Chasing Bluebirds

camp fire pumpkin carving party

i rolled in late after a busy day of work and the party was in full swing, glad i have so many fun parents in my group!! happy halloween!

Camp Fire Halloween Carnival 2009

this year we hosted a haunted cupcake circle walk... i really love the fortune teller booths (maybe next year?) it was super fun fun fun! chris walked around with lizzie and some of her new camp fire members were there. this carnival is great because it is just groups hosting a table and some are really creative but all are inexpensive. it has a very retro feel which i love.





these costumes are recycled from the boys, wish i could find a picture of them (emily was a baby that year if i remember correctly) but they are buried deep in our photo box. unfortunately i have to work today (added a shift last minute) so i am thinking this is going to be a rough week. monday night is our pumpkin carving party for camp fire, now if the weather would just cool down it might actually feel like halloween around here!

whats up??

role models for a new group of camp fire kids
cabin time

chicken dancing and beer

an energized group of gals
each girl runs a meeting, emily was up this week showing her collection of rocks (true treasures that once belonged to her dad) the topic was "rocks and gems"
it's been a fun week. back to work tomorrow. see you soon!

busy week

camp fire drama meeting




something new this year, each girl is in charge of a single meeting and the first one up was katie... she chose drama and hit a home run for sure! the girls jumped right in and embraced the assignment and i LOVED it!! delegating is fun, fun, fun!
my new group's first meeting

and our first big rain storm
left a beautiful cloud above the Los Cerritos Wetlands. Hoping for more rain and a great new year of Camp Fire. Stay tuned for more of Lizzies new group.

Good Neighbor Festival (sneak peek Matt's wedding)

I never knew who my local council member was (or even WHAT a local city council member was) until i got involved with saving the wetlands and let me tell you. we have a wonderful representative in our district, she gets some flack of course, but she is spot on for what we need in this neighborhood. she is all for saving ALL of the wetlands, she is pro solar power (she organized a solar power group that tours houses with solar power units) she is pro camp fire (my girls sent her letters and she invited us to start the "duck patrol" as part of the lakes, ponds and wetlands taskforce she created) and finally, she started a "good neighbor festival" that promotes local organizations to get together and have fun. we have come every year since it started and for the last two years i have hosted a table for the wetlands and camp fire.

i got a lot of camp fire alumni with those ceremonial gowns!

always clowning around

(i like these squishy photos from the phone!!) and then sunday was matts wedding... here is a peek and more to follow on that BIG event!

someone didnt get a nap...

more photos later! happy thursday!

camp fire

camp fire will soon be in session and planning is under way big time (i have a new group starting in october for lizzie). i was happy to be interviewed about my camp fire group on nonchalant mom (someday i will have to post about how i found out nonchalant "dad" is a high school friend of mine! long and very cool story) anyways, please check out the interview and leave a nice comment if you can... hint hint. i am knee deep in planning our camp fire year out and i officially signed on for a position on a newly organized group that will be restoring the tiny bit of los cerritos wetlands available for restoration, so excited!!! lots going on, sewing, crafting, organizing and still training for a half marathon just weeks away, eek! i will try to keep you posted as i make my way through all this chaos.

camp shiwaka day 3

day 3 was great, we made fairy houses which is something i have wanted to do since day one with this group and they took to it like water. awesome! tomorrow is the sleep over and then camp is done for another year. i will have to talk more later about this amazing group of girls and how "interesting" this week has been...stay tuned.

camp shiwaka 2009

this is the first year i will be missing a few days of camp, so sad!! can't wait for wednesday! you guys are so awesome! this year we had a few twists, we picked a new indian name and our caper chart is in "indian"... the girls also have new indian names for themselves as well. the indian theme is fun fun fun! Stay tuned for more camp mayhem!

day camp training

so today was my day camp training, getting ready for camp shiwaka. we have gone to camp in august two years now, but wanted to try a busier session in june this year. the tropical weather was interesting today, with mixed hot, cold, rain, humidity...crazy!

donut making, yum! the girls get to chop wood this year and start fires, 4th grade is a big year for us. day camp will be very exciting with new challenges and responsibilities. after training we scoped out the tile wall at emily's school for inspiration for our own family tile making our own tile for the elementary school tile wall walking the hood with los cerritos wetlands rummage sale flyers... last on the list today. whew!

rock climbing

at camp shiwaka, there is a neat ropes course and "rock climbing" course that we recently had a tour of. WOW! what fun the girls had and right here in the city! just another reason i love camp fire so much!

if you are local, check it out. we will be doing a group ropes course challenge next year, which relies on TEAMWORK to get your whole team to the top, fantastic!