Tuesday, December 16

Pack Christmas Party

Oh, we had SUCH a great time. I think we're finding our spot. I also think the leadership is finding a good vision for the pack. It's all gelling into a pretty good experience. The majority of the party looked like this:

A little blurry. Very loud (can you hear it?) This is an animated, balloon-popping, carol-singing bunch we have, here.

They did awards. The little Tiger Cubs just made me want to scoop them all up and bring them home. But I'm not sure where we'd put five more children all in one fell swoop. And there's that pesky "parent" issue. Yeah, their parents might mind. So I just oooh'd and ahhh'd over the Totally Adorable little Tiger Cubs.

The boys worked their tushes off the past couple of months, and tonight their efforts were recognized. John's Cubmaster just gave him a bag to hold and dropped each item into the bag as he called it off. John was a bit dazed. I don't think he realized how many beltloops and beads and pins he'd earned. He's still in the hey-this-is-fun stage, not so much on the record keeping or goal setting part, yet. But he's been busy!

And I really wish I'd taken more pictures of John, because he was just *beaming* by the time he was done. But the batteries on the camera died about the third shot. So you get Bewildered John, the Bear.

James had a similar experience, and he was absolutely vibrating with excitement. But he *knew* how much he'd done, and he had painstakingly recorded every detail, every project, every experiment. He's written more reports, fixed up more displays, and made more contacts than I think he knew he was capable of. So this was pretty exciting for him.

Topping it all off, James earned his Webelos Badge. We didn't realize it was such a big ceremony thing. OR that we'd have to go up there. But one of the other moms kindly took the camera and snapped a few shots for us. As you can see, they ALL came up. John, Smidge and Em were pretty proud of James. That was just as good as the badges, themselves. Moreso, actually, for this Mama. And James was glad to have them up there, with him, whispering, "Ohhhh, COOL!" and "WOW!" - all of which must be sibling-speak for, "Way to go, brother. You've done a fine job."

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to the boys! WooHoo!

W (or Sherlock) is in Webelos II and he's gearing up to go into boy scouts. Yes, he's 12, but Mom and Dad were lame and held him back a year in scouts. We wanted him to have a cub scout experience, to gently ease him into it! Anyway, he's just finished up all of the achievements (called the twentier)! Whew! He's worked hard this past year and a half! At the Blue and Gold dinner this year he will earn a special award for it and we, Tim and I, are so proud.

As for J (Sir Dash), he is in Bears and is just working up a storm to get as many belt loops and pins and patches as possible. He has sooo many belt loops now that he hardly has any room on the belt. :-O

It sure is fun seeing them working so hard for these achievements. And they are making such good friends in the mean time!

If your boys need some email buddies to earn their communicating belt loops let me know!

Yours in Scouting,

~sdWTMer

Jenni said...

Way to go boys! Is Smidge not a Tiger yet? I guess that's for, like, 7-year-olds, right? I can't remember! Man, I miss Scouts!

Rebel said...

Woo Hoo John and James!! You worked hard and should be very proud.

PupDaddy said...

Congragulations James! Webelos is indeed a big deal. Does your pack do Arrow of Light? If he's into it, I recommend it. We do a big ceremony here (the boy gets a REAL handmade arrow!) and then it's the only Cub patch that they get to wear on their Boy Scout uniform. If he's already documenting and tracking his progress, I suspect you will have a very young Eagle Scout on your hands in a few years :)

Anonymous said...

You have a precious family. The little ones are growing up so fast!

Hope you have a Merry Christmas and that you're all staying warm and cozy this holiday season.

Delaina

Anonymous said...

btw, Dy, I do agree that those Tiger cubs are just the most adorable little guys ever. Can't you just see Smidge in one before too long? And Jase?

Just plain cute they are!

~sdWTMer

Thom said...

Congratulations to the boys! What a great experience for them. And just look at your beautiful family all together. That IS the good stuff :0)

Ritsumei said...

Way to go boys! That's just cool. I'm looking forward to when my little guy is big enough for scouts. My husband has done a lot of good things with other people's boys, and one of these years it'll be OUR boy up there. In the mean time posts like this serve to whet the appetite! What a great pack meeting!

Can I steal your "Old School Radical" badge? That thing is great! Where did you get it?

Heidicrafts said...

Congratulations to the whole family on the boys Scouting achievements. I'm pleased that they are enjoying the journey and not just trying to "git 'er done" and on to something else.

My boy made Star Scout last week, and has five more years to earn Life and Eagle.

It sounds like you do have a great pack. I hope that you find a troop with a good fit as well.

Jules said...

Congratulations to the boys! and you do have a beautiful family!