Metro East OV/GOR

I would like to start by saying that I don't play outdoor lawn games, like ever. So I don't really know the name of the game that we played, I feel especially bad because I know they told me, since I kept saying Bocce Ball over and over again. I'm sure I sounded extremely silly, and I know I looked especially silly when Mrs. Noah was far ahead of me. The upside though, was that I got to wear a black plastic cape, and I am of the opinion that capes make everything better no matter what The Incredibles say. It was wonderful to have Demolay visitors with us that day. I am always excited when the Masonic youth are able to attend each others events and learn more about their organizations. I have been trying throughout this year to get to know the boys of Demolay and the girls of Job's Daughters and the lessons of their organizations. I was happy to honor all of the Grand Officers, Metro East is such a fantastic district because its has members who are older and more experienced role models, and younger members who have just joined or been members for a year or two. Dynamics like this allow for growth in the assemblies and from the girls. When an older girl has the chance to mentor a younger girl through the experiences and some of the unknowns that come with joining a new organization it gives the young girl confidence and makes her more comfortable to help someone else.

Willamette Valley South OV/GOR

Boy was this a busy day. Having an Official Visit on a holiday is one thing, but having an official visit on a holiday that also happens to be my dad's birthday is quite another. We began the morning with a 5K. It was my first 5K where I attempted to run and it went pretty well. I started my pace off too fast so I had to spend a good part of the middle chunk walking but I ran some of it and I was happy to finish because it was only halfway through the 5K training program that I am working on. After some food and a short break to get cleaned up it was off to the Official Visit. This was quite a fun one. There was a leprechaun there and everything. I wish I had worn a green dress so that I could blend in more. The addendum was quite an adventure, I had to sing, beat box, and hop at one point, but I had the best helpers anyone could ask for so it all worked out pretty well. I was happy to honor Naomi and Morgan to fantastic Grand Officers from a great Assembly. It also instills in me a lot of pride to see the growth in St. Mary's Assembly. They are strong and rocking now and will only get stronger as the years continue. It was very clever and a very fun time. I am also grateful to this district because I was able to open up during my remarks and discuss my faith which is not something I often discuss and I am happy that I was able to share it with everyone. Oregon Rainbow means so much to me and their love and support has really made this year the best summer ever.

Grand Court

Grand Court is both scary and really exciting. Its scary because Grand Court is the first of the Grand Sessions for the Masonic Family and to me it is like a sign that this year is coming to end. That is scary to me because at the time of Grand Court I was not at all prepared for Grand Assembly and was not ready for the Grand year to be over yet. This is my second year of attending Grand Court and it has always been really enjoyable. I am happy to be a member of Amaranth so that I can attend all of their sessions and be a part of it all. Last year I was so sick and miserable that I wasn't able to go to everything but it was still fun. This year I was not sick and so I attended every session and was much more active in my participation. I am always happy when I am able to present a piece of Rainbow ritual work to our adult groups because there are some who are not involved with the youth and so do not get a chance to see the effort that we put into our ritual work as well as our non-ritual ceremonies. God's Rainbow is one of my favorites because it not only gives a small overview of all of the lessons, but also ties them all together with how God is a part of each of them. Although this was the beginning of the end, it was a really great beginning. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to work with Marilynn and Dan as well as the time that I have had working with Laura and Jeff. They are all wonderful people and great leaders.

The Longest Day of Any Rainbow Year

Statewide. Statewide is always the day to end all days. It starts by waking up early, putting your hair up and then you just go and go and go and go until late that night when the dance is over and you can finally go home. We started that day with a cheer before practice because it was important to me for the Grand Officers to be full of energy and excited for the day. I have realized that practice is always the biggest stress for me, if we can get through a whole practice and things go pretty well than I am way less nervous about the actual initiation. After the initiation was the State Mother Advisor and State Rainbow Dad Reception and hoo boy was that room crowded. There was barely room to move anywhere but it all worked out okay. The addendum were really fun and I never thought I would try to fit my whole hoop skirt into a potato sack, but I was trying to win for my teammate. Mentioning this event is not complete without bring up the Victoria Chapter Boys Choir, it was so fantastic that people are still talking about it. When members of Victoria Chapter see me and realize I am a member of Rainbow the first question is "Oh did you see the boys choir at the SMA/SRD reception, that was our chapter!" Finally, the announcement of the Grand Pages. This brings back so much of the excitement of Grand Officer announcements. It was especially exciting because I had the opportunity to get to know most of the girls who were announced as Grand Pages and so it was even more exciting for me when they were announced. After babbling on and on and almost crying trying to explain the great appreciation I have for our wonderful State Mother Advisor and State Rainbow Dad that portion of the day was over. Then I was able to go out to dinner with the Grand Line at one of my favorite Salem restaurants the Willamette Noodle Company, where you get to draw on the tables and there are like 5 different kinds of Mac and Cheese served. Finally we got back and went straight to work recruiting for the Talent Show. Man there was a lot of talented people this year. The dance was lots of fun and I could tell the girls enjoyed. We ended the day with a nice sleepover. I really enjoyed myself and although the day was long and exhausting it was one of the best days this year.

Metro West OV/GOR

Ahhhhhh!!!! I cannot express how excited I am for it to finally be the season of Official Visits and Grand Officer Receptions. Some people talk about the difficult scheduling of the Official Visits and Grand Officer Receptions separately but sometimes I really wish that was the way it still was because I love these events so much and I just can't get enough of them so I want more of them to be happening. Having the Willamette Valley West District OV/GOR in the fall was such a great teaser of what I'm sure are the amazing things to come. Enough rambling lets get down to business (to defeat the huns!) This Official Visit and Grand Officer Reception was an Around the World in 80 Days theme. It was adorable. You walk in the room and one of the first things that you see is these two rainbow colored Hot Air Balloon decorations. I should of predicted that they would expect me to drive one of those things. That is okay though, they gave me goggles and a scarf so I felt like Snoopy from the Red Baron video.

When I was in said Hot Air Balloon flying not exactly in a straight line (because come on, where is the fun in that) I got to visit all of these cool countries represented by Rainbow Girls which was awesome (is that a positive adjective I haven't used yet? I know I am bound to repeat some of them). After all of that fun, I still got presents. I swear these girls spoil me. Each assembly gave a wonderfully generous donation to my service project (The Shriners Hospital Recreation Therapy and Movement Arts Program) and together the assemblies got me two gifts. The first was a Office Max paper box!!! I mean there was an adorable fuzzy pillow pet inside it too. Its a baby blue dolphin, he has been hanging out with me at school. During a late night flash of inspiration I decided to name him Max. They also got me a beautiful crystal bowl. I can't wait to use it in my adult life (wow, that sounds a little scary). After the Official Visit it was time for the Grand Officer Reception and I love honoring our gorgeous Soaring Sunflowers. They all work so hard and it has been so great to see them traveling and just representing Rainbow so well. I am especially glad that this year I have taken the time to write each of them a personal letter so I can take more time to tell them the things that I think everyone should hear, like how appreciated they are. It is so important to me to make the most of this year and make as many personal connections as possible.

My version of January

January to me means that its installation season which is super exciting. It is really amazing to see all of the new officers take their positions. The themes are also really fun because they really represent the creativity that each Worthy Advisor or Assembly has. Of course I really love hearing the Assembly's goals for the ensuing term because I really want to help with them in any way that I possibly can. I feel especially privileged after this January because I was invited to participate in so many of the installations and I was able to. It was a special treat to be Morgan Welch's installing officer for the 2nd time and to present her with an inflatable tooth because I don't know when in my life I would have ever given someone an inflatable tooth but that was what she really wanted. Morgan's installation was also the event where I got to take 2 pies in the face. I'm waiting for the videos and pictures to come out because I'm sure I made some cute facial expressions during that process. Overall, I think this Installation Season was an amazing success and I look forward to all of the wonderful things that each Assembly will be doing in the upcoming term.

The Pledge OV aka my favorite event

I love the Pledge OV. It is my favorite. I look forward to this event every year. It is such a great day full of fun and laughter and excitement and so much energy. The ceremony was so beautiful those little girls did so well on their ritual work, I was so proud of them. They almost made me cry, and I try to be the type of person who doesn't cry at just anything. I also felt extremely honored to be part of the pledge Majority Ceremony. I think it is a great honor to receive your majority from pledge because then you can be welcomed into Rainbow with open arms. I also want to thank Faith for their generous donation to my service project and Hope for the shirt. I am so excited about it, I love the shirt so much and I have been showing it off to all of my Delta Gamma friends who love anchors like me. The pledge OV is one of my happiest memories and I know I will treasure it for years and years and years. I am unbelievably excited about the opportunity to see these pledge girls grow up to be great rainbow girls and maybe someday even be Grand Officers. My heart is full of pride and love for every single one of them. I know this is a short post but I feel like if I continued I would just be repeating myself over and over about how much I love them and how amazing they are and what a wonderful and fun day it was. I hope everyone has taken the chance to color in their coloring books.