Woodbadge & a Court of Honor

Eric receiving his new Woodbadge neckerchief and slide

Eric went to Woodbadge training a few months ago. He spent two 3-day weekends away, being trained. He came back with an increase in knowledge. (He also came back singing all kinds of catchy scouting songs too! - Logan loved them.) He also had a "ticket" that he needed to work. This meant that he had goals that he needed to work on and complete. Once those were complete, then he would be considered to have completed Woodbadge. Eric, of course, completed his ticket. He could have received his award and beads at Roundtable, but chose to have it presented at our troop's Court of Honor so that the boys could see his example. I am proud of him for completing Woodbadge, learning more, and working hard to complete his goals.

Members from Woodbadge with Eric



Eric presenting an award to Spencer

Eric has been the Scoutmaster in our ward since August. Prior to that he was assistant scoutmaster. This has been a different experience from what it was in Kingsborough Park Ward. It was a challenge for me before in many ways. This time around, it is hard, but only because I miss the time that he's away. He has done such an amazing job with his calling. The boys love him. There haven't been any accidents, search and rescues, or any injuries, so that has been a huge relief. I am amazed at how Eric does it all - work, calling, and family.

What's neat about Eric being Scoutmaster now, is that Spencer is now old enough to be with him. I think that they have enjoyed being together. It is also neat to see Eric present Spencer with awards at a Court of Honor. Spencer is doing really good with Scouting. He is a Life Scout and is working on his Eagle. He is in the beginning stages of his Eagle project. If he has any merit badges to complete, it is just one or two.

A Concert

These photos are from Spencer's first band concert. He plays percussion, using his piano and drum skills. The concert was at the Performing Arts Center at a nearby high school. He did great with the concert. Afterwards, we celebrated with ice cream.

Gardening

The garden is producing some of the winter vegetables now. We've had a ton of radishes. Some of the romaine lettuce has become ready to eat. The carrots are growing and we're able to eat some. The pepper plants have been very productive. The peppers in the picture below were picked just after the first freeze, so these were the last peppers from the garden this year. It's been fun growing a salad, and just heading out back, picking the vegetables, and making a salad.

Ward Christmas Party

Our ward's Christmas party was different than any other that I've been to. Our ward is very large, and wouldn't fit in the cultural hall at the church (I'm guessing). So, the party was held at our old bishop's house. (There is a county island within our ward boundaries where the members have acreage and animals.) Because of all the animals in the ward, there was a petting zoo. We had a nice dinner, with the ward suppling bbq pork sandwiches and the members potlucking sides and desserts. After dinner, there was a small program. A stage was set up with a backdrop and even an "angel balcony." The primary children were all included in the program. Most of the children sang. The children from one primary class were the angels (which Logan will get to do next year). Another class was the nativity people, which that happened to be Spencer's class. Spencer was asked to be Joseph. Against his wishes, we agreed with the primary leaders that Spencer would do it. He ended up being a cute Joseph.

A Friday Afternoon

These are just some photos of the kids playing one day. Logan and Kaylen love to color and paint together. Spencer has been inspired by a young man in our ward who does card tricks. Spencer was practicing and performing his tricks in these pictures.

Temple Groundbreaking

We are so excited! A temple is going to be built 1/2 mile away from us!!!

Today we (Eric, Lindsey, Spencer, Logan, and me) went to the groundbreaking for the new temple. Our seats weren't very good and we couldn't see much of anything, even the actual groundbreaking. It was still very exciting to see that the process is finally starting.

Smores & Popsicles

My boys are definitely pyros. Spencer loves to make a fire in our firepit. He asks at least once a week. Today we let him do it, eventhough Eric and I were too cold to go outside and enjoy the fire. The kids love smores and always request to make them when we have a fire. Today smores weren't enough for Logan, and he started a popsicle trend.

Trunk-Or-Treat

Our ward had a trunk-or-treat on the Friday before Halloween. I have to say that it was a difficult night for me. We had thought about costumes, but I did not want to spend a lot of money on costumes that were only going to get worn once, so we scrounged up costumes. I actually bought Logan's costume, an army man, at a second hand store. He wasn't too sure about the muscles, but ended up being ok with them. Kaylen has so many dress ups, so she just chose one of those to wear. Spencer was a skater; quite easy. We had tried so hard to actually find him a costume. He wanted something bloody and disgusting, and I wouldn't go for it. Lindsey had been working all week trying to come up with matching costumes with a friend. They ended up being hobos, ripping brand new shirts and dirtying them up. I had bought a pirate costume last year for Colton, and when we went to put it on, it didn't fit. We looked through our stash of costumes and found a clown costume that worked and looked cute on him.

Things were going good (once we finally got there) until it came time for food. I had been making soup all afternoon and took it over to the party. I was trying to push a stroller, dish up Colton's food, and my food. I had dished up my soup (which had been boiling for an hour, so it was HOT) and was trying to move forward. I tipped the bowl and soup spilled all over me. I spent the night by the car with an ice cold napkin wrapped around my wrist, being in pain. There really wasn't an easy way to get out of the backyard (where it was held) with the car, and I didn't want to walk home in the dark, so i stuck it out, wishing every minute I was home. (Another post will follow with gross pictures and a few more details.) The kids had fun going around multiple times to get candy. We had such a big turn out, that I was worried the kids might get lost. I had given Eric the responsibility of Colton because I couldn't hold him or push the stroller. Well, Eric kind of slacked and Colton ended up wandering off. It was quite scary, because we were near some semi-main streets. It was an embarrassing relief when, over the microphone, it was announced that a little clown had been found.

Spencer's First Campout

Now that Spencer is an 11-year old Scout, he was able to go on his first campout. (Eric also had a campout to go on at the same time.) Spencer was so cute getting ready. He wanted to make sure that he had everything that he needed. It cost a couple hundred dollars to get all the gear, but he'll be able to use it for the next few years he's in scouting. The campout went ok. Things didn't go quite as they were supposed to (and Eric can't be blamed for that - he wasn't even with them!). There was going to be a short little hike to get to camp, but once they got to the "camp," they weren't able to camp there, and had turn around and hike back out. They hiked around 6 miles that night, in the dark, in the cold rain. Some parents had gone with their sons, and ended up going back home after the hike. Spencer toughed it out (like he had any choice in it), and stayed. He came home with stories he was eager to share. Usually when Eric goes camping, his gear sits around for a couple of weeks. I had to laugh, because it obviously bugs Spencer when Eric does that, and Spencer immediately unpacked when he came home.

Stitches

So just as I had gotten a "load" of food put into the pressure canner, the phone rang. On the other end was the principal of the kids' school. She was calling to let me know there had been an incident on the playground before school started that involved Spencer. Spencer had gotten hurt and his knee was scraped and cut. Apparently another kid had kicked/pushed Spencer and he fell. I was very close to yell at the principal because I was so afraid that bullying was starting again at the school. She explained to me that it had been one of Spencer's friends,(but couldn't give me the name because of privacy reasons). I asked to speak to Spencer to find out how he was. He was pretty upset, so I left to go pick him up from school.

When I got to the school, the nurse told me that she had tried to clean out the cut as best as she could, but she thought that it needed a good soak and that he'd be fine. As I was signing Spencer out, I looked at the name above him. There was his friend's name, with the reason for leaving school being "expelled." When we got home I was able to talk with him about it all. Apparently before school started, Spencer and this kid were talking and the kid had told Spencer who he liked, and Spencer, not being too kind, told him that the girl was ugly and asked him why would he like her. Well, that didn't go over to well because the friend pushed Spencer to the ground. As Spencer got up to walk away, the kid tripped Spencer. This was all so crazy to me. The friend swears they were playing around, but Spencer insists they were not.

After Spencer got home and cleaned up his knee more, I looked at it and wasn't quite sure if it needed stitches or not. I decided that, after the last stitches experience when the doctor told me that if there's ever a question if stitches are needed, they're most likely needed, to make a doctor appointment. Grandpa and Grandma rushed over to watch the little ones (it would have been great to take them all along for stitches, but thankfully I didn't have to).

Once we got to the doctor, she cleaned out the cut, and decided that because where the cut is on the knee, that it needed stitches. If it were to be left alone, it would have a very hard time healing because of the knee bending, it would most likely get opened up frequently. The whole experience was hard for Spencer. The cleaning, the numbing needle, the stitches. He tried to be so tough, but it hurt him so bad. I also think that he had all the feelings inside him from the incident with the friend that also hurt. Jamba Juice helped him feel a little better; we picked it up on the way home.

Later that afternoon the friend came by with cookies and to apologize. It was all awkward. The boys (and the friend's mom) each insisted that their side was the truth. Spencer had a very hard night with the pain. He couldn't sleep and was in bed with me (Eric was camping). Jeremy came over in the morning and gave Spencer a blessing, which seemed to help with the knee. The friendship, however, has been strained and is pretty much non-existent.

Spencer: Bug Catcher

Spencer caught this huge praying mantis

Spencer's Delayed Party

Spencer's birthday party was just over a month after his birthday, but the main reason for doing this was so that Spencer could invite any friends that he made once school started (school started after his birthday). Spencer invited 6 friends over. They started out swimming, then we ate some pizza. We'd been to Jester'z, an improv show, and Spencer thought it would be cool to have a birthday party there. So, that's where we went. The boys ended up getting front row seats, and enjoyed the show. Towards the end of the show, they did a little segment for Spencer because he was celebrating his birthday. They asked Spencer what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he said he wanted to be like his dad. So they did a skit about an ultra-nice dad. After the show, we headed back home for presents and cake. The boys had a great time and got in lots of laughs.

Colton didn't swim. These are some pictures of him playing next to the pool so I could still watch the boys.

The First Merit Badge: Swimming & Lifesaving

These are just a few pictures from Spencer and other boys working on the swimming and life saving merit badges. These are the first merit badges that he has worked on and earned. There was a big group of boys, about 12-15, from the ward who all came over to our house to work on it. There was some instruction at the beginning (the picture of Spencer sitting in a chair, looking so excited) and there was swimming. One of the requirements was that he needed to jump in fully clothed, take off his pants and shirt, and make a flotation device and swim with it. He also had to float on his back and stomach, swim 10 laps, and tread water.