I feel like I have come full circle in my Girl Scout experience.  Since we moved in the summer of 2006 I am now back in the same council area where I started out as a Brownie Scout in the early 1980s.  This summer my girls will be visiting the same camp I visited as a girl, and I think I'm more excited than they are!

Girl Scouting holds a very special place in my heart.  My mom was my troop leader, and although we moved a lot she started a troop in each new school so that I would be able to have the experience.  I have many fond memories of my days as a Brownie Scout (we weren't Girl Scouts back then until we reached the next level).  Thanks to my mom I still have my uniform from all those years ago, which I display with pride (my kids probably think I'm a little kooky, but that's ok!).

Not only was my mom my leader when I was a girl, she was also my co-leader for the first two years of having my own troop.  She was an immeasurable help, and so much fun to work with.  She put a lot into helping too, driving more than 60 miles each week to come to our meetings.  Sadly, she now lives to far away to attend our weekly meetings (the drive takes about 11 hours now), but has been able to visit our troop this year and go on a field trip with us.  Having her go on this trip was extra special because she had taken my troop to the same place many years ago.

I have been an adult Girl Scout for 5 years now working with both of my daughters in all their different troops.  I am proud to be a troop leader and an active member of our service team.  I love working with the girls and know that the program is so good for them.

I am also a collector of vintage badges and books.  I have quite an entire bookcase dedicated to my Girl Scout materials.  All of my vintage badges have been collected from eBay, to which I am sadly addicted.  lol  *Ü*  I am in the process of researching each badge I have to find out the requirements that went along with it.  When I have labeled each badge I will be making a shadow box to display them in.  I have found a photo on the web that shows a similar project and will add a photo of my own once the project is complete.

So far my collection of badges includes: Backyard Fun, Child Nurse, Cook, Cyclist, Dancer, First Aide, Foot Traveler, Garden Flower, Gypsy, Heath Aid, Hostess, Housekeeper, My Trefoil, My Troop, Life Saver, Pen Pal, Pets, Reader, Swimmer, Troop Dramatics, Water Fun.  These badges range from the 1920s to the 1960s.  I also have three older troop crests, the bluebird, the cardinal and the oak.  The bluebird and the cardinal are still in use today, however the oak has been discontinued.  I purchased quite a few of the oak crests on eBay that were new to use with our troop since we meet here at the house with all of the oaks.  The other two crests are vintage and have been used by other girls before.  My collection also includes the Brownie B patches (all three) along with the Junior Aid and Bridge to Juniors patch they were worn with.