We all came home in one piece!

Another successful Girl Scout camping trip under my belt and I can breath a sigh of relief that I returned all 9 of the girls in my care home in one piece.

Taking the girls camping 2 hours from home is fun, lots of fun, but sometimes it worries me having all of these kids in my care.  I have to walk that delicate balance of making sure they stay safe and letting them just be kids.  To me kids seem to always be pushing that line of safety.

They can't just enjoy and nice swing on the swing set.  They have to send themselves flying as high as possible and then propel themselves right out of their seat.  

But that isn't good enough either.  You must add another level of danger by inviting a friend to see just how close she can get to you while you swing as high as possible.

Or how about getting on top of the monkey bars for a better view.  Not so bad, until you finding them all standing on top of  bars for an even better view!

Then while they are crammed into one tent playing Truth or Dare you wonder if you should stop them when you over hear them daring each other to lick the feet of another.

Apparently licking the sweaty dirt covered foot of your friend won't make you sick because one of these sweet little girls did such a thing Saturday evening.

Koda Kamp!

Rain or shine, this year's Koda Kamp went off without a hitch.  Well, maybe a few hitches, but nothing that could interfere with some Girl Scout fun. 

The theme of this year's Koda Kamp was a 70's flash back.  The girls made classic 70's crafts; pet rocks, gods eyes and sand candles!  I'm sure if they could have thrown in some crocheted wall hangings they would have!

My girls also worked on earning their Outdoor cooking badge.  Being a good Girl scout leader our menu consisted of well balanced meals!  Considering how picky some of the girls are, they all seemed to enjoy what they made.  

Granted, food always seems to taste better camping, but there is something to be said for planning and cooking your own food.  It definitely adds to it's yum factor.  Giving those picky eaters some control seems to make them more willing to try new things.    

Here are a few things that the girls learned this weekend:

1. It is ok to flick a bug out of your lemonade and continue drinking it!
2. It is ok to wipe your hands on you pants!
3. It is ok to leave your shoes out in the rain if you are leaving the next morning.
4. It is ok to go to bed dirty!
5. Half cooked biscuits are really good if you are 10 years old and cooked it all by yourself over a campfire.
6. Starting a fire is fun (contained in a fire ring of course, I'm not a pyro-leader).
7. Your leader isn't your mother or maid and you really can do things for yourself!

Things that I learned on this camping trip:

1. I need to remind parents that if your child brings a bag to camp that you can fit a body into then it is TOO BIG!
2. Even control freaks forget things!
3. You don't "need" hot water to clean dishes.
4. The lights out sssssh's always end quicker the second night. 
5. The time you spend preparing and cleaning up from a weekend camping trip is actually longer than the trip itself.
6. There will always be three forgotten socks that will never get claimed!
7. Don't sweat the little things!