Daniel

Daniel is participating is Destination Imagination this year.  It has been a really terrific experience. We have never done it before and I'm still a little foggy about exactly what it is.  But basically a small group of kids work together to create something that moves (like a robot) and they need to create a back story, set and props to use while presenting it (in February).  They do a lot of improv activities at each meeting and they also dance.  Daniel has loved it and I suspect it's largely because of his team leader, an awesome parent who is patient and fun and willing to allow the team of kids to figure things out for themselves.  That must take such self control and I'm sure there are many groups with adults coming up with all the ideas.

Okay I wrote that a few months ago.  Daniel's team finished their project and competed and had a wonderful time!  Here is their presentation.  It was adorable and for a first time team they did terrific!

Daniel has become a much better eater recently, even though he does occasionally have to hold his nose to get those pesky quinoa tacos down.  :)

 Daniel and Curtis at the Pinewood Derby- our last one.  sniff. 

 Daniel requested cookie cake for his 11th birthday.  It was so easy to make and way cheaper than buying one.  I would definitely do that again. 

 The boys played Telestrations and they had me laughing so hard.  Boys crack me up.  Lots of references to ninjas, toilets and tacos.  Adorable.

 Jonah helped to referee a game of Poisin, a basketball game they play in PE.  It is a lot of fun and they had a great time. 

 Daniel and Lucy heading into church on a Sunday morning.  He loves his bowtie and suspenders.  We love Daniel. 

Webelos

Have I mentioned that I love scouts?  What other organization teaches my boys to cook, vote, tie cool knots and be trustworthy and loyal (to name a few).  We participated in our last Pinewood Derby this month.  I can't believe that phase is over.  I'm relieved.  We never really found the balance of actually allowing the scout to do little more than sand and paint his car.  I'd like to see a derby in the future that has two cars submitted per family.  One the boy makes and one the Dad makes.  :O 

Our cub master, Angie has done such a terrific job with the boys.  She brings Bobcat blood (red Kool-Aid) for the newbies to drink and has interesting visitors like veterans and fireman.  And she knows how to keep a pack meeting short and doesn't even provide treats (because who needs more sugar?  Not little boys.  :)  She is awesome!

Christmas in Colorado

For Christmas this year we did only one small gift and used the money we would normally spend to go to the mountains and play in the snow.  We went with our good friends (another family of 6) to the town of Alma, Colorado and rented a house on a few beautiful, snowy acres.  The snow was amazing and we all had a ball building forts and sledding. 

Unfortunately our sea level bodies did not appreciate the rapid assent to 11,000 feet and we all suffered serious altitude sickness for about 3 days of our trip-sob!  Daniel actually fainted in the lobby of our hotel in Colorado at 6000 feet (I guess he was super dehydrated from the long drive from Texas).  This is a pic of him with the super nice fireman who gave him oxygen. Look how green he is!


We also drove directly into a blizzard on our first day in Alma and had quite a time navigating our Texas vehicles around on the ice and snow. We did exactly what you are not supposed to do and exerted ourselves mightily digging our cars out of the snow.  Everyone suffered from altitude sickness and we ended up renting a couple of oxygen tanks, which pretty much saved our lives.  But overall it was a great adventure and the kids loved it and thanked us many times.

We made some great memories with our friends:

Building snow forts and sledding on the hill in front of the house


Digging out our trucks when they BOTH got stuck in the snow!


Cooking up a beautiful Christmas Dinner


Making Chocolate Mice (A Morse tradition)


Playing games, doing puzzles and coloring

If it hadn't been for the splitting headache and worry that my children were going to dehydrate (with us unable to drive through the blizzard to the hospital) it would have been absolutely perfect!  Our kids got along perfectly with our friends' kids and that made it SO nice.  It was also wonderful to have two priesthood holders there- they gave several blessings to sick kids and more than once we all offered heartfelt prayers together. 

I loved that our Christmas Day wasn't preoccupied with a bunch of plastic toys.  Each person opened their stocking and then one gift- we had all exchanged names and had a $20 limit.  Several gifts were handmade and those were the best!  We had so much good food and friends and that was really all we needed.  :)

Isaac

This has been a big year for Isaac.  He graduated from Elementary with excellent grades and behavior.

 He got his Arrow of Light and moved into Boy Scouts
























 He played flag football, soccer and swam on summer league.

 And he is a pleasure to spend time with.  He is always quick to thank us for things or to offer a hand when he knows we need it.  He's funny and bright and kind and we'll keep him!  :) Can't believe he's going to be passing the sacrament before the year ends!  Time flies :)

Kiddos Fall 2013

Swimmania

Whew! Made it though swim season.  This year seemed crazier than usual, probably because all four kids swam and none of their practice times were combined.  Isaac's soccer team also made it to the playoffs which extended his season by two weeks.  We also got a stomach virus six times during April and May- ridiculous!!

So why do we participate in this crazy busy sport with its 5 hour meets in the blazing texas heat? I actually need to answer this question for myself so I'll sign up again next year :)

1) swimming is a fantastic sport!  It's a lifelong sport, something you can do when old or pregnant and something we can do almost year round here in texas.  I also love that my kids are super confident swimmers- I definitely did not have their skills as a kid.  Or today for that matter

2) I love our team.  We are the pirates and we meet at a swim club.  We have a bunch of church friends on the team, which is so fun bc we are all too busy to chat at church so now we get to hang out on a regular basis.  I also absolutely adore the other team members.  So many amazing and strong families.  Families with kids that I want my kids to hang out with.

3) The kids adore our coach! And our parent volunteers are the bomb!

4) Time at the pool = time not playing video games

5) We get to dress up like pirates

6) We dance

It's definitely got its trials as does any organization that relies heavily on volunteers.  It's easy to get upset when your child is discouraged by their times or they got left out of a relay or another swimmer left early leaving a relay short... Lots of ways to get frustrated on swim team.  But it's also a great opportunity to learn patience and to serve and give.  Of course my favorite part is working with the swimmers.  I love getting to know this terrific group of kiddos!

Cub Scout Day Camp Den Leader Info

So Cub Scout Day Camp is here again!  I've mostly served as a Den Leader and love this job so that's what I'm doing again.  I took a few notes from years past and hope this is helpful to new den leaders.

 

Each den leader is responsible for about 8 boys.  You need to contact them the week before to let them know a few things (below) and to find out if there are any allergies or behavioral issues you need to be aware of.

 

1. Cubs need to wear their camp shirt everyday (they will receive it on the first day of camp)

2. Cubs also need to wear close toed tennis shoes.  Yes, they will get wet and muddy!

3. Each boy needs a lunch packed in a gallon zip lock bag with their Den Color and Number on it (den leaders should have received an email with this information and need to phone each cub to let them know as well).  Nothing from lunch can be saved and don't pack too much- the boys aren't very hungry in all that heat.  Please don't pack soda or too many sugary treats for them.

(There is more info but they will email it to you!:)

 

Den Leaders take home all of the boys cups and neckerchiefs each night for washing!  If you want to make them really happy, get the neckerchiefs wet and stick them in your freezer for a cool surprise the next day.  :)

 

Den Leaders also need to bring a wagon decked out with PVC pipe (or some other creative building stuff) so that they can carry around  papers, beads, ribbons, their Den Flag (which you will be decorating together at camp) and of course the boys' cups!  Lots of examples below.  It's nice to have some sort of bin inside your wagon too.

 

 

 

 

As a Den Leader, you will be rewarding your boys with beads many times everyday.  Make sure to reward them for drinking and going to the bathroom (with a buddy of course), helping out, being friendly, etc...

 

I use a bead organizing box and write each boys' name on the outside so I can throw his beads in there.  Then when we are back at our den table the boys can put their beads on their lanyards.  I like to have a fishing bobber thingy on the end of each lanyard to keep the beads in place.  Day Camp provides regular beads but you may want to buy some special ones of your own.

 

 

Mostly have fun with these adorable boys!  They are so sweet and Cub Camp is just a great opportunity for them!  

It's May?

Seriously time flies.  I looked at my blog and could not believe I hadn't posted in well over 3 months!  So obviously things have been busy here.  But mostly good.  It has been such a beautiful spring and the weather is actually still not too hot!  More later...