# A Halloween Slumber Party 🎃 Childrens Story

An episode of [Snuggle: Kids bedtime stories](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1714672018), 20 Oct 2024, 46 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/62214948/prod_snuggle_051.mp3

A 6-year-old girl enjoys a special Halloween-themed slumber party with her closest friends. Narrated by: Heather Foster Written by: Chase Doan Welcome to Snuggle! The best kid's story-telling podcast. Enter a cozy world of imagination perfect for bedtime, quiet time, or any time you want to embark on an enchanting adventure. Learn more at slumberstudios.com/snuggle To enjoy ad-free listening and exclusive bonus episodes, start your 7-day free trial of Snuggle Premium: https://snuggle.supercast.com/ November only: try Premium free for 90 days. Ad-free listening and more at slumber.supercast.com

## Transcript

[0:03] Speaker 1: Welcome to Snuggle Cozy stories for kids. This episode is
[0:10] Speaker 1: called a Halloween's Slumber Party. Snuggle is a production of
[0:16] Speaker 1: Slumber Studios. To listen ad free and support the show,
[0:20] Speaker 1: sign up for our premium feed. Hey friend, it's Tom here,
[0:28] Speaker 1: and I'm so glad to have your company for today's
[0:31] Speaker 1: story time. Whether it's for a nap, for bed, or
[0:36] Speaker 1: just for fun. Story time is always my favorite part
[0:40] Speaker 1: of the day, especially when friends like you are here
[0:44] Speaker 1: to join me. Heather is back to read to us
[0:47] Speaker 1: in this episode, So let me ask, do you enjoy
[0:52] Speaker 1: Halloween as much as I do? I think it's always
[0:57] Speaker 1: a time for fun and laughter, with a few sweet
[1:00] Speaker 1: treats thrown in, of course. Well, shortly, we'll be joining
[1:05] Speaker 1: Ellie as she holds her very first slumber party. She's
[1:11] Speaker 1: about to discover just how much fun slumber parties can
[1:15] Speaker 1: be when surrounded by close friends and good food. The
[1:21] Speaker 1: festivities will stretch on long past bedtime, but eventually the
[1:27] Speaker 1: girls will snuggle down in their sleeping bags. We'll use
[1:33] Speaker 1: our imaginations to help us picture our story. So let's
[1:39] Speaker 1: take a nice relaxing breath together to prepare. Breathe in
[1:46] Speaker 1: gently and fully and breathe out. Perfect. Now, I'll make
[1:59] Speaker 1: way for Heather so she can begin our story, which
[2:04] Speaker 1: starts at Ellie's home, where she's eagerly anticipating the arrival
[2:10] Speaker 1: of her friends.
[2:28] Speaker 2: It's Friday afternoon, a few days after Ellie's sixth birthday.
[2:36] Speaker 2: When her parents asked her what she wanted for her
[2:39] Speaker 2: birthday this year, they already knew what her answer would be.
[2:47] Speaker 2: Ellie wanted to host her very first slumber party. It
[2:54] Speaker 2: would have a fall or Halloween theme, of course, seeing
[3:00] Speaker 2: as it was that time of the year. After careful
[3:07] Speaker 2: consideration and after calling her friend's parents, Ellie's mom and
[3:15] Speaker 2: dad agreed to it, and today is the day Ellie's
[3:24] Speaker 2: birthday wish is about to come true, as three of
[3:29] Speaker 2: her closest friends are coming to stay the night. Ellie's
[3:36] Speaker 2: parents had read somewhere that it was a good idea
[3:41] Speaker 2: to choose the number of guests based on their daughter's age.
[3:49] Speaker 2: As Ellie was now six years old, there would be
[3:53] Speaker 2: three guests half of her age, and just a couple
[4:00] Speaker 2: of minutes, Adriana, Emani and Kay will be here sleeping
[4:08] Speaker 2: bags in tow. Ellie can't wait for her friends to
[4:14] Speaker 2: arrive Throughout the week, she and her parents spent quality
[4:21] Speaker 2: time together in preparation for the slumber party. When she
[4:29] Speaker 2: came home from school on Monday, she and her mother
[4:35] Speaker 2: sat down at the kitchen table and got to work
[4:41] Speaker 2: creating cards to send to each of her friends. Ellie's
[4:49] Speaker 2: mother already knew that the girls were able to attend,
[4:55] Speaker 2: but she wanted this time with her daughter doing something
[5:00] Speaker 2: together that they both loved arts and crafts. They had
[5:09] Speaker 2: decorated each card to match the fall and Halloween themes.
[5:16] Speaker 2: Glued to the fronts of the cards or assortments of
[5:20] Speaker 2: leaves colored red, orange, and saffron. Each card had a
[5:29] Speaker 2: dusting of glitter that outlined the words the witching Hour
[5:36] Speaker 2: is near. For Ellie's first sleepover, we want you here.
[5:45] Speaker 2: Ellie had come up with the words herself and was
[5:50] Speaker 2: still feeling quite proud. Once the invitations had been sent out,
[5:59] Speaker 2: Ellie and her parents devised the ultimate sleepover game plan.
[6:08] Speaker 2: As it was her first sleepover, they had to make
[6:14] Speaker 2: it epic. The personalized outfits, activities, food, and sleeping arrangements
[6:24] Speaker 2: had to be perfect. They wanted to set the stage,
[6:31] Speaker 2: knowing that the evening was all about creating special memories.
[6:39] Speaker 2: Ellie was hardly able to contain her excitement. She imagined
[6:46] Speaker 2: the happy giggles of her friends on the night of
[6:50] Speaker 2: the party, lasting well after the lights had been turned off.
[6:58] Speaker 2: That was the whole point of slumber parties, after all,
[7:04] Speaker 2: having fun, and Ellie's party was to be fun piled
[7:10] Speaker 2: on top of fun, especially with what she and her
[7:16] Speaker 2: parents had conjured up. Each component of the party would
[7:23] Speaker 2: align with the season, and the invitations were just the start.
[7:32] Speaker 2: The rest of the week was dedicated to decorating the house.
[7:39] Speaker 2: They were getting it ready not only for the slumber party,
[7:44] Speaker 2: but for the season ahead as well. There were matching
[7:51] Speaker 2: silly faced ghosts wrapped around the two pillars on the
[7:57] Speaker 2: front porch. Beneath on the steps leading up to the
[8:04] Speaker 2: front door, there were pumpkins as orange and plump as
[8:11] Speaker 2: could be. And that was just outside the house. Inside,
[8:21] Speaker 2: Ellie and her mother had ensured that almost every surface
[8:28] Speaker 2: was adorned and autumnal leaves. They were cut from construction
[8:35] Speaker 2: paper and dusted with glitter. The leaves were taped all
[8:42] Speaker 2: around the doorways, along the banisters, and on every inch
[8:49] Speaker 2: of the window sills. The fireplace was just as festive
[8:58] Speaker 2: A banner welcoming guests was hanging from the mantle, while
[9:04] Speaker 2: propped up against the wall was a figuring of a
[9:09] Speaker 2: witch on a broom. The family had the most fun
[9:17] Speaker 2: they'd had in months preparing for the slumber party. It
[9:25] Speaker 2: made Ellie's birthday feel like a week long celebration. The
[9:33] Speaker 2: house looked like something from a magazine, at least in
[9:39] Speaker 2: their opinion. Ellie couldn't wait to see her friend's faces
[9:46] Speaker 2: when they saw the house and realized what was in
[9:52] Speaker 2: store for them today. On the day of the slumber party,
[10:00] Speaker 2: the four friends could hardly pay attention at school. They
[10:07] Speaker 2: all counted down the minutes until class was over and
[10:13] Speaker 2: the real fun could begin. It was now the afternoon
[10:22] Speaker 2: and all three guests have just arrived at Ellie's house.
[10:30] Speaker 2: Ellie and her parents came out to the driveway to
[10:34] Speaker 2: greet everyone. Despite having just seen each other, the four
[10:41] Speaker 2: girls act as if it had been years. The adults
[10:47] Speaker 2: can't help but laugh. The bags are brought in and
[10:54] Speaker 2: Ellie's parents take the whole crew on a tour of
[10:59] Speaker 2: the house. They go from room to room so the
[11:06] Speaker 2: girls can see for themselves where all of the fun
[11:11] Speaker 2: will be had. First, they stop by the kitchen, where
[11:18] Speaker 2: a vast array of seasonal treats covers every inch of
[11:25] Speaker 2: the counters all kinds of Halloween activities of weight like
[11:33] Speaker 2: making gingerbread houses and creating edible green slime. In the
[11:42] Speaker 2: living room is one of the other main attractions. It's
[11:47] Speaker 2: a nail salon booth erected in the corner of the room,
[11:54] Speaker 2: which is laden with all the tools of the trade. Then,
[12:00] Speaker 2: for the grand finale, everyone looks outside at the expansive
[12:07] Speaker 2: backyard where the fire pit is. This is where the
[12:15] Speaker 2: girls will finish the night, roasting s'mores, telling stories, and
[12:23] Speaker 2: sleeping under the stars. When the girl's parents have left,
[12:31] Speaker 2: Ellie's mother ushers everyone into the living room and gives
[12:37] Speaker 2: each girl their own set of pajamas to sleep in.
[12:44] Speaker 2: They're matching, with shiny candy corn printed all over the
[12:50] Speaker 2: bottoms and each girl's name adorning the pristine white shirts.
[12:59] Speaker 2: The girls make quick work of putting their things down
[13:04] Speaker 2: in the living room and immediately changing into their pajamas.
[13:13] Speaker 2: Laughter is in the air and spirits are high. The
[13:19] Speaker 2: slumber party is off to a great start. First on
[13:26] Speaker 2: the list is food. There are snacks to be found
[13:31] Speaker 2: all around, but the girls are in the kitchen, now
[13:37] Speaker 2: eager for a delicious meal. The invitations hinted that the
[13:45] Speaker 2: meal would require audience participation, so the girls are in
[13:52] Speaker 2: for a quick cooking lesson. Courtesy of Ellie's parents. Mom
[13:59] Speaker 2: and Dad have laid out all the ingredients for Ellie's
[14:04] Speaker 2: favorite dish, three cheese lasagnia. They give each girl her
[14:12] Speaker 2: own job to do. Adriana and Emani test out their
[14:19] Speaker 2: culinary skills under the watchful eye of Ellie's father. They
[14:28] Speaker 2: add fresh garlic an onion to the sizzling skillet, waiting
[14:35] Speaker 2: until the onion is soft, at which point they add
[14:41] Speaker 2: the sauce to the mix. Meanwhile, Ellie and Kay whip
[14:49] Speaker 2: up a ricotta and parmesan cheese mixture in a bowl
[14:55] Speaker 2: by the sink. Once it's prepared, Ellie's mother takes a
[15:02] Speaker 2: third of the sauce and uses it to line a
[15:07] Speaker 2: casserole dish. She insures that it spread out evenly before
[15:15] Speaker 2: adding a layer of lasagna noodles. After the regatta mixture
[15:23] Speaker 2: is poured over the noodles, the rest of the sauce
[15:28] Speaker 2: is used to cover the top. The mozzarella cheese is
[15:35] Speaker 2: sprinkled last concluding layer number one. For the next two layers,
[15:45] Speaker 2: the girls simply follow the same pattern as before until
[15:51] Speaker 2: the pan is nearly overflowing and layered to perfection. The
[16:01] Speaker 2: dish is covered with foil and slid into the oven
[16:06] Speaker 2: to bake. While they wait for the lasagna, the four
[16:13] Speaker 2: girls take to the living room. Here they do their
[16:19] Speaker 2: nails at the nail salon, which Ellie and her mother
[16:24] Speaker 2: constructed earlier. Inside the booth, there are buckets filled to
[16:32] Speaker 2: the brim with every kind and color of nail polish imaginable.
[16:42] Speaker 2: The girls rummage through the buckets, selecting several colors, which
[16:49] Speaker 2: they set on the coffee table. Then they arrange pillows
[16:55] Speaker 2: on the floor and sit down. As the minutes go by,
[17:03] Speaker 2: the girls chat and paint their nails, helping each other
[17:10] Speaker 2: when needed. The smell of cheese and spices soon wafts
[17:17] Speaker 2: through the house, causing their stomachs to rumble. The first
[17:25] Speaker 2: coat of nail polish turns into two while the girls
[17:32] Speaker 2: wait where the final coat to set. The conversation turns
[17:38] Speaker 2: towards the upcoming season. They can't wait for the festivities.
[17:47] Speaker 2: First and foremost, they have costumes to come up with.
[17:55] Speaker 2: Instead of each wearing their own indefiti usual costume. Maybe
[18:03] Speaker 2: they will trick or treat as a group. They could
[18:09] Speaker 2: all dress up as bees, or various kinds of fruit,
[18:15] Speaker 2: or different colors of the rainbow. The ideas keep coming,
[18:24] Speaker 2: getting more ridiculous as the discussion goes on and laughter
[18:31] Speaker 2: rings through the house. When the timer begins to chime,
[18:38] Speaker 2: the girl's nail polish has already hardened. It's safe for
[18:44] Speaker 2: them to get up and move around without getting polish
[18:49] Speaker 2: on the furniture, much to the relief of Ellie's parents.
[18:57] Speaker 2: The girl's pad to the kitchen and immediately get in
[19:02] Speaker 2: line for their plates, mouths watering at the irresistible smell
[19:09] Speaker 2: of cheese. Ellie's mother and father take one look at
[19:18] Speaker 2: the girl's nails and burst into laughter. Each girl has
[19:26] Speaker 2: painted every finger and toe in entirely different color. It's
[19:34] Speaker 2: a good thing they had a whole array of nail
[19:38] Speaker 2: polished paints. Ellie's parents ruffle the girl's hair as they
[19:47] Speaker 2: file past the stove and pile the cheesy goodness on
[19:53] Speaker 2: their plates. The lasagna has cooked two perfect The sides
[20:02] Speaker 2: are just slightly burnt, tinged a deep yellow and orange,
[20:10] Speaker 2: and the cheese is thick and gooey. Everyone claims a
[20:17] Speaker 2: seat at the kitchen table and dives in. The only
[20:25] Speaker 2: zunds in the house are those of deeply satisfied chewing
[20:32] Speaker 2: and a collective sigh at the deliciousness of the lasagna.
[20:40] Speaker 2: Once they're done, they still have enough room for the
[20:45] Speaker 2: next course on the menu, dessert. They have many options
[20:53] Speaker 2: to choose from. The girls want all of them, naturally,
[21:00] Speaker 2: but they decide to go ahead with the gingerbread houses first, though,
[21:08] Speaker 2: they need to clean up the kitchen. Ellie's mother sighs
[21:15] Speaker 2: with relief as all four girls rush to the sink
[21:20] Speaker 2: to help with the dishes. They make quite the tam
[21:26] Speaker 2: with Ellie gathering up all the dirty dishes from the
[21:30] Speaker 2: table and handing them to Adriana at the sink. Adriana
[21:38] Speaker 2: works with Kay to rinse and scrub the dishes, at
[21:44] Speaker 2: which point they're handed to Emani, who diligently places them
[21:50] Speaker 2: in the dishwasher. For a group of first grade girls,
[21:57] Speaker 2: it's an impressive show of organization and working together as
[22:04] Speaker 2: a team. Once the kitchen has been cleaned and all
[22:10] Speaker 2: the dishes are neatly arranged in the dishwasher, the girls
[22:16] Speaker 2: are ready to make their gingerbread houses. Everything that they
[22:24] Speaker 2: will need is already laid out on the counters. All
[22:30] Speaker 2: the girls have to do is make and then bake
[22:35] Speaker 2: the gingerbread dough. After that it will be an edible
[22:43] Speaker 2: arts and craft session as they decorate their creations. But
[22:51] Speaker 2: first things first, the dough has to be made. Ellie's
[22:57] Speaker 2: mother has every and greased lined up according to their
[23:03] Speaker 2: order of use. She allows the girls to help her
[23:09] Speaker 2: as she sets to the task of preparing the dough.
[23:15] Speaker 2: The girls hand her the sugar, molasses and pumpkin pie
[23:21] Speaker 2: spice mix. They're blended together and heated in a large
[23:27] Speaker 2: saucepan until the mixture is boiling. After removing the pan
[23:36] Speaker 2: from the heat, butter is added and once it has
[23:41] Speaker 2: fully melted, an egg is whisked in. Then flour is
[23:47] Speaker 2: introduced to the mixture as the girls stir it in
[23:53] Speaker 2: with wooden spoons. Ellie's mother dumps the mixture onto the
[23:59] Speaker 2: cow hunter and watches as the four girls stand side
[24:06] Speaker 2: by side kneading the dough until the flower is fully incorporated.
[24:15] Speaker 2: Now that the gingerbread dough is ready, the girls decide
[24:21] Speaker 2: to make a couple of cookies along with the houses.
[24:27] Speaker 2: After selecting the cookie cutters, they sit down at the
[24:32] Speaker 2: table to create paper templates. The girls fashion all manner
[24:40] Speaker 2: of designs. Only some of them are Halloween themed, but
[24:47] Speaker 2: each one is festive in its own way. There are pumpkin, unicorn, dragon,
[24:58] Speaker 2: and star cookies to join the houses. To create the
[25:04] Speaker 2: pieces that will comprise the houses. The paper templates are
[25:11] Speaker 2: positioned over the rolled out dough and cut carefully with
[25:18] Speaker 2: butter knives. The dough cuts easily and the pieces fall
[25:26] Speaker 2: off the utensils, making the next step a breeze. The
[25:34] Speaker 2: girls place their creations onto the parchment lined baking sheet
[25:41] Speaker 2: held out by Ellie's mother. Once the baking sheet is
[25:47] Speaker 2: in the oven, it's time for a little more culinary fun.
[25:56] Speaker 2: While the gingerbread cookies and houses off are baking, the
[26:02] Speaker 2: girls get to make their very own icing mimix powdered
[26:09] Speaker 2: sugar with a splash of vanilla and just enough milk
[26:15] Speaker 2: to give it a spreadable consistency. Then they get to
[26:22] Speaker 2: indulge even further by creating edible slime. The girls are
[26:31] Speaker 2: particularly excited about this. Ellie's father tells them solemnly that
[26:41] Speaker 2: according to the stories he's heard, slime is actually ectoplasm.
[26:49] Speaker 2: It's a viscous green substance which is given off by
[26:55] Speaker 2: any paranormal entity that comes into contacts with the physical world.
[27:04] Speaker 2: For example, he says, anytime a ghost touches an object
[27:10] Speaker 2: like a door handle, a slimy residue is left on
[27:16] Speaker 2: the surface. The girls giggle and nod their heads in agreement.
[27:25] Speaker 2: It makes sense, after all, many of the spooky movies
[27:31] Speaker 2: and television series they've seen show exactly that wherever the
[27:39] Speaker 2: paranormal creature has made contact, there's a trail of slime
[27:46] Speaker 2: left behind. When Kay asks how slime could be edible,
[27:54] Speaker 2: Ellie's parents smile. They ask the girls to wrap a
[28:00] Speaker 2: bowl and mixer from the kitchen island and to spread out.
[28:08] Speaker 2: There are four stations on the counter, each containing an
[28:13] Speaker 2: assortment of small bottles made to look like witchy potions.
[28:22] Speaker 2: As the girls take their positions, Ellie's father begins what
[28:29] Speaker 2: he refers to as the summoning of the spirits. He
[28:36] Speaker 2: says that this action will call forth friendly souls who
[28:42] Speaker 2: will momentarily grace the girls with their presence, and when
[28:50] Speaker 2: they disappear, they will leave behind the ghost slime. The
[28:58] Speaker 2: process begins with mixing the bottles of canola oil and
[29:04] Speaker 2: milk in the balls with the aid of the electric mixers.
[29:11] Speaker 2: For a few moments, the only noise is the sound
[29:16] Speaker 2: made by the mixers coming into contact with the sides
[29:23] Speaker 2: of the balls. The soft, whorrying and occasional clanking referberates
[29:31] Speaker 2: through the kitchen. When they are done with that step,
[29:38] Speaker 2: Belly's father instrucks each girl to add the bottles labeled
[29:45] Speaker 2: vanilla extract and sathan gum. Then they have to mix
[29:53] Speaker 2: until it is all rather jelly like and slimy. Using
[30:01] Speaker 2: the same reverent tone, Allie's father asks the girls to
[30:07] Speaker 2: add the icing sugar, but in four stages, and to
[30:14] Speaker 2: blend the mixture completely in between each stage. As the
[30:22] Speaker 2: mixer's whirl, the slime begins to take on a thicker consistency.
[30:31] Speaker 2: It's still gooey and slimy, but much more substantial than before.
[30:40] Speaker 2: For the last stage, he asks the girls to take
[30:44] Speaker 2: the remaining bottle, which contains green food coloring, and to
[30:50] Speaker 2: sprinkle it in. They should mix it until they have
[30:56] Speaker 2: achieved whatever shade of green they think looks most like
[31:03] Speaker 2: ghost slime. This, of course, results in a wide variety
[31:10] Speaker 2: of greens. Adrianus turns out to be a deep emerald green,
[31:19] Speaker 2: Emani makes a neon green, Ellie a sea foam green,
[31:28] Speaker 2: and k a lime green. An excellent representation of the spirits,
[31:38] Speaker 2: says Eli's father. He tells the girls that they have
[31:43] Speaker 2: succeeded and that the spirits have deemed them all worthy
[31:50] Speaker 2: of a treat. In just a few more minutes, the
[31:57] Speaker 2: gingerbread houses can be taken out of the oven. Meanwhile,
[32:04] Speaker 2: the girls stand at the kitchen island trying to get
[32:09] Speaker 2: each other to taste the ghost lime. Finally, Immani relents, gingerly,
[32:19] Speaker 2: scooping up some of the thick, gooey substance with her finger.
[32:25] Speaker 2: She raises it to her mouth and has a taste.
[32:31] Speaker 2: It's wonderful, she says, and it tastes just like vanilla custard.
[32:41] Speaker 2: After that, the three girls follow suit, gobbling up the
[32:48] Speaker 2: slime with delight. Once the slime is finished and the
[32:55] Speaker 2: area tidied up, the girls are half to see that
[33:01] Speaker 2: the gingerbread is ready. It's been pulled out of the
[33:07] Speaker 2: oven and cooled. The four of them clear the kitchen table.
[33:15] Speaker 2: Then they cover it with all manner of different colored
[33:20] Speaker 2: icing and candy so they can decorate their gingerbread cookies
[33:27] Speaker 2: and houses. It's been decided that the girls will decorate
[33:34] Speaker 2: their gingerbread now and eat their creations later tomorrow. The
[33:42] Speaker 2: adults have declared that they can choose only one more
[33:48] Speaker 2: sugary treat for the night, and the vote for s'mores
[33:53] Speaker 2: around the campfire is unanimous, but that will come later.
[34:01] Speaker 2: Clustered around the table now, the girls set to work
[34:07] Speaker 2: painting their cookies with the icing. Once the piles of
[34:13] Speaker 2: candy are added, each design grows exponentially more festive. When
[34:22] Speaker 2: they're done, Each bright candy coated cookie is judged by
[34:29] Speaker 2: the group. The Unicorn stands out the most for its
[34:37] Speaker 2: vivid pink and purple coat, decorated with nearly an entire
[34:44] Speaker 2: bottle of rainbow colored sprinkles, but the Star is a
[34:52] Speaker 2: close second. Each point is painted evenly with a different color,
[35:00] Speaker 2: in contrast to the lines of many chocolate chips that
[35:05] Speaker 2: separate each section. The girls start to build their gingerbread houses,
[35:15] Speaker 2: having set the finished cookies aside to be kept cool
[35:20] Speaker 2: and dry in a plastic container. Meanwhile, the adults tell
[35:28] Speaker 2: them all about the history of gingerbread. The gingerbread house
[35:36] Speaker 2: is generally considered to be a Christmas tradition with roots
[35:42] Speaker 2: in Germany. It dates all the way back to the
[35:48] Speaker 2: sixteenth century, and it owes much of its popularity to
[35:54] Speaker 2: a famous fairytale. It's a story of two children who
[36:01] Speaker 2: stumble across a house made entirely of sugar retreats in
[36:09] Speaker 2: the heart of the forest. The girls all gnad their
[36:15] Speaker 2: heads in recognition while they slather copious amounts of icing
[36:23] Speaker 2: along the ridges and walls of their gingerbread. After watching
[36:31] Speaker 2: each building slowly inchtoward its completion, the adults leave, the
[36:37] Speaker 2: girls do their work, and with just the four girls
[36:44] Speaker 2: laughed in the kitchen, things become a bit competitive. Kay's
[36:52] Speaker 2: building is the biggest at first. Then Adriana sneaks a
[36:59] Speaker 2: glass at her friend's house and rushes to at a
[37:04] Speaker 2: level above the main floor of her own gingerbread house.
[37:12] Speaker 2: She quickly joins the edges together until the whole thing
[37:18] Speaker 2: falls apart. The girls rrupt into giggles, and moments later
[37:26] Speaker 2: their houses are in varying degrees of dissarray. Emani's perfectly
[37:35] Speaker 2: constructed manner, as she calls it, is now falling over,
[37:42] Speaker 2: and Ellie's sleek apartment high rise is now just a
[37:48] Speaker 2: pile of sticky walls. Overhearing the laughter, the adults come
[37:57] Speaker 2: back into the kitchen to see what all the fuss
[38:02] Speaker 2: is about. They observe the topple gingerbread houses strewn across
[38:09] Speaker 2: the table. They end up laughing too. Once they've calmed down,
[38:18] Speaker 2: the girls set to the task of riding their houses,
[38:24] Speaker 2: and their determination pays off in record time. The houses
[38:32] Speaker 2: are once more solidly constructed thanks to the ample icing glue.
[38:41] Speaker 2: The candy is distributed evenly, and as the finishing touches
[38:48] Speaker 2: are made, the girls lean back in their chairs to
[38:54] Speaker 2: survey their work. Even the adults have to admit that
[39:01] Speaker 2: they're impressed. Each house is as distinctive as it is
[39:09] Speaker 2: well constructed. Once the gingerbread houses are safely stored, the
[39:17] Speaker 2: girls leave the kitchen. They're eager to go outside and
[39:24] Speaker 2: finish off the night with a few rounds of s'mores
[39:29] Speaker 2: and campfire tails. After grabbing their sleeping bags, the girls
[39:38] Speaker 2: rush to the backyard or the fire pit, and the
[39:43] Speaker 2: last festivities await them. Ellie's father begins adding kindling and
[39:52] Speaker 2: firewood to the stone enclosure that marks the fire pit,
[40:00] Speaker 2: and the girls each find a place to sleep on
[40:04] Speaker 2: the soft carpet of grass that surrounds the pit. The
[40:12] Speaker 2: night sky is dark and the twinkling of the stars
[40:17] Speaker 2: up above is the only source of light until the
[40:23] Speaker 2: fire comes to life. With the flickering orange glow and
[40:30] Speaker 2: the crackle of the flames, a sense of calm immediately
[40:37] Speaker 2: falls over the group. The distinctive smell of wood, smoke
[40:44] Speaker 2: and pine fills the space, and the wonderful aroma heightens
[40:51] Speaker 2: the tranquility of the night. Each girls handed their own
[40:59] Speaker 2: bag full of everything that's needed to make some maars.
[41:06] Speaker 2: There's a stick of wood for roasting, some gram crackers, marshmallows,
[41:14] Speaker 2: and chocolate candy bars. The girls each pop a marshmallow
[41:21] Speaker 2: onto their wooden sticks and hold them over the heat,
[41:27] Speaker 2: rotating them often. They all know the process well. When
[41:35] Speaker 2: the marshmallow is gold and brown and the inside is gooey,
[41:42] Speaker 2: it can be sandwiched between two pieces of gram cracker,
[41:48] Speaker 2: right alongside a chunk of chocolate. And this is precisely
[41:55] Speaker 2: what they all do. As he's tending the fire, Ellie's
[42:03] Speaker 2: father asks the girls if they know where the name
[42:09] Speaker 2: s'mores came from. He laughs at their blank faces and
[42:17] Speaker 2: tells them that it was actually a group of young
[42:22] Speaker 2: girls just like them who came up with the term
[42:27] Speaker 2: All the way back in nineteen twenty seven, the first recipe,
[42:36] Speaker 2: titled some More, was published in the Girl Scout Guidebook.
[42:43] Speaker 2: This book had all kinds of advice on how to
[42:48] Speaker 2: be a Girl Scout, including tips on how to build
[42:53] Speaker 2: campfires and cook in the wild. This long a discussion
[43:01] Speaker 2: among the girls about how they want to embark on
[43:07] Speaker 2: their own adventure in the woods when you're older, said
[43:13] Speaker 2: Ellie's father with a smile. Once the s'mores are polished off,
[43:22] Speaker 2: the girls snuggle down in their sleeping bags as their
[43:28] Speaker 2: eyes grow heavy. Off in the distance, an owl hoots
[43:37] Speaker 2: its evening song, and a chorus of crickets plays in
[43:42] Speaker 2: the background, providing a lovely sort of white noise. The
[43:52] Speaker 2: girls are growing sleeper by the second. It's the perfect
[44:00] Speaker 2: setting for dozing off, and one by one, every member
[44:10] Speaker 2: of the slumber party drifts off to sleep under the
[44:16] Speaker 2: stars on this perfect fall night.
[45:10] Speaker 1: D n
[46:12] Speaker 2: H.

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