Life On The Planet

Eagle

Sal passed his Eagle Board of Review. 

That is all.

It is enough.

Big Time

Last year Sal was a counselor-in-training. A grunt. A nobody. He slept in a tent just like the one below.

(I've slept in one myself. I don't recommend them for three nights, much less five weeks.)

 
But now he is the real thing. He is... Staff!!!! He sleeps in a cabin. He has arrived.
Not too shabby, Sal! But that doesn't mean you're too important to call your mother! Often!!!!!

Road to the Ozarks

Sal snapped some cell phone pix on the way to camp.
(Enjoy the scenery and his lovely finger!)

 

More camp stuff to come.

Blue & Gold

Saturday was Tiger's Blue & Gold Banquet. For those not familiar with scouting, a Blue & Gold is the big hoo-rah of the year for Cub Scouts. Awards are given. Food is consumed.

(Although, when we called Tiger's Godmother, Nana, yesterday to chat, she laughingly asked if there was food at our Blue & Gold Banquet. She said her sister had attended one this year where they didn't serve food, but forgot to change the name to Blue & Gold Ceremony. Sorry, to my mind Banquet = Food.)

Our Blue & Gold Banquet is a BIG DEAL. Door prizes. Father/Son Cake Bake. Food. Themes. Hoopla. This year's had the added spice of a SNOW STORM. Who could ask for more?

Sal snapped this shot on the way to the Blue & Gold. It got worse before it got better.

A big part of the Blue & Gold for Tiger is the Father/Son Cake Bake. He and The C.F.O. won last year, however this year his father had to work. (Insert tears here.)

Fortunately for Tiger, he has a tremendously AWESOME big brother who was more than willing to help him trash my kitchen bake a cake. It was a very delicious and aesthetically pleasing cake.

Here are a few of the other entries...



Pretty cool, eh?



I couldn't, I-just-couldn't, bring myself to eat any of this cake.

I heard it was tasty.



This beauty won the prize for Scout Favorite.

And now, we get to the portion of the post where I admit I don't have a photo of Tiger's cake! I thought I took one. I distinctly remember taking one. Honestly. However, we got home and NO PICTURE OF TIGER'S CAKE was in my camera. Go ahead. Schedule an appointment with a therapist for him. He has a BAD MOTHER.

Moving right along, Tiger earned his Arrow of Light, which is the highest award a Cub Scout can earn. He also earned all of the Webelos Merit Badges possible. This is the kid a neurologist once told us would need to be medicated and possibly institutionalized.

Moral of the story: Doctors, too, can be idiots.

It was a loverly evening. I admit to shedding a few tears. But the best part, for me, was after the Blue & Gold, when Tiger and Sal sat on my bed discussing what Tiger needed to start working on to achieve his first Boy Scout rank. (He is moving up to Sal's troop.) It was one of those moments that their mother wishes she could bottle up and keep forever.

(Sniff. No, I'm not bawling. Really. Sniff.)

All-righty then, that was our Blue & Gold.

I need to go and clean the kitchen.

Okay, NOW I'm bawling!

Fast Money

Lest you think that while I was away we did nothing, I have photographic evidence to the contrary. And speaking of contrary, I do not like The C.F.O.'s current work schedule. He is working weekends, which forces me to do many things I would not otherwise have to do - like construct Pine Wood Derby cars.

But he has a job, and we like to eat,  so that is the last whine you will hear from me on that subject.

Anyhoo, here is Tiger's car.

Yes, his mother did tape quarters to the car for extra weight.


Yes, she did use lime green duct tape. You wanna make something of it?

Did he win? Hey. It stayed on the track and none of the wheels came off. I'm counting that as a major victory.

Indy 500, here we come.

Girl Scout Hiker's Journal: Page 3

Small spiders...

 

make big webs.

(And hiking trails seem to be the best place to build them!)

Girl Scout Hiker's Journal: Page 2

Beware of any shady characters that you meet on the trail.

They tend to linger in patches of sunshine, and they always seem to be one step ahead of you. Highly suspicious!

Girl Scout Hiker's Journal: Page 1

The trail less traveled...

 

is full of mosquitoes.

Obama's Team Teaches Girl Scouts a Lesson in Politics...

And the lesson is - Forget that trip you had planned, spend your cookie money on Obama's Campaign!

In the interest of fairness, I must tell you that I am not a supporter of Obama. I'm far too much of a libertarian for that! Also, I recognize that this action was taken by his staffers at a local level. I'm sure he had no knowledge of the event. I hope. Finally, I realize the blog to which I linked has its own biases. However, I did follow-up in order to check the authenticity of the story to the best of my humble abilities. 

Thanks to my troop co-leader who sent me this link.

My Baby, She Wrote Me a Letter

Mail Call! A letter came today from Butterfly. She's having a wonderful time, and I don't think she's quite as lonesome as her mother! It was wonderful to hear from her. 

Aussie Kim sent the girls rocks with funny messages on them. Rocks. Well, why not? When Butterfly gets back I'll show hers to you. Two days!