Girl Scout Not-Camping

We tried, but I have to confess. I am a WIMP when it comes to the cold. I have completely acclimated to the Houston weather consisting of nine months of “the sun is trying to kill us,” two months of “it’s not too bad outside” and one month of “I can’t feel my toes.” It’s that last month where I curl up in wool socks and blankets and hibernate. Someone wake me when it’s over.

Unfortunately, I have a troop of active and eager Cadette Girl Scouts who wanted to go camping and horseback riding and shoot arrows at non-moving targets. Okay, actually, that’s a very fortunate thing.

When I signed us up for camp at Misty Meadows, we were in the warm, well hot, maybe closer to sweltering, summer months. I saw into the future and predicted January would be the dreaded hibernation month. And my girls were making me go OUTSIDE! That’s all good. Misty Meadows has heated dorms. Excellent! I can take the cold, if the sleeping hours are closer to habitable.

The reservations came in the mail and we were lucky enough to get camp…but not a heated dorm. Friday morning, as the weather woman talked about the below freezing weather for the weekend, I chickened out. We switched our weekend camping to a day at camp. We planned to do EVERYTHING on Saturday.

We met early in the morning at Kroger and shopped for all three meals.  The girls chose the menus and did the shopping. The weather woman’s accurate prediction did not stop us from cooking our food over a fire. The welcome heat kept us from turning into ice cubes. I’m learning that camping with cadettes offers a bit of freedom. These girls started their OWN fires and cooked their OWN food and washed their OWN dishes. Relaxing for me!

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The girls earned the Archery badge in the morning. We had quite a bunch of sharp shooters. Four girls hit a bull’s eye.

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Horseback riding is always a blast. We are lucky our council has a healthy selection of friendly horses for our girls.

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We managed to squeeze in the Public Speaking badge during breaks and at meal time. The girls had a blast reciting monologues and sharing their bios.

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And, of course, the all important GaGa Ball play. Last time we camped, we ran out of time to hit each other with balls. The girls almost walked out on scouting altogether! I vowed we would find the time as long as the girls stayed focused and driven. And so they did! The girls worked their schedule and motivated each other to stay on task. I could not be more proud of how far they have come.

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So, technically, not camping. Yet, the girls earned badges, cooked over an open flame, tagged each other with a ball, rode horses, watched a herd of deer jump over a fence, learned about the Orion constellation, strengthened their friendship and learned to be flexible when plans change. I LOVE watching these girls grow and prosper!

What fun activities have you done with your girls at camp?

 

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