happy new year!

no meeting until january 12th, we will be talking about upcoming candy sales.

i need a volunteer parent to pick up the candy from the council during the three day pick up at camp fire wed jan 7th-friday jan 9th (appointment is needed). this year we dont have kathleen so i will need more help getting through the candy sales. picking up the candy will be a pretty big job (physically hauling it to your house) and then being available to pass it out to everyone. once the candy is passed out though, thats it for that job. we will talk in more detail about candy sales at monday jan 12th meeting.

wednesday january 14th is the candy sale kick off potluck dinner at 6pm (for all the groups in our area). it will be at our church (i will quickly post any changes for this event if they come up). we need to sign up for items to bring, please mark the date on your calendar and check the blog for more details as i get them. there will be lots of info for kids and parents at this get together, it is also a fun event for the girls.

candy sales begin friday jan 16th and runs through feb 16th, i will get the final turn in money date when i learn it.

no meetings on mondays jan 19, 26, feb 2, 9, 16. we will resume meetings on feb 23rd. candy sales will be ongoing during jan and feb, with sign ups at the jan 12th meeting (if they are available) and through emails. without kathleen this year, i will be depending on parents to be organized and follow through with store sales. i will be working with christine on how we will work out the details. candy sales works best if you attend the store events so please sign up for these.

thanks!


we have snow at the cabin, is anyone interested in a weekend getaway? i have a neighbor who wants to teach the girls to make candles and we could do some sledding. let me know if anyone is interested and we can try to plan a weekend. all the weekends in jan are available.

christmas party 2008

our first handmade christmas was fun, thanks to everyone who could make it on such a busy night! we had a great time. the girls all came up with great ideas for gifts. a big thanks to dori and her mom for hosting this event!

wendy crabb

emily and ryann made the trek out to noho (north hollywood) to meet wendy crabb. we had a great time looking at art (and eating hotdogs) and meeting the gallery owner as well as seeing wendy and her baby jasper.

cooking meeting

monday dec 15th

cooking meeting at the albins, 6-7pm

ryann and kim live in the ranchos, 3102 shipway, 90808 (around the block from danica's grandmas house)

christmas party
monday dec 22nd at danica's grandmas house (same place we have had it for the past 2 years) remember to bring a homemade gift
homemade gift ideas: anything cooked like cookies, cake, brownies, breads
magnets
stationary (draw your own design, use stamps)
paint a picture
make an ornament from cardboard, felt or paper
clothespin dolls, ornaments
make a doll or octopus from yarn
sew a pillow (draw on it with fabric paint)
paint on a shirt (use fabric paint, stamps)
handmade gift tags, wrapping paper


be creative, have fun! use the camp fire or bear cub theme


ryann, emily and lizzie will be meeting with wendy crabb tomorrow, any last minute kids who can go are welcome, let me know before 10am

belmont shore parade

we have this event DOWN!! thanks again for such a fun night, you guys are the best!
it was so wonderful having our special guest isabella there, thanks for hosting her at your house katie!
see everyone tomorrow night for some more crafting.

let me know if you can come to meet wendy crabb next saturday, i have one person signed up, room for 3 more! i will get you to danica's party, no worries.

:)

Wendy Crabb

hi there everyone! looking forward to tonights parade!

i just got a confirmation to visit a local artist, last minute as usual, but she is available next saturday dec 13th. her work is being shown in a gallery in hollywood ( i know, i know!! not so close) so i am hoping i can kidnap a few kids to take with emily and lizzie to see her paintings. i was going to leave around 10am in the morning, there is a hotdog place next door for us to eat lunch and then return everyone back by around 2pm at the latest, shooting for more like 1pm. i know danica has a birthday party in the afternoon (dont have the time handy). i can even return kids directly to her party.

thanks so much for working with me on these last minute things, i know it seems unorganized, but i really do know what i am doing most of the time, ha ha!!!

i have room for 4 kids in our van and any other parents who WANT to drive are more than welcome. let me know if i can kidnap your kid for a few hours!!

here is her blog and you can see some of her paintings above. her work is very illustrative and i hope to do more painting with the girls soon. this would be a great experience for them and she is super excited to meet them.

dec update

the belmont shore parade is this saturday, please be on time (no later than 5:30pm) call jami with any questions.
we have a special guest coming: Isabella Ossiander!!!

Kim Albin has some puzzles her family wants to donate to local senior centers/ assisted living centers. please let her know if you have a loved one or friend in a nearby center so we can be sure and include them. she will be taking volunteer girls with her someday soon after school. please call her if you are interested and let her know (girls who help will earn a bead)

there are pediatric aid patient gift stars at camp fire if anyone is interested in purchasing a gift for a child in need. we have done this as a group before, this year i am leaving it up to families who are interested in donating to do so on their own. i know the deadline is fast approaching so pick one up soon, you can call the council with any questions you may have. this is an annual event so if you missed it this year, plan to help next year.

thanks everyone! see you saturday!

christmas crafts

since we will be having a handmade gift exchange this year, we made a few gift options: fridge magnets and a yarn octopus doll. next week we will do more crafts and you can finish up tonights crafts at home or next week.

ideas to make at home: homemade stationary, chore coupons (make a booklet of chores you will do for FREE as a present, for example: wash dads care, clean the windows, do the laundry, walk the dog), paint a picture, sew a pencil case, make a pillow (use fabric paint to make a picture on fabric, cut it out and stitch around the edges, stuff and finish off)

see everyone at the belmont shore parade this saturday, we meet at 5pm on quincy ave, dont be late, get there early! wear warm clothes with your vest on top, email either myself or jami with any questions.

torch

please read the torch, it should have come to everyone in the mail. it is the newsletter we get 5 times a year. this is a great resource for up coming events (the belmont shore parade is mentioned in this one) and you can see emily and sage planting the second oak tree at camp shiwaka (it is still ALIVE, barely!) if you have any special things you want mentioned in future newsletters, please send them directly to georgia and/or to me. i would love to have our girls featured more. our duck patrol adventures will be talked about sometime soon.

the cooking meeting was FABULOUS!! the girls did great and i am eating my pumpkin bread as i write this, yum! thank you soooo much christine for welcoming us in to your house, it was such a nice change. please send me pictures (i forgot my camera!) so i can post some pictures here. the girls shared in a tradition my family has: saying "thankfuls" at mealtime. we went around the room and each girl said what they were thankful for regarding camp fire. everyone said sweet things, each comment was special. i loved natalie's thanks at sharing camp fire with her mom (who was also in camp fire), ryann thanked ME for letting her in our group (thank YOU ryann and kim!!) and all the girls were thankful for their camp fire friends. this is something we might do regularly at our own meetings, it is a peaceful thoughtful tradition.

on that note: i hope all of you know how thankful i am to have all of YOU in my group of kids, moms, dads and family members... this is a dream come true for me, i am so proud of all of you and brag continuously about all my camp fire families. this thanksgiving i send all of you my heartfelt thanks for continuing on this camp fire journey with me. i know it gets crazy sometimes but this long haul commitment will be worth it, i am so sure of it!

happy thanksgiving!

baking at the whipps

november 24th meeting is at christine whipps house
6-7pm

happy thanksgiving everyone!

our next two monday meetings will be at the church, christmas crafts.

belmont shore parade is saturday december 6th, jami is in charge. we meet at the same place (on quincy avenue in belmont shore)
more info to come on that event

december 15th is at ryann albins house, cooking meeting

december 22nd is our christmas party at danica's grandmas house
gift exchange: please ONLY HANDMADE GIFTS, keep it simple and inexpensive

kiniya

great job girls! this was an amazing event. thanks to danica and sage for representing our group, you rocked!!!

kiniya

congrats to sage and danica who were picked from the hat (sorry i forgot at the meeting) to read at kiniya (about our service project) this thursday.

the alternates are annika first and then emily.

i am looking forward to seeing everyone on thursday. i will be buying ducks, chickens, part of a water buffalo and a tree SOON!!
we might have some more money trickling in to buy some honeybees, stay tuned!

cleaver bead meeting

thank you cleaver!!