Joy, Sue and the Zoo: Ignite

I am so happy that I got to participate in Rock the Mall, the national celebration of the Girl Scouts 100th anniversary with my daughters in Washington, DC. We traveled with Olivia's Brownie troop to our nation's capitol to demonstrate the power of girl leadership, and to have some fun!

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/08/4548502/girl-scouts-rock-the-mall-brings.html#storylink=cpy

We hopped on a chartered bus in the wee hours of the morning armed with enthusiasm, anticipation and snacks!

I love how "Cadette Hannah" towers above the Brownies!

Her BFF

... and her sister

We made it!!

Make new friends,

But keep the old,

One is silver and the other gold ...

Once we got to the mall, we searched for a plot of grass to call our own for the day, and then began exploring in the 90 degree heat.

The big screen TVs made it very easy to see what was happening on the main stage, and giant speakers made it impossible NOT to hear what was going on!

The US Postal Service's new stamp was officially issued to honor the Girl Scouts centennial

Trading SWAPS, otherwise known as "Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere", was one of the girls' favorite things to do. Everyone made swaps before coming to DC -- each swap was to show their hometown and troop number, and then highlight some aspect of girl scouting or something special about their state. Our troop made mini "sit-upons" to trade. All of the girls had great fun meeting lots of other scouts from all over the US, and giving and receiving many cool pins.

Thr opening ceremonies began with the Pledge of Allegiance and a speech from The First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Troops from all 50 states and overseas were represented in a crowd estimated at over 250,000. According to the organizers, it was the largest gathering of Girl Scouts ever.

Me & my girls -- a Cadette, a Leader & a Brownie!

As the afternoon wore on, the girls were very hot and tired,

but the DC fire company came to the rescue to provide some much needed relief to the sweltering temperatures!

feeling so much better now!

Part of the celebration included an attempt at the world's largest flash mob to be performed to the Rock the Mall theme song, "Ignite". The Guiness Book of World's Records was there to verify (we hope) an actual record! Our girls had fun dancing along with 1/4 million other scouts:

Girl Scouts, Ignite a dream, ignite your hope,

Ignite the world on fire

It's love!

Starts with a spark, a flame in your heart,

Until the world's burning bright, we'll ignite!

I-G-N-I-T-E, Girl Scouts!

I-G-N-I-T-E!

As the day winded down, I reflected on how lucky I was to be experiencing this once in a lifetime event with both of my girls. Girl Scouting was a very important part of my childhood experience and I am thrilled that my daughters are continuing the legacy. I know they will appreciate this day even more in the years to come when their own daughters join a Daisy troop!