Last December Elisa had her first sleepover with the Girl Scouts. It was a St. Sebastian's Parish Center in Woodside and it marked the first time she'd ever spent the night somewhere without us or a relative. I knew I wouldn't be able to go with her since I had a photo shoot that day followed by another the next morning. And even though I had faith she would do well, I was still a little nervous dropping her off that evening. A few photos from other mom friends who stayed the night helped give me the assurance I craved that all was well. And by the next morning, Elisa returned tired but triumphant. She had a great time and loved telling us all about it. Fast forward to spring and I was happy to register for the spring sleepover at the New York Hall of Science. Not only would this be the first (and possibly last) time I'd sleep in a museum, but it would be a chance to do something special with Elisa and see if she was eager to continue scouting next year. The jury is still out on that, but I can definitely say she had a good time. Who wouldn't love running around a museum late at night with just a few dozen fellow scouts? Here's the slide show to remember it all by...
After our initial check-in at 6pm, there was a bit of playground fun out back behind the museum. After such a lovely warm spring day, I'd say some of the girls already looked tired, but the playground sure perked them up. Then we went in to start the orientation and get our checklists for the museum adventure. We started with the pitching cage upstairs and I was immediately impressed with Elisa's arm. That girl can throw a ball! She was the first (and one of the few) to break the 23mph barrier since most were getting about 15-16mp, and she didn't even seem to be trying that hard. Made me think we should investigate T-ball again. Hmmm....we'll see though she has recently expressed an interest in swim team. So many activities, so little time. And then we were off to the lower areas of the exhibits to start on the pillow case decorating where even the moms got to express their creative sides. We made signing our cases something of a yearbook event with lots of "Stay cool" and "BFFs Forever!" comments. After that, we moved over to build our dowel rod structures which had to shelter all 6 team members and remain standing for 10 seconds. Not that easy, but with help from all the girls, and especially Sabrina who got right in there and made those triangles and joints, it was done in just a few minutes. Quite the accomplishment!
Then there was the treehouse structure we got to explore while waiting to make our air/land/sea vehicles. Elisa was so distracted running around the balconies and enjoying the views up top that I ended up totally forging her vehicle for her. Oh well. At least I had fun making it. And of course we went with an airplane motif since that would be something cool we could show Papa from our time in the museum. Elisa added the foil overlay and the seat for Waddles the Penguin to sit in and we were done. One more stop at the cardboard construction city with little battery-powered lights and we were almost through with our checklist. Elisa again kind of let the chaos overwhelm her, so we made a very quick A-frame Pet Hospital since the goal was to build a structure that "would make the city better." I think we nailed it. And just in time to run upstairs to set up camp for the night before our bedtime treat of milk and cookies while watching "Big Hero 6." Yes, it was a jam-packed evening for the girls (and moms) but I think things were well paced. By 12:30 a.m. after teeth were brushed and lights went out (a bit prematurely as we returned from the bathrooms downstairs without flashlights!), Elisa and friends were racing up and down the Hall of Mirrors like sleepover pros. But that burst of energy was not to last. By 1 a.m. the place was almost completely quiet save for a few shrieks and coughs. And I managed to doze somewhat peacefully until our 6:57 a.m. wake up call. They couldn't even wait til 7 a.m. as promised?? Oy. That was rough. But we forced the girls up and at it, packing and folding and getting everything back in the bins for our roll out. Breakfast was served up and we had another hour to run around the museum before calling it a day. Overall, I was happy to be part of this event and thought they really enjoyed the evening. Sleepover success!
1 comment:
She looks so grown up in these photos!
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