Note to Self: Never camp with anyone other than my family.

Bean and I had a Brownie camp out this past weekend. Yay! Camping two weekends in a row!

Except, not. Not yay, because it wasn't nearly as good as camping with family the previous weekend. Not really camping because we were in the troop leaders back yard.

I'll just hit the highlights...

• I was the only mom who volunteered to spend the night.
• Five logs and ten homemade fire starters do not a fire make. I was a tad dismayed (in other words...WTF?) when I opened the back of the troop leaders truck and that was all I found.
• Troop leaders who have never been to the state park should not call the shots regarding which paths to take for the hike.
• No, the trail does *not* circle around. No matter how many times you declare that you think it does, it does not.
• Why won't anyone listen to me?
• If you are not familiar with the flora and fauna, don't improvise! Unless you like having my 8-year-old correct you.
• Tree roots along the banks of the creek, still attached to the tree but exposed, ARE NOT BEAVER DAMS.
• How do you get to be 40 years old and NOT know how to strike a match???
• One must be vigilant about monitoring the look on one's face while watching troop leaders roast hot dogs and marshmallows over burning People magazine pages.
• Should I let my daughter eat that? Is it even warm? How about just a bun with some ketchup?
• How do you *forget* to bring your daughter's clothes and sleeping bag? How do you not answer your phone or return your daughter's calls asking for her clothes and sleeping bag, well after 9pm? (You'll love this if you've been around here for a while... it was Spam-Me-With-the-Baby-Jesus mom, the one who puts her real estate business card in the Christmas cards she mails to all of her daughter's classmates every year.)
• Troop leader's husbands who think it's funny to scare little girls in their tent should not be surprised to get phone calls from the neighbors regarding the screaming.
• Little girls will play sleeping spot roulette until half of the girls are crying.
• Little girls will miss their mothers and cry.
• Little girls who did not let Mrs. Biscuit go to sleep until 12:30 will somehow still wake up at 5am.
• Dear Troop Leader...regarding the fauna...it's a Blue HERON. HERON. Not HERRING.

Bean had a blast. All that counts, in the end.

*~*~*

Yesterday, Bean had her palate expander put in. That girl totally rocks! She only had two moments of unhappiness. The first was right after it was cemented to her teeth. She popped up and the look on her face was sad. I asked her if she was okay, and she nodded and gave me the "Give me a minute" finger. I think she spent a whopping 30 seconds calming herself down, and back down she went for them to finish. The second was a few minutes later when she was practically choking on saliva. The mouth confuses the expander with food at first, and goes to town.

She has to learn a different swallowing pattern, and her speech sounds a little mushy, but she's already made significant improvement since last night.

Now if I can just get my part right. I have to turn the key every day, for 2-4 weeks, to crank that sucker open. It's like a car jack, only sideways in the roof of your mouth. Sounds fun, huh?

*~*~*

So, it's the last full week of school, I made the reservations for our Duck house in July, and I've got my plane ticket for GoG in August.

Bring it, Summer.