Q's Camping Weekend!

I have several of these shots.... Q taking photos of himself or the ground.... He got several good ones of the different boy scouts and stuff they were doing but the camera was not the best and many came out blurry...

Part of their requirements were to go on a 5 mile hike this past weekend.... They ended up GeoCaching and did about 9 miles!




I was happy that Scott was able to go with him for most the weekend.... Our boys are growing up so fast and I miss them being little! All the boys had a great time! Zman and I helped Nana paint, we went to a birthday party, and finished out the weekend with Harry Potter!!! It was a fun weekend for all of us!

Hank turns 7!!!

Happy Birthday dear Hank! You are turning 7 on Monday and we had such a good time at your birthday party!!!





They played a lot of fun games and Hank really enjoyed winning one of the games!!!

Thank you!

Thank you for all those that supported the boys and bought popcorn! Our troop/pack did very well and even though one boy ROCKED the selling with over $3000 sold, our boys did very well thanks to the efforts of Grandpa in NY!

The boys made thank you notes and we used this photo.... I love it, the boys looked nice in their uniforms and Katie Rocks in her vest!

The Iso Turns 1.....

We all helped Iso celebrate her first birthday in style! It was a fun day that began with a donuts sale to help the Boy and Cub Scouts and ended with RockBand3!!! It was a great day! We had such a wonderful time!!!

Yea, she did not like the STICKY frosting at all.... I believe that she was down right mad about the yellow cake rather than the chocolate.... After all, have you met her parents????

And Baby makes THREE..... Such a nice little family shot... With the Balloons in the background tied to Mr.X's belt... haha (you know me and my shots... )


Iso was surrounded by love at her party... Of course she was thrilled with her day but her favorite part was the Balloons!!! She was thrilled over the balloons!!

We have the life.... We really do....

It has been a long time coming... A lot of discussions and lots of hard work... We are not done, not even close, but we camped for the first time at the pond and it was exciting and very enjoyable! My parents graciously allowed us to be approved for cub camping at the pond and Dad has worked endless hours down there to get it ready for our first inspection. We passed the first inspection with more to do but we were able to do our Fall Family camping down there and it was a wonderful weekend!



We took a field trip during our camping to go study and old cemetery, do some Geocaching and also providing a lesson in "Leave no Trace"!! It was a wonderful trip and the boys really enjoyed it!

Of course, part of camping is the Campfire! The boys did well stacking and gathering of wood! We did not use all of this pile but let me tell you, we had a wicked fire!

Qman has really secured his spot in the Boy Scouts as the cook... He enjoys cooking outside and did a great job cooking the french toast.. (both with and without Cinnamon!)

Zach and JL did some early morning fishing.. There was never a time over the weekend where some child (or adult) did not have a fishing pole in his hand! Although Zach has not actually caught a fish, he is getting better at taking them off the hook....

Very early shot of the cooking/fire area with my tent (aka the Hotel) in the background. I was on my way to the outhouse and the view across the water was breathtaking! The pond was so peaceful even with the sounds of crazy kids running all over but early in the morning was the best because of the hushed tones and the fog lifting.....

For a Child....

Our Boy Scout pack invited themselves to help with a benefit for a child that was hit by a car leaving the fair here in town. The little boy is still in pretty bad shape and the family has been by his side 2 hours away since the beginning of October. The benefit had sold 1700 BBQ plates and our boys worked to get those plates made and out to the cars that were picking them up.
This was a great event and I was so proud of all the boys that gave up their Saturday to help this family. Each and every day I am proud of my boys for the things that they do but even more I am part of a wonderful troop/pack and watching these boys as they grow, mature and advance!

An Afternoon with Grandpa and Katie

We took Katie down to the pond this afternoon. I know, I have so many other posts that I need to do but today was such a good time that I had to share it!! It was Katie's first time not only off the leash but in the water! Needless to say she lost her mind and had so much fun that she had a little trouble listening after that.
The boys enjoyed watching her swim and Grandpa even let them each throw the ball to her a few times!
We are always planning and trying to come up with the prime areas to put things that we need. After our last campout (I know, I owe a post for that too!) JO and I had talked about the issue with where to put the tents. Dad and I wanted to drive in a couple of stakes so we could really get a lay of the land and see where we could lay things out.
The boys each placed their stake in the ground so we could get an accurate marking of where the property lines are.
You can see Q straining to bang that big heavy pipe on to the stake to get it into the ground! He makes such a funny face!
After we got back from the pond dad and I put up a run for Katie and the boys practiced giving commands and holding her. She is getting used to us all but it is taking some time. I took these two photos of them sitting with her. Tomorrow we are going to stage a couple for some thank you cards the boys need to send out. The dog listens and sits very well; lets see if we can get the boys to listen and sit still just as well!!!

You can tell where dad is if you look really close to this photo..... Q is looking at me, Z is just bored and Katie is watching Grandpa!!! ( he was up on a ladder which is why she looks like she is looking so far up!)
I love this photo of Dad and Katie in the woods.... He was mapping out the line and she was keeping a close eye on what I was doing!

Science Fair and a 1 year old!

The boys had a science fair this week and we spent the better part of the week boiling vinegar. Yup, my house smelled of boiled and burnt vinegar most of the week... Not a wonderful smell mind you; but Qman finally got his "Hot Ice" project to work and was able to show it off. I tried to tell him that science experiments don't always work and that showing they don't always work was just as good but he would not hear of it.... It was fun doing it and Scott enjoyed working with them as well.


Zach did the ole' corn starch and water thing and of course we had to go back to watch an episode of Mythbusters after his was done. Both boys enjoyed researching their project and making the posters to go along with it! It is always fun to work on something when you have the right tools and thanks to Nana the boys were able to use the Cricut for their posters! I think that was almost the best part!

Our little Iso turned 1 yesterday and although her party is today it was fun seeing her and wishing her a very Happy Birthday.... She seemed excited by all the people and as always was full of grins!!