Jubilee Jubilation!

It was the best of Girl Scouting:  hundreds of girls exploring science (robots, astronomy), history (of Girl Scouts and also local CT sites), physical activities (tennis, rock climbing, Taekwondo, jumping rope), volunteer work (different booths by troops), environmental concerns (animals, composting), health (nutrition, recess, platelet donations), while singing, making arts and crafts (bracelets bracelet bracelets), and participating in SWAPS (aka Special Whatchamacallit Affectionately Pinned Somewhere).

Sis in full Daisy tunic with camp backpack and SWAP lanyard rushed from place to place trying so many things. Early on in the day, she received a huge special button announcing her 100+ cookie sales, which prompted a group of GS alum to serenade her with "99 boxes of cookies for sale" (you know the tune!).  She liked SWAPping, quickly exchanging her 25 marshmallows-on-skewers "I Love S'mores" SWAPS for a variety of cute pins--a "Got Cookies?" glass of milk, a slice of (sponge) GS birthday cake, square s'mores, a polymer clay whale, several beaded pins, lots of pompom pins, and such (next time, we'll a) make more SWAPS and b). bring two big Ziploc bags, one for giving away and one for collecting.  See here for SWAP etiquette and here for examples).  Sis was great about approaching older girls all on her own, negotiating the SWAPS (which is a given--you can't really refuse a SWAP if someone asks you, even if you have one like theirs or don't want one).  I only vaguely remember one SWAPS meet when I was a Brownie; don't know what I'd made but got an old black film cannister fountain soda made out of pompoms with a straw that I treasured for years. (Can leaders SWAP??  I wanna play!)  

She also liked visiting the trading post for a special Jubilee patch and a new camp journal.  And she liked the bounce houses.  Bud spent a lot of time in the bounce houses, being a really good sport about being a "GS Bro" (as proclaimed by the SWAP Sis made him).  He also enjoyed the different booths, such as the one where he and Sis played a water rapids Wii game together and when they got to run through the chambers of a giant inflatable heart.  We also did two stops on the Jubilee GS promise letterboxing trail, having come prepared with our own new family letterboxing journal and a bunny and a penguin stamp.

The day turned hotter than we expected, even with all of our water, and we'd mistakenly left many of the outside activities for later in the day (which is why we only did 2 letterboxing stops and none of the scavenger hunt--there's always more to do than there is time (which was hard for the kids).  The line for lunch was 100+ people long.  Seriously.  And the kids got fatigued after 4 hours (no shock there).  And so we headed out for lunch and home midday.  It was still a wonderful day and we'll do another big GS gathering again.  But we'll take more water, our own food, more hats and sunscreen, a rolling bag instead of backpacks, and more SWAPS!

I'm already looking for a new design!  A clothespin bunny, perhaps . . . .