Learning To Fly

Last weekend, several pilots from Wisconsin and Minnesota volunteered their time and fuel to help local Scouts earn the Aviation Merit Badge.  Each boy went up as co-pilot, actually taking the controls, and flying their planes for portions of the 20 minute flight.  It was a thrilling day for all the boys, and the generosity of the pilots was greatly appreciated. 

Here's Will's plane. 

And Will with his plane's owner and pilot, a member of the Osceola community, Jim Kirvida.

 

Steve, Charlie and I were invited along as Will's passengers.  Charlie was absolutely enchanted by his first airplane ride!

 Each pilot asked the boys where they lived, and then flew them over their neighborhood so they could see how it looked from above.  We pinpointed our property and our pilot circled it so we could snap some photos.  Here's the aerial view of our place. 

And here's a shot of Ben doing the pre-flight safety check on his plane. 

 Ben took no passengers, so it was just him and the pilot.   He was given control of his plane for most of the flight.  He said the pilot was really friendly and told him he was a great student!  He is absolutely enchanted with flying now, and dreams of building a high-tech flight simulator.  Hmmmmm...

Such fun things these boys get to do!

Charlie Goes To Camp

For so many years Charlie has stayed behind with me while his big brothers went off to scout camp for days and days of fun.  I always made an effort to have a special "Camp Mom" time with him and although we did some cool stuff together, it wasn't quite the same.  So when Charlie finally got the chance to attend a camp of his very own, boy, was he excited!!  And guess who went with him? 

Me!!

Ready to head off to camp!

We spent three days at Camp Kiwanis, and those days were non-stop full-of-activities kinds of days.  Here's a peek at some of Charlie's favorites...

He took a knife skills and safety class and earned the right to carry a pocketknife while at camp.  Whittling became the thing to do in the moments between activities.  We had to hit the trading post immediately after the class so he could pick out his first pocketknife.

Ponies!!  Charlie and I learned about how to mount, dismount and guide a pony on a trail through the woods.

 His pony was a sweet boy named Bay.

Archery was difficult, says Charlie, but fun!

Row boats on the St. Croix river.   We had a little rain before we went out, but not enough to stop us.  As they say at Kiwanis, "Plan 'B' is Plan 'A' with a raincoat!"

BB Guns!  The staff at Kiwanis are really attentive and patient with the boys, and offer as much one-on-one help as needed.  Charlie loved the bb guns and shot consistently for a first-timer!

And speaking of staff, I will never understand how the camp counselors keep up the positive energy all weekend, much less all summer, because they are here all summer with new groups of kids every week.  They are an outstanding group of young adults who show such patience and kindness toward all the campers, and are always invested in the kids having fun! The staff is truly excellent!

Camp staff at lunchtime performing songs and "going bananas" for the kids.

There was so much going on at camp that I could never document it all here, but I know Charlie is storing all those memories up, and the smile he wore all weekend is proof of just how great a time it was!

Pinewood Derby 2013

A Second Place Win for Charlie!!

Bittersweet

A beautiful evening for the last Cub Scout gathering of the year, with Will crossing over to Boy Scouts, and me making my final appearance as a den leader. Bittersweet.

Pinewood Derby Time!! (now with updates)

Charlie's Caterpillar Car is awaiting the final touches (AKA wheels.  Procrastination is exciting!!) before tomorrow's big race.  Stay tuned for stats and more pictures!

Update: No big trophy wins for our clan today, but everyone had a good time at the races nonetheless.  

Charlie was excited to watch his car race for the first time!

Will had a car in the race today too....

...but he seemed to enjoy working the concession stand with fellow scouts more than watching the races.  Who knew making change could be so exciting!?!

Will selling wares.

This was Will's final year for the Pinewood derby but Charlie will be able to race for 4 more fun-filled years.  By the time he's done, Steve will have helped to build 15 cars with the boys.  A lot of cars, a lot of memories!

New Scout

Charlie has been a tag-along to Ben and Will's scout meetings and field trips for years now, and finally it is his turn to belong to a den!  He is so excited!!  It is crazy, because I don't remember the older boys being so little when they started scouts.  But they were!  How time flies and memory fades...

Navajo Camp

While Ben was at Sioux camp, Will and I were also at Tomahawk Scout reservation in Navajo.  Steve usually has been the camp guy for the boys, so this was the first time I had gone to a scout camp with Will. Oh my-they do keep them busy at this age!  Our schedule was full with really, really fun stuff from early morning until lights out at 10:00!!

Will and his Den Leader.  Yes, I know. It is a lovely blouse.  Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

I really had so much fun, and cannot speak highly enough about the staff at this camp.  All college age kids from about 19-24 years old, and so full of energy!!  They were always patient with the kids (a tough job when you're there with a new group every week all summer long!), smiling and encouraging.  Top Notch, absolutely! 

And did I mention that there was coffee available for parents 24 hours a day?  Really tasty piping-hot coffee.  In real mugs, people.  Not styrofoam.  Every morning I would wake up by 5:30 and stroll up to the mess hall to get my cuppa which I would enjoy whilst sitting quietly by the lake.  I'd make sure to be back to our camp to wake the boys by 7:00, and that little bit of calm coffee time really set the day off right for me. I love you and miss you Camp Coffee!! Ahem...

Here's where I whiled away the evenings, listening for approaching bear.

No bear showed up, thankfully, and the time I spent listening was filled with loon calls from the lake just beyond my tent.  Score!

Aside from a chance to earn activity pins for advancement in scouts, the kids had plenty of fun stuff to keep them happy and busy every day.

B.B.  Gun shooting.  I got a chance to do this, too.  First time I shot a gun by the way.  Yay for me!

Will on the Climbing tower

Me on the climbing tower.  Yay again for me!

The Merry-Go-Round of Death at Scout Craft.  There are all sorts of dangerous-looking boy things at Scout Craft.  A mother's nightmare, a boy's dream...

Archery

Ginormous flag ceremonies

Polar Bear Swim  6:30 AM

Brave souls at Polar Bear Swim.  I did not do this : )

Ben, Steve and Charlie came to say hello to us after they checked out of their camp.  We tucked into a little Scout Craft cabin for a group photo.

And I think Charlie missed me the 4 days we were apart, because he didn't want to let go of my hand throughout his visit.

Charlie looks so exhausted!  He held my hand even as I filled out my check-out paperwork.

I have to say, I was skeptical about going to camp.  I wasn't expecting to have half as much fun as I did.  I am soooo happy I went and count this as one of the most fun one-on-one times I have spent with Will.  Priceless.

Sioux Camp

August is coming to a close soon and I wonder just how it sped by so quickly.  It has gone by so quickly in fact, that sometimes I have to wonder if we did anything fun at all.  Thankfully I have pictures to prove that it all happened!

One of the big highlights of August for Ben was spending 7 days at Tomahawk Scout Reservation in Birchwood, WI.

He had a great time working on merit badges for Wilderness Survival, Geocaching, and Archery.  

 Ben also enjoyed shooting rifles at the range, and was asked to be range assistant. 

Operating the clay pigeon flinging thingy.

Steve and Charlie went up to camp with the troop mid-week.  Dad remembered to bring  guitars when he came, so he and Ben could play songs around the campfire. 

Charlie had a blast hanging out with Dad, sleeping in a tent, and getting in a little bit of fishing with family friend and scout Dad Mark.

And of course Hoot Hoot was Charlie's constant companion.

 

As with any camp, Ben came home dirty and tired, but full of excitement and pride of accomplishment, too.  He's already looking forward to next year.

Unprecedented

Normally we are a family that does not put up a Christmas tree until, oh, maybe a week before Christmas.  I am just that way. While I do choose fun projects and outings to do with the kids, I try to keep things to a low simmer, not a manic frenzy. I don't bake a bajillion cookies, or shop on Black Friday, or go out and chop down a tree mid-august.  I bypass the Christmas aisles that spring up just as the Halloween candy gets hauled away, and shun any radio station playing carols until Christmas Eve.  Bah-humbug, right?  I know.  So what is the meaning of all this, a full month before Christmas!? 

Have I lost my mind?

Well, no, I lost my mind long ago, so that is not the issue right now.  I am just trying to turn over a new leaf and not be such a damn crab about everything.  I am trying to be positive about the holidays because I know it is fun for the kids to decorate and bake cookies and enjoy all the carols.  I can do this.  I can be full of Goodwill and Cheer.  Just watch me.  Helping me along with this installing of a tree so early in the season is the fact that Ben is working the Boy Scout tree lot in town this year, so it was only right that the family support his cause.

"Well, M'am, it is so close to Christmas that we are almost out of trees. Not."

 A dear friend of mine, who loves Christmas to pieces, also gave me some motivation to get a tree from Ben:

"I think you should have a little fun with Ben; ask him to pull out tree, after tree, after tree, after tree, for you to walk very slowly around & then dismiss as being 'hopelessly wrong for the space you have in mind' while waving your hand haughtily and taking a swig out of your leg flask."

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Too fat.

Too thin.

This isn't one of those trees where all the needles falls off, is it?

How could I resist that bit of fun?! And this sage advice really made me see the light. I don't have to completely give up the crabby me in order to enjoy the holidays after all.  

What?  I just want to find a nice tree.  Is that so wrong?

Oh sure.  Wander away to help those "real" customers.  So rude.

Here's the final  pick all loaded up and ready to take home.  Sure looks nice on top of the car. 

Are you suuuuure it doesn't need to be tied down?

Stay tuned for the decorating!!!

Falalalala-lala-la-laaaaaa!

2010 Parade

Smalltown had its parade today.  Both Ben and Will rode on floats for the Scouts and had a great time.

Ben riding on the Boy Scout Float (left, with his arm over the rail)

The Boys Scouts spent a few evenings putting their float together, creating an olde-fashioned campsite commemorating 100 years of scouting. They were quite excited to be handed such tools as a draw knife, axes and other sharp implements to make the scene come together.  Boys just love makin' stuff outta trees.

Ben Posing before the Parade

I myself do not understand the appeal of parades, but I guess it is fun when you get to ride on a slow-moving vehicle standing up pelting the crowd with candy, eating a great load of it yourself.

Will's Cub Scout Group and Cub Master.  Also pictured, our town's stop lights.

Will is standing up at the back, throwing candy at us.  Yay Will!

Charlie, Steve and I had a spot along the route where there were very few little kids to compete for said candy, so Charlie should be set with sugary crap until Halloween.

Charlie

Clown population at the parade was ZERO, and nary an Uncle Sam on Stilts was to be found.  I'm OK with any parade that can boast that!