Welcoming 2020

  

I had good intentions of getting the blog caught up in February but life got in the way!  So, here's a look back:

We kicked off the New Year with a get together at Gina and Tim's again this year!  Everyone had a great time as usual!  The grown-ups attempted to play pitch, and the kiddos kept themselves busy with some activities like festive DIY party hats, New Year's Eve jokes and madlibs, as well as games and movies.








With the long two-week winter break this year Troop 50303 snuck in some fun!  We had our annual shut-in at the Helena Fire Station, and this year our older girls worked with Miss Alissa to plan our Service Unit Cookie Kick-Off.  Both were great events!
  

The shut-in was packed full of activities.  I led a health/fitness badge for the group and fitting in activities to cross badge requirements for four levels felt like a marathon, but we made it!  And without complaints until the last half hour when some of us started to get hangry!  We learned about fueling our bodies using the USDA My Plate approach, team work and being a team player, played the human knot game, playing games where not everyone wins, and of course we exercised!  We completed a short girl-led circuit! We also played a fun girl-led relay race including a cheering section with the "Troop 50303's got Razz-ma-tazz!" chant we learned.  We finished with some quiet time and a journal to emphasize managing stress in our lives, no matter what our age.



   

In addition to the badge work, some of the girls prepared a taco dinner for our group, and everyone decorated their own cookies, learned about making and tried homemade ice cream, and watched the movie 'Abominable'. I'd like to say everyone slept well, but I'll leave it at we slept...

The kick-off truly did get our girls excited for cookie season!  Each girl was given a passport to complete by visiting various stations.  And they were all excited to see the prizes and set a goal!

  



Since Daddy had been away at a Master Teacher workshop, when he arrived back in town after the kick-off we had a family bowling night.  It was so much fun!  Since it was Stella's birthday we also celebrated at home with her dinner of choice: French Toast! The bowling alley even started cosmic bowling a little early for us so the girls could get one more game in but with black lights!


  

Between everything scheduled on our family calendar Stella's birthday celebration had to wait until the 10th this year, and we squeezed it in after school on a Friday night knowing we had a weekend of basketball ahead of us.  She chose Yum Yum's Chilly Delight again this year, which is always nice for the parents because they have a great venue for parties and are so accommodating.  Of course on her actual birthday we treated her to her family gift: a hover board.  She (and Claire) are wild about this gift!  They also had a great laugh when they tried to get me to step on it.  Let's just say, it's not my thing!










With daddy and Stella spending a lot of time at the gym lately, Claire and I spent some time at home.  Claire is our little sugar bug and was more than happy to indulge in some hot chocolate and sour patch marshmallows we found at the store!


A Trip to New Hampshire:

Since Randy is not a head coach this year, when we learned he was awarded grant money through the Berlin City Auto Group, it was possible for us to get away mid-week to accept the money for his classroom.  We left after school and made it to the hotel just in time to visit the pool!

The girls did miss a day of school, but they both do so well, and this was a moment I felt was worth celebrating.  Randy is a talented and dedicated professional, and our girls should see first-hand how hard work can pay off.  We were so glad we went because Berlin City made a big show of this.  We were greeted by friendly staff, treated to lunch, and all given a gift bag.  And the big checks were so awesome!


 

A Trip to Pennsylvania
Randy and I are huge Angels and Airwaves fans, so even though we just saw them in the fall, we were really looking forward to seeing them again this month in Wilkes-Barre, PA.  Since we've been out of town without the girls several times, we wanted to make this more of a family trip.  So, Grammie and Papa agreed to join us! We planned to see Disney on Ice on Saturday night, and on Sunday we'd go to the concert while Grammie and Papa would stay at the hotel with the girls.  Monday being a holiday made this work out well with our schedules.  But, unfortunately Tom DeLonge came down with a respiratory infection and had to postpone the East Coast tour until spring.  We thought about canceling our weekend away, but decided to go anyway and were so glad we did.  Disney on Ice did not disappoint, and we filled the day and evening Sunday with shopping, dining out, and relaxing at the hotel.

  

   
Some other January happenings:
The girls love experimenting in the kitchen and made a homemade cake, Claire continues to love fashion, Mom had friends over for a Lemongrass Spa party, and here's a pic with Stella holding one of mom's favorite children's books.  It's an oldie but goody!  While the girls are well into chapter books now, we still enjoy picture books!
      

Daddy helped Troop 50303 with card board sled creations:
 

Stella practices basketball and mommy and Claire snuggle:
  

The Girls participated in an awesome Winter Concert!