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.

Willamette Valley West OV & GOR

This was such a good day. First lets start off with the theme, "Camp Rainbow" what an awesome cute idea. Plus I was an outdoor school counselor during high school which I absolutely loved. It added so much to the effect that they had a campfire and sleeping bags in the middle of the floor. Mrs. Noah's first concern was that they might try to make us get in the sleeping bags as part of the addendum. I don't know if that would have been better or worse than what they actually made us do. For the addendum we had to run back and forth AND try to pop balloons AND color things. It would have been totally fine (actually it was fine and it was lots of fun) but the new GWA crown adjusts based on the size of your head but doesn't stay in place very well, and the more I ran back and forth the more loose it got. I want to thank so much the girls from St. Mary's who held the crown when I realized that I needed to take it off. I do love the chicken dance so it was kind of fun to end it that way. The gift is adorable and hanging up in my room and I think its super awesome that it is chalkboard paint, and I would love to draw on it but I don't want to erase all of the girls name. The mad libs for the Grand Officers and Choir members was awesome too. It was such a wonderful day and I can't wait to see what all of the other Official Visits and Grand Officer receptions will have in store.

GWAA Reception & Grand Initiation

I know it has been almost 2 months since the actual event but it is still very important to me to include it in the blog. Part of the reason I'm keeping this is to tell others about the events that we have, but another part is for me to be able to keep it is a memory when this year is over. Emma's reception was pretty awesome. She got her own cooking show, which was really cool. I was really proud of the Grand Officers for being so on the ball with our impromptu addendum. I didn't realize that we were supposed to have one planned and so I scribbled quickly the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies (the only thing i know the ingredients for off the top of my head) and split them in the groups. It actually went off really nicely which makes me happy. I love initiations, I know a lot of people who know me know that because I say it all the time, and so it is no surprise that I was extremely excited for this initiation. I was also really nervous, I just wanted so badly to do well on my ritual work because it is such a beautiful ceremony. At the end of the night it all turned out really well and I am so proud of everyone.

Catching Up & Fall Visits

I have just been so caught up with everything going on that I haven't had time to blog I feel so bad. So I am going to take my small window of free time (thank goodness for winter break) to catch up on all the blogging that I have missed. This first one will be on all of the visits that I made this fall. I had so much fun on all of these visits and I just can't wait to go back in the spring. It is so interesting to see the things that vary from assembly to assembly. I was most excited to meet and talk to the girls that I haven't had much of a chance to talk to before. I started my visits with Beaverton (and Forest Grove) and those ladies had some great goals, and it was especially interesting for me to hear those interested in holding line officers give their letters before they held elections. At Martha Washington I was really excited to be at Jennifer Chipman's first meeting as Worthy Advisor and she did a great job. My visit at Eugene was especially fun because as a practice they escorted every person who was in attendance at that meeting, it started to get kind of silly towards the end, but we had lots of fun. Visiting Cherry Assembly was especially interesting because they had to kick me out part way through the meeting so that they could discuss their plans for the Official Visit. The week after Grand Initiation was quite busy for me, I made four visits that week. I started the week with Hillsboro's meeting which was so much fun, I got to dress up as a duck and we had a special bunny visitor. Then it was off to Eastern Oregon where I first visited Union, I surprised Casi at her Volleyball game (She did awesome) and then attended their meeting and afterward we all enjoyed lots and lots of Emma's mom's carmel dipping sauce, I have to get that recipe from her. Then Wednesday I was off to Joseph for their meeting. Before their meeting they had a time for pumpkin carving and they even let me carve one. The really special thing about this is that the pumpkins they had for us to carve were kind with instructions to turn them into pie which I did when I got home. My final visit of the week was to St. Marys assembly in Corvallis. There I got to visit with the pledge girls and the rainbow girls and at St. Mary's they have special system this term where they alternate which office the girls hold so that they get practice with all of the ritual parts. I visited Mt. Scott on my second to last meeting and got to see all of their girls rock their ritual parts and I was especially proud of their younger girls for doing so well and being so dedicated to their assembly. My last visit will be to my home assembly during their Christmas Party which should be a blast.

Grand Worthy Advisor Reception

Wow, I mean it has been days and I am still saying "Wow!" that is how amazing the whole experience was. I cannot believe that room was so full and that we had to bring in so many chairs. I'm trying to think of where to start but even the beginning doesn't seem quite right. When we arrived it was already a mad house, there were so many people there it was crazy in the best sort of way. The auction looked amazing, there were so many wonderful items to bid on, I can't believe I didn't have more time to look or bid for myself. Then there was the dinner which was put on by the State Miss Service team. Not only was it delicious, but there were so many people. They did an amazing job and I am so thankful to them for taking on that responsibility and doing such a fabulous job at it. Now moving on to the actual reception. It is hard to know what to say. I feel so blessed and honored that so many people were there. It was completely overwhelming in the best sort of way to walk into that room. I am so proud of Stephannie and all of the hard work that she put into introductions because I know how difficult they can be and she did an absolutely fabulous job. Then there was HeadBand, they were so amazing but there were moments when I imagined that this is what the Beatles in Shea Stadium must have been like because of all of the excited screaming girls. The addenda were so much fun, although I was a little disappointed when the ball shooter gun wouldn't work but then I got to pop balloons and money came out which was pretty awesome. The Grand Officers had me looking so silly with my sun screen, floaties and my crazy hat but they know that I would do anything for them so it all works out well. Giving my speech was probably one of the most exciting/scary/nerve-racking things that I have ever done. The entire week leading up to it I was bound and determined to re-write my speech because I was so afraid of singing in public. The day of I spent the entire ride to and from Vancouver telling my mom "I'm not gonna do it, I can't do it, I can't sing, I have to re write it, I'll make it up on the spot" some variation of those sentences over and over and over again. In the end though I did it, I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane but I did it and I am so glad that I did because I really meant what I said that it is so important to face your fears because most of the time there is no reason to be afraid of them. I am especially glad that I can shout from the rooftops now that BRYANNA IS MY PAGE! It has been so hard to keep this surprise from her because she had already been acting like my page and has been so wonderful. I was humbled by all of the dignitaries and I could spend all day typing all sorts of wonderful things about them but instead I will just say that I appreciate them all so much. I want to thank everyone so much for being there and for all of their donations to my service project. I can't wait to see everyone again at Emma's reception!

Grandie Retreat

I don't even know where to begin, actually I do. The first thing I'd like to do is make some "Thank yous" especially to all of the wonderful people who worked in the kitchen, the rockstar adults who made Human Clue the best game ever, and to everyone who put time and effort into making this weekend the success that it was. I am fully aware that I could not have done this without help and so I really want to make sure that they all know how much gratitude I have for them and for the work that they do, it often goes unnoticed and they really don't deserve that.

From beginning to end, Grandie Retreat was amazing. The Grand Officers were so willing to roll with all of the crazy things I had plan and so that made it lots and lots of fun with little bits of work thrown in. Friday night was all about Grand Officer bonding and so we took a quick field trip to the park, then we worked on our Grandie Song, played some get to know you games, watched a presentation from Mrs. Metz and Maranda on the things that they learned during the supreme seminar. Finally before bed we played an exciting round of the Shout About TV Trivia game.

Saturday was a big big big day. Multiple instructions with Mrs. Lovelin. Lots of information about all of the amazing programs going on within Oregon Rainbow. Then it got to be dinner time and from dinner on I wanted to make sure it was all about the girls. Dinner was special because we had dinner and a movie, we watched Princess and the Frog and I didn't realize how great it was but that was just enough break time for everyone to do the things they needed to, some people napped, some people enjoyed the movie, some people talked and ate ice cream, I ran around making more preparations and organizing and just being ridiculous. After Princess and the Frog, we did a super quick FISH philosophy workshop. The FISH philosophy is about 4 principles to good work and good customer service: play, make their day, choose your attitude and be there. I had seen the workshop a while ago and it was really important to me to be able to share it with all of my Grand Officers.

Then it was finally time. HUMAN CLUE! Oh my goodness, I could not have pictured that game going any better. The characters were hilarious. Anjee as the Sheriff was enough entertainment for the whole weekend, the girls would always try and run away from her but she caught them every time. I knew she was the best person to pick to make them do silly things but really the secrets revealed in "Tell Mr./Mrs. Noah something weird about yourself" were crazier than I ever imagined.

We finished the night by having Storytime with Malika, voting on a Grand Officer Song and having a pajama devotional service.

Sunday was a little more instruction time with Mrs. Lovelin and then a rockin' mystery trip to the beach.

Overall, this will probably be one of my favorite memories ever and I really hope the Grand Officers feel the same.

Aruba Trip

Our trip to Aruba was amazing. Everyone on the island was so happy, I saw the catchphrase "One Happy Island" and I wasn't really sure that could be true of any place, that everyone would be happy but it really was. Every person we met was nice and happy, and they were always so willing to help.

I was so happy that we were able to spend so much time with the girls from Aruba assembly. They were so sweet and welcoming and I am positive that we will stay in contact with them. First a large group of them met us for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe Wednesday night, which was a complete blast. During our dinner the Venezuela v. Paraguay soccer game was playing with a spanish announcer and it was quite entertaining for all of us and caused a lot of laughs. Then on Thursday night, the girls have a tradition of going to a restaurant called Mulligans for Karaoke and they let us join them which was SO much fun, we absolutely loved it. On Saturday it was their installation. Sueli picked a musical theme of "Rainbow Girls Rock" which was really fun and keeping with the theme during their banquet there was more Karaoke which was great and just as much fun. I love seeing the younger girls start to break out of their shells and sing a little bit which was awesome. Then Saturday night some of the girls joined us again for a movie (Monte Carlo) which was fun and just as hilarious.

Beyond hanging out with the girls we were able to go on a couple of different tours and learn so much about the island and its history, we also had some fun doing beach activities. Wednesday we went on the Semi-Submarine tour, which was amazing we saw turtles, fish and the "Antilla" Shipwreck. Thursday was an individual day for shopping and activities and so we took that time to ride something we fondly refer to as "Bubba" it was basically an inflatable couch that fit four people so Mrs. Smith, Julie Birmingham, Casi and I held on tight and got pulled around by a boat which was crazy fun for us but was a bit intense for Mrs. Smith and Julie. Then Casi and I had the amazing opportunity to go Parasailing thanks to our wonderful mothers. We spent all day Friday on an amazing Jeep tour with a hilarious, knowledgeable tour guide who picked some crazy roads (or non-roads) to drive on. Saturday was all about Rainbow and then Sunday we came home.

It really was just the best trip!

Washington/Idaho Grand Assembly

Well, part of the reason this isn't a video blog is because my voice sounds awful and I would probably cough through most of it. I got a cold during WA/ID and so I was coughing my way through sessions and blowing my nose so much that it hurt but even with all of that it was still an absolutely amazing trip.

It is silly, I know, but I really can't describe the feeling that comes over you when you see your Grand Officers in their traveling dresses for the first time. When you pick out the fabric there is a lot of imagining it in your mind, trying to make sure you will like it when you are staring across a room at 28 people with Hot Air Balloon dresses because you must ask yourself "Will it be too busy?", "Will the girls like it?", "Will the adults like it?", "Does it go well enough with the theme?", "Will I get sick of it after wearing it all year" Then you see them, you see them standing together, you see them afterwards in pictures and your heart just sort of feels happy because they are so beautiful and they look better than any picture in your imagination ever had.

Back on track now. One of the reasons I love Washington/Idaho Grand Assembly is because they are such a large jurisdiction that there is so much that they can do and they really go out and do it. I love Oregon because we are smaller and so it really makes us like a gigantic family because everyone knows everyone and I wouldn't trade my membership here for anything in the world. I just like to smile as I watch the presentation of everything Idaho/Washington has worked for this year throughout all of their sessions.

Now this is the paragraph where I fawn over the beautiful Kristina Knutson for a while. She presided like a Goddess. She has so much composure and grace, but she also commands authority and knows exactly what to do with that authority. Even if you did not know Kristina at all or didn't know her previous involvement with WA/ID Rainbow, simply from Grand Assembly and her interactions with her Grand Officers it would be easy to tell that she is a Grand Worthy Advisor beyond measure and is dearly loved by everyone in that jurisdiction.

Finally, lets talk about next year. I have two names for you: Becky LaMastus and Shannon Rust. I can already tell that I (and all of Oregon that wants to) is going to be great friends with these ladies. Becky is the newly elected Grand Worthy Advisor and she seems sweet with just a hint of silly and she also seems excited to bring our states together, which is something I am extremely passionate about. Shannon Rust is the new Grand Representative of Oregon and she is amazing. She is so much fun and I really think she is fun and a great person to be around and she will fit in with our Jurisdiction extremely well.

I can't wait for all of Oregon Rainbow to get to know our sisters to the north, they are wonderful and you will love them, I just know it.