Girl Scout Spring Fling 2014

On April 26th, Addy & her Girl Scout troop went to Spring Fling, which is the community wide camping trip at Camp Windemere in Alvin.

We met up with our troop & left Sienna around 7:45 (which is super early for me, even earlier than Addy has to be at school!) and got to Camp Windemere around 8:30ish.


We had 12 of the 20 girls in our troop go to Spring Fling!

As soon as we got there, the girls started trading SWAPS with girls from other troops.

Around 9:00 am, we attended the opening flag ceremony.

And when that was over, we unloaded all our supplies & set up our troop's campsite.

When we were done setting up, we had about 2 hours before our first session. I had remembered that last year we had a lot of unscheduled time without much to do. So this year I brought bug boxes for all the girls. They were the highlight of the day! All the girls loved them! Addy caught a moth & a couple of ants, another girl caught a beetle & one girl even caught a lizard!

After looking for bugs for about an hour, we hiked back to our campsite to make & eat lunch.

Last year, the girls all brought sack lunches from home but this year we decided to have the girls cook their food at camp. We split the girls into 2 groups or patrols. Addy's patrol were the hostesses for lunch which means they set out the blankets & sit upons & served the food after the other patrol was finished cooking. We had ham & cheese sandwiches, bananas & goldfish. And for dessert, zebra cakes!!!

After lunch, the girls went into Lindsey Lodge where they got their faces painted & had their first camp session of the day. 

Addy got her face painted like an elephant. (This was not a surprise to me because she's been googling elephant face paintings for weeks now!) Look how happy she is seeing her elephant face in the mirror!

When she was done with the face painting, she did her first camp session, which was making trail mix

and making SWAPS.

Our second session was Camp Basics where the girls learned how to pitch & take down a tent.

Addy got to help put up the tent

and then roll on it to flatten it out before putting it back in its bag.

Our third session was Songs & Games. 

Look at Addy participating in the motions of the song. I was so proud of her!

After singing several camp songs, they played games with a parachute. 

Some with a ball

and one like Duck Duck Goose, which is one of Addy's favorite games!

After Songs & Games, we took a little break before our last session to let the girls get sno cones.

And then we went to our last session which was Bounce Houses!

After that, it was time for snack. Addy's patrol cooked the meal this time, which was smores made with marshmallow fluff instead of roasted marshmallows. They were so yummy that Addy even ate a whole one!

After snack, we had about an hour of free time before the day campers could check out for the day. So we let the girls just run around & play. Addy spent some of that time back in the bounce houses

and some of that time checking on bugs!

At 5pm, we checked out for the day. It was a really fun day, but by that time, I think we were ALL tired & ready to go! 

Addy had such a great time even though we didn't get to sleep in a tent or cook over a campfire, which she really wants to do, because that's what camping is all about, right!

St. Catherine's Trike A Thon

Last Thursday, Alex's class had a Trike-a-Thon to raise money for St. Jude's.
Here are a few pictures from that event.

They were all getting tired & stopping to take a break in the shade, lol.

This just might have been the cutest thing ever seeing all these little boys & girls pedaling around!

The Crocodile Encounter

On April 22nd, Addy's class took a field trip to The Crocodile Encounter in Angelton. The place had lots of different animals that the kids got to see & some they even got to feed & touch. (And it didn't smell bad, which was a plus after going to the Brazos Bend Wildlife Park for the previous 2 years.)

Addy loves all animals & so she was very excited for this field trip!

As soon as they arrived, the kids got off the bus & broke up into 4 large groups to tour the encounter.

First up for Addy's group were the crocodiles!

She learned a little about these girls & then watched them get fed raw chicken quarters.

After that, she got to see & pet this animal, which is a Patagonian Cavy. It is one of the largest rodents in the world, it's a herbivoire & can jump really high. It looked kind of like a rabbit & was pretty cute.

Then she saw some pigs & deer

& this animal, which if I remember correctly, is a Kudu antelope.

Next up for Addy's group was a see & touch show 

where she got to touch a bearded dragon

a snake 

(ugh, I HATE snakes! I even hate looking at pictures of them in books. They creep me out big time. I did not touch this one but Addy did! And then she asked me if she could have a pet snake. Umm NO!!!)

And a baby crocodile.

The next thing her group did was learn about tortoises.  

And then she got to touch 

& feed them.

Towards the end of the field trip, all the 1st graders came back together to watch the Chomp Show. Addy's teacher Mrs. Lowe got a kiss from a giant lizard!

And these 2 teachers had a giant snake (I think its an albino boa constrictor maybe) placed around their necks. OMG I would have died! The head of the snake was all moving & slithering around & its tongue was sticking out. Creepy!

After the Chomp Show, the kids all ate lunch & then headed back to school.

It ended up being a really cool field trip & Addy & I both had a fantastic time!  

We Light It Up Blue for Addy!

April 2nd was World Autism Awareness Day.
We all wore blue to celebrate the day!
The kids wore their team shirts from last year's autism walk.

 & I wore my Autism Speaks shirt

& got my nails painted with the Light It Up Blue logo!

And look, the kids made the school newsletter! How awesome is that!

Not only is April 2nd World Autism Awareness Day, but the whole month of April is Autism Awareness Month.

So for the month of April, we have had our door hanger up & 

our signs in our yard

& have been lighting our porch up blue!

 And Nick & I ran (and dominated, but that's a different story...) a 5K that supports the Shorkey Center in Beaumont, which is a therapy & education center for children with special needs.

I'll end this post with some signs of autism...

1. May avoid eye contact

2. May echo words or phrases (echolalia)

3. May prefer to be alone

4. May spin objects or self

5. May have an insistence on sameness

6. May exhibit inappropriate laughing or giggling

7. May have difficulty in expressing needs

8. May have a delay in speech

9. May have no real fear of danger

9. May have a high pain threshold

10. May not want to be touched

Notice that these all start with "May." The reason for that is that every child with autism is different. Not every person with autism will have every one of these signs. But, if your child has more than a few of these signs, I urge you to talk to your doctor. Early intervention is the KEY! 

Easter 2014

Last Sunday was Easter.

The kids were out of school for Good Friday, so we spent the weekend at Nick's parents house. And even though the kids weren't at home, somehow the Easter Bunny still knew where to find them on Sunday morning!

The kids spent Easter morning dying eggs,

and playing with the Legos

and the kites that the Easter Bunny brought them.

And the afternoon eating

and hunting eggs with their cousins!

Look at these beautiful Strickland kids! 

(I think that Jules & Addy look more like sisters than cousins!)

My parents were out of town for the weekend, so we did not spend Easter with them. But we did get to see all three of my sisters & their kiddos on Good Friday at an Easter party at Brooke's in laws' house. 

While there, the kids hunted

and dyed Easter eggs. 

Addy was so excited to see her baby cousin Emery. She wanted to hold her & give her a bottle.

And on the Wednesday before Easter, Alex had a class party & parade at school.


 All the kids were supposed to make a hat to wear in their Easter parade.
Here's what Alex & I came up with!

I hope everyone had as great an Easter as we did!