All Things Cub Scout

James has earned his Bobcat, and is well on his way to becoming a great Cub Scout.

Doesn't he look handsome in his Dad's old scout shirt?

Joseph has worked so hard! He has earned his Webelo Badge, and also his Arrow of Light.

Joseph also pushed really hard as he turned 11,

to finish all of the Webelo Activity Badges. We are so proud of him, and all the hard work he has done.

Black Widow

Joseph's Black Widow didn't win the Pinewood Derby,

but it sure made these really cool wheelies as it came down the track.

You did a great job on your car, Joseph,

and thanks for being such a good sport!

And those wheelies WERE awesome! (just like YOU!)

Blue & Gold

Happy Birthday Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts!

We celebrated 100 years of Boy Scouts in America

tonight at Joseph's Blue and Gold.

Joseph earned 3 belt loops - kickball, collecting, & map and compass,

the map and compass pin,

and 2 more silver arrows.

He has been working hard to get his collecting belt loop

(and pin - he still has a few more things to do for the pin),

and tonight he displayed his 50 state quarters,

and his Lego collection.

Completing his Lego creations has been quite a project.

It started out with one big bucket of Lego blocks,

everything mixed together,

then Joseph and I began sorting all the Lego pieces by color,

and storing them in containers that way.

Once that was done we began taking one set of instructions at a

time and finding all the pieces that belonged to it.

It has really been a huge project, complicated by the fact that another

inventor in the house kept borrowing pieces from Joseph's finished works,

and kept dumping all of the colors on the floor, together.

But we persevered, and the end result was well worth the effort.

Hidden

As an elective for Cub Scouts, Joseph made a mask for the upcoming Jungle Safari Pack Meeting. He decided to make a monkey.

Not to be outdone, James made a monkey too.

And then an eclectic Calico cat.

He's a Bear

Last Thursday, at Pack Meeting, Joseph earned his Bear badge,

a gold arrow, 2 silver arrows, and all 4 of his beads.

He is one decorated kid,

but even better than that

is the fact that he's enjoying learning new skills.

Cubbin'

It wasn't long ago that Joseph entered the Bear pack, and so now he is working hard to earn his Bear badge. One of the requirements was to learn about some of America's tall tales. Well, Joseph really got into it, so much so that we borrowed a book from the library by Mary Pope Osborne on Tall Tales, and he and I have been devouring the stories each day. His favorite tall tale characters were Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, Stormalong, Pecos Bill, John Henry, and Mose. It has been interesting reading the stories with him. There were many that I knew - Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed - but, there were also quite a few new tall tale figures to get acquainted with. My favorites were Stormalong and Pecos Bill.

Now we've started reading about American Heroes. There are pretty short summaries about the heroes and heroines in this book by National Geograpic, so I read a couple each night to the boys as they wind down to go to sleep. Joseph is just soaking all the history in - he has the brain for history - linking events to people, time, and regions. He says that he's going to be an archaeologist someday. Maybe so.

On Monday, for Family Home Evening, Joseph was in charge of activity, so he decided that we needed to go on a family hike (another requirement for Cub Scouts). We went over to Thunderbird Park (basically Pinnacle Peak and 59th Ave.) to have a little hike. It was already close to sunset by the time we got there (it takes a little while to get Erik home from work and feed everyone dinner), but we took a short little hike anyway. It was probably good that we didn't take a longer one, for Jalen Andrew insisted on walking the whole way, and it was a fair bit of exercise for such little legs.

We stopped to take this picture of the sunset - although this picture makes it look like noonday- and when we turned around to start back down the hill, lo and behold, there was the full moon making it's entrance. It was beautiful, and huge, although it looks tiny in these photos.

Anyway, so there we are at the park, with the moon coming up over the hill, and we thought, "What the heck. Why not try to catch the moon?" And so that is what we set out to do. . .

Being good Cub Scouts, before we left for our hike, we made shoeprints on aluminum foil, and wrote a description of what each family member was wearing. Then on the way out to the park we talked about hiking safety. We gave each child a whistle (the girls were good sports to wear theirs - for the "good of the family") and taught them how to blow 3 short blasts if they get lost. So as I quizzed them about what they would do if they got lost, James piped up and announced, "I would pray." I think that out of all the learning we did that night, that comment was Erik's and my favorite, for we learned that when James needs help, he knows exactly who to ask.

Ahoy There Maties

No other Bears or Wolves from our Pack signed up for Cub Scout Day Camp this year, so I had the privilege of going with Joseph for 3 days to Day Camp. We joined up with a den of Cub Scouts from Mesa. When we introduced ourselves to them, and they told us where they were from, Joseph immediately replied, "I'm from Mesa too. I was born there." They were a great group to be with, and they took Joseph under their wing. Together we made Den 18. It was a pirate theme this year. Notice that the cannon on our ship is shooting out water balloons. Our den yell was one that Joseph and I came up with together, since we had not found the rest of our den yet. "Den 18! We aargh strong! We aargh mighty! We aargh wet?! Den 18, aaaaaargh!" The wet part had to do with the fact that we were always wet. Because it is so hot out there, the leaders were always encouraging us to drink lots of water and also to spray each other at every chance. There were times that we were drenched. The boys shot BB guns, practiced archery, swam, ran an obstacle course, played double soccer and double kickball, had pingpong boat races, painted their flag and boat, sewed a loot bag, glued together a treasure chest, went on a treasure hunt, learned to tie knots, and threw a lot of water balloons. Left to right (top): Joseph, Garrett, Jake, Zane

Left to right (bottom): Titus, Trevor, Braeden, Dan, and Jake Day Camp started at 3:00 each afternoon, and ended at about 10:00 p.m. We usually got home about 10:45 each night. We were there Monday through Wednesday, and yesterday Joseph and I slept in a great while in the morning, and were still pretty pooped through the rest of the day. It wears on a person to be out in the heat like that, but all in all we still had a great time together. The rest of our den left early on Wednesday, skipping out on closing ceremonies. We stuck around, and it's a good thing we did. Den 18 won the best den yell. Joseph went to collect his prize, and ended up performing our yell all by himself to a very large amphitheater of scouts. He did great, and I was so proud of him. He said that his heart was beating SO fast, but he did it anyway. It's a pleasure to be your mom, Joseph, and I'm glad for the time I was able to spend with you!

P.S. A HUGE thanks to Rebekah and Christine for holding down the fort here at home. I'm sorry I had to leave you kids for so many hours, and I appreciate the way you kept things together.

Cub Scout Mania

I always loved helping my older brother David work on his scouting projects when I was a little girl. Then I married Erik who was and is very much into scouting. I always hoped that our sons would love scouting as well. And it looks like we're off to a good start! Last night we attended Joseph's Blue & Gold Banquet. He received 5 arrows (meaning that he's completed 50 electives). He already had 3 on his uniform, so now he has 8 all together. And then he earned 6 belt loops as well: soccer, rollerskating, basketball, bowling, chess, and volleyball. His waist is now weighted down with 12 belt loops. This kid's on FIRE! The boys were asked to bring in pictures or momentos from their vacations, since the theme of the night was America. Joseph brought a couple of pictures from White Sands National Monument and then brought in his Junior Ranger badges; he has 19. Brother Strieby made mention to everyone about what an accomplishment that is to have 19 Junior Ranger badges, and that a lot of hard work went in to receiving each of those. It was quite the sight, as all the Cub Scouts encircled Joseph so that they could get a better look at his badges. I never cease to be amazed by what a great example Joseph is to the other boys. And it's never in a big, showy, center of attention kind of way. He just quietly goes about doing what he believes is right, and the other boys take notice, and sometimes follow. It's pretty amazing to watch! I sure am proud of our Big Cub! Good job, Joseph! Thanks for being such a good kid!

Having a Ball

Christine's volleyball season ended mid-October, I think they ended up ranking 4th in the district. Now she's talking about trying out for girls' basketball. She definitely likes to keep our lives busy. Her volleyball coach told us that she is a really good player, and has a lot of power. Christine has loved playing, although she didn't get as much playing time as she would have liked. If she was as impassioned about volleyball as she is about piano or hula, then I think she would have knocked their socks off. As it is . . . she had fun, learned quite a bit, and pushed herself in new ways. We couldn't ask for more. We're proud of you, Christine! And, here's our sporty Joseph playing goalie for his soccer team. He's really good at soccer, and we're having a lot of fun watching his games on Saturday mornings. His coach wanted him to join a soccer league team that he also coaches, but alas, they play on Sundays. Joseph was a bit bummed about that. His coach says that he loves having Joseph on the team because he listens and does exactly what the coach tells him to do (following directions is not a strong point for ALL 8 year old boys). We're really proud of him and his dedication to the game. We'll be glad, however, when the season is through, so that his practices won't be eating up his time with his cub scout den. Speaking of which . . . last night at Pack Meeting, Joseph earned his Wolf badge, a gold arrow, two silver arrows, and two beads. It has been his goal to earn his Wolf badge by November's Pack Meeting, and he did it. Way to go, Joseph! And by the way, Carl, one of the requirements was to start a collection, and Joseph made his a collection of key chains. I wonder where he ever got an idea like that?! He displays them on the zippers of his backpack. The ones he loves most are the ones he has from different states and countries; he's found some pretty cool ones. And then we have the Ball-Magnet - our own Jalen Andrew. Big ones, little ones, any sport will do - and if it doesn't happen to be round, that's okay, he'll throw it anyway. He's so funny. After watching Joseph's soccer games, Jalen will come home and kick the ball around. He puts it on the floor in front of his feet, and then shuffles around the house moving the ball with his feet. It is so cute! And he's really good at it too.