April 30-May 6

Early Monday morning we were all up and out the door. Mark and Linda were headed back to Indy. Allison and Scott  headed  to school and Tom and I headed to work. It was a very busy month!  And now we finally made it to May. But things have not been slowing down.

Allison was back at school for a few days. She headed back home however at the end of the week for our GS camping trip. Both of us have been busy the past couple of months participating in a planning committee for the annual Spring GS jamboree at the Conowingo GS campsite just north of Baltimore. Allison volunteered to run the Archery station and I was assigned to Arts and Crafts. We did not come up with the theme or the activities, so we just had to show up and work. The jamboree theme was Maryland, My Maryland. So food and activities all centered around our state theme. Allison and I packed up and arrived at camp around dinner on Friday the first weekend in May. Allison made me a great name tag with my camp name-Petoskey. Still working on training the staff on how to pronounce it and what it is. So far I just get called "Michigan fossil".

We did not have to help with registration, so we set up our sleeping arrangements in a big cabin-air mattresses on the floor and enjoyed some pizza and salad for dinner. I was pretty pooped out and took a nap on a couch until the Volunteer meeting. The committee goes over everyone's weekend chores, including the parents that attend with their girls. Then I was actually ready for bed. But first I spent some time proofreading one of Allison's final papers.

On Saturday morning we were up bright and early to help serve breakfast. After we ate we headed to our stations. I was the supporting staff for the Arts and Crafts activity leader along with a younger scout, but I felt that I did all the set up and organizing. I laid out our station outside the Arts and Crafts station on a few picnic tables and ran around collecting all the supplies. I was so happy I packed my portable wagon. Allison used the wagon at scout camp last summer and it was dubbed "The Dragon Wagon" since Allison's camp name is Dragon.

For our Arts and Crafts station we made up small screens for the girls to paint on. In Baltimore, screen painting was very popular as there was no air conditioning in the row houses. In order to maintain some privacy while keeping the windows open, owners used to paint their screens. Now it is considered a Folk Art form. The girls had a wonderful time painting all day. We rotated 7 sessions throughout our day with 12+ girls in each group and a break for lunch. We started at 9am and finished at 5pm for dinner after clean up. I was so glad I brought my portable wagon. It came in handy transporting items back and forth from the main dining hall like the paint and water jugs. After the girls painted their screens, we hung them on a clothesline to dry. It was a bit rainy all weekend, but we managed to get through the day's activities without a big rainstorm.

The girls rotated through a whole day of Maryland themed activities like jousting with pool noodles(jousting is the Maryland state sport!). They played Maryland BINGO, did a gardening service project and learned about native Maryland plants, went on a nature hike, as well as participating in a few fun activities like archery(Allison's station), rock wall climbing and playing dodge ball(GAGA ball). Our food was Maryland themed as well, including Berger cookies and lots of snacks covered with Old Bay Seasoning. Our camp cook even took a shot at making Smith Island cake-a 7 layered cake with fudge frosting. Yum. We certainly had more than enough food to eat.

The rain picked up in the evening, so the bonfire was moved inside. The girls had the opportunity to put on skits and make s'mores before bedding down. Allison and I were pooped out and skipped the bonfire. Instead we played cards and I did some more proof reading on her school paper. We both called it quits(we should have brought a puzzle!). Allison was worn out from a full day of archery-she ran the station all by herself. On Sunday morning we stopped in for breakfast, packed up our camping gear, cleaned up the cabin and headed home. It was so nice to take a shower!

That evening the kids asked if we could go see the new Avenger's Movie. Tom had to skip the outing since he was also working on his last paper for his class. We were just happy to get into the movie. Lately all the shows have been sold out, especially on opening weekends. And we really enjoyed the show, but as usual, we have to wait for part 2. There is always a part 2!

Allison and I were sorry we missed the Mexican food for Cinco De Mayo however. But Scott and Tom had the opportunity to wear their May the 4th Be With You shirts they got in their Easter baskets that weekend. And Scott had Friday off work since the catholic schools were closed that day.