Brownie Girl Scouts

Jocelyn just finished her first year as a Brownie and her second year overall in Girl Scouts.  In September, I was scrambling to find her a troop.  The one she had been in as a Daisy fell apart and I was so disappointed for her.  But a friend sent me in the direction of a wonderful troop and she has had a very fun year.

Jocelyn started the year participating in a ceremony to bridge over from Daisies to Brownies.

Throughout the year the focus has been on the Wonders of Water Journey and they have done lots of fun activities related to that, like a trip to the aquarium.

Then they focused a lot on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, and the path the water takes to get there.  They went on a stream walk and followed the water from sewage drain to the stream, and they also did a stream cleanup which, despite the miserable weather, may have been one of Jocelyn's favorite 

activities for the year!

But I think the thing that tested Jocelyn the most was this past weekend.  The Girl Scouts finished their year with a day at an adventure park with zip lines and "bridges" made from cables, logs, and wooden planks, that were all at least a full story above my head!!  I wasn't sure she was going to be daring enough to try it, but I'm proud to say she did great!

At the end of the day, the girls were presented with final badges and year end pins.  Jocelyn can't wait for next year!!  And I'm sure it's a surprise to no one that I have been elected to Co-Lead next year...

Spring Break Part 2 - Stream Cleanup

This year's focus in Brownie Girl Scouts is Wonders of Water.  The girls have visited the aquarium and local waterways, learned about conserving water, and the benefits of recycling.  And at the end of Spring break they went to a local stream to pick up trash to help keep the streams and waterways clean, right down to the Chesapeake Bay.

Jocelyn has been looking forward to doing this for months!

The night before, it rained and rained.  The morning we did this was drizzling and overcast.  But nothing dampened her excitement!

We went out in raincoats, boots, and rubber gloves.  She was excited to announce that we found 12 balls and a shoe, plus lots more!  We filled a bag of trash and a bag of recyclables just the two of us!  I'm very proud of her for how hard she worked despite the weather and the mud (lots and lots of mud)...

which even sucked off her boot!

She was like this pretty much the whole time.  She ran around looking for trash and came back to me over and over with her arms full.  Who knew picking up trash could be so much fun?!?!

We went home covered in mud.  But as a group we probably filled at least a dozen bags of trash and recycling.  The girls worked really hard.  Definitely a proud Momma moment!

Spring Break

We were certainly ready for the **break** in Spring break this year, but we would love to have a little more of the **Spring** part of the weather.  It's been mightly cold lately and last weekend we actually saw SNOW!!

But despite the weather, we managed to work in some pretty fun times during the week off.

On Thursday that week, we met some friends at the Zoo.  It was especially nice because these are MOMS Club friends we don't get to see often.

We visited the penguins, rhinos, and flamingos.

Brushed the goats, watched the Elephants in action, and smiled big with our friend the Okapi.

But a trip to the zoo with friends would not be complete without sitting on every statue, growling with the lion, riding the carousel, or sticking our heads through every hole.  What a super fun day!!

What a great way to spend the day with friends!

Disney World!!!

Last summer we began planning a trip to Disney World.  I had been there years before and it was as simple as reserving a hotel, buying park tickets and showing up at the gate.

Not anymore!!

After 6 months of planning, we had amazing dinners reserved, fast passes that put us at the front of the line for shows, rides and meet and greets with characters, our magic bands - which are really magical - and a Royal Princess Guest Room at a beautiful hotel on Disney property.   Yes, we went all out, but every moment was special - even the ones we spent shivering in the cold and dodging the rain!

I didn't want Jocelyn to get too crazy waiting for the trip to come so she didn't know anything about it until 3 weeks before.  We gave her a t-shirt, autograph book and pen, and a tour guide and let her figure it out.  Here's the face that came with the realization!  Her one and only request?  A princess gown - of course we had that covered too!

On February 3rd, we boarded our plane headed for sunshine and warmth (we thought) after barely getting unburied from the record breaking snowfall of the week before.

Upon our arrival we were greeted at the door of the hotel to find that we were the Royal Family of the day!  We were announced in the lobby, and got balloons and pictures, and then we got to see our fabulous hotel room!  Made for a princess!

Soon after, we were off to Epcot for our first day and our first Princess dinner.  Minnie ears required!

The second day was what dreams are made of.  This was our first of two days in Magic Kingdom.  Jocelyn had an appointment in Cinderella's Castle at the Bibbity Boppity Boutique for that princess dress, a dream makeover, and photo shoot.  When that was done, it was off to dinner with Cinderella and more princesses right inside the Castle!

 Throughout the trip, we met so many, many characters, from princesses, to Star Wars, to Disney characters.  Here are just a few of the MANY we visited and got autographs and photos with.

Our visits to Hollywood Studios were highlighted by Star Wars events - from meet and greets with Darth Vader and Chewbacca, movie memorabilia, and Jedi Training!

Darth Vader asked Daddy who was giving away secrets to the rebels.  We did what any good parents would do and blamed the kid!!  This photo with Pat and Darth is one of my favorites!

Chewbacca is a hugger.  I even got one!!

Jedi Training!

After all the excitement, we had one more thing to celebrate on our last day in the parks.  Jocelyn FINALLY LOST HER TOP FRONT TOOTH!!  We've been waiting for weeks for it to come out and while waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise she says "Mommy!  I lost my front tooth!!" and sure enough...  We found out that Tinkerbell handles the Tooth Fairy duties in Disney!

I could fill this post with photos.  Between us and the Disney photo package I literally have 100's of them!!  It was an awesome trip.  Our only complaint was the weather.  It was unusually cold for Florida - 50's most days - and we battled with rain more often than we would have liked.  But otherwise, it was a trip to remember.  I'm so glad we took our Princess to the most Magical Place on Earth!