staff that was there making sure the event ran as smoothly as it could!! I mean.. it is an all night thing.. and people get cranky :)

Not so Top 2
1. It was hot! I know there really isn't much to control about that, but it was pretty warm in lots of places.
2. Some of the adults and girls forgetting that they are representing Girl Scouts.  There were some places that people forgot to be a Sister to Every Girl Scout.. and to Leave a Place Better than they found it.  But, this happens anywhere.. especially when there is little to no sleep involved. I think some adults also forget that girls are watching.. and sometimes it is important to teach girls to be patient. This goes for what people post online too. This was NOT the majority.. but it was still noticeable.

Overall.. the event was super enjoyable, and I know why it is called Mall Madness! I can't wait to register early next year (I mean.. first of all.. I have an awesome troop that wants to hang out and do activities!) but we will be attending Mall Madness again!

I love the opportunity to dress up in costume!

We survived Mall Madness let's take a picture at 4:15am in the morning picture!

Next up for our troop- Lock-In in July and NASA in October!! Some of the troop is also talking about joining the Travel Club!

International Day of the Girl

This is a blog that has been percolating in my brain for a bit, and I realized that International Day of the Girl was the perfect time to write it.

If you are just finding my blog... Hi, I am Andrea and I am also known as a busy bee (that is how you can find me on social media is @akbusybee)  I have been in education for 17 years.  I have a bachelors in interdisciplinary studies from West Texas A&M University.  The first 12 years of my educational career I was a special education teacher in various LIFE (learning in a functional environment classrooms). I received my first masters for Lamar University in Instructional Technology.  I was an ITS for 3 years.  I then received my masters from TWU and became a librarian.  Over the summer not only did I move houses.. but I moved jobs too! I had spent 16 years in elementary and this year I moved to middle school!  I am also a Lifetime member of Girl Scouts and was a recipient of the Girl Scout Gold Award.

But, this is about International Day of the Girl.

Photo I posted to various social media sites.

I have been a Girl Scout since I was 5 years old (guys, that is almost 33 years!)  I grew up with Troop 209 and had the most amazing leaders and support through Girl Scouts! Growing up in Troop 209, I had an AMAZING leader (Nancy-aka-Nuglet) and also my parents were leaders. I remember my dad helping with badges when it came to checking the oil in a car and my mom bringing in guest speakers to talk to our troop. When I was going into 6th grade, I found my love for volunteering through helping at our local Girl Scout day camp. I also would not be the person I am today without the support and leadership that Girl Scouts showed me.

One of our last campouts and me as a Brownie

Girl Scouts Taught Me:
-The value of learning something new.  There were many times that our troop leader had us try something different or new.  Did I always like what we tried, of course not, but I appreciated the opportunities to experience different things.
-The value of not giving up.  Nuglet was the troop leader that showed you how to complete a task, gave pointers, but understood that it was important for the girl to accomplish the task themselves.  It is okay to fail and it is even better to try again!
-The value of being a sister to every Girl Scout.  We live in a society today that we don't always agree with everyone.  My troop and Girl Scouts taught me to listen to others, give my opinion, but also know when it is okay to disagree.
-The value of recognizing and celebrating people
-Being at the middle school now gives me a chance to attend football and volleyball games (I know that I will be adding to my list when more seasons start) and cheer students on.
-I love attending choir and band concerts and celebrating the work that students have done
-I love finding the good in people, when so often we are able to easily find the bad.
-I love celebrating people when accomplishments have been made.
-Realizing that every person has a story and every person deserves the chance to make a difference.

I recently was able to see the CEO Sylvia Acevedo speak about her new book Path To the Stars. I took so many things away from that evening, but the main thing was this:

Sylvia talked of the teacher who asked her why does she keep practicing basketball when she knows she won't be able to play.  She replied that it gives me joy.

Most importantly Girl Scouts Taught Me:
-The value of being involved
We all have busy days and I do not fault people who are not involved (now, if you sign up to be involved with something and you don't follow through.. I might give you the side eye)
Being involved makes my heart beyond happy.
-I LOVE being a Destination ImagiNation Team Manager.  Those kids drive me crazy, but I love seeing them work challenges out and work together. I also love that I am able to be able to coach students in hopefully being better team players which will in turn make them better contributing members to society.
-I LOVE being a sponsor for various clubs (ukulele and K-Pop right now) because it gives an extra space for students to feel as if they belong.
Most of all, I LOVE being a troop leader.
My husband and I have tried for over 10 years to start a family.  When I finally realized that my path was going to be different than what I planned, I started the 3rd generation of Troop 1810.
Although I do not have any children of my own, being involved allows me to help shape (hopefully for the good) the next generation of thinkers, creators, and leaders.

I am so very thankful for how Girl Scouts has provided me opportunities to continually grow as a better human being and hopefully change the world just a little bit.  I can't wait to see how my girls in Troop 1810 are going to change the world!