My Scouts

Hello! We're still alive! I got so into school that I got out of the habit of blogging. Now I'm back (at least for a few weeks until my boys get out of school). We'll see how possible blogging is while refereeing 4 kids 24/7 during the summer.

I wanted to share my proud mommy-moment for the day. Joe earned his Wolf and Ike earned his Webelo at pack meeting earlier this evening. They were super excited, as was I, and they looked great.


P.S. From Swen's tree-like angle, it looks as though I might be bending over in the picture of my boys and me. I'm not. Ike is over 5 feet tall--and he's only 10 YEARS OLD! WHOA! Joe is trailing very closely behind. I'm destined to be Little Miss Shorty Mama. Oh well. Rather that than have 5'4" boys!

When Kids Control the Camera

I don't have the patience to wait for all of the pictures to upload, nor am I so naive that I think that any sort of normal person would take the time to look at over 100 silly pictures. My boys have taken a sudden interest in the camera, and the results have been numerous and strange. As their mother, I had to tell them to erase a few of my favorites (with a tinge of regret because they made me laugh--but don't tell my boys that). I'm referring the images taken from a certain 8-year-old's perspective while in the act of...how shall we say? Emptying the radiator. Seeing a man about a horse. Dropping off the extras at the pool. Anyhow, the shot of the pants and orange boxers around the ankles was no less funny than the picture of the results of the action, within the pot, from a bird's-eye-view. These others aren't quite as entertaining, but they convey the general idea. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. (guffaw)

In going through the pictures, I actually did discover that perhaps there is a bit of budding artistic talent. A mother's bias? You decide:

Totally WICKED Oregon Trip!

We had SUCH a wonderful trip to Oregon. It was absolutely perfect. Here are some highlights:

The kids were awesome on the car ride. Isaac even let Joe sleep on his shoulder. Awwww, so cute!

First we stopped and saw our cousins in Boise. We got to help them feed the ducks, eat yummy food, help them construct a playhouse, and wrestle in Nacho Libre masks!

In Oregon, we went on the most gorgeous hike EVER! I enjoyed every second of it. We went with our former neighbors. The pictures don't do this place justice. Seriously, it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

The beach. Kind of a let down. It was cold and foggy, but my crazy boys still got into the water.

The Gilbert House--A children's museum in Salem. Totally fun!


Lyss and Link having a tea party. Ike and Joe in somebody's stomach. Yum!

Alyssa in a bubble.

Swen's (and Jeff's) birthday party--We got to see many of our "Oregon friends." It was so much fun!

Wicked was TOTALLY WICKED! I felt like I was going to cry the whole time because I was so excited and the music was so beautiful and I was sitting next to my baby and it was so wonderful. sigh...

I'm ready to do it all over again...