Painting Class

Today the girls did something they had never done before ... a real painting class!  We all had a lot of fun!  They could choose between painting a cat or a dog.  Catherine chose to paint a dog.

Sabrina chose to paint a cat.  The first step was to outline the animal.

 They both chose blue for the background.

 So serious!

 They even had to paint the sides of the canvas.

Catherine painted her dog bright pink.

 Just like Sabrina's cat:

After painting her dog, Catherine put a title on her painting.  She has a pink stuffed dog named Pupoomy the First.  It has received so much abuse, I mean loving, that I have had to repair it many times with needle and thread.  We have bought replacement stuffed dogs, but Catherine calls those "Pupoomy the Second," "Third," etc.  She will not replace that dog, no matter how raggedy it looks.  The portrait of Pupoomy the First even has a collar with "P1" on it.

 After the girls finished painting, the teacher used puffy paint to outline and embellish the paintings. 

 Sabrina's final masterpiece:

Tea Party

Recently our Brownie troop went on a very girly trip to Tea Leaves and Thyme, a tea house near us.  It was a lot of fun!  Catherine, who would never drink tea, asked for a pot of water (no ice - not too cold!).  She loved pouring the water into her tea cup and daintily drinking.

The costume center was a big hit. It was well stocked with hats, dresses, scarves, purses, stoles, and jewelry.

 This hat may match, but is a bit too big for Sabrina:

Francesca checking out part of the hat collection:

 Catherine loved the shawl:

 She looks Ukranian in this pose:

Our whole group:

They brought us all of our food on these layered tiers.  There was a lot of variety and actually more food than we could eat. However, the kids spent more time in the costume center than at the table.

 Catherine practicing a "tea cup hold:"

 This hat fits Sabrina better:

 Francesca keeping her pinkie out:

 Check out Nettie's pinkie:

 Catherine located the elbow length, white silk gloves:

 Costume change for Sabrina:

Camryn & Courtney trying out new dresses with matching hats:

So much fun!

Painting Badge

Catherine's Brownie troop is earning a painting badge.  We recently toured an art museum.  Then, we had a painting party:

 Sabrina with the stamper:

 We tried to get the kids to sketch their drawings first, and then paint them.

The finished products:

Brownie Hike

We recently went on a hike with Catherine's Brownie troop to earn our "hiking" badge.  Of course this hike was flat and paved in fabulous weather, but we did interact with nature some.

Recently my girls have learned about kingdoms of living things, including "fungi."  We actually saw several examples of "fungi" on the hike:

 Up close and personal with a mushroom:

 The troop (plus Sabrina):

Catherine has to grow some to fit into her Brownie sash:

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Our Girl Scout troop recently went on a Nature Scavenger Hunt.  They had a blast.  I gave them each a plastic bag, a pencil, and a list of items on a clipboard.  They had to find things like a brown leaf, blade of grass, acorn, flower petal, small rock, etc. 

 All the girls had fun:

 After the hunt, the girls waded in the creek:

 Catherine found another small rock to add to her collection:

 The girls got soaked:

 After the hunt, the girls found a "Big Chicken" painted with various game activities on it.

When we got home, both girls took out all of their items to show them to Robby.  Even a few days later they still like to pull out their plastic bags and look at their nature collection.

Spa Night

The Girl Scout Daisy troop which we are in recently held a "spa night."  The girls did a great job of serving each other by doing each other's make-up and nails.  All year we have tried to create opportunities for them to work together, with limited success.  I just thought that this wold be a fun night.  But, it was actually a great team-building exercise as the moms got to sit back while the girls actually interacted with each other.

Of course their make-up application skills are still "emerging:"

 A purple dress requires purple eye shadow:

 Sabrina painted F's toe nails (as well as her toes!):