Samantha's second troop

Three years ago, when Samantha entered the first grade (2009), she had to find a new troop. Lesli and Andi could not continue as troop leaders, but we found Troop 10016 in Scappoose lead by a very dedicated volunteer named Dani. I don't remember her last name, but I remember her daughter's name is Ponette. This was a mixed level troop with some first graders and some kindergartners. Most of the girls were working on their petals, which Samantha had already earned, but that was okay. We had lots of thrilling adventures.

I couldn't find a photo of Samantha in her uniform. This photo was taken in December 2009. Samantha and I are about to deliver her dad's Christmas cookies to our neighbors.

Samantha sold cookies for the first time this year. She set a goal of 100 boxes of cookies and she met that goal. She sold almost all of her cookies by visiting my coworkers in their offices at the American Red Cross. It was lovely not having to walk around in the rain to sell cookies.

I also took her to the Girls Save Lives Blood Drive. The rest of the troop didn't come with us to this event, but I wanted to bring Samantha. She was fascinated to watch them take blood from me. I hope we can do this event again.

This year I went ahead and joined Girl Scouts so that I could attend all the events with my daughter. We went to spring camp together this year. In fact, all the Daisies had to be accompanied by a parent. I don't remember how I got away without registering and attending last year. Anyway, this year it was held during the last weekend in May near Long Beach, Washington at a church camp on the ocean. It was a lovely spot. The cabins were a bit musty. The bunk beds had no railing, and one girl fell out onto the cement floor. I was pretty scared for her, but she was fine. The food was excellent! It rained a lot, but the girls had a great time. I remember learning about SWAPs (Special Whatchamacallit Affectionately Pinned Somewhere).

Another highlight this year was twilight camp. This was just like a day camp except that it was held in the evening instead of during the day. I think it went from about 5pm to 8pm or something like that. The theme was mystery camp, and they tried to solve a mystery during the course of the week.

What did you do when your first-grader was a Girl Scout?