Polar Palooza

Well, I survived Leader-Daughter Camping on the coldest weekend of the year. When I walked into the lodge the baby in my belly did a little dance because, Alleluia!! There were cots! Loaded with TWO mattresses!! And they were close to the bathroom, too!!! While my weekend bed was a little narrow for a pregnant lady who has to sleep on her side with a pillow between her knees, I actually slept about as well as I do at home lately.

The cold wasn’t an issue except for when we needed to transition from one building to another. The majority of the events were in one big hall. Meals were in the building just next door, but we slept in a lodge a fair distance from the other places. To keep traffic to a minimum, we were required to walk back and forth, so a good amount of bundling up was necessary each time we walked outside. Most everyone was a good sport about it, though.

Spending time with Miss M was awesome. The Polar Palooza organizers kept us hopping from one event to another. We made a variety of no-bake snacks, including “Armpit Fudge”, which turned out to be very tasty. We also made a whole bunch of cute winter crafts, like this adorable stone penguin paver.

We had a Trivia Night on Saturday evening, which was a lot of fun. It was Miss M’s first Trivia Night (and my first Trivia Night without hot wings and beer.) The categories included questions for both the moms and the daughters. For example, there was one entire round dedicated to Hannah Montana and another to Retro TV. Not to toot our own horns, but our table came in second place!

Back at the lodge was like a huge slumber party two nights in a row. The girls gabbed, played games, and even organized a talent show one night. We were in a lodge with a loft, which was a pretty neat setup. It also had a full kitchen, so we had snacks, hot chocolate and soda. You know…all that not-so-good-for-you stuff.

Being good Girl Scouts, we also had chores. We helped prepare and serve lunch on Saturday afternoon. Miss M was so excited about getting to serve chili school cafeteria style to all the other moms and girls. She loves that kind of thing. We also got the pleasure of cleaning up the Dining Hall on the last night. Miss M used an industrial sized mop and a rolling bucket with a water squeezer built in. Who knew she loved that kind of thing too? That information could come in handy around the house.

So for all the anxiety it caused me beforehand, I was pleasantly surprised that the weekend turned out great. And I have two years to gear up for the next one! Click here for a few photos from the weekend.