Arches

Since our family didn't get much of a summer vacation, I decided that over Labor Day we were getting the heck out of dodge. We were going to go down to St. George to visit Ev and Kidd, but they were going to be gone, so the Wednesday before Labor Day, I booked us a hotel in Moab. Growing up, my family would go to the national parks around our area, and these are some of my fondest memories. I loved the family time we had together and have been wanting my kids to experience the same thing. We left Saturday after Gavin's football game and headed southeast. The drive there was interesting, we removed the middle seat of the van and put all the kids in the back backseat. Other than a box of powder donuts split and a full bottle of apple juice, they did pretty good. It was also nice to have the middle out, because while we drove the short distances between the arches, Ky had some room to move around.
We got down to Moab later in the evening Saturday and headed to Hole-in-the-rock. It was closed. So, we looked on a map and there was a mark that said, The Looking Glass. We had no idea what we were headed into, but our family is ALWAYS up for an adventure. It turned out to be a very secluded and beautiful arch. We had fun climbing up to it and playing around. No one was out there, so it was just us. This got my kids really excited to see more arches. It was beautiful, and amazing at how they are created and it's always nice to see God's fascinating creations.
Sunday morning we got up and headed to Arches, with full intentions to hit Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands, but plans change. I didn't feel to confident in hiking to Delicate Arch, much to the dismay of Gavin. They were all rearing to go at the first couple of arches and then they got bored. Of course, Phil and I are mean parents and just like OUR parents, we made them stick it our and go to all of the arches we could. They really did have lots and lots of fun. It is neat to see how the arches are formed and the ones that are in the process of being made.

After Arches we headed to Dead Horse Point. Jaycee wanted to "see" the horses that the park is named after. She was disappointed that they were not there. We have a daughter that is very brave, or stupid, I can't decided. She likes to get right to the edge and lean over. Now, for those of you that don't know, Phil and myself, don't think heights are the greatest in the world. Phil worse than me. We were freaking out and she was just happy as pie. Her baby brother also thought it was cool to test the waters of "how close can I get to the edge" game. I thought Phil was going to have a heart attack. After Dead Horse, we were all too pooped to go to Canyonlands, so that will just have to be another trip.

On Monday, we headed home and decided that since Ky loves ROARS (dinosaurs) we stopped in Price at the CEU museum and then to the BEST park ever! If you are ever in Price, go to the Dinosaur park that sits to the North of their football field. It is so clean and one of the best set ups I have ever seen. There is so much to do, you can't get bored. We came back home and got right back into the swing of life. It was a much need vacation and I'm ready for another one! I think Yellowstone is next on the list.

Cub Scouts

Gavin has been enthusiastic about cub scouts. He started right into it the day he turned 8 and I haven't had to do to much motivation to get him to finish getting his Wolf. Within 2 months he had memorized the cub scout law and oath and got his Bobcat. They did a really neat ceremony about the story of Mowgli and about the colors that are represented in scouts and their significance, hence the paint on the face.

Next he moved on to his Wolf. He only had one achievement left to finish in May, but we were going to be gone the night of pack meeting and also in June, so we postponed it until July. Then we realized that my parents would be back East at the Boy Scout National Jamboree, so I stalled some more. Little did I know that that last achievement would be the hardest one of all. He had to keep track of his healthy habits for 2 weeks. He HATED doing it and wouldn't. I finally convinced him to get going toward the end of August, but he missed pack meeting by 2 days. However, he had continually worked on other things all summer long. He earned a bunch of activity patches, and 4 belt loops. He also worked on more electives, so he can get his gold and silver arrows.

Augusts pack meeting we go to do a rain-gutter regatta. Neither Phil or myself had ever done one of these before. We let Gavin go to town on his boat, paint and decorations all done by him. Most of the boys had never done this either, so the races were pretty good. He had fun and has some "new" ideas for the next round.


In September, he finally finished his last achievement and earned his Wolf. He also worked extra hard and earned 51 arrow points. That is 1 gold and 4 silver arrows. I know we are not supposed to be prideful people, but I really am proud of him and how hard he worked to get all of that done. Are only problem now is, he doesn't think he needs to go Scouts anymore. I told him he was crazy and he has to go so he can earn his 100 year patch. He only has one more thing to get that and it requires him to go to scouts. We still have lots of patches and belt loops and pins to earn, so I doubt this will be the last post regarding our Wolf year of Cub Scouts.

KINDERGARTEN

Little Miss Jaycee is FINALLY in kindergarten. After a long summer of questions, "Mom, is today the day I get to go to school?" We happy to say, that she LOVES school. She was upset that she didn't go to school the first day that Gavin did, but I told her Kindergarteners were extra special and got another week of vacation. She bought it, but still wasn't to happy about it.

Jaycee has morning kindergarten, which has been tough, not because she doesn't get up in the mornings, but because she likes to be up for at least 2 hours before she wants to eat. She has gone without much of a breakfast a couple of days, and has learned to eat while she can. She also stays four days out of the week after school to eat school lunch with her friend, Christopher. She loves to help sweep and wipe up the tables. She was so proud that she memorized her lunch number in 3 days! Her teacher is Mrs. Stowe, who just happens to be our street neighbor. She thinks it is cool that she gets to see her teacher on Sunday's too.

She is learning so much, her reading is improving and she is learning word families and songs. It is amazing how different she is from Gavin. Not that G wasn't smart, she just seems to grasps thinks faster. Maybe she actually cares more. I know, girls and boys are very different, and I am see that daily. She has also become Miss Popularity and seems to have friends calling or coming over ALL the time. She is such her mother's daughter.
Ky misses his sister in the mornings, but I like having just him. However, my life hasn't seem to catch on that I only have one kid and could accomplish more during that 3 hour break. Oh well, I'm sure that life eating Bon Bon's and watching Soaps can wait. I'll enjoy this for now.