Back to Troop

There are a lot of things I am now that "cool teenaged" Elissa would never had imagined. Things like blogging, knitting and being crafty in general. You can add Girl Scout Troop leader to that list, but here we are. Last year when we started Troop 2123 we had 4 members. Last week we celebrated the start of our new troop year with an investiture ceremony with our 20 troop members. Yes 20! 

It's been a crazy and so awesome first year and Melanie, Jessica and I are super pumped for the new year. We wanted to start the year off right with a very special investiture/rededication ceremony. The 3 of us really worked and planned our tails off and the results were amazing. We had such a special night for all the girls. 

The night was extra special for my tribe. First off our troop decided to open membership to Daisy aged siblings. That meant that Little Louie's big dream was going to come true. She was going to get to be a Girl Scout. All last year Louie watched from the sidelines. She talked a lot about how she couldn't wait to be a Girl Scout. She would carry Phi's sash around and ask me about each and every badge. When we decided to let Daisy's in I kept it a secret from Louie until the night of the ceremony. Before the ceremony started Joey and I presented her with her vest. She was a bit stunned but as soon as the ceremony started she was excited to be a part of it all. 

We started our ceremony with a special Girl Scout promise. Each girl was given a special candle and we passed on the light. It was really awesome to see.

We wanted the girls to know that being a girl scout is a commitment. We wanted to remind them that as troop members, troop leaders and parents we are all dedicated to making this the best experience for them possible. To emphasize this we had each girl, each parent and each troop leader sign a contract.

Even Louie...

The last part of the ceremony was the pinning of each member. Each girl got a new membership star for the new year, an investiture badge, a badge with their level. Our troop had 4 girls that were bridging up to the Junior level and my Phi was one of them. To mark the occasion we made a "bridge" with balloons and at one end Phi removed her Brownie sash and walked across the bridge.

Ugh could I be anymore cheesy proud Mom in this picture....

Then I got to present her with her new Junior vest. It was a very proud moment for me. Seriously just writing about it makes me teary eyed. I am such a sap.

Before we let the girls loose on the cupcakes and other goodies we had one more surprise in store for them. Troop leaders Melanie's Mom made each of the girls their very own personalized bag. 

 We also had a photo backdrop set up where Melanie took some really great pictures of all our girls. 

Here is our newest (and youngest!) member of Troop 2123

And her silly face....

And our brand new Junior's silly face....

That's better....

If you would have told us 5 years ago that we would be so involved in Girl Scouts we never would have believed you. But this group has been such a blessing in our lives. We have a new big group of really great people in our lives and our girls are making life long friends, learning important skills and gaining self-confidence. 

Of course the access to Girl Scout cookies helps too!