A Baker's Dozen: Daily Life in a Large Family

Crossover

Monday night was Enoch and Mordecai's big crossover meeting for Cub Scouts. Crossover is when the boys "crossover"  to their new level in scouts. 

Enoch crossed over from Bear

to Webelos.

Mordecai went from Tiger

to Wolf.

Enoch is very excited to be in Webelos (stands for We'll Be Loyal Scouts). It's the transition year (and a half) between Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. These  boys meet three times a month (instead of one) and the requirements for badges are much more rigorous. 

Mordecai's move from Tigers to Wolves means he no longer has to have me present at the meetings (Tigers must have an "adult partner"). My mom said I had to mention on my blog about how well Mordecai did at this crossover meeting. He marched right up to the front to receive his awards. Most of the year he has been dragging me to the front with him and trying to hide behind me. Hurray for small steps forward.

Expect some photos of my men in their new uniforms soon...

Assistant Patrol Leader

The handsome boy you're looking at is the Burning Bullfrog's newest (and first) Assistant Patrol Leader. In February our three oldest boys crossed over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.  Judah really takes his scouting seriously- in a good way. He is determined to achieve great things in his years of scouting. From the day he joined, he's had his eye on Eagle Scout. As a Webelo he worked hard to earn every single badge in the book and along the way picked up a handful of beltloops and academic pins, earned his Arrow of Light, his Leave No Trace Award, this Wildlife Conservation Award, and probably a handful of others too.

Scouting has been one of the best things that has happened to our boys. Scouts is the place Ezra and Boaz have made their first friends- not to mention the friends I've made there. Scouts has given Chuck ample time and oppurtunity to pour into his boys' lives. He loves taking the boys on the camping trips and outings, and loves that he doesn't have to plan them himself.

I wanted pictures of our boys in their new uniforms, since the current photos on my wall have them in their Webelo uniforms. When I saw this picture of Judah, I couldn't believe how much older he looks. Check this out. This photos was taken September 1, 2008:

It amazing how fast they change.

   

Winter Camping

Words, by Judah (11)

Photos, by Chuck

     getting  ready to go.

             heading out.

                          clearing a space for the tent.

                   getting ready for bed.

Arrow of Light

Chuck and Boaz (14)

Thursday night our three oldest boys were awarded the highest honor they  could receive in Cub Scouts, the Webelos Arrow of Light. This award means that in addition to achieving their Webelos rank, they also completed eight activity badges, participated in conservation projects, went on hikes and an overnight camp out, attended a Boy Scout meeting (to check out the troop) and more. None of  this was easy for Ezra and Boaz, who started Webelos later than the other boys and had the cultural and language barriers to overcome as well. We are so very proud of them. And proud of Judah, who really focused and worked to earn every single Webelos badge there was to earn.  Tonight they will crossover to Boy Scouts, and tomorrow attend their first meeting as Boy Scouts.

For the ceremony, Chuck (along with the other Webelo's parents) made these arrows as keepsakes for the boys (though Chuck was the only parent to have to make multiple arrows :) On the far left you see a claw to represent earning the Bobcat, the arrowhead is for  the Arrow of Light, the four pieces of leather you see with beads represent each category of badges, with one bead for each badge earned. Each boy's arrow is customized according to his own achievements in Webelos.

Chuck got inspired at the last moment, and burned the boy's names into their arrows.

Thursday was such a neat evening, attending the ceremony. They had a slideshow of the boys (many of the boys started out as Tigers, so their were photos of them as six year olds in Cub Scouts!), and a video where each of the boys spoke of their favorite parts of Webelos. Chuck presented the boys with their arrows and the boys presented us with handmade cards saying, thank you, and Arrow of Light pins for the mothers.

I can't wait to see what their Boy Scout years bring.

Coolest Webelo Project Ever

Warning: Some mothers will want to scroll right past this post. If you don't approve of your sons carrying large knives in their pockets, skip this entry. And don't let them read it either.

Our three older boys are Webelos, the last step in Cub Scouts, before they move up to Boy Scouts (this month!). A while back, they made these knives as a Webelos project. I have been very impressed with the caliber of Scouting. In order for the boys to be allowed to carry their knives at Scouting events, they have to earn their "whittling chip" a card stating that they have have learned the rules of knife safety. I have a zero-tolerance level for fooling around with knives (or weapons in general). In fact, one son recently had his knife taken away for a week, for fooling around with it. 

I think the photos speak for themselves, about how the boys felt about this project.

Judah (11)

Boaz (14)

Ezra (16)

Thanks, Tim, for such an awesome project for our boys.

From a Distance

 Mordecai has waited anxiously this last year, watching his brothers march off to scouts, waiting until the day he was old enough to join them. This year he is old enough, but the meetings are so difficult for him. Mordecai gets completely overwhelmed by the noise, the people. He refuses to salute the flag, to say the Cub Scout motto. He is too shy to join in on the games. He loves his uniform, working on projects and the whole idea of scouts, but the reality is sometimes different entirely.

 

This is such a stretching and growing experience for him. 

Tomorrow night he will receive his Bobcat badge at our Pack meeting. I can almost guarantee I will have to drag him up front. He will sit on my lap and roll on the floor during the meeting. To an outsider it will look like Cub Scouts is punishment for him.

But he loves it.  Really. 

And hopefully along the way he will learn some new skills, make some new friend, and form some new  memories.

Here's to Mordecai, still the cutest tiger in the pack.

Popcorn!

Come support your favorite scout. Ezra, Boaz, Judah, Enoch and Mordecai are now selling popcorn to raise money for their Webelos and Cubscout dens. Money earned will go toward scout activities and camps. If you are interested in supporting any of the boys with the purchase of scout popcorn go to Trail's End. Each boy has their own order key and are as follows:

Ezra TEQMPQW

Boaz: TEQMPPQ

Judah: TEQMPR1

Enoch: TEQMP73

Mordecai: TEQMZPD

Deadline for orders is October 25th.

The Cutest Tiger in the Pack

Well, I suppose there are some mothers who will disagree with me there, but hey, I'm entitled to my own opinion, right?

Mordecai is now officially a Cubscout. He watched his big brothers march off to their meetings all last year, and has been eagerly awaiting the day he could join.

And finally, that day has come.

If You Give a Boy a Balloon

The story you are about to read is completely true, but thankfully, it didn't happen to me! I had a friend email me this story about her boys, and I asked permission to post it here. The accompanying photo is of my three littlest boys. Cause who wants to read a blog with no photos?

If you give a thirteen year old boy a balloon, he's going to want to fill it with water.

You'll call him to lunch just as he is finished tying it off.

He's going to want to show his water balloon to his little brothers, so he will bring it inside to the lunch table.

When you see the bulging balloon on the table, you're going to say, "Water balloons are not allowed inside the house!"

Thinking your words are more along the lines of a "passing comment" than a "direct command" and feeling quite hungry, the boys will say their prayers and start to dish up.

But before the food is on their plates, the water balloon is going to explode for no apparent reason.

The 13 year old will quickly realize that the exploding balloon spewed water all over your laptop computer and the very important standardized testing documents and special thank you notes on the table.

He's going to jump up from the table and race into the kitchen for a towel to clean up the spilled water.

Wearing socks on his feet, he's going to slide out of control across the kitchen floor and slam his knee into the oven range's glass door.

The glass door is going to shatter, and glass will be sent to the farthest reaches of the kitchen.

That boy will be surprised and will say, "That was the stupidest thing I ever did!" His youngest brother will say, "Now we're going to need a bullet proof oven door!"

There will be some tears and some humble apologies, and the water and shattered glass will eventually be tidied up.

Then you're going to have to call the appliance company to find out if the oven really needs the door for functionality, or if its just for looks.

The appliance company is going to tell you that its company "does not recommend using the oven door if the inside or outside of the door is broken".

You'll find out that for $150 you can have your new piece of oven door glass delivered to your house in three days.

They're going to tell you that installing the new glass will be very easy, even though it won't be coming with any installation instructions.

The teenager is going to ask if he's going to have to pay the total bill for the replacement glass. His youngest brother is going to offer him some money, and then run to get his wallet to show off his cash surplus.

But the teenager will ignore his younger brother, because after all, he is a teenager!

Pinewood Derby

All four of our Cubscouts worked hard on their cars, and raced well.

The crowds were cheering.

A certain three year old was having trouble controlling his little hands. So he sat in a chair and practiced.

The suspense was building. This was the final race. Judah's car is on the right.

And then it was all over. Judah's car won second place, which amazed us, considering this was his first Pinewood Derby ever. He was so excited and proud, he was practically busting.