December 1997 (yes, some of us are still together ...all the way into 1999, but we don't have time to update this section yet!)

We did some cards for Operation Dear Abby and addressed postcards for a troop postcard swap for Thinking Day.

We started talking about planning trips. We are thinking about going to Savannah to the Juliette Low Birthplace with a preliminary trip to someplace like Kansas City or Chicago. To learn more about planning itineraries and budgets, we planned a three-hour trip to the biggest mall in town...got in some holiday shopping while we were at it!

November 1997

We made centerpieces by coring an apple and putting a taper candle in the whole. We decorated the apple with star-shaped wire garland and evergreen sprigs. We talked about planning trips and responsibility.

We talked about what qualities a perfect 12-year old girl has and made a wall hanging...kind of like a silhouette with the descriptions. Ms. Karen used the Life Skills taught in the Cadette handbook to help us come up with ideas.

We finished off the meeting by making bath salts out of Epson Salt, soap fragerance and soap dye.

October 1997

We went camping at Camp Fiddlecreek in Grey Summit. (This is by Six Flags Over Mid-America). The weather was prefect!...mostly! The sky was always really clear and the moon was bright. It was perfect Fall weather in the day but the first night nearly froze us! It was like 30 degrees and the ranger said the wind chill was way below freezing. It was so cold it was hard to sleep.

Alexis had a hard time because she had just come back from a week away at 6th grade camp. (Every year the 6th grade teams go away to the YMCA Camp Lakewood/Trout Lodge for a week long environmental/team building kind of camp). She was ready to go home by Sunday morning when her sleeping bag zipper got stuck all the way up and all of her tent buddies had already left for breakfast! (DONT FORGET YOUR BUDDIES!)

The camp site was one that was recently redone. It was totally cool! The fire circle and E.T.s (latrines...except we call them Environmental Toilets) were in a field in the valley. The platform tents were hidden up in the woods/hillside. There were tons of stairs. It was neat because it was like a really great patio deck that went everywhere. The wood it was made from was actuallly recycled milk jugs. Double cool! It made a lot of squeakie noises at night though and for the girls that took the top tent...it was about 50 stairs down to the E.T.s!

September 1997

We started middle school this year.
A bunch of the girls don't think they will have time to join this year...we already miss them a bunch! But we merged with a troop from another grade school. We all get along great. Some of us already know each other either from soccer, swimming, church or our new classes.

We're getting right into the new year by planning our camping trip!

Our first Wider Op (meeting outside the normal meeting space) will be to Ceramic Canvas to make our own ceramic pieces. Cool!

Summer of 1997

Everyone has there own thing to do but some of us occassionally found time to get together and go to a few movies...George, George, George of the Jungle...cute as he can be : )

A bunch of us also went to Rocky Creek which is a Girl Scout day camp near our school. Next year we will be old enough to be Cadette Aids in Training and spend half the day assisting unit leaders with the younger girls.

The overnight was cancelled because not enough girls to find a ride to camp. Bummer!

May 1997

Shades of Green is a council-wide event held every five years. The Girl Scout Council of Greater St. Louis is currently the largest councils in the country (44,500 GIRLS alone). This event attracted about 10,000 girls. The event was held in Forest Park which was where the famous 1904 Worlds' Fair was held. (Check out the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and read about the 1904 fair and the 3 eyed man Laura reported on! Totally weirdo!)

The weather was horrible for this event! There was no sun and it was freezing cold and very windy. We did our BEST! Some of us even wore our ponchos over our coats to help stay warmer. At one point the wind blew really hard and sent our ponchos straight up over our heads...we looked like a bunch of eight-foot tulips blowing in the wind! We waited an hour to do the karaoke singing booth and then gave up. What a bummer. Then it rained a little but not much. We finished off at a petting zoo...and of course as we started back to the cars the SUN FINALLY CAME OUT...but it was time to go! Doesn't it figure!
We only remember have a fun time together tho!

April 1997

Hosted the traveling mascot, "Patches."
Created centerpieces for the service unit volunteer appreciation dinner -- these were then sold to raise money for the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund.
Many of the girls particiated the the school district "Special Singers" so we didn't plan much.

March 1997

Holly Husky, a traveling mascot, visited us from Alaska. While Holly was here, she joined us for Rally Day. Rally Day was a District event held at a local mall. A bunch of troops (all ages) set up displays and things to do from 11-6 or performed in the center court of the mall. We did a display on our web page and scouting on "the net." We also performed a skit and sang a song in the center court. We got rather shy and don't think many people could hear us. Our parents clapped a lot though. We sent Holly on to a troop in England after her stay with us

For Girl Scout Sunday we held a neighborhood event at an Eyptian church. Over 300 girls attended. We learned that the Eyptian religion is a lot like catholisism. A lot of time was spent teaching us about symbolism within the church building itself. We also watched a slide show on Egyptian art. Our troop sang a song. Everyone was supposed to sing with us but we forgot to tell them too so it was just us! We sang the same song at GS Sunday a few years ago. We're going to have to get a new one!

February 1997

We worked on the quilt some more and finished up the Cyberscouting patch.
Aria joined the troop! Aria just moved here from Washington DC. She will be joining her troop from Washington in Savannah this summer to visit the Juliette Low Birthplace. Cool!

January 1997

We worked some more on our quilt.
. Our second meeting in January was canceled so our parents and leaders can attend 6th grade orientation at the middle school, but it snowed and school was cancelled anyway (no meetings on the days school is closed).
We also had a Mother-Daughter Post-Holiday Hop for all the Girl Scouts in our school. We wore either our favorite pajamas or party dress. The gym was converted into a disco complete with mirror ball hanging for the gymnastics rings. The younger girls really enjoyed the smoke and bubble machines. It took the moms a long time to get in the mood but everyone had a great time. We all got the GSs at the Hop patch that looks like a pink poodle skirt.

December 1996

We had a meeting in Jessica's basement to work on our quilt.
Pari and Heather both moved away during winter break.
We took polariod pictures of each girl for "Crazy Frame Day." Who ever comes up with the best frame that shows the personality of the girl in the picture will get a disposable camera. We aren't supposed to know who has who but we do (thanks to Jessica who also promptly put a mustache on Liz!).

On the first Monday of winter break, we went to Karen's office and used the computer training room to work on our personal web pages. We had problems with the internet connection but all finished a basic page. We ate lunch in the cafe, rode the campus shuttle bus, and listened to a few guest speakers. Nancy talked to us about the YWCA's Women Leaders Program and how we can be successful in both work and volunteering. Annabelle talked to us about a career in Information Technology. Janet talked to us about using our computer skills for summer temporary jobs to earn money for college. And Valerie and Jim (Jessica's mom and Liz' dad) talked about their jobs and computers. At the end of the day, some of us got to send e-mails out from Karen's desk.

November 1996