Space Derby

Each year our Scout troop does one of the Cub Scout races. This year it was the Space Derby. Not every Scout troop does this race, but we think it's a lot of fun. As usual the boys design their own rockets, and Leon helps them assemble and paint them. Cameron chose black with skulls and flames (I think Leon had a lot more to do with this than either of them will admit).Jayden chose to, as usual, be unique and go against the norm. He didn't want it shaped - he left it like a block of wood. He didn't want the fins to go in the right places, but in random places. He was willing to paint it a color, but wanted no other embellishments whatsoever. He called his "The Block." And, it did just as well as the rest of the sleeker rockets. Cameron's rocket finally made it to the end after the 3rd race - he was so proud.

Some Light Entertainment

For those of you who were quick to check the blog and may have missed the addition to The Spanish Dance Festival post, here is a bit of light, elementary-style, entertainment - just in case you're up late at night, can't sleep, and have nothing better to do. I had trouble loading video before, but Leon figured it out for me. You'll have to scroll down to the end of the post or click here to see the video. Enjoy!?

My Little Scout That Isn't So Little Anymore

Jayden informed me that this was his last time going to "Little Scouts". But, he did say he'd come visit when they have races - Pinewood Derby, Raingutter Regatta, Space Derby. I know he's going to miss Cub Scouts and will enjoy being one of the "big boys" now.Jayden earned his Arrow of Light which meant he got to sit front and center through a special Scout ceremony. On the way there he told me that he hoped they didn't do the face painting ceremony. He thought that would be embarrassing. Well, sorry, Jayden - face painting it is. He was a good sport about it and you'd never know that he was dying a bit inside. As soon as the meeting was over, he was in the restroom scrubbing his face.

Jayden has enjoyed Cub Scouts and has done the basic requirement. However, in January he informed me that he'd like to get his "Heavy Shoulders" Award - something that he had no interest in before. So, we had two months to pound out 8 (or so) pins - not an easy task. But, we can honestly say that he did it. He got some new Scout leaders right about this time and they were super fabulous in passing off some really hard pins. Honestly, we couldn't have done it without them. That's why I had to include this picture with Bro. Mikkelsen - thanks for all the work you, and other leaders, have done to help Jayden acheive this award.

One tradition in Cub Scouts is the rite of passage into Boy Scouts of jumping over the fire. The 11 year-old Scout leader stands on the other side, and the Scout jumps over the fire into Boy Scouts. Jayden has seen this done countless times as older boys have leaped over the fire. So, Jayden, in true character, decided to do it a bit differently - always the ham.

Congratulations, Jayden!

Now, on to "Big Scouts".

The Annual, Yearly, Comes Every Spring Spanish Dance Festival

Sometimes, as a parent, we feel that we've seen the same program over and over again. And, sometimes we DO. The Spanish Dance Festival is one of those programs. But, for some reason, I enjoy watching the kids dance every year. Each grade does pretty much the same dance each year, and there are some dances that the kids look forward to and some that they dread. If you get there early enough to get a good seat, the program is actually quite enjoyable.

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It seems that Jayden always gets to stand between the really tall kids in his class. He's just cute, no matter what.

Cameron was very serious about his dance. He knew where we were sitting, but wouldn't turn his head, only his eyes to look at us. He never cracked a smile and you could tell he took his part very seriously. His personality is like that, too.

What a stud. If I could only communicate in words the noise and energy of this picture. Imagine a crowded school hallway with 28 excited kids and lots of parents with cameras. It was mayhem. What I found interesting was how quiet and serious Cameron was. All around him was chaos, but he was like a statue, not moving or making a sound. Jayden is always the ham. I'm not sure he'd admit it, well maybe he would, but he really enjoys the Spanish Dance Festival.

Jayden's Day

Our cute little "Jaybers" turned 11 this month. Where has the time gone?

This is a picture of Jayden and Uncle Dave on Jayden's 1st birthday. Can you tell that Dave didn't have kids of his own yet and was trying to get Jayden into the camo' scene? (Sorry, Dave, it didn't stick, but you've done a good job with your own boys.)

I've always loved Jayden's blonde, whispy hair and his sweet smile. Jayden (age 3) is running in this picture, which is his typical pace.

Jayden does not like cake - WHAT KID DOES NOT LIKE CAKE? - So, he asked for a chocolate cream pie for his birthday. Okay, I can handle an aversion to cake if it means chocolate pie. Jayden has always been a ham. It's really hard to get him to be serious in a picture. I'm not really sure what he's doing here - maybe one of the candles just wouldn't go out. Don't know.
Mmm, pie. I guess he has an aversion to eating utensils, too. It's okay, it's his birthday, I'll let table manners slide just this once.

I guess with turning 11 comes the responsibility with fire. Leon let him light his own birthday pie - he was so proud. What is it with boys and fire?

Some random facts about Jayden:

He was my chunkiest baby

He is our pickiest eater and has been from the start. Not sure how he got chunky.

He is short for his age, but makes up for it in energy.

He is very expressive - tells me what he wants, likes, hates, and feels.

He does not like to work.

He likes music, but tries not to show it.

He is somewhat competetive and wants to succeed at everything.

I don't think I've ever had to get after him to do his schoolwork.

He loves babies. Really.

He loves soft things and still has "Special" (an old baby blanket).

He collects Beanie Baby rabbits and is proud of it.

He likes to do things his own way and not go with the mold.

He likes the Denver Broncos.

Jayden is so much like me, it's kinda' scary.

WE LOVE JAYDEN!

Landon Is a Biker...

....a bicycle biker, that is. Last summer I tried to get Landon to ride his bike without the training wheels, and I'll tell ya', it was hard. Now, I've taught all the other boys how to ride a bike, and I thought I had the technique down, but this kid was kickin' my tail. We had gone to the walking track where there are no curbs or obstacles. I ran, and ran, and ran behind that little bike, but no dice. I also took him and his bike to the park where there is a big, grassy hill. My other new bike riders learned how to balance by being sent down the hill where they can get the momentum to balance and wiping out wasn't as scary. But, all this trip to the hill resulted in was me tumbling down the hill (yes, I did) and trying to save face with the other park moms by doing a fist pump in the air and yelling, "Wahoo!" once I gained my feet. It wasn't pretty, I can tell you. So, when Landon came to me the other day asking if he could ride his bike, I'll admit, I was a bit uninterested. Leon and I were busy with a project and neither of us could help him, so Leon said, "Sure, go ride your bike." I thought he was just getting him out of our hair, but the next thing we see is Cameron out in the cul-de-sac helping Landon with his bike. A few minutes later Cameron comes running in telling us that Landon is doing it.

I was a bit shocked to see him actually riding the bike on his own. Yes, Landon is a very capable, independent kid, but I'd like to think that all the running and neck breaking (literally) work I did last summer somehow paid off.

Apparently, from this video, Landon was still working on his navigation and stopping skills. However, no children were harmed in the filming of this video:

Science Fair 2011

Dallin was invited to District Science Fair again. All three years that he's done a science fair project, he's been invited to the district level. One year he even made it to the state level, which was a huge thrill for him. Dallin loves science and gets excited about the Science Fair every year - go figure. This year he thought of his project idea on his own. He wanted to know which type of carpet is the easiest to clean. At first he was just thinking of shaggy vs. regular carpet, but after talking to a carpet guy, he learned that not only does carpet look different, but residential carpet is either made of nylon or polyester. Both types of carpet are considered "stain resistent". Polyester is naturally stain resistent and is not treated, but nylon IS treated with a stain release chemical. Dallin's hypothesis was that the nylon carpet would clean up better. As it turned out, they were both just as easy to clean, even though the polyester carpet soaked up the stain whereas the nylon carpet did not. It was a great learning experience for Dallin and he did a great job. I can see him being a scientist when he "grows up."

This Kid Makes Me Laugh

As I was going about my business the other day, I found Landon like this:The kid doesn't even know how to read OR need glasses. The fact that he's pretending to read with pretend glasses just cracked me up. (Maybe I'm the only one.)
Thanks for making me laugh everyday, Landon.

Got 15? Challenge

A few days ago I read this post - Got 15? - a challenge to take just 15 minutes to organize a junk drawer. Just picturing my "junk drawer" in my head made me weak and I was NOT willing to tackle that project. But, this morning the man of the house was looking for something and this is how our "art drawer" ended up after his search (he never found what he was looking for, by the way).

Before:

So, I couldn't just let this mess stay on the table all day, and putting everything back seemed pointless unless there was some organizing involved. So, I went through and threw out all of the broken crayons (yes, I know they work just as well as non-broken ones, but try and tell kids that) and those no-name, waxy crayons from who-knows-where. I went through every pen and marker and threw out all the dried up ones, and managed to get it all back in the drawer with some semblance of order. I'm not sure it will stay like this for long, but for now it makes me happy.

After:

(You would not believe how many teeny-tiny erasers I found. Landon had fun collecting them all in a pile and made an "eraser farm". However, I had to burst his bubble and throw out a bunch of those useless, but cute, teeny-tiny erasers. Good riddance!)

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So, do you have 15 minutes to tackle even one drawer? I'll have to admit that this took me a bit longer than 15 minutes - going through each pen took me some time. Shwew!