Will I ever learn?

My last post I commented that we were going to Silver Creek Falls with our Cub Scout Pack.  My plan had been to hang out at camp while the scouts did their hike. This was not what I wanted to do but due to a left ankle injury and a right foot injury I felt like it would be very bad for me to do any hiking. I was

scheduled to work the following day and really needed to be able to walk. I've been telling Lucas for over a week that he needed to make sure I didn't hike, as much as I wanted to. I've never been to Silver Creek Falls and have been looking forward to it since I received the Pack Calendar in the fall. Apparently the only way I wasn't going to hike was to stay home. Thankfully we were running late and missed our group and decided to take the short hike. It still took us a couple hours and when we were done I wasn't doing much walking but couldn't wait to see the photos I took.

A few things I learned on this trip. 

• My daughter can walk a mile and a half in flip flops without complaining.
• Apparently my boys can't. 
• My boys really need their own walking sticks
• Always, I repeat Always bring the sling, even if you think it's a waste it comes in handy and can be a life saver.
• I really need to get my butt in shape.

So with the out of state move sometime in the next year I have started a leap list. On my leap list are items like. . . 

• Silver Creek Falls
• Art and Air Festival
• Wilson Wildlife Park
• Crater Lake
• Multnomah Falls, and the list can go on and on. Things I either haven't done yet or things I want to make sure to do again before I leave.

Silver Creek Falls - one of those places I can't believe I haven't been yet. What took me so long? Now I want to go back when I am not hurt. I am not sure I will be moving tomorrow but I have never walked behind a waterfall before.

Even though we started out trying to catch up with the scouts it was kinda nice to be by ourselves since I was moving so slow. I had decided last minute to bring Kassie's sling which I keep going back and forth if I should keep it or pass it on. Let me tell you I think I will be keeping it for a while. It came in handy and Lucas wasn't at all shy about wearing purple. I am so glad that he came along because I would not have been able to do it by myself. 

Kassie started off so strong. About an hour in she was tired but still never complained. She did like being carried though. Shortly later she was passed out. It must be nice to be able to sleep anywhere. I think she did end of getting pretty heavy, amazing how they gain 10lbs when they pass out. This allowed them to rest and me to catch up. It was very sunny so the coolness of the cave was refreshing. Funny, every time I caught up they moved on so I didn't get much time to rest until we were done. 

 Oh well, Monday's just around the corner, right? 

We Survived Another Year

1st Day of School

End of the Year

1st Day of School

End of the Year

School is out for the summer. It's been a year. My first and third graders are now second and fourth graders. Tuesday we had their Cub Scout cross over celebration and I am now the proud parent of a Wolf Cub and a Webelos Scout. Both boys have grown so much, Kassie too. By September 3rd I will be the mother of a 2, 8, and a 10 year old. Why does time go by so fast. I keep asking myself this but never come up with the answer. 

   

 As we start the summer we look back at the adventures that we had. We all enjoyed a wonderful year of Awana and Cub Scouts. While Awana is out for the summer some say the Scouting fun is just about to begin. Before this year I would have agreed but since the change in packs we have had adventures all year. We have sold popcorn and chocolate along with coffee. Lucas spent a lot of time with them this year at the booths and I am so thankful for that. In October we visited the Bonneville dam, Fish Hatchery and had a pumpkin carving contest. The Bonneville trip was awesome and it was followed by a trip to the fish hatchery and Multnomah Falls. We made it to the hatchery. We saw some huge fish. It was really cool and I got some awesome landscape photos. We did have to skip out on the Falls because Kassie got sick. I had brought a change of clothes and pjs. By the time we headed home she was in just a diaper, poor girl. She still gets car sick.

       

November I had the privilege to attend the Scouting Training conference. The boys had the opportunity to walk in the Veterans Day Parade which is always fun. In December we scouted for food. January the boys learned how to play chess and plant trees (not on the same day :)). February brought Lock-in. This was Tim's first year being able to go. The month ended with a trip to HooDoo. We discovered that 1) Kassie does not like snow, 2) Tennis Shoes are not appropriate snow attire. 3) always bring extra clothes 4) when climbing up a hill of snow you will step in knee deep and 5) before climbing the hill you should make sure there is a dry place to sit when you get to the top, otherwise you have done all that work for nothing and have to come down. It is not advisable to sled with a baby. Oh and I can't forget Blue and Gold. Both boys made rank.

March was full of candy sales so the boys could earn their way to camp. I could not have done it without Lucas. The boys sold back to back some weekends and Nate was a trooper, often doing it when he really didn't want to. April was the derby. I think the boys had the best looking cars there. The end of April we went camping in Newport and the boys went clamming. I however chickened out and took Kassie back to camp. It looked like the boys took a mud bath when they came back. Everyone had fun and I got to spend some time on the beach. May they went hiking and fishing at the fishing derby.

Whats next? This weekend we are going to go to Silver Creek Falls. We decided not to camp but are going to join the group for Saturday. So this year has been full of fun stuff to do at scouts. While we didn't do everything the stuff we did was awesome and the boys really connected this year. I have to give a shout out to the Leadership of Pack 377. They are AWESOME!!!

This started as a blog post about what they did at school this year and ended up being about scouts. Oh well. That's life and the way my brain works. I will write about their school adventures but apparently laundry and dishes do not do themselves. Shouldn't we have robot maids by now? LOL