CHRISTMAS PARADE 2011

It was finally time for the yearly Huntington Beach Christmas Parade!

This was the 2nd year our troop has decided to be in the parade. 

Last year, our troop was much smaller.  This year was going to be more fun since there were more of us together.

All of the girls wore solid red t-shirts, green scarfs and Santa hats.  They looked so cute!

They made us get there early, so we had a lot of time to stand around and goof off.  The girls even did a dance number together.

The girls were very excited and some even said they were nervous about getting to be in the parade.

When I asked what they would be nervous about, they said, everyone will be looking at us.  I told them, no, we will be looking at them.  That made them laugh and they were no longer worried about a thing.

It seemed at times that it was taking forever for us to get started.  Yet, once the time was there, it seemed to go so fast.

Our troop was handing out mini candy canes and Christmas suckers.  There were four stockings filled with the candy and the girls took turns handing out the candy and then switching to holding the banner.  That way, they all got to do both jobs.

Of course, being the picture taker that I am, I had the girls take a few minutes to pose for some pictures.

We had to line up in the order they wanted us to walk in the parade.  This took awhile to get all the different troops in the proper order.

The excitement built up as we saw the bands and cars lining up.  There were skaters, dogs dressed up as Santa Paws, cheerleaders and so many others waiting in lines like we were.

Then it was finally time and the line was moving pretty fast.  Soon we were up and ready to go.  We were in the parade, handing out candy, waving hello to everyone and searching the crowds for family faces.

While we didn't see everyone, we did see Trinity's dad, Elizabeth's mom and dad and Skylar's dad.

We also saw many friends and neighbors smiling faces.

Before, we knew it, the parade was over.  We met up with the parents and was able to snap a few quick photos.

It took longer for us to stand around and get ready then we spent actually walking in the parade.

It didn't matter though because the girls felt like they were celebrities.   With everyone waving and yelling out to them, it was almost like walking the red carpet.

It was really nice to see how many people came out to support the girls. 

It was cold and really put everyone in the Christmas spirit. 

We all said good night to each other and everyone went about on their own.  I don't think any one hung around.  Mostly everyone just went home.  We were tired and hungry. 

It was fun and something we were happy to get to do.

Once again, GIRL SCOUTS RULE!!!

A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS

We all had a lovely time at the Victorian Christmas celebration this past weekend. 

The girls got to do a lot of fun things.  They made ornaments out of pine cones. 

They got to visit with Santa and those that wanted, told him what they wanted for Christmas.

They got to make their own silly hats.

This man showed them how to make hats out of paper bags.  Very clever and they all had fun wearing them too.

I had to put a time limit on how long they could stay to decorate because these girls are very crafty and would have hung out here for hours, if they were allowed.

Each hat looked so different but they were all super cute!

We got to go inside a real church that was built in 1891.  It was a darling church and furnished with pews, alters and windows that were restored from the original location.

Then it was on to the school house that was built in 1890.  The girls really loved seeing the way the schools were over 100 years ago.  They were also interested to learn that 1 through 8were taught in the same room/school house. 

I really thought the girls would be happy to see how much more they have at school now days.  But, they all said they wished they their school was like it was in the Victorian days.

I think the "teacher" that was telling everyone what it was like back then, made it sound very fun and really helped them want to relive those days.

The girls all got to do a little shopping.  They had a booth set up where kids could buy anything there for only a quarter. 

It was funny to hear some of the adults (not in our group)  trying to talk their kids into buying for them, but the kids had their eyes on other things.

There was even a native Indian hut that they got to explore.

The girls all took turns making candles.  First they learned to dip candles.  This way took awhile to do.

Yet, it didn't seem to matter because they had fun making their own candle. 

They learned how to dip the wick in the wax, then quickly remove it and dunk it in water.  This had to be done over and over again until they got their candle to the size they wanted. 

They also learned that if they kept the candle to long in the hot wax it would only cause the other layers to melt off and in turn made their candle smaller.  So they had to work quickly in order to make a candle come out right.

The other way they made candles was much easier and faster.  They took sheets of bees wax and wrapped it around the wick.  Then they were done!

I think they had more fun dipping though.

While we were over making candles, a group of men and women dressed in Victorian clothing, came by and sang carols for us.

The girls enjoyed listening to them and some even sang along when they sang songs we will be singing when our troop goes out caroling.

By now, the girls learned that in the Victorian times, most things were made by hand.  Christmas decorations were made, clothes were sewn and a lot of the time, making things turned into a community event.

When we reached the station for the girls to make cards, I thought it was so nice that they remembered their fellow girl scout sister (who was at home getting ready for her birthday party) and made her a card.

This troop really has very thoughtful girls and time after time have shown to be very caring and loving girls.

There was one station that showed how to make simple toys.  One that showed how to make crackers for the holiday table.  They were very popular in the Victorian days.

Churning ice cream is hard work!  No one really wanted to sit there for almost an hour to make ice cream.

 But, they all enjoyed getting to taste what it was like when it was finished!  YUM!

Making butter back then, sure took a lot of time too.  The girls were surprised to find out they could make their own butter with heavy cream at home.

They learned that they could use an electric mixer and make it much faster then the Victorian women could make it. 

They loved how creamy and fresh tasting it was.  Learning that the liquid that remains after the butter is made is actually buttermilk was interesting to them too.

We all enjoyed the tour of the old Bennett House.  Seeing how small the rooms were and how different our kitchens are was fun. 

So many people lived in the one small house.  Even though it was tiny, we all thought it would be fun to live there.  It was very cute.

By now, everyone was getting tired.  The girls said they wanted to sit and watch the puppet show.  So, that's what we did.

It was a darling show.  The story of Thumbalina was acted out by both live humans and puppets.

As we were getting ready to leave, we over heard someone talking about the cookie decorating taking place on the other side of the park.

Even though everyone said they were ready to go home, their minds were quickly changed when they heard they could decorate and eat cookies.

We made our way back to the other side of the park and the girls got to work on making their own masterpieces.

OK, to be honest, they just slapped some icing on the cookies and gobbled them right down.

Since the park was getting ready to close and they had so many left over cookies, they told the girls they could have as many as they wanted.  Oh no!  A sugar high was about to happen!

They somehow refrained from going overboard and only made two. 

It was then time to go home.  Everyone agreed, it was a wonderful day and we would love to come back again next year.

NIGHT HIKE

Going on a Night Hike is different then going on a  hike in the day. 
We met up with the Girl Scout organizer and the Ranger who was going to guide us through out hike.
It was cold, so we bundled up.

We met up at Irvine Park and found the other girls we were going to hike with as well as the park Ranger.

He told us that we were not going to use our flash lights.  That the moon was going to guide us instead. 

We had to get our "night eyes" first and then we headed out. 

It was an easy hike but seeing shadows and hearing sounds can make ones mind wonder what is out there.  

We thought maybe we would come across some kind of an animal that came out at night but, we didn't see any.

The hike took a little over an hour, which was long enough as it was chilly.  We did get to see more stars then we can see out in the city with all the lights.  We also saw Jupiter.

We got to go by where the cabins and tents are if you are camping.  We all agreed it looked like fun.

Of course all the hiking and being out doors worked up an appetite.  So, the girls were excited when the Park Ranger brought us in to enjoy some cookies!

We all talked about what else we were going to do this weekend.  Everyone seemed to be looking forward to the Victorian Christmas event.

Since two troops didn't make it to the night hike, there were lots and lots of extra cookies.  So many in fact, that I had to limit the amount the girls could eat. 

I didn't think the parents would be thrilled to have the girls going home on a sugar high.

As always with this troop, there were lots of giggles and laughs going on all night.

On our way back to the cars, the girls stopped for a photo outside.  It was hard to get good night time photos though as it was pretty dark there and the flash on my camera is pretty weak.

The fun part of this was how much the girls laughed as the flash did go off and blind them for a second or two.  They thought it was a crack up for some reason.

Since nothing showed up in the view finder of my camera as I looked to take the photos, we never knew what kind of photos we would get.  

We took a group of photo and you can see, our troop was pretty much it for the hikers.  The leader who got the night planned out only had her daughter show up and then there was another leader who had two kids. 

So, even though it was a service unit event, it really was more like a hike we went on as a troop.  The girls were happy with that.  They said they would rather do things with just our troop then to get together with a lot of other troops. 

I guess that is a good thing because it means they really enjoy our troop and the friends they have made.