Scout Ballfield Campout

Last night we went to the Mudhens stadium for another game and another Scout sleepover.  Becky and Aaron joined us for the camping portion this year.  Becky was very involved with the Scouts this year and Aaron was very distraught about not getting to stay last year.  Thankfully the weather this year was better as we didn't get soaked like last year.



Before the game, all the Scouts got to parade around the front of the field.  Becky and Alex went around this time, both in full uniform.



Alex wore his new Bear hat and neckerchief as well as his patch vest which houses all of the extra patches he has earned, but can't wear on his uniform.  The big yellow "C" on his left is the equivalent to a high school "letter" where he can house his Sports and Academics pins.  Right now he has a Swimming pin, but may have a couple more joining it from Day Camp activities.



Becky got Aaron a Little Scout Buddy ball cap and t-shirt so he'd feel like part of the crowd.  He is very much entrenched into the Scouting mindset and is looking forward to starting Tiger Cubs in a couple more years.  Onto the side of the hat, Becky sewed the patch that he got for camping here tonight.



Another Scout from Alex's den, Nicolai, was here tonight also (which represented a majority of the 3 Scout den) and sat with us and ate popcorn and drank hot chocolate while we watched the animated baseball movie, Everyone's Hero.  Becky discovered a solution to last year's tent hassle.  Since we can't use stakes to anchor the tent, she found 2 small tents that don't require any.  These "InsTENTS" (get it?) pop up to a usable form with a minimum of effort in under a minute.  A few minutes later and the rainfly is strapped on and we could toss our stuff inside.  Becky and Alex slept in one tent on a full-size Aerobed mattress which just fit.  Aaron and I slept on self-inflating pads in the other tent.  The kids slept better than we did, but we made it through the night.  A 5:30am rain shower made us glad that we set up those rain flys.



This morning we got up and packed up the gear.  Stowing the InsTENTS is almost as easy as setting them up and they were light enough to carry on and off the field with our other gear all in one trip.  We ate a buffet breakfast in the Roost on the upper balcony before heading home.  This is now officially a tradition that we'll plan on doing for many years to come.

Look Where I Found This Gum

This year the Cub Scouts were able to have their campfire ceremony outside again thanks to fair weather.  Each team prepared a skit to present to the rest of the camp and assembled family members and friends.



Alex's team' skit involved one Scout stashing his gum on the stage for later, with the rest of the team coming by, one by one, and stepping in it or putting their hands in it accidentally before stomping off of the stage making disgusted grumbling sounds.  I think you can guess where Alex found the gum. You can probably also guess the punchline - the original Scout coming by to reclaim the gum and start chewing it anew.  Yum.

Double Camp Week

This week marked Alex's first week of Cub Scout Day Camp at Camp Miakonda.  This year they have the theme of Cub Scout Olympics 2008 in honor of the upcoming Beijing Games.  He was assigned to a "country" for the week - this week he was on Germany's team and went with his team to all of the events this week.



We didn't get to take any pictures of Alex during camp, but they took this picture of him receiving either exciting or terrible news during craft time.  They completed the steps for a Geology Academics belt toop and pin as well as several other acheivements for next year's Bear badge. He got to swim every day which was a huge bonus for him.



Today was Aaron's 1st day of Hobbit Day Camp at his school.  This week was full of crafts, water play, sports, and Aaron's favorite - snacks.  This is a step up from last year's younger Hob Haven camp, so he is very proud to be so grown up.

Pre-Disney Blog Posts

Today I finished the March posts before we went to Walt Disney World. I am woefully behind which is seeming to become a perpetual state. Please follow this link to catch up on (most of) March.

Armstrong Air & Space Museum

After a pancake breakfast and packing up the campsite, we drove a few miles away to the Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, OH.  Named after Wapakoneta's hometown hero, Neil Armstrong.



There were a few space capsule mock-ups outside for the boys to climb around on.  BUt the real magic was inside.



There was all sorts of momrabilia from Armstrong's childhood to artifacts used on space missions.  There were space suits, dehydrated food samples (behind glass, not to taste), and space capsules.



Near the end of the tour there was a movie shown in the auditorium that was housed in the big cement bubble seen in the top picture above.  It was a movie about the manned moon missions and the excitement that it caused back in the day.  At the very end there was a mission simulator that Alex used to try to land the Space Shuttle.  I was taking notes for the day he asks me to borrow the family car.  I'm afraid it doesn't look good.

Camping at Grand Lake at St. Mary's

Today we launched our summer camping trip, this time at Grand Lake at St. Mary's state park.  Technically we left the house last night, but it was raining with the threat of severe weather later.  We had a break from the rain long enough to set up our tent last night. We spent the night in a nearby motel and headed back to the campsite today under much clearer skies. After eggs and bacon, we geared up for swimming.  Grand Lake is Ohio's largest inland lake.  When it was built in the 1800's, it was the largest man-made lake in the world at the time.  We really didn't explore the lake, just the beach near the campgrounds.  The cove floor was a little mucky, but the boys had fun.  The beach itself smelled fishy, and when we were leaving we realized that it was due to the sand-covered dead fish about 20 feet from our towels.



The campground let us rent bikes - actually chopper-style trikes that Alex tooled around in for an hour. 



Tonight we built a fire and roasted hot dogs for our dinner.  Later we roasted marshmallows for s'mores.  A group of people set up a soccer game in a field behind our tent and the boys watched the match until bedtime.  After we put them down Becky and I engaged in our favorite camping activity.  Sitting by the fire and talking until we burned up all of the wood by about 1 in the morning.

Wacky Pose

If they'll pose normal for one picture, I'll let them give me their wacky pose. This picture was clearly the better of the two I took.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

The family took me to breakfast this morning to celebrate my birthday at Marie Scrambler's - on of our favortie brunch spots.  The boys each made me cards with artwork, which I loved.



I've taken my birthday off from work for years now.  It's a little indulgent, but I don't indulge much the rest of the year.  I love spending the day with my family, especially since they love making it special for me.  Work will be there tomorrow. Tonight I'm blowing out candles on my strawberry pie.

Spring Soccer Roundup

Both kids were thrilled to play soccer this year.  4 year old soccer barely looks like soccer and is mostly a free for all where kids kick the ball wherever they want and all 10 kids chase it down to kick it again.  Forget passing.  If a kid didn't like where the ball was going, they'd pick it up.  Aaron was initially disappointed that he didn't get to blow the ref's whistle.  Aaron loved throwing the ball in and tried to do it whenever he could.



Alex was a real trooper this year.  He did his best in practice every time and showed up for this game in the rain.  His team was so big that they divided into two teams for game day, but all practiced together.



Aaron's coach (far left) made sure they they had fun and played nice.  The coaches at this level get to be on the field and provide direction - ("Kick it toward the goal. No, their goal!").



Alex wasn't the fastest kid on his team, but he was very tenacious on defense and rarely let the ball get past him.



Aaron loved to be in the game but was good about taking turns.  When he was in, he'd always be going for the goal.



They were both very proud of their trophies.



But not so much their haircuts.

We Thought We Were Barbers

Every parent gives their kids a bad haircut at least once, right? Right? Well, we apperently felt the need to continue this longstanding tradition.  Last year, for their summer haircuts, we sent them to a kids' barber who pulled out a trimmer and mowed down their hair to something cooler for summer.  How hard could it be?

Today we tag-teamed them.  Becky cut large swaths off with scissors to make my job easier.



I then pulled out my old adjustable-depth beard and moustache trimmer that I haven't used much since I shaved them off last spring.  The biggest problem that I had was that it wasn't fully charged up in the cabinet and it quickly ran out of steam.  It also was really the wrong shape and style for this job in the first place.



We had thrown down a sheet to aid in clean up, but I just had to get a shot of how much hair we got off on our first attempt.



The result was a blotchy hair cut for each that they had to show the world during their end of season soccer game and trophy ceremony.  Aaron looked like he started chemo a few days before.  It bothered us more than them, and Becky went to Sally's Beauty Supply and bought a real, plug-in hair trimmer that evened them out.  You can get a nice view of that haircut here.  (Remember, that's the improved version.)

Building Catamarans

This month's Home Depot Kids' Workshop project was fun and unique. They got to build matching catamarans with a canvas sail. I doubt they'll see water as they are partially glued together.

Last Day of School Fiesta

On the last day of school, Alex gave his teacher, Mrs. Coffin, a butterfly suncatcher that he made for her.  He was apprehensive about her being his teacher at the beginning of the year, but he has really thrived under her guidance.  His behavior has generally improved and he has been more consistent about completing his schoolwork during class without letting his surroundings distract him.



His reading group/language arts teacher was Mrs. Fish, who enjoyed working with Alex.  Alex has been an excellent reader for years and the small groups allowed him to be paired with kids at a similar level.



Mrs. Weinberg was his 1st grade teacher last year, and this year supplemented his education by teaching social studies.  She'll be moving down to the preschool next year, so Aaron will get an earlier exposure than Alex to her fun and novel approaches to learning.



This afternoon that had an end-of-year fiesta with Mexican food and sombreros.  Alex tried an enchilada for the first time and loved it!  What happened to our picky eater? (This also means that there's hope for Aaron's palate improving someday).  We tell them all the time that there is a world of foods that they would love, but they won't try it because they've never tried it.  Kid logic.  We won't let them claim that they don't like a food that they've never tried, but we learned a long time ago that it isn't worth a fight.  It is worth encouragement and re-offering rejected foods.  Peer pressure is fair game ("other kids your age eat pizza, Aaron").



After the fiesta, parents brought in board games, most of them mildly educational, and had a board game party with the Lower School in the Resource Center.  Summer Break has begun! We'll reconvene here in 2 1/2 months.

Preschool Picnic/Lower School Field Day

This is Aaron and his P-3 preschool teacher, Mrs. Meinecke.  She had her hands full this year with eighteen 3 & 4 year-olds.  Aaron had thrived this year and is very excited about going to the big kids preschool next year.



She had help from Miss Thorpe who was in there for half a day most days in the morning.  Becky volunteered her time there on Tuesday mornings which allowed the teachers more small group assessment and teaching time with the kids.



Today they took the whole class out to a local park and had an end-of-year picnic and playtime in the park.  Aaron was thrilled that they had watermelon and apparently tried to eat two pieces at the same time. :)



When they got back from their picnic, they were able to catch a little bit of the Lower School's field day on the soccer field. It ended with the traditional kids vs. teachers tug-of-war.  Alex is on the far left , second from the end in the muscle shirt and shades.

Magic Glasses

Aaron got his first set of magic glasses today. They have transition lenses and will help correct his myopia and astigmatism. Strengthening his left eye will also keep it from turning out like it wants to. He has mixed feeling about them but is generally positive. He stopped by the office today to show them off and posed in my desk chair.

Sprinkler Fun

It's hard to beat a cool sprinkler on a hot day - complete with soccer shorts and Crocs