CADETTE 0 RAMA 2011

Wow!  It's too bad that everyone couldn't see how much fun those girls had over the weekend!  I watched as Cadettes girls loaded camping gear in, set up tents, lashed their dishwash station, put up the flagpole and more with the help of their advisors and some parents.  Some bellyaching, but for the most part, happy and productive, doing it on their own!  Teaching others how to do something. Helping neighboring troops.  Getting all caught up in the Musical Merriment theme of the weekend.

It was great!  These girls, some vets and some newbies, were doin' it for themselves!  They were well prepped, well trained and ready to go.  I loved it!  They came to have fun, participate, stay up late and sleep in (wishful thinking) before their events of the morning kicked in.

I saw some of the scores from the skills and fun games, and most were above average.  Most of the girls knew what they were doing and did it well.  Was it perfect?  No, but pretty darn good!  Were there hovering leaders/parents? Sure, but they were in the minority.  There were more leaders sitting in a chair in the shade, watching, taking pictures and acting as the safe place to leave "stuff" than there were leaders directing girls. And the girls did well!

Watching the all-camp contest in the afternoon was just a hoot!  Some had props, costumes, musical instruments, and scripts.  I couldn't get "It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A...." tune out of my head.  Especially when the lyrics were "Girl Scouts is fun in troop sixteen-0-3...." 

And who put on this fabulous event?  Who was out there in their red shirts 3 days in a row?  The Seniors, who used to be Cadettes themselves, and who were now in charge of running and scoring the skills events.  Sure, we adults were on the committee too, but I have to say, Ginger and I said, "let's check with The Ashleys" more than we decided for ourselves.  And "The Ashleys" did a great job communicating with the other red hats, working with the camp staff to be sure everyone did their jobs.

What great role models for our Cadettes to see! And as Sami said with great pride, "next year I get to be a red hat."  She's had three years of Cadette-O-Rama as a Cadette, and she can hardly wait to be a Red Hat for four more years, as a Senior.  What great modeling and progression. These girls CAN DO IT ALL!!