What's that sound . . .

This guy is a frequent visitor to our neck of the woods.  When he starts to drill into a tree the sound can really travel.

 Josh was able to get a close up on him the other day.  The one where we had blue sky. 

Spring Babies . . .

It's fixin' to get a little noisy outside my bedroom window.  This mama bird has been busy sitting in this nest all day long for days. 

We have a great view of her nest but she scares easily and we have to keep the blinds closed.  I'd like to take a picture of the inside of the nest but I don't have a high enough angle from my window and I'm not sure about approaching it from the outside.

I'll get a picture as soon as the little ones are born.

Week in Review . . .

It's been a busy 7 days.  To summarize... there was a Cub Scout Pack meeting, two baseball practices and one game, normal weekly school, music lessons, PE class, a neighborhood clean up day, dinner out for Josh and I (plus shopping for clothes in order to attend said dinner), church and a Boy Scout Family picnic.  It must be Spring time!

Cub Master said "I have to sit down to read this list of achievements."  "Whittling Chip, Bear Rank, gold arrow point and one, two, three silver arrow points!"

This buoyancy science experiment quickly turned into bobbing for apples.

Efforts of my shopping trip.

Making this picture small in order to make me look small.

Dads vs. Kids football game at the Family Picnic. This was so much fun to watch.

I'm looking forward to a more relaxing week and a special outing this coming weekend.

Sunday at the Symphony . . .

I've been taking my boys to the Mt. Baker Theatre for various productions their whole lives.  I love live theatre and I'm determined to have my boys experience it even if they don't love it.

Last Sunday we attended the Whatcom Symphony Family Concert.
Before the show there was a "Instrument Petting Zoo."  Fun, huh!?  My guys were having none of that so I took advantage of the opportunity.

Except for being 1/2 hour too long it was an excellent program and very educational.  We all enjoyed the Harry Potter orchestra piece the most.

Camporee 2012

My 11 year old is a Boy Scout now.  This weekend he attended his second overnight camp out without Josh or myself.   The first camp out was difficult for me.  I rushed to purchase polypro that could be worn under his uniform so he would stay warm during the day and night.  I was stressed about everything.  Would he be warm, or stay dry?  Would he have enough to eat?  We had to get so much ready for him to spend one night away from home.
This second camping trip was just as stressful.  Although the weather was going to be much better, this camping trip was nearly an hour from home.  I still stressed about helping him get packed.  Even though all the leaders say "let the scout do the packing" I'm not about to go and turn my back while my son tries to pack for an over-nighter for the first time.  I believe in modeling and teaching, then letting them do it on their own.  Failure to bring something is bound to happen when a scout packs by themselves, and that's OK,  but I don't think I've done my duty as a parent if I haven't modeled how to pack at least once.
Josh helped a lot by going online to search out a pack that would work for a young scout.  It arrived nearly 3 weeks before the second camping trip but we didn't try to pack it until the day before the trip.  Not the best planning on our part.  We didn't have straps to attach the sleeping bag.  That stressed me out big time but I was able to purchase them the next day and get the pack secure before dropping the Professor off.
I'm also stressed out about what language he might pick up by being at these camp outs.  (I know I'm not the only mom worried about this.)  I've done my best to raise a well rounded boy and I'm not one bit interested in all my hard work going down the drain due to the misplaced judgement or upbringing of some other boy.
Yes, I know I must step back and let him grow.  But, this same approach feels very much like the push to get 6 year olds into public Kindergarten.  Who says 11 years old is the age I'm suppose to hand my son over to a group of teen boys and now they will teach and guide him 6 or more times during a month?
What helped me feel a little bit better about the whole process was spending 3 hours observing the scouts at their Black Mountain Camporee.

The leadership is solid.  The older scouts do have a sense of duty to help the younger ones.  There was kindness and fun, friendly competition and instruction.

Mountain boarding

I've survived the first month of having a Boy Scout.  I know it will just get easier from here.  I look forward to seeing the benefits of Boy Scouting come through in my son.  I will do my best to let him grow.

Jaybalaya . . .

At the "Cash & Carry" store I found a big box of Zatarain's.  I had no idea it would be this big.  It says it serves 23.  Maybe that should have been my clue.  It nearly ran over the dutch oven pot.  We had 2 gallons of Jambalaya rice when it was done cooking. 

Magnifing Glass Use # 4 . . .

The boys are spending more time outside now that the weather is turning pleasant. 

 In our land of liquid sunshine the real deal is a welcome sight each spring.  Here the Architect is working on harnessing the Sun's power so he can start a fire.

Making fire... one of those basic, life skills.

Easter Sunday . . .

ages 8 - 11 - 6

Brotherly love.

 Sports before church...

 Sports after church...

2012 Egg Hunt . . .

The weather has been beautiful this weekend.  Saturday, we gathered at Grammy's house for the annual egg hunt and Easter dinner.  

We thank Grammy and Wayne for parting with $27.00 in coins and distributing them into 71 plastic eggs.

 Grandma Patty, Uncle Chuck and Aunt Anna had a great time hiding the eggs.  

 The boys found most of them with ease and were soon counting their coins.  The rest of the day was filled with great food and sitting in the sun.

Friday Night Eggs . . .

Our annual egg coloring extravaganza was held at our house Friday evening.

Guests in attendance were Grandma Patty and Auntie Jodie.

 I boiled approximately 40 eggs.

 It must have been too many because when the boys had finally had their fill of coloring eggs, I still had 8 or so left.

This is the first year ever we haven't all wished for more eggs to color.  

Grandma Patty & Auntie Jodie's creations.

Last Day of Skiing . . .

March 31, 2012 was our last day of skiing for the season.  We're all happy to have had this new adventure to share together.

7 am and on the road.  GO EAST!

It's a blizzard up here.

Me and the Architect in his new jacket that I can see from far away.

6 year old - Scientist

 The snow was steady and melting on us as it hit our jackets and snowpants.  By 1 pm we were all soaked.  Josh and I could have skied longer but the boys were wet, tired and done.  It was time to go.

Leaving early.

Catching some zzzzzzz's on the way home.

Nintendo DS and Spelling . . .

I'm still really pleased about our purchase of a DS this last Christmas even though we only bought one and we have three kids.  Super Scribblenauts continues to be the game getting the most play.  Now, our 6 year old, with the help of the picture dictionary can spell and create his own Scribblenaut world.