THREE NEW MEMBERS, COMPLIMENTS and COMMUNTITY SERVICE

Today, we got not one, not two but THREE new girls!  How exciting.

All three new girls are in 4th grade and they all knew each other.  Most of them knew all the other girls in our Troop too.  It's nice that they all go to the same school.

Skylar is a darling blond girl who is soft spoken and very sweet.  Diana is a lovely and friendly girl and Cailyn is a beautiful girl with a big smile.  All three seemed to be somewhat shy but I have no doubt that after a few meetings they will come out of their shell more. 

They all joined in as we said the Pledge of Allegiance and Girl Scout Promise.   It was so sweet to see them saying the Girl Scout Promise (or at least trying to follow along) for the first time.  Soon they will be able to say it without a 2nd thought.

We are working on getting our Looking Your Best badge.

One of the requirements is to go around in a circle and give each other an honest complement to the person who's turn it is.  That person listens to everyone and then they move on to the next girl.

One thing the girls learned was it can sometimes be uncomfortable to get compliments.  They tend to get embarrassed by the attention that was placed on them. 

They also learned, that you really don't have to know someone in order to give them a compliment.  It can be as simple as telling someone how pretty their hair is or how you like what they are wearing.

This week the girls were going to give one stranger a day a compliment.  This could be at school to one of the students they don't know or even while standing in a line somewhere with their parents.

They discussed how getting a compliment is nice and makes you feel good.  So as girl scouts they want to bring smiles to peoples lives and that is why they will give out the compliments this week.

The girls also voted on different types of community service they wanted to work on this year.  One of the things they wanted to do was to color/draw pictures for Color A Smile.

They are a group that delivers meals to needy and sick people.  They used the pictures that are colored on the trays so they can bring a smile to someone who is in need.

We spent some time tonight working on this project.  The girls each colored/drew three pictures.  They turned them back into to and I'm going to mail them off to Color A Smile so they can use them when they deliver their meals.

They girls were all so creative in their drawings.

Each one put a smile on my face so I'm sure the person who gets these on their trays will smile too.

The girls are allowed to only put their first name and how old they are on the pages.  I think that is a great way to protect the children who participate in this.

We also talked about several other things the girls want to do this year.  One of them is going to the senior center and singing Christmas songs and playing BINGO with them.

These girls are so kind hearted that everything that was suggested to do for community service hours, they wanted to do.

We could only do community service and I think these girls would be happy.  Such givers.

But, we will also be doing lots more fun things and learning lots of new things too.  Like next week, we are having a Spa Night at our meeting. 

The girls will learn how to take care of their face, nails, feet and hair. Plus, they will get to be pampered too. They are looking forward to this.

I really do enjoy spending time with this group of girls.  It doesn't matter how tired or down I may be when I walk in there, they always make me happy. 

It really is an honor to be their leader.

WILD RIVERS AND THE GREAT RUBBER DUCKY RACE

Wild Rivers has closed it doors to the General Public but they held a Rubber Ducky event to help raise funds for children in need.  So, we joined in the fun.

It turned out that the weather man was good to us and provided sun which was perfect for a day of playing in the water.

Our girls are like human fish and they adore being in the water. 

They also have no fear when it comes to going on the big rides.

I don't think Wild River heats the water on any of the rides or pools but no one seemed to mind.  They jumped right in without any hesitation.

The wave pool was a big hit with our girls.  They could have hung out there all day and been happy.

The cracked me up as I watched them.  Bobbing around like little rubber ducks themselves.

There was seven minutes of calm water followed by seven minutes of wild waves to play around in.

The colors were very pretty.  The sparkling blue water had lots of bright yellow inter tubes floating on top.

Inside all those yellow inter tubes were big smiles.

I have to admit, after standing in the sun for awhile, it got hot out and that pool sure did look refreshing.  Even I wanted to jump in. 

We kept asking the girls if they wanted to get out and go on another ride, but they wanted to stay here.  So, they did.  At least until it was time to move on for the Rubber Ducky contest and lunch.

I mean really, how could you make five happy girls stop having so much fun?  Well, you can't.  It was a day for them to have fun and a day for them to get to enjoy whatever rides they wanted to go on. 

They picked what and when they did something.

Even when it was time for the Rubber Ducky race, the girls found another pool right there with a big waterfall to play in.

It was finally time for the Rubber Ducky Race.  Everyone was given a number and that number was written down under the rubber ducky.  Then they were all released into the water and swam down the lazy river to the finish line.

We didn't win any of the prizes but that's ok.  We were still having a blast.

We stopped to eat lunch and then the girls quickly got back to having fun.  Racing down on the big water slide. 

The lines to get on the rides were not really that bad.  They seemed to move along pretty fast.

They came splashing through the water after riding through the dark tunnels that twist and turn.

I had fun watching everyone trying to get out of the inner tubes.

Since they all got off the ride laughing I guess that meant they had fun.  We did see one girl in her 20's that got off and started crying because she was so scared.  But, not our girls!  They had a great time!

More splish splashing went on.  These girls had never ending energy!

I really do wonder how they do it.  Oh to be young again and be able to go and go and never get tired.

They even took a few minutes to play in the kiddie pool area. 

As long as they were in the water, they were happy.

But, sadly, our time was up.  The park was closing and we had to pack up and leave. 

We had fun.  It was also nice to know we were part of the final group that got to enjoy the park before it closed up for good. 

However, they say, they are going to rebuild the new Wild Rivers over at the Irvine Great Park and it will be open in 2013.  So, who knows, maybe we will part of the first group that goes there.

FRIENDSHIP SKATE NIGHT

Our troop hosted it first Service Unit Event.  It was Friendship Skate Night.  It turned out great!

When we walked in and I saw all the skates lined up waiting to be put on feet in order to carry everyone around and around on the rink, it sure brought back a lot of childhood memories for me. 

The girls all said how excited they were and how they had been waiting for this night. 

This event was open to all friends and families of Girl Scouts in our Service Unit.  However, it was really meant to bring girls who may be interested in joining Girl Scouts.

I was happy to see the girls in our troop asked some friends to come and join us. 

I sure hope some, if not all of them, join our troop.  It would be nice to have a few more girls in our troop.

I loved seeing our girls all wearing the same pink Junior Girl scout shirt.  They looked like a troop even though they were not in uniform and it was easy to find them in the crowd.

Soon, it was time for the skating area to open up and the music started to play.  Our girls got right out there and started to skate.

At first the area was pretty empty.  There were still lots of people coming in and getting their skates on. 

So, the girls had a little time to warm up and get the feel of being back in skates again.

I was really surprised that more kids didn't wear in line skates.  I guess roller skates just never really go out of style.

I had a blast watching the girls as they went around and around.  Hearing them laugh and seeing the big smiles they had made my night.

They had a wonderful time.  Plus, don't tell them, but, it's great exercise for them too.

All the girls were so well behaved.  I was once again proud of them.  They showed others how to act towards each other and to respect the place we were at.  True girl scouts!

All that skating sure makes you work up a hearty appetite.

The girls figured out that if they share drinks, they can make their money go further.

I thought it was super that even some of the girls families joined in the fun.

I had several leaders come up to me and tell me this was the best Friendship Skate they had ever gone to.  How nice!

There were 237 kids that came.  Not sure how many adults but the place was packed.

They did have times they would clear the area and only allow certain groups/ages out to skate.  That made it nicer as it wasn't so crowed out there. 

To be honest though, I don't think it mattered to the girls how packed it was.  They had a blast and really, that was all that mattered.

Good friends, good times and now good memories!