100 Years of Girl Scouting!

 Over the weekend, Gillian and I helped the state celebrate 100 years of Girl Scouting with a few other girls from her Junior troop. There were a lot of fun things going on around town, and we got to do some neat things. We are currently selling our cookies, as well. You can read more about that here.

We started the morning off on the lawn of the state Capitol building. We were early, and it was certainly not very warm at 28 degrees and WINDY, but the girls still had a great time as we waited.

There was a parade of thousands of scouts walking towards the Capitol building, and it ended with all of us gathered around the steps of the building to do a group sing-a-long.

Afterwards, our group headed to the state historical museum, where a brand new exhibit on the history of scouting had opened up. The exhibit was great, but Gillian didn't want to leave. We wound up staying there, while the rest of our group moved on to the next event.

After a while, we caught back up with the group in time to do some out door stuff- by then, it was a balmy 45 degrees, so it had warmed up considerably. While the girls ran around, us adults rested a bit, before wrangling them up.

We moved on over to the local Girl Scout Council shop, where they were doing a craft in the upstairs, and a photobooth in the entrance way. Gillian was tired by then, and opted to sit out of craft time, and laid down for a bit.

Next, we headed over to a large, locally owned pet shop. It's a really fun shop to visit- we've stopped in before just to look around. There's a large water fall outside, and it recycles into a 'river' that enters the shop, and is filled with Koi inside. They have all sorts of pets- including pets that are not for sale. The shop has a huge tortoise and an equally large iguana in neat enclosures. Neither of these fun pets are for sale, but they are great for the kids to see.

After leaving the pet shop, we headed down to a local pizza place to grab dinner. By the time we finished, it was time to get on one last bus, and head back towards downtown to the local minor league ball park.

Radio Disney was there to entertain, while we waited for it to be dark enough for a special fireworks display.

All in all, it was a great day. We all got to see and do things we normally don't get a chance to do, which was a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday, Girl Scouts!!

Girls Day

Well, our federal taxes have hit the bank. Su-weeet! I paid up bills online this morning. I filed our state taxes last night. My FIL got a similar number to TaxACT, so we filed with TaxACT with his blessing.

Today, I'm driving over to Grand Rapids for a girls day out with one of my friends. We're not sure yet what we're going to do, but I told her a movie was out. Nick and I went to see The Book of Eli on Sunday, and my tailbone is not up for it. The chairs recline to much, which puts a ton of pressure on the tailbone. While my tailbone doesn't hurt constantly, it's still very tender, and by the end of the movie, I was in agony.

We'll probably do some shopping. There is an awesome outlet store in Grand Rapids. It's from the local super center store, Meijers, and I find great deals there just about every time I go. One time, I got a bunch of My First Leap Pad books for under $.25 each! Brand new!

Nick got one of the Guitar Hero games there once, which was a new one on the shelves, and still selling for $59 everywhere else. We got it for $25. I regularly find health & beauty products for under $1 each- full size Calgon lotions, hair dyes, deodorant, and more. I love sifting through there, even more so when I don't have the kids with me.

I also want to check out the craft stores, even though they're the same ones we have nearby. Aside from that, we'll likely get some lunch, and just enjoy a kid free day.

See you guys when I get back!