Pinewood

In March Bug had a very exciting weekend when he won a trophy at the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby for the second year in a row. Last year he won for best design.

This year he brought home the trophy for fastest car in his den.

He of course had to do a little happy dance to show us just how over-joyed he really was.

His dad helped him design & build the award winning car this year. Great job boys!

A boy & his dog

The last week has been pretty busy around here. Bug and I have spent an awesome amount of time together, and Sis managed to find a little bit of time to fit us into her busiest (softball) season of the year too. Bug & I went fishing, to the VEISHA parade, and soccer practice. Sis joined us for Cub Scout bowling and met a friend and I for dinner one night. Plus I managed to fit in a manicure with a friend this week. And that's not all:

I spent some time working on home improvement projects. This is my new bedroom door. Bug has a new door as well. Next up are the bathroom and my closet doors.

Bug and I spent one evening playing with Legos. We made a bank building, complete with teller window and ATM. The teller kind of spooks me. I think I will stick with using the ATM.

Bug and I enjoyed the beautiful weather Saturday evening and took Buster dog for a walk. Buster loves going on walks with Bug, and the two of them tend to forget about me.

We ventured to Bug's favorite spot in the park, Lost Lake. The trail is fairly easy and has constantly changing scenery.

Buster enjoys stopping to investigate his surroundings quite frequently, but gets impatient if Bug stops for any reason.

It seems a family of beavers has taken up residence at the lake this year. They seemed to take advantage of the waters while they were high as well.

I wonder what made the beaver quit when he was so close?

The creek that runs through lower Ledges is still swollen, but hopefully soon the canyon will be open for our enjoyment.

Today Bug got to try his hand at rock climbing with his Cub Scout troop. He has only tried this once before and didn't do as well.

This time he conquered his fear and made it halfway up before he couldn't find anymore purchase. Good job Bug!

So tonight I am a little worn out and still have my poem to finish for tomorrow's challenge submission. I hope you all had a great week too!

Bug's Big Day

Bug had a huge day on Saturday. It was the much anticipated Pinewood Derby for his Cub Scout pack. He worked hard on his derby car and his hard work paid off with a trophy.

This is his awesome tank. He thought of the design himself and spent quite a bit of time perfecting his camouflage technique with the paint. I did have to help him glue the straw on for the turret. Other than than the only help he required was having Ricky cut it out for him and help putting on the wheels.

Preparing for the first heat. His tank placed 4th in this heat.

In place for heat two. He came in 2nd in this heat.

Heat number three. Go Bug go!

Overall his speed placed him 33rd. Everyone got a participation medal. But the awards weren't over yet.

Bug won Cub Master's choice for Best Design.

He is quite proud of his trophy and plans to bring it with us when we visit my Auntie this weekend.

A busy life is a happy life

“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever...”

~ Isak Dinesen

I haven't been a very good bloggy friend lately. I haven't been keeping up with my postings and I haven't been very diligent about reading the posts of others (except for the select few that I am compelled to keep up with even if it means burning the midnight oil to do so, and even then I've been bad about commenting).

As is always the case when I inadvertently turn my back on the world, I have been out lovingly enjoying my children. I am exhausted. Sadly, I am looking forward to a weekend continuing the war with keeping a clean house (and I will win this battle. Oh yes, I will).

Here are a few little updates from our wild last few weeks:

Bug was excited to enjoy a ride on Thomas the Tank engine with Lydia, Calvin, & "Grandma" Barb. He loved using Lydia as an excuse to ride, as "he's too old to really like Thomas," you know.

Bug roped his Dad into taking him to JAKES Day, where he got the opportunity to try his hand at archery for the 2nd time. He is proud to tell anyone that will listen that he can hit mostly in the red, which is "almost a bulls eye".

Bug is earning his way towards his own archery set selling popcorn for Cub Scouts (watch out SIS!). If you are interested in helping him, you can click here:


http://www.trails-end.com/estore/home_alt.jsp?_requestid=48063

I got the opportunity to spend one more enjoyable afternoon at Ledges with Sis and Ricky before the weather took a turn towards winter. Here Ricky is threatening to dump Sis in the creek for being sassy.



Ah... young love.

We were about a third of the way through the park when Sis thought she caught her ankle in a small branch. She looked down to see this, and immediately kicked it right toward my head. It missed me by inches and it took us a minute to figure out what she was shrieking about.

The baby bull snake landed unscathed but a little irate. Luckily there were no signs of his mama close by or I think we would have had to carry Sis the rest of the way.

I don't think she quite believed us that the snake wasn't out to harm her.

It was a beautiful day and we will all miss strolling through Ledges barefoot. I hope spring gets here soon.

Now that Sis is done with softball it's time for Bug to play soccer.

It is strange to see him so aggressive on the field, a big change from his usual demeanor. I'm thrilled he has found a sport he enjoys. Even if it means mom wearing two sweatshirts just to watch!

I took one day off work last week to help chaperon his Cub Scout Den on a trip to the zoo. It's amazing how much energy 8 boys can have when they're this excited about something.

Bug got to impress the boys with his tale about picking up a jellyfish at Virginia Beach this summer.

One of the few times we managed to gather all the boys in one spot.

Bug got himself in a little bit of trouble with me for tormenting this swan. He didn't learn his lesson until she nipped him. Boys will be boys.

They slowed down and gathered themselves together again to watch the seals perform their tricks.

Chance, Bug, & Blake. These boys seem to be pretty inseparable this year.

We even managed to squeeze a school dance into our busy schedule. Sis and Ricky attended with their good friends Mallary and Patrick. Everyone gathered at our house for pictures before the big event.

Sis's pretty wrist corsage. Unfortunately all the flowers wilted to the point we won't be pressing these.

Sis and Ricky looking so grown up.

Of course, I made her pose for a picture with me.

They can't be all grown up all the time, now can they?

It's been a busy few weeks, but very enjoyable with our vast difference in activities. I am insanely considering an offer to take over the position of Pack Chair for Cub Scouts. I don't know, do you think I could find the time?