Peebles Island - GeoCaching

It was a cold Saturday - but we ventured out anyway. NO MORE RAIN DATES -OK folks? We had enough of those last year. No flu either - OK? Here is Mr. "W" at our first find of the day. Took a bit of digging around - the GPS's were bouncing all over the place because of the cloud cover - but we got the job done!
The kids learned quick - those that were first timers - that many cache's only have a log. Not TERRIBLY exciting. THEN we found the ammo can. Full of good stuff to trade with. Good thing Mrs. M brought along some goodies to leave behind to replace the stash taken by the group!

And - we had a nice turnout didn't we? The weather turned a bit sunnier and was nice. AND - thanks to everyone, we didn't lose anyone over the cliffs. Even Coach "T" from school tagged along to see what this geo-caching is all about? So - will she venture out with Thrills & Skills again? We'll just have to see!

A few of us trekked on to find a 3rd cache of the day. This one was not too hard to find. Getting it out was another chore.............. um, Miss "I" what ARE you doing to that tree?

Miss "T" found out - all ya had to do was dig UNDER the kids thru the BOTTOM of the tree! NICE FIND - her first......

Placemats & Meetings!

At our first meeting of the year "M" runs her first meeting. NICE JOB!
Then we moved on to sewing place mats and napkins. Mrs. Morton let us use her serger for really quick napkins. We'll use these at our 4 cooking events and meals together this year.

Here are all of our 2010 Fair items that were chosen to go to the 2011 NYS Fair. Congrats everyone!

And - we now have THREE 5th Graders. They are all psyched for the year ahead!

Dyken CampOut & Kick-Off Event

We had a really great time at Dyken for our 2010-11 Kick-Off Event. We made some kool picture frames out of things we found in the woods, got to cook our dessert over the campfire, and stay in a YURT. The adults slept under the stars (some for the first time despite years of camping) and it was just a gorgeous night for all of this. We also held elections down at the Amphitheater using flashlights! It was quite the elections. Congratulations to all the new officers!

A new member - WELCOME E!

AND - here is the yummy GOULASH recipe that everyone seemed to enjoy!

1 T olive Oil

2 lbs London Broil

1 large onion - diced FINELY - actually almost minced.

2 cloves of garlic - minced

1-1/2 cups frozen corn

1 c fresh mushrooms - MINCED beyond recognition!

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

Any fresh tomatoes that need a home - dice and toss in!

2 c water

1 T paprika

2 t salt

12 oz pasta (elbow macaroni)

Grated Cheddar - as needed

Cut meat into 1" cubes, flour and brown in olive oil. When brown, remove from pot and then saute onions, garlic and mushrooms until soft. Return meat to the pot and add tomatoes, water & spices and simmer until the meat is tender. Several hours... Add water as needed, or more canned tomatoes. Remember, the pasta will soak up quite a bit of water. Then (we did this at camp) add corn and pasta and heat until pasta is tender. Enjoy with Cheese - and FIRE BISCUITS!

Kids Working Snack Bar at the Fair

Here are a few shots of the kids working the 4H Snack Bar. We had a number of first-timers.I'm not sure which shift is which - but I know we covered a lot of time and had almost everyone there. THANKS TO ALL who participated. See ya next year!