The End of the Scouting Era

The scout work of the last couple months has come to a close. Peanut had his last pack meeting, where he was awarded the Wolf rank, last Thursday. We had some frantic moments trying to fit everything in (we were finishing up the last couple requirements the day of his pack meeting), but he learned cyber safety, learned hiking safety, taught us a lesson for his religious knot, and did the necessary cooking and hiking.

And Bug finished his last merit badge for his World Conservation award tonight when he met with the merit badge counselor. 

He's built bird houses,

cleaned up trash along the creek,

experimented with cleaning up oil spills, and done lots of research on endangered species, environmental issues, local habitats and pollinators.

It's been a lot of work, but I think both of these boys have learned a lot through the experience and I'm glad they set goals to finish out their scouting careers on a high note.

The Newest Bobcat

After having the summer off, Cub Scouts had their kickoff Pack Meeting. Peanut was only there for a couple meetings before the break, but he is fully immersed now. He got to lead the color guard in posting the flags.

And he earned his Bobcat rank.

And then, he got to shoot off water rockets with the other kids, which was the highlight of the night. 

Now, we've got to work hard so he can get his Wolf before the end of the year!

Our Little Peanut

The year is winding down and Tuesday, we had two events for Peanut--school recognition assembly where his teacher recognized his good attitude this year. I'm so glad that she acknowledged his efforts at doing some hard things this year. School wasn't an easy transition, but he did it!

He also received a medal for his reading. I am not a huge fan of the AR program and don't really care about how many points he earned, but I am glad that he is a proficient reader now because both he and I are happier that he can now go grab a book and read when he needs some down time (often!) And this kid LOVES to read these days. He has made his way through 30+ Magic Treehouse books this spring, as well as many others. And I catch him reading my things over my shoulder (gotta be careful!) all the time. :)

That evening, he had his last (and first) pack meeting for Cub Scouts for the year. Being the over scheduled, distracted parents that we have been the last couple months, we didn't remember to work on his Bobcat rank (which would have taken all of one day to do--oops) so he didn't get any awards this month, but we will do some work this summer so he can start the fall with a bang!

And I don't think he really minded because he got to help with the flags and then they had a really fun activity making stomp rockets.

It's amazing that the amount of air in a 2L bottle can send these FLYING!

I'm not sure who had more fun--Peanut, or Daddy-o, who soon became the "stomper" for a lot of kids who wanted to see theirs reach new heights.

Just a piece of paper and some fins. (This one is Bug's design--the Yellow Donkey, of course.)

Another Camper

While Bean and I were at Girls Camp, Bug was having his own camp experience. He spent the week at Shadow Cliffs for a Cub Scout day camp.

By all reports, he had a great time. They did crafts, went hiking, used the paddle boats, splashed around in the water (they aren't technically allowed to swim, but got to go in about thigh deep and play.)

They also had visits from a few different groups--Jungle James (a reptile organization), the mounted police, and a Native American dance group. Bug enjoyed them all.

The whole thing ended with a BBQ (and we're still getting used to the fact that BBQ usually means hot dogs and/or hamburgers here, not pork) and a program the boys did for the parents. I may not have been able to go, but Daddy-o and Grandma, who had come to help out and watch Peanut during the day, were there for him. And they were both there again the next night when he had a swim meet. It was good to know that everything was being taken care of at home while I was gone (and Grandma got more than she'd signed up for when Peanut had some stomach issues and was pretty sick for a day or so--Thanks, Grandma! I owe you!)

Pinewood Donkey

Who would have thought the year Bug just goes for creative design, instead of speed, would be the year his car performed the best at the Pinewood Derby?! 3rd place for Webelos, and 4th best average time overall.  

"The Donkey"

He really, really wanted to make a donkey car (still hasn't outgrown his love for all things yellow, and donkeys) and designed it on his own and figured out how to carve it with a Dremel tool. It's kind of awesome to watch this kid take the ideas in his head and figure out how to make them come to life, no matter how doubtful his dad and I are about the feasibility of it all.

Last Pinewood Derby for a couple years! 

Jedi Cake Master

Bug's Cub Scout pack had their Blue and Gold "Dinner" (no dinner at this one, just dessert) in February. The theme was Star Wars and each of the boys was asked to make a cake with their dad to go with that theme.

Bug came up with this idea for a Boba Fett cake and pretty much designed, made, and decorated it on his own. This kid loves to design things and figure out a way to make his plans come to life.

Peanut and I had to miss the actual event because he was sick, but Daddy-o took this picture so I could see the craziness that is 40 kids with foam lightsabers doing their Jedi training so they would be prepared to face Darth Vader. It sounded like a really fun (and loud!) evening.

Camping with the Cubscouts

 

Our pack participated in a Cuboree which focused on the American Revolution. First thing, we were assigned to be part of the British army, and given our orders to our camp. We had 2 men platform tents with cots (which we learned that night were not the most comfortable to sleep on, between the sagging middles and squeaky springs any time someone moved--good thing it was only one night!)

 

Because we were only staying one night, it was kind of nice to not have to set up tents, although some of our group did opt to.

Friday night was spent with our pack. Daddy-o and the two older kids went to the campfire where they did skits and talked about the plans for the next day, while Peanut went to bed and I read outside his tent, waiting for him to finally fall asleep. (I didn't mind that he took awhile--reading while camping is more fun in my mind that cub scout skits, but don't tell my kids that I said that!)

 

The wake up call was nice and early the next morning and we got the troops lined up and ready to march out for the flag ceremony and breakfast.

 I was really impressed with all the efforts that went into making this camp such a fun experience for the kids. What they lacked in food quality, they made up for in activities that made this experience really come together for the kids.

 

 Each pack designed and created their own flag. Bean was eating it up that she got to be a part of this. I regret never finding a troop for her to do girl scouts,

 

 but getting to tag along with Bug's group, and being the oldest kid there, so the boys looked up to her and kind of let her lead the way in some things, was fun for her. 

Our flag.

 

They got to do b.b. gun shooting and archery, 

 

which both kids loved.

 

Bug almost got a bull's eye. He was so careful, adjusting his aim after each shot to try to correct.

 

Peanut and I had to sneak off for a little while for soccer practice (it was nice that the camp was less than half an hour from the fields so he didn't have to miss another week), but he had a good time just hanging out all day and mostly watching the big kids.

 

He did like playing with the pie dish drums the kids made.  

 

So did Daddy-o. He played for the kids as they learned to march on the battlefield. 

 

They taught the kids some basic commands and had them practice lining up.

 

Ready for battle,

 

and march!

 

At ease.

 

Our little revolutionary soldiers.

 

They also received orienteering instruction. Peanut stuck right with the kids through that one.

  

 These two served as our generals for the weekend.

 

After the kids had gone through all the classes, it was time to reenact a battle from the war.

 

Honestly, it was a little scary seeing all these kids, armed with wood rifles, ready to charge against each other. Better than with real guns, but I was sure someone was going to get hurt.

 

Peanut didn't want to miss out, but luckily we were able to keep him towards the back.

 

Seriously, they were so excited for this.

 

And the battle was halted as soon as the kids started making contact, so no injuries. Then, they had everyone put down their weapons and played a symbolic game of capture the flag which was a fun, and safer, way to reenact.

By late afternoon, it was threatening to rain. We had dinner and packed up camp and then headed to the campfire, hoping that the rain would hold out long enough for the boys to perform some skits and eat the dutch-oven desserts they'd made during their cooking class earlier. 

We got lucky for about an hour--including our pack's turn to do their skits--and then the skies opened up. I had gone back to the car for sweatshirts when it started to rain so I drove over to the campfire to pick up Daddy-o and the kids as they came hurrying across the fields. Then we navigated some of the heaviest rain I've ever seen the whole way home. It was pretty intense, but we were so glad that we weren't camping out that second night!