Operation Egg Drop

Chase had an Egg drop project for school.  He thought about the best way to do it.  One thought was to stick in a jar of peanut butter, he saw it on Shake It Up, but I thought that could get way too messy.  The next idea was a parachute.  Parachute number one didn't fair too well.  We tried using a plastic garbage bag tied to a gift bag, but the bag didn't catch enough air and the gift bag was too heavy.  Next we cut out a big circle from a trash bag.  We put the egg inside of a plastic easter egg lined with cotton balls, and put the egg into a paper lunch sack lined with light weight cloth diapers.  We tied it all together and it was ready for launch.
Chase was so excited when the janitor called his name and threw his parachute into the air.
 

It floated gently down and landed with a soft thud.  Chase was so happy it had worked so well.

After opening the bag and tearing the tape off of the plastic egg he found that his egg was still intact.  The project was a success!

After we said goodbye to Chase I took Laina and Aria over to the park for a little play time.  Laina charged right up the stairs and climbed all the way to the top of the tallest slide.  I yelled at Aria to go with her, but Laina didn't even balk about the height and just launched herself down the slide.

 Of course I panicked a bit seeing her up there so high all by herself, but when I saw the pure joy on her face when she came down I quickly got over it.  They had fun climbing up and sliding down every slide the park had to offer.

By the end their hair was standing on end from all of the static electricity generated by those plastic slides.  It was a beautiful sunny day and the girls had a perfectly beautiful time together.  I can't wait for more days like these.

Arrow of Light

Hunter received his Arrow of Light the other night at Pack Meeting.  He has worked hard all year long on the requirements.  He earned every pin and also earned his Compass Award and points.  He really loves scouting and is so excited to join the 11 year old Scouts.  He also gets to go on the campouts with the older boys because Mike is the Scoutmaster.  

During the Award Ceremony

The Proud Momma and her Scout

Never taking anything too seriously.  :)

Hunter has had some wonderful scout leaders this past year.  I am so thankful that they have been working so hard at helping Hunter get everything passed off.  Now it's time to start working on the Eagle!

Webelo

Hunter has been working hard on scouts this year.  He received his Webelo at pack meeting the other night.  He also has been racking up the pins, he already has 12 of them, and he has only been working on them since April.  He has the most fantastic den leader, she keeps those boys on task and is such a big help with getting everything done.  It won't be long now before he is back up there again getting his Arrow of Light.  This picture makes me laugh, it is a little glimpse into the future when Hunter will be towering over me.  I'm sure it will come faster than I'm ready for.  So proud of you Hunter!

Our Newest Cub Scout

Chase is our newest Cub Scout in the family.  His birthday is in July, but the leaders let him start early so he could go to the Day Camp in June.  Saying that Chase is thrilled to be a scout is an understatement.  As soon as he got his book he was asking me to helped him pass off his Bobcat.  We worked hard this summer and for August Pack meeting he was able to earn his Bobcat and one bead for the requirements he had passed off.  I'm so glad my boys love being in Scouts and don't mind Mom working on stuff with them.  It turns out it has been pretty fun for me too.

The Call of the Wolf

It was pack meeting last night and Hunter earned his Wolf badge. Along with his Wolf he also earned a gold arrowhead, 3 silver arrowheads as well as his Basketball belt loop. I am so proud of all the work he puts into scouts. I love that he loves it so much. Watching him and Mike work on different projects just makes me so happy! It's also so much fun when I get to help him with different things. I remember participating in scouts with my older brothers because my Mom seemed to always be the Den Mother of their troop.

Here is Hunter proudly displaying his Wolf marking. Such a tough guy. :)

Pinewood Derby Pandemonium

Hunter participated in his first Pinewood Derby last night. He and Mike were so excited to work on his car. Hunter came up with the design and Mike helped him with the power tools. They spent many nights out in the garage working away. Personally I think Mike was a little more into it than Hunter. The end result was this.

I must admit it was one of the coolest looking cars there. The Clone Trooper, not Storm Tropper for all you 80s children like me, was the final touch.

The Pinewood Derby night was crazy! There were 46 scouts there with parents, siblings and even some grandparents. I have to give it up to the Pinewood Derby DJ guy. He brought an awesome track that was all hooked up to the computer and a sound system to keep the party going. It was hilarious watching all the kids crowded around the track. It was amazing that no one got hurt by a car speeding down the track. There were a couple of close calls when some little kids decided to climb onto the track. The funniest thing though, was watching all the dads. Some of those dads were so obsessed. One dad kept lifting up the cars on the table and re-weighing them to make sure they weren't heavier than they should be.

Hunter's car won quite a few of his races but he didn't end up being the fastest of the night. That honor went to some other boys in our ward. It's kind of funny that the 2nd and 3rd spots went to our neighbors who Mike had helped out with their cars. I told Mike to not give away all our secrets! :)

The kids all had a fun night and we made it through all 46 races. Hunter was a little bummed to not be in the top three but if there had been a prize for the car with the most style, he would have definitely won!

Scout Camp

Hunter had the opportunity to go to Scout Camp for a day. The camp was up Hobble Creek Canyon. When he got home he was so excited to tell us all about his day. He made this cool teepee while he was there and an Indian game using popsicle sticks.

Then he showed me his new patch and all the beads he earned at the camp.

He started telling me that he got one for boating, archery, and shooting BB guns. That's when I stopped him. "BB guns?" "Yeah Mom, it was so cool." Well at least there was adult supervision the entire time. I guess that's better than my brothers who used to go out behind our house and shoot up whatever they could find. Or Mike and his brother who used to shoot each other to see how many air pumps they could handle. Boys are so crazy!

Bobcat

Hunter started scouts last month and he has been so excited about it. When we first got his scouting book he was looking through it and I kept hearing, "Cool", "Awesome", and "Can we make this?" Scouts is the perfect thing for Hunter, he is having a great time with it.

At pack meeting he received his Bobcat award.

He worked so hard at passing it off. It was fun to see him as they were drawing all the symbols on his face.

It is the beginning of a long list of hard work and awards yet to come. I'm actually pretty excited about it all. Poor Michela is so jealous, she would love to be a cub scout. We'll just have to let her join in on the fun whenever possible. I remember being an honorary scout when my brothers did scouting. Mike already helped Hunter and Michela make rubber band paddle boats. They actually floated quite well in our bathtub. With the rate Hunter is going I'll probably be blogging about his Eagle Scout in no time at all. :)

Yes, I know the shirt is a bit long, in fact it looks like a dress, but we had just bought his shirt a couple of hours before the meeting. I only had time to sew on a couple of patches. I ended up having to duct tape his den number on his sleeve. Yikes! I'll have to hem his shirt so he can actually tuck it in.