Holiday Event: Girl Scout Investiture

Our first year as Girl Scout co-leaders, we had the pleasure of getting our official pins at the leader holiday party slash Investiture. It was an honor to be called "official" and a fun little challenge to cite the Girl Scout Promise on our own without the girls screaming it out loud to us.

On my honor, I will try:

To serve God and my country,

To help people at all times,

And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

The candles all symbolize a part of the Girl Scout Law:

I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,

considerate and caring,

courageous and strong, and

responsible for what I say and do,

and to respect myself and others,

respect authority,

use resources wisely,

make the world a better place, and

be a sister to every Girl Scout.

Getting pinned by a current leader.

We are official!!!

Fellow leaders showing us their support and offering to help as we embark on this journey. Wish I could say I feel brave but really I feel like I owe it to my daughter ... her sisters found troops to join and she could not ... so if we didn't start our own, she would be left out. Here's to the journey all starting with a single step ... our investiture!

(New) Holiday Tradition: The Grinch Musical

I've never been on an outing with my oldest and her girl scout troop. I've never seen The Grinch musical and barely remember seeing The Grinch movie one time a long time ago. I've never heard of December Nights at Balboa Park, let alone been to it. But now, I think we might have started a new holiday tradition.

These girls were such a pleasure to spend the day with. They are well behaved. They are funny and they really enjoy each other's company. It was really nice to see my daughter interact that way with other girls her age, especially as we encounter these preteen years. I'm very grateful for a happy child!

Kaila's troop leader also leads a Brownie scout troop for her other daughter. They joined us too in all the fun!

The booths, the lights and the decorations at Balboa Park were very festive. The big Dr. Seuss tree was so cool and very merry! There were food booths from all over the world. It was definitely fascinating to smell all the various flavors. We visited with Peruvian, Italian, South African, Columbian, French, German, Hawaiian, Filipino and many more I'm sure I'm forgetting. It was a smorgasbord!

Another highlight of December Nights were the museums open for free admission. The girls played along with all the interactive displays at the science museum and were fascinated by the space museum. We even did a 4D movie experience where we felt like we were flying. The part that scared me most was the real water splashing in my face when we hit the bottom of a gutter! Eeeeww!

The Grinch musical was spectacular. The music was lively and loud and fun! The set was perfectly Dr. Seuss style. The lights were dramatic. The cast was wonderful. I was pleasantly surprised by the storyline. I'm familiar with how the Grinch steals Christmas but this play had just the right amount of unpredictability that you were stuck to your seats fully entertained the whole time. We didn't even have intermission. Kaila who is supposed to take notes for her drama class, didn't even bother to write anything down because she was so riveted by the performance. I can't wait to share this with the whole family and do this every year as a new holiday tradition.

Oh and the surprise ending of the night was being part of a flash mob. Michelle found out about it and brought flashlights. The girls sang We are the World by Michael Jackson, swaying back and forth with their flashlights along with about a hundred other people right around the fountain. It was such a fun filled day!