Arrow of Light

Justin was honored at the Blue and Gold banquet last week for achieving the highest award in Cub Scouts, the Arrow of Light. We have great Cub Scout leaders in our pack. There was a ceremony last fall that we attended for another boy in our pack who received the same award. I think seeing this helped motivate Justin to want to earn his.

In the picture above, he has just come through the Cub Scout scarves and is receiving his awards from the "Akela."

Mom gets a hug and a pin for all of her hard work. Doesn't Justin look excited to be presenting it to me?

Here he is going through the Boy Scout scarves where he receives his own scarf at the end.

Here's our little Cub Scout - all done! The night after this ceremony he attended his first Boy Scout meeting and past off the requirements for his swimming. Now he's onto bigger and better things...

Handsomeness

On a recent trip to Kohl's, Will and Aaron spotted this suit. Will had to have it! After having a son who only wears button shirts when threatened, we are thrilled that Will loves to dress up. He has even asked if he can wear his new suit to school. The missionary nametag was a gift from a missionary named "Elder Master." Will loved his name so he ordered Will his own nametag. He wears it almost every Sunday to church!

This post was meant to only be for Will, but Bruce wanted in on the photo op too. After all, Will isn't the only handsome one in the family.

Happy 11th Birthday!

Justin's 11th birthday was last Monday, but we celebrated all week long. It started two days before his birthday when Aaron picked him up at his elementary school from a sleepover with 209 other 4th-6th graders. They went over to Wal-mart and Justin picked out a new bike and video game for the Wii. This was most of our present to him so he didn't have too many gifts to open on his birthday. He did , however, get a couple of new Ohio State shirts from his Mama and Papa which he loves! He loved all of the e-mails, birthday cards, and gift cards he received too!

Justin loves to eat so he gave me a menu for the day a few weeks before his birthday. It went like this: bubble bread (aka "monkey bread") for breakfast; curry (3rd year in a row), pineapple, and salad for dinner; and chocolate trifle for his cake.

His birthday was on President's Day so I was looking forward to going to lunch, but he ended up having to go to school to avoid make-up days at the end of the school year. Bummer! So Saturday we got a babysitter and Aaron and I took him to lunch. He was pretty sleepy because he had three friends over Friday night for his birthday and they stayed up really late watching movies and playing video games.

It's fun to see Justin growing up. His thirst for knowledge never ceases to amaze me. I never imagined I would get e-mails from a teacher requesting I speak with my child about his obsession of reading. He gets so engrossed in his books that he sometimes does not pay attention in class. (He's doing better now... I hope!)

Justin loves to play video games, play with friends, play Legos, wrestle with his brothers, swim, read, ask questions, cook, and he enjoys being involved in Student Council at school. He's a very independent boy and already is eagerly looking forward to going to college. The thought of no bedtime, no tv controls, and eating junk food sounds so appealing to him. Yes, that's exactly what adults do.

Valentine's Activities

Elizabeth has been asking me for a couple of years to make heart crayons from old crayon pieces. This year we finally made them and she loved giving them to her classmates. Her friends loved them too!

These Valentine's were a lot more work to make than just writing your name on a card. A snow day off from school allowed her to get them all finished up in time.

Bruce working on his Valentine's. I helped out in his classroom at pre-school for their Valentine's party. Bruce always asks me to come in and help, but it's really hard for me to do this with the girls. I was able, however, to go in for his class Valentine party and he was thrilled. He told everyone "My Mom was in charge of my party." The "in charge" part had extra emphasis added. Hopefully this will earn me some brownie points that will last for awhile.

Our annual family Valentine's dinner by candlelight is always a hit. This year we had it a week early because we were out of town on Valentine's day. We hosted our third annual Valentine party with some friends from church on the 12th. It was a couples party and it also turned out great. What could be better than yummy food and good company?

On Valentine's Day, we were able to make a quick trip to Ohio to see Aaron's niece, Morgan baptized on her birthday. It was a lot of driving, but well worth it. We were glad to be there on her special day.

I hope your Valentine's day was memorable!

Brace Face

Nancy got braces on last Monday and I think she looks younger now. Almost a teenager again. I can make fun of her until I get them too.

Mr. Smarty pants

Last night between the JV and Varsity boys basketball games, the kids in fifth thru eighth grade with straight A's for this year were honored. Elizabeth also has straight A's, but her grade wasn't honored. Hopefully they will both be there next year. Good work, Justin! (Justin's principal is standing behind him, in case you were wondering where the giant came from. He's like a big teddy bear!)

She's walking!

Concentration

Getting the hang of it

Now she's a pro!