On To The Next Girl Scout Level!

Let me start with explaining to you what a Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony is.  It’s a ceremony that celebrates the transition from one grade-level in Girl Scouting.  Last week, the Monkey’s troop bridged from the Brownie level to the Junior level.  To make it a little simpler for you, the girls will no longer wear their brown vests.  They will now wear their green vests.

The ceremony was short, but very sweet.  It was held in the school's multi-purpose room, and the major piece of eye-candy was this awesome bridge that the Boy Scouts allowed us to borrow.  One of my fellow leaders placed balloons in an arch behind the bridge to give the impression of a rainbow.  Her troop was not the only one bridging that evening.  They shared the stage with a Daisy troop that moved on to the Brownie level.

This bridge was built by the Boy Scouts that attend our school.  

The girls (especially the Daisys) were so excited to actually cross the bridge.  They work so hard throughout the year to fulfill the requirements to move onto the next level.  And let’s admit it…the bridge is cool!

Starting as a Brownie Scout

Leaving as a Junior Scout (we still need the vest!) 

I presented each girl with this little package once they crossed over the bridge.  As you may already know from my previous posts, the girls earn a lot of badges.  A LOT OF BADGES!  I try to give them out in a fun way, and in a way that they won’t get lost before the girls get home, so I tucked them inside the box

Empty Girl Scout cookie box (up cycle!)

Box of Junior Mints (to represent where the girls are heading – to the Junior level)

Package of Brownie Bites (to represent where the girls were – the Brownie Level)

Earned badges

Green nail polish (Green to represent the Junior level)

Please ignore the mess on my counter!

We take a break from scouts during the summer, but the Monkey is heading to Girl Scout camp in a few weeks with one of her friends.  They both aren’t ready to attend a sleep-away camp, so they are going for a camp that will give them the camping experience without having to stay overnight.  It’s for one week, and they are both super excited to go.  Who knows?  This may lead to something!

Until next time…..

Christmas Traditions

Hi.  My name is Maureen, and it’s been two days since I bought my last Christmas ornament.  That’s right, two days.  I went the nearest Hallmark the day after Christmas so I could purchase the latest Han Solo Keepsake ornament. I have what some may call an addiction to Christmas ornaments.  My husband would like to call it an obsession.

I can easily spend an hour in the Hallmark store, admiring their latest creations.  I can get lost in the Disney Days of Christmas Store at WDW.  I don’t even blink when the cashier asks for $70.  My reply “Oh, that’s all?  Let me get some more.”

Ornaments tell a story.  It can be one you share, or one you keep to yourself. 

This one?  My cousin Michele gave it to me the year I found out I was pregnant with the Monkey. 

And this one?  My Uncle made this for my mom the year I was born.  Needless to say, it’s kind of old.

These were new additions to our tree this year.  My monkey LOVES Nemo, so this was only natural that we get it.   The R2D2 one is all me – it combines my love of Disney and Star Wars.  It’s ultra nerd material.

Here is one of my favorites. Two tiny little hands helped to paint this one.

I started an ornament collection for my daughter the year she was born.  It started off innocently enough.  I would purchase ONE thing that reminded me of her – and I would purchase it after the holiday when it was on sale.  I would write the year that I purchased it on the box or tag, and then I would put it away in the special box.  The first year I bought her a Scooby Doo one, because I love Scooby.  The next year, I bought her a Dora the Explorer one because she was in love with Dora.  The next year she got a Sponge Bob one.  Then something happened the next year.  Instead of buying one, I bought three – Star Wars, Transformers, and Charlie Brown.  That was the year she discovered the coolness of Optimus Prime, and with me as her mom, she has no choice but to like Star Wars.

I was looking through the box yesterday, because I had to put away the Monsters Inc. and Darth Vadar ones I just bought her, and I took a walk down memory lane.  I found two Lightening McQueens, a few Buzz and Woodys, and a lot of pigs.  Remember, the Monkey is obsessed with pigs, so a lot of people give us pig decorations.  I just put them away in the special box.

When she has a house and family of her own, I’ll give her this box.  My hope is she will use these to decorate her tree, and perhaps she can tell her children their stories.  She will tell them why she has an iCarly and a Lego Stormtrooper ornament.  And perhaps she will start a special box for her children, and continue with this tradition.  That's my hope.