Bear Award

J finally earned and received his BEAR award & his Religious Square Knot. Of course, when I want to take a nice picture of him and his awards, his slide is no where to be found ... hence the chunky rubber band holding his neckerchief! He's worked hard on many requirements, and has loved his Leaders. He looks forward to being in the Webelos den come January.

Happy 40th Birthday, G!!

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY to my dear husband, G! We are so blessed to have him in our lives. He's an amazing Dad to our boys and THE best husband ever. I love you!!!

Hoover Dam

The wind was filling up N's hoodie while he looked over the Hoover Dam

The tradition says that you will have luck by rubbing the feet of the Lady Statue

My sweet J

N enjoying the view at Hoover Dam

We spent the Thanksgiving Holiday in North Las Vegas with G's side of the family. We took the boys for an outing to the Hoover Dam and the new Memorial Bridge. It was VERY windy, but otherwise a beautiful day. The Hoover Dam is in both Nevada and Arizona. We had fun walking across states and time zones! We loved the view and spending time together. After we walked across the dam, we went over to the Memorial Bridge, which just recently opened. I'll have to blog about that next.

Walk Through California

J's 4th grade class after their "Walk Through California". J is the 4th from the left.

J is in the 'expert' chair. During the presentation, when the presenter says your "expert" word, you have to quickly get up to the expert chair and explain the word. There were cards to memorize. If they had it completely memorized, including a full-sentence answer to her question, they earned more points for their team. J did great! He had 2 expert words to share.

This was the first time I was able to watch this wonderful program. It is a living history lesson for the kids and it was great! They came in costume, anything they chose to represent California history. It was a 2 1/2 hour interactive and FUN history lesson. The kids were loving it. I really enjoyed it myself! I somehow ended up being asked to be the scorekeeper. They were divided up into 4 teams, and I kept a running count of the points. This is well worth the $$$ the PTA spends on this program. Next year for 5th grade, they get to do the same thing, but it is all about the Revolution.

Soccer!

T is right in front of the ball, ready to assist his team

T and one of his dear friends on his soccer team

J after a victory

J has had a very successful season in soccer. He thrives as one of the team's defenders. At the team party, the coach said that J has an infectious smile and spreads his positive attitude to the team. He is the most improved player and has had THE most spectacular 'headers' this season. He has popped a couple balls right out of his territory down to mid field!! Impressive! He has an awesome coach and has really enjoyed playing this season. It doesn't hurt that their record is pretty impressive ....

T FINALLY has been able to rejoin his team for most of the 2nd half of the season. Even though his cast came off at the half-way mark of the season, his doctor would not give us the 'go-ahead' to have him play soccer for 2 more weeks. He has surprised us with being able to just slide right back into playing ... probably even better than before! Go figure! He has some good hustle out there and has made an assist for a goal.

There is just one more game of the season. It's been a great year for the boys. Hard to believe it's wrapping up already.

Rank Advancement: 1st Class!

On Thursday, B received his 1st class rank advancement at the Court of Honor. He also earned 3 merit badges: Disabilities Awareness, First Aid, and Emergency Preparedness. He has quite a few other merit badges in progress. He's been working really hard! He finishes up his Cycling merit badge today (Saturday) and will receive that one at the next Court of Honor. That merit badge was a HUGE challenge to complete! Way to go, B!!