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.

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.