Biking Galbraith Mountain

Just after the first bike repair

 Our Boy Scout Troop planned to go Mountain Biking and I thought that it sounded like fun! That, and Sean's bike is a road bike so he couldn't go, and we have one certain boy that needs parental  supervision especially on an activity that involves risk.

Good Samaritan, fixing Erik's bike

 A very good choice. Erik wanted to go with the experienced older boys that were going on a much more difficult trail and I refused to let him go. About 20 minutes into our mountain biking adventure Erik's derailleur broke on his bike. We were not exactly sure what to do with a broken bike, 6 boys, and no tools at the top of a mountain (I don't think the 10 essentials include a wrench). When all of a sudden a lone mountain biker came along and improvised one of his tools to fix Erik's bike. Erik profusely thanked him (which was a nice change of pace from his previous bad attitude about going on the 'easy' ride). I breathed a prayer of thanks for God's continued provision and faithfulness in providing for all things.

Nathan at the top of the mountain

 One of the boys had not ridden very much and his bike weighed about 97.6 pounds. I ended up pushing his bike up the hills then running back down to get my bike. I'm not sure how high Galbraith Mountain is, but at times it felt like Mt. Everest. When the time arrived to go down, it was so.much.fun! The boy with the 97.6 pound bike did not use his pedals, AT All!  He used Fred Flintstone techniques to slow down and stop. I brought up the rear and had to really watch to make sure that I wasn't going to plow right over the top of this poor, very sore boy.
Erik's derailleur kept falling off. If you have ever heard the Bible verse, "a fool gives full vent to his anger" That Proverb was clearly illustrated on the mountain. Surprisingly, I just sat back and watched. I did nothing. He figured it out. The absolute worst part of the whole thing was when Erik and another boy stood at the edge of a cliff on a rock with a shear face. I freaked out appropriately, then we were all back on track.

Bellingham Bay in the rear, just before sunset. 

I had another moment of panic when I realized it was getting dark, I couldn't see very well, had no idea how much farther we had to go, my phone was almost dead, we were all covered in mud and I had an overdue client. 

One of the boys, from up ahead yelled for me to,"Step on it, Mrs. Carolynn!" I heard them hooting and hollering as we went down, so I stepped on it! Right around the corner was a 90 degree turn with a mud pit at the bottom and a wall of mud on the other side. I opted to go up and over the wall of mud and stop myself gracefully with a beautiful 40 foot cedar tree. 

We were much later returning than what was expected and I did get a call from a worried Scout Leader I assured him that we were having a wonderful time, but I had absolutely not a clue where I was. After running 5 miles with a friend in the afternoon, running another 1 1/2 miles with the scouts for their Personal Fitness Merit Badge, and then pushing the 97.6 pound bike up a mountain, running back down the mountain to get mine, and back up again I was overjoyed when we finally got out of the woods (literally) and headed down the pipeline to our meeting place! 

The boys loaded our bikes (Alleluia! I have arrived!) enjoyed some s'mores around the campfire, headed home, showered, and hit the sack at 11:30! 

When can we go again?

Arrow Of Light

Erik has been in scouts since he was a Tiger scout. It's hard to believe it has been almost 5 years! 

He was thrilled that his friend Jake came with most of his family, and his Grandma (aka Geaba) also attended his Arrow of Light Ceremony.

Erik's Webelos Den

He has been with the same group of boys the entire time. They support and encourage each other and there is just enough competition to keep Erik motivated, but not so much as to discourage him. Erik is competitive, but maybe not as much as I am.  He did pursue many of the requirements on his own, without me nudging him along.

The scouts honor their mothers 

The Arrow of Light is the highest award that a Cub Scout can earn. It is also the only Award that a boy can transfer to, and wear on their Boy Scout Uniform.  There is also an award for Super Achiever. Super Achiever is when the boy earns all 5 requirements from all 8 Activity Badges.

Erik was very proud of his Arrow

 Here is where my competitive spirit comes into play. Aaron missed Super Achiever by 1 requirement, and again, Erik missed Super Achiever by 1 requirement, not 1 whole Activity Badge, but 1 requirement within the Activity Badge. Talk about feeling like the lame mom.
At least I still have 1 boy left to get it right.
I assured both boys that they did a super job and that they should be proud! I AM proud of their achievements and know that they did work hard, with a whole lot of adult support and encouragement.

Geaba came to honor Erik 

I just wish I was better at the whole keeping track of things, because then I would have known and could have encouraged them complete their last requirement.
In reality, the reason that we have chosen to have our boys participate in Scouts is to reinforce the character qualities that we are trying to teach our boys.
We have used the Scout Oath, Law and Motto in our Homeschool because it so clearly and concisely articulates our desire for the character of our children.
The Scout Law states that, A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent. 
The Scout Oath talks about keeping yourself morally straight. 
I am thankful for an organization that has upheld their standards despite intense pressure to change to the culture. I am thankful for the great leaders who have helped my husband and I train our boys in the way that they should go, and for our boys who diligently worked on their requirements. They can and should be proud of their achievement. 
Congratulations Erik for earning your Arrow Of Light!

Glass Mountain

Ian's Finished Ornament

 One of my Cub Scout moms generously donated a gift certificate to Glass Mountain, a local glass blowing studio. I jumped at the opportunity. Glass Blowing is something I have wanted to try for years!

 A lot goes into the making of a glass Christmas Ornament

 4 of my Bear Scouts were able to attend. Each boy got to make his own Christmas Ornament. They got to choose the colors, the style (swirl, solid, speckled, etc.,) and got to heat the glass and blow the glass. Mr Ed, the artist, was extremely patient with the boys and very careful, but not crazy paranoid (like I might be inclined to be).

Ian Absolutely Loved Glass Blowing

Have you ever tried to explain something to a group of 8 year old boys? I can tell you it is by God's great mercy that I am able to keep their attention for more than 3.8 minutes. Mr. Ed kept them eagerly awaiting every word that was spoken. He was very clear, entertaining, informative, and interesting!

Paul refines his ornament in the Glory Hole

 I don't know if it's because I am a child of the 80's, or maybe just juvenile in my humor, every time Mr. Ed referred to the Glory Hole I had to stifle a laugh. The Glory Hole (laugh) was where the glass was heated up and kept soft and pliable. They had to keep heating the glass, then shaping it, heating it, adding color, heating it, shaping it, heating it, blowing... You get the idea. This wasn't a quick process.

I love the Joy on his face

Glass Mountain offers classes to make your own ornament for $35. While I don't even spend $35 on anything if I can help it, this would totally (80's again) be worth it. The entire studio is a feast for your eyes. Beautiful beads, ornaments, flowers, vases everywhere. We were mesmerized by the beautiful unique pieces everywhere! However, I  cringe thinking of his poor wife paying the utility bills!

4 of my Bear Scouts with the master glass blower, Mr. Ed

I think I persuaded Sean to take a couples class and design something to make together.

Erik T, blowing his ornament

I am a tiny bit jealous that Ian got to try it before I did, however, I do have a new favorite ornament! I love that he can look at the ornament every year and remember this experience. I love that his ornament looks like a marble and has his current favorite colors.
I feel blessed to have been given this opportunity to create fun memories with my youngest son.

A Lotta Things We Don't Do

This Summer seemed to be full of a lot of things we just don't do.

We don't send our kids to camp. This summer I co-led a group of 12 cub scouts for a week long twilight camp. Twilight camp is day camp in the evening. After the first 10 minutes I wanted out!

Erik with his 'Target' from BB Shooting

We stuck it out because of the commitment I made to lead. I gave my children the option of not going but earning the BB Shooting and Archery belt loops and sports pins were very important to them.  Aaron helped out in the kitchen and enjoyed getting to eat.

I realized it was not just my own personal hell but that I could bless these other children and my children made a good impression on others.

However, at the end of camp one of the other leaders said that she hopes to see me next year. I said we would NEVER be back, but that it was nice to meet her.

We also don't send our children to camp. Aaron and Sean went to Camp Pigott with Aaron's Boy Scout Troop of a week this summer.  Thankfully, This camp was 1,000 times better than twilight camp.

The boys were with their patrol the entire time and learned a lot of useful skills. That is definitely something we will do again.

I also never take 3 births a month and this summer I had 3 births every month! Each one was a blessing and a miracle and I feel privileged to participate. It was a lot of time away from my family and both physically and mentally exhausting!

We had an amazing summer! Some are things we want to do again, others we will just skip.

An Arrow for Aaron

Last Friday Aaron earned his Arrow of Light award.

Arrow of Light is the highest award that a boy can earn in Cub Scouts. All of boys in Aaron's Webelos Den earned the Arrow of Light.

I was unaware of the Super Achiever Award in which the boys earn every badge in the Webelos Book. I was sorely disappointed that I did not know about that. Aaron earned every badge except one! Oh well, we still have 2 boys to go.

Sean and I made the Arrow for Aaron and he is very proud of his achievement.

This is about a much of a smile as we get these days. Trust me, he was both nervous and excited and especially honored that Geaba came to the Ceremony along with his whole family.

We are very proud of him!

My Boys

Sean and the boys are all incredibly enthusiastic about everything associated with Scouts. They took the opportunity a few weeks ago to to camping and fishing with a local scout troop.

Word has it that these boys were quite the anglers. Lots of fishermen were at the lake and catching very few fish ~ Not these boys, they caught their limit in less than an hour!

I still don't see the draw of standing out in the cold getting wet and slimy and sleeping in an open Adirondacks in the cold. If they truly love it and it offers them man time I am all over it. Plus it means the girls and I can paint our nails, eat pizza and ice cream and watch movies.

Crossover!

Monday night was Crossover for our Scouts. Erik was very excited that Mikaela came to watch this anticipated event!

Aaron crossed from Webelos 1 to Webelos 2!

Erik crossed from Wolf Scout to Bear Scout. He got to the far side of the bridge and swung off!

Ian was so excited to cross into Tiger Scouts. He has been talking about when he would finally be old enough ever since Aaron started scouts. That is a long time for a little guy.

Ian did not waste any time getting across the bridge and getting his new Tiger gear.

I know this is not a flattering picture of Sean but I had to include it! We have this standing joke that it really doesn't matter what he is doing the children somehow accidentally kick him, you know...

It happens at home, getting out of the van, brushing their teeth, swinging, bike riding, all the time, every day.

Sean did the honors of putting the boys new uniforms on them. I am not sure where Aaron went but we caught these two before they headed off to get some delicious watermelon and play at the park.

I am excited to see what next year holds for my boys as they continue to grow and learn new skills. To explore and make new friends.

If I could tie all Erik's learning to scouting we could accomplish anything!

Happy Scouting

Pinewood Derby

I tried to get some action photos at the Pinewood Derby but I only brought one lens and the lighting was not conducive to quality photos.

The boys were proud of their cars and Sean is really good at letting them make the decisions. I however, would have prodded them along to use more graphite, balance the wheels, at varnish to make them shiny, in short I would have dictated the decisions in hopes of a faster car.

That being said, it is better that I was not involved. Here is Ian's car minus the lead weights and the wheels that he borrowed from one of Erik's old cars.

Erik's car went faster when placed on the track backward. The same thing happened last year. None of the boys placed or won awards, but they were great sports and cheered their friends on! Ian had the hardest time with not winning, but I was very proud of my other two boys who said, "Ian, it isn't about winning but having a good attitude and lots of fun!"

So very true but from the competitive mama, it is a lot of fun to win too!

Preparations

The Pinewood Derby is only 2 days away! It is a much anticipated event for our boys! Aaron and Erik are the only 'official' racers. However several of our other children make cars for the Outlaw Race! Don't you just love Ian's safety glasses and Amish hat?

I am so thankful that I do not have to help with this event. I am such a perfectionist I want to 'help' too much. Now, I am relegated to the official photographer.

Last night after putting most of the children to bed I found this war scene on my couch. The army guys were being taken out by cannon balls shot from Aaron's catapult that he made at Scouts.

This catapult has brought hours and hours of fun!

The only issue with the catapult is the marbles and steelies hitting the wall and picture behind the sofa. Aaron tried to get around this by placing pillows on the back of the sofa, it helped, a little.

Happy Valentine's Day

We celebrated Valentine's Day by making cookies for church. One of the requirements for scouts is to serve at a church service. Our boys made sugar cookies ( I vowed to never again make sugar cookies, I dread how long they take to make, chill, roll out, cut, bake, cool, decorate) They talked me into it and I was once again left at the end to finish up, it was either that or let the boys stay up too late the night before church. Everyone at church was compassionate about the fact that the cookies were undecorated. I digress, they also handed out bulletins and greeted people as they came in, and cleaned up after church sweeping, washing dishes, taking out the trash. I love how handsome they looked in their uniforms and how willingly they served.

I made heart shaped cinnamon rolls that were wonderful! I forgot to take a picture of them this morning after they were cooked and had ample cream cheese frosting on them. Trust me, they were delicious! We enjoyed them for breakfast with fried eggs and bacon!

My husband bought me these beautiful Tulips! He knows how much I love Tulips and the promise of spring!

I was also blessed with about 37 valentine cards from each of my children, some were beautiful and others were made with love but not as much attention to detail, meaning I think the children were having a contest to see who could give me the most Valentines.

Other exciting News is that today is my Niece's 17th Birthday and I have 2 friends who are currently in labor! Please keep these families in your prayers.

Fabulous Friday

On Friday we took our monkeys to the zoo! It was an official cub scout outing however, we never did hook up with our den. We went with some of our favorite friends! We even were the beneficiaries of 2 free passes and 5 half price admissions! Thanks Hilary! When we picked up Tami and her children they were waiting on the street corner with a shuttle sign. I often feel like we have a shuttle, but the funny thing is Isobelle has her very own car seat in our van that is permanently buckled.

We even managed to have a boy in each rank of cub scouts Everett is a Tiger, Erik is a Wolf, Sam is a Bear and Aaron is a Webelo! I love how the boys look in their uniforms. However today I had to hand sew the numbers (read very thick patches) on to Aaron's uniform. The reason for this being that when he becomes a boy scout he can wear the same uniform but his pack number will change. I digress, I am not a sewer. I was very careful (I like my projects to be perfect without the learning curve involved~remind you of anyone in my family?) After much agony I realized somewhere near the beginning I sewed the sleeves together! I also only had 2 of the 3 numbers he needed for his uniform, so when I thought I was done - Finally I really wasn't because we had to find the other number to sew on.

Uniforms are nice, I just wish they came already ready to wear or with snaps to snap on all the awards as you earn them. I dunno just a really good idea to consider.

Isobelle enjoyed a great ride on her Aunt's shoulders and Grandma joined in for the fun. I love Tami's family and I feel so welcomed and cared for by them. Tami's mom even came and brought me Lattes (plural) when I was at Children's Hospital with Libby. Who cannot love this wonderful woman! What a pleasure it has been to spend time with her and share so much with their family.

I don't seem to be able to stay focused enough to tell about our trip to the zoo, except to say that the Poison Dart Frog exhibit was the highlight of all the boys, especially Erik! I tried to get a photo of him by the frogs but my camera did not like the humidity and kept fogging up!

Erik also waited patiently by the Komodo Dragon exhibit for the Dragon to finish his bath. There were 2 dead mice (OK really they were rats) by the window that the Komodo Dragon promptly consumed as soon as he was clean. Erik had front row seats while the rest of the children were riding the Dragon statue!

We again were treated to a beautifully set table and delicious dinner courtesy of my mom and niece! It was fun to spend some time with the beautiful women on my side of the family before heading home. Libby even got to take a bath with my niece Sarah! Sarah does a great job sharing her toys with Ruby, who seems to 'organize' things her way!

Kimberly tooks great effort in making the meal table beautiful and inviting. Taylor especially loved the fine china and pretty table cloth. It is a blessing for us to be able to rest and be refreshed before driving home!

Crossover

Monday night my 2 cub scouts had crossover. Erik was a very proud Tiger Cub. He worked very hard and participated in every activity that he could. He received a perfect attendance award which he is proudly displaying to everyone. He is the first Wolf (in yellow) on the left side of the picture. I am thrilled with our scout troop and love the leadership that I have seen there. Scouts is the perfect structure for Erik and he thrives in the environment.

Aaron is now in Webelos (which stands for We Be Loyal Scouts). He has really enjoyed the activities and friends he has made in scouts. I am excited in this new chapter in which he has more responsibility and accountability for his achievements.

Unfortunately I was not able to be at the crossover. I work literally 16 days a year and this was one of those evenings. I have also bowed out of the Scout Camping Trip that is coming up this weekend. I am going to visit my wonderful mother in law and she is going to help me with the 3 little ones and Sean is going camping, hiking and scouting with the 3 older children.

Milestones

Last week we had the boy scout den meeting that was canceled in December due to snow. Aaron was awarded his Bear rank. You can't tell from the picture but he was very excited and proud.

At the den meeting they played a game where the boys shot mini marshmallows through PVC pipe and the other scouts tried to catch the marshmallows in the cone. The first group to go were the Bears and Weeblos but Erik (a Tiger) was right in there shooting. He was also seeing how many he could eat then shoot. When it was the Tigers chance, Erik was the catcher. He is very competitive!

I really appreciate that when your boys earn rank (Erik earned his Bobcat, and Aaron earned his Bear) the den leaders have the whole family come up to receive the award. It is a lot of work for the parents to help the boys earn rank.

The tigers did a skit and Erik was looking for his watch under a lamp post (Mordecai and Renee) and the other scouts came and helped sow seeds of kindness by helping him look. At the end Erik said he lost his watch across the room but was looking under the lamp because the light was better there. It was really funny. He did a great job talking loud and remembering his lines.

Renee and Mordecai made the best looking lamp post around. Renee cracks me up with her dry sense of humor and quick wit and did not seem to mind a bit standing in front of a crowd with a lampshade on her head.

I was really proud that my mother in law was able to be at the Pack meeting and see the boys earn their awards. They both earned a lot of belt loops, and segments not to mention their ranks. It meant a lot to them that she was there.

Here are some other photos of grammy's visit. Ruby is looking so grown up and is such a great little helper.