Barbie & The Diamond Castle

Wow, as a mom of a young lady and Girl Scout leader I can really appreciate how our girls of today are growing up way too quickly! Mattel's Barbie has been a friend of mine since girlhood. I even have my entire Barbie collection saved from those fabulous days of dressing Barbie, getting her ready for a big date with Ken, and decorating her Malibu beach house! Oh where does the time go?

Back to reality, my daughter is still enjoying her Barbies, and we recently were treated to a copy of the new animated, feature-length DVD, "Barbie & The Diamond Castle" to watch with her friends at Girl Scouts. To top it all off, Mom Central (www. MomCentral.com) and Mattel provided the girls with a special viewing party complete with a new Diamond Castle Barbie doll to share, popcorn, and princess treat bags! The movie was a perfect fit for the girls (ages 9-12). They enjoyed it tremendously.

The plot of the movie has Barbie and Teresa share a fairy tale of Liana and Alexa, best friends who share everything including their love of music. The girls face challenges throughout their adventure and learn the importance of friendship. In today's crush of media messages featuring less than ideal childhood messages, I feel so inspired and gratified that Mattel and Barbie remain true to message that today's girls can be strong, smart and wholesome while having fun!

The troop has decided to give back to their community throughout the scouting year so last week we gathered up some cleaning supplies (provided by www.wesponsoranything.com and Greased Lightning Cleaning products) to thoroughly organize and clean our host church's Sunday School Room. The troop divided and conquered the mess and polished the room to a beautiful glow! The church staff were very appreciative of their hard work and efforts to clean the space.

The parents and I worked behind the scenes while the girls cleaned to create a fun surprise party for them when they returned from their cleaning. They were so surprised to find the room completely decorated and treats awaiting their return!

The best-friends movie gave our troop an opportunity to experience giving back and celebrating together with lots of fun and fascination.