September 2012

Sarah's 3rd Birthday

Sarah got a bike for her birthday. There is even a basket so she can take her babies for a ride, too. (I did not find any other pictures for Sarah's birthday??? Either we didn't celebrate (ha!) or we must have forgotten the camera.

Cuboree Scout Camp

 Adam trying a little knot tying. He's not an official scout yet but gets to tag along with Jackson and Kevin.

 Jackson doing chin ups. He did the most (11) of any other scout there!

 Waiting for the rain to end.

Soccer Season Begins

 Jackson began playing travel soccer. It's a year-long soccer program where he will be expected to play at a higher level. We will also be "traveling" no more than an hour away for some games.

Winnings All Around

Jackson worked very hard on his science fair project last weekend. He made a bubble solution with water and dish detergent. Then he added sugar, glycerin, corn syrup, and lemon juice to see which would make his bubbles last longer. The glycerin did it! He took the project to school last Tuesday to present to his class. Then all the projects from the third, fourth, and fifth graders were placed in the gym. They were viewed by the whole school on Wednesday and then judged on Wednesday afternoon. It was very secretive and we weren't allowed to enter the gym until 4:30 when all the judging was complete. We walked in and by golly, there was a second place ribbon on Jackson's project. I was shocked because there were some pretty good projects and never in a million years would I have expected Jackson's project to win. Not that his wasn't a good project- it was great! I just thought, I never won, so my kids won't either. I had that totally wrong, huh?

He was so proud of himself and so were we!

Throughout last week Kevin and Jackson have been working on a Pinewood Derby car for Cub Scouts. Adam saw Jackson looking for designs on the computer and picked one out for his car, too. So Kevin headed back to the Boy Scout store and got Adam a Pinewood Derby kit, too. They both entered cars into the race on Saturday although Adam's car was racing unofficially. In fact, they even raced each other a couple times. Jackson's car won each time (WHEW!).

Here is Adam's car ready for a race. He picked the design and the color and added those fancy stickers on the back. I guess he is car 24?

Here is the final, top three cars. Yes, that would be Jackson's name next to the number three. He won third place and his car gets to go on to the District race in May. Whoo Hoo!

Here is Jackson's car sitting out waiting for its next race at the District level. We had to leave it there so it could be officially taken to the district race.

Jackson is showing off his car and his trophy. He was so excited to get that trophy! We went to the Lego store to celebrate! More on that later.

I know this is Adam's car racing, but I'm not sure if Jackson's was racing too. And why this is at the bottom of this post, I have no idea. I cannot get my pictures to load in the right order tonight. Drives me crazy..... GRRR!

Blue and Gold Banquet

At the end of the Boy Scout year, which is at the end of February, Jackson's Pack hosts a "Blue and Gold Banquet" where they eat a meal together and are given their pins and badges for the year. Due to my recent diagnosis of Celiac Disease (I couldn't eat the lasagna they were providing) and remembering taking two little ones to this banquet last year, I chose to stay home with Sarah. Sarah was also not feeling well that night, and we would learn the next day that she had a terrible throat infection. Kevin and Adam (who just had to go) shared in Jackson's glory when he earned his Wolf badge which entitles him to "move up in ranks" next year.

Jackson shows off his pins and badges he earned.

A Camping We Will Go!

Jackson's Cub Scout pack went camping at a campground along the Neuse River near Morehead City. You would think that with the campground being right on the river, they would have nice, clean facilities. We found just the opposite. All I will remember is those push button faucets and cold water. You know- the ones that you push and then water trickles out for um.. about 10 seconds and then cuts off? Yes, the showers were like that too. I did discover if I held the button in, the water would stay on. However, it was very difficult to wash and rinse my hair with one hand. The water at the sinks was freezing but at least the showers were hot. Kevin had to beg for electricity to use with his breathing machine. Our site mates didn't know how much they needed to appreciate that yellow extension cord running across our campsite!

We had two to three tents per campsite which allowed us to get to know the other scout families pretty well. I thought Adam would never go to sleep that first night, and of course, he was up at the crack of dawn the next morning. The older scouts already had breakfast cooked when we got up. They even did the dishes!

During the day on Saturday, we all went to the Coast Guard station and then over to Fort Macon. At the Coast Guard Station, we learned what the Coast Guard does, saw some really cool boats, and some huge buoys ready to be cleaned up and put back out in the waterway again. They let us all board one of their smaller boats to see what it looked like inside. We didn't have to worry about anyone falling over since the Coast Guard was right there! They boys seemed to enjoy crawling all over the cement blocks they use to hold the buoys down in the water the most.

At Fort Macon, we toured the fort for a little while and then sat up at the top of it to view a reenactment of some men shooting a cannon. Jackson only held his ears.. the whole time- but he didn't scream or cry. We are making progress! The boys loved running through all the rooms in the fort.

We all had some free time after that, so we headed over to walk on the beach. It was so windy that the sand was stinging our legs. Needless to say it was a short walk. We left and headed to the aquarium and for a walk along the waterfront in Morehead. After that we went back to the campsite for dinner. Those older scouts were wonderful. Dinner was done when we got there- Spaghetti with bread that was toasted on the fire. Mr. Tyre made some of his famous peach cobbler for dessert. One of the older scouts was even roasting marshmallows for me. They were perfect! I couldn't have done better myself! Overall it was a great camping experience especially since someone else was be responsible for all the food.

Adam driving the boat at the Coast Guard Station.

Now it is Jackson's turn to drive and Adam gets to be the passenger.

We tried to get Adam to stand on the other side of the sign but he refused wanting to stand on the curb. Surprised? We weren't!

Standing outside one of the rooms at Fort Macon.

Sitting on top of fort Macon. Yes, that is the ocean in the background.

Jackson and Adam sitting on a small cannon- not the one they used in the reenactment.

We all posed on the wall at the top of the fort. Adam did not want to sit with his daddy.

You may be wondering where Sarah was in all this. Gramma and Granddad kept her for the weekend. She got to go on her first boat ride. Aunt Emily and Uncle Joe came to visit her. This was the first time we had left her, and I wasn't expecting to miss her as much did.