Cookie Walk

 In the spirit of tradition, the Girl Scout Council organized a cookie walk for the girls to do much like the beginning of Girl Scout Cookie Sales 80 years ago. When girls first started selling cookies they would bake and package cookies in their own kitchens with their moms and then go and sell them door to door.
Time have changed with the product but Girl Scouts still go selling door to door. With next year being the 100th birthday of Girl Scouts it seemed like a great year to go back to the old traditions.

The girls decorated their wagons and loaded them up with tons of cookies. Then we hit the streets! It was definitely a success! We sold around 50 boxes in an hour and most importantly the girls had a blast. We hope to do this next year when Girl Scouts is officially 100 years old!

 Sarah was our walking billboard.

 Sales were good!

 Love this sign, "we're irresistible"!

The Cookie Mobile!

Legislators Love Cookies!

Paige, Mackenzie, and Lindy with Governor Kasich

We had the awesome opportunity to sell Girl Scout cookies at the State House. The girls were busy all throughout the lunch hour making sales. We had a special customer, Governor Kasich, who stopped by and gave them a donation. Fist bumping all the girls he sat down for a quick photo op. The girls were thrilled!

They had a quick lesson in government when one customer asked where they lived. She then explained that she is one of the State Representatives from Cleveland. Then she made all the people in her group support Girl Scouts and buy cookies!

Sales were great but the memories were unforgettable!

Cookie Rally Ready!

Last weekend our troop hosted the Cookie Rally for Daisies and first time cookie selling Brownies. The girls created crafts, role playing games on how to sell cookies, Bingo, costume relay races and more. They had a great turn out of over 50 little girls! The girls broke into teams to run a total of 7 stations. The remaining girls each were in charge of escorting a group of girls through their schedule of stations.
The Juniors spent two meetings planning for the event and earned their Junior Aide award with the completion of the Rally. It was so much fun to be the "big girls".
Now the fun really begins, selling our Girl Scout Cookies! Time to order!

Lily and her mom ran the cookie taste testing station. Lily was the only Girl Scout for that station and she did a great job. As the girls snacked on cookies, Lily led them in making a cookie book with all the different types of cookies.

Anna and AnnMarie worked the Cookie Game Station. The girls broke into two groups, one played Cookie Twister (just a regular twister game with cookies on the circles) and a cookie mystery game. The girls had to guess what the missing cookie was.

Mary and Brooke had the important job of showing the girls how to sell cookies. First they did a little skit showing how to sell cookies. Then they gave the girls turns to work on how to sell. They also covered money and how to make change for the cost of the cookies.

Jessie and Skylar worked the Goal Setting Station. They had a cute little craft for the girls to make that was a reminder for them as to how many cookies they want to sell. They also arranged all the prizes for the sale on a table so the girls could see what they can earn.

Mackenzie and Faith worked Safety Bingo. They covered all the important safety tips and gave out lollipops to all the girls at the end of the game.

Mia and Paige had Phone Sales. They also did a little skit on how to sell cookies over the phone and covered phone safety. The girls then made cute little paper cell phone decorated with stickers and gems.

Rebekah and Lindy were both group leaders and led groups of eight girls through their stations. They were in charge of keeping track of the little ones crafts, passports etc. Cynthia worked the Cookie Costume Relay game which was quite a hit. Cynthia was also the "older girl" who everyone looked up to. She led the opening and closing cheer and helped the Juniors with the flag ceremony. She was my right arm for everything, I couldn't have done it without her!

Of course when we got home we had to have a little costume fun!

How could you not buy cookies from such cute little girls?!

Baking with Daddy

Time in the kitchen with Bill is a favorite activity with all the kids. So when Bill said he was baking cookies over the weekend he had many helpers! So cute and so fun!

A little community service

Peace to all of you!

Each year we do something for the community at Christmas time. This is how our hat and mitten donation got started and I am always looking for ways to help my kids help others. It is probably the one thing that I feel is the most important in raising my children, to think of and serve others. I want it to be the most natural thing for them that they don't even have to think about doing it, they just do.

Last year we did gift boxes to soldiers in Kuwait. We had a great time choosing gifts and packing everything up. This year we started doing projects in November so that we were not rushed. We are ending our season by taking 7 dozen cookies to the nursing home near our house that took care of our friend, Mrs. Smith, last year when she broke her hip. We hope that the staff and residents enjoyed the treats. They were delighted to see our smiling faces and the plate piled with goodies. It feels so good to bring smiles to others faces.

Erin is so proud to deliver her hard work!

Ice cream Cone Angel Treats and Kid Friendly Too!

Singing Angels

I found this idea on line when looking for Christmas cookie recipes. It was so cute and I knew the girls would love it, I was right. We spent 2 hours working on these angels and they turned out fantastic. They are currently our kitchen table centerpiece so we are able to enjoy them all day.

Lindy sneaking a taste of icing.

Paige was very particular about her

decoration placement.

They were so simple and kid friendly to make. Having almost all the ingredients (what a great way to use up the rest of those summer ice cream cones!) made it even easier. The heads are vanilla wafers with Lifesavers for halos and pretzels for wings. Other than those things you just need some icing to cover the cones and attach everything and some pretty decorations. We had so much fun decorating them! Enjoy!

Erin made all pink angels - surprise!

Paige and her finished products.

Cute Marshmallow Treats

Marshmallow Penguins

Marshmallow Santas

Lindy and Paige had to make cookies for their Brownie troop's cookie exchange. After a week of baking we were ready to try something different. Lindy chose these cute marshmallow Santas, dipped in white candy coating and covered with coconut and red sprinkles. We had a great time decorating their faces and bodies.

Paige picked out this penguin which was dipped in chocolate. Since reading Mr. Popper's Penguins we have really been interested in penguins. With a peanut butter cup for the top and a candy corn beak they look they could waddle off on their pecan feet!

I am sure they taste great but I think they make cute decorations!

Party Prep

Getting ready for our annual Santa party is no small feat! Here are some of the totals for this years event!

• Approximately 700 cookies
• Hundreds of paper plates, napkins, and cups
• 112 Guests
• 72 Petit fours
• 60 Reindeer Treat Bags
• 30 Ziplock bags
• 27 different cookie recipes (a record!)
• 20 different cookie cutters
• 24 Eggs
• 14 Sticks of butter
• 15 pounds of flour
• 12 hours straight that the oven was on each day at 350 degrees!
• 10 pounds of sugar
• 8 2 Liters for punch
• 7 Basketball, cheerleading, dance practices, and scout meetings in the midst of it all!
• 4 hours of sleep a night the 2 nights before the big day
• 3 bags of M&M's
• 2 rolls of wax paper
• 1 pound of cocoa powder
• Every kind of chocolate chip variety made
• Countess sprinkles and cleaning!

And it is the best week of our holiday season! The kids and I have a great time. Lindy, Paige, and Erin have never loved the baking so much. Each child chooses their own cookie for just the two of us to make. This years contributors were:

Kyle - Kitchen Cupboard Cookie

Ethan - Buckeyes

Lindy - Santa Stars

Paige - Gingerbread Men

Erin - Happy Reindeer

Each year when our little guests depart they receive a small bag of reindeer food (oats mixed with a shake of gold glitter). We set up an assembly line so that everyone participates. Kyle punched tags, Ethan and I tied bags, Erin and Paige scooped oats, and Lindy sprinkled in glitter. Bill takes pictures and maintenance's whoever is holding up production!

We love working together as a family to have such a special event. Our guests are so appreciative for a place to come and see Santa and for the kids to play and have a good time. To the kids it is as exciting as Christmas Day. Seeing their hard work enjoyed by so many really helps them understand the meaning of the season.

Lindy loves working with dough,

cookie or bread, she is quite the

little baker.

Lindy displays her hard work.

Good thing Ethan helped me tie bags or I would

not have been able to keep up!

Erin was not too excited about her bag holding

duty but her aim with the scoop was not too good!