Recently

Mallory and I helped in the kitchen at the all day Scout event for Hayden's pack.

Mallory even got to try her hand at being a chef!

Hayden played an 'Army Ant' in the 3rd grade choir program at school - so cute!

And has also been playing catcher for his baseball team - and loving it!

That'w hat we've been up to!  Longer post later when I have more time - I promise!!

Bears in the News

In January Hayden's Bear Den visited the production plant for our local newspaper, the Journal and Courier.  It is an amazing building, very architecturally appealing, with full glass in the front.  You can even see the huge printing press from the road!

The newspaper had not "gone to press" yet when we were there ~ so it was very quiet in the building.  While on the tour, I learned that the local printing plant prints papers for cities and towns all over the Midwest.  We even saw some for Ohio!

This nice older gentleman is a retired J & C employee who volunteers his time to give tours.  He had a little trouble holding the attention of all the children, but he was very patient with our group.

Those big tanks hold the ink for the newspapers.  They were huge!

This machine puts the inserts into the newspaper.

This is a roll of newsprint paper.  Just for reference, Mallory is about 46 inches tall!

The Bear Den

The Bear Den of Pack 3310 has been busy this month! They are well on their way to completing all of their achievements right on schedule.

At their first den meeting this month, they had a special visitor. Iron the dog came to the meeting and introduced himself! The boys had an eventful evening learning about crime prevention and how the police dog helps the police officer do his job.

In addition to meeting Iron, the boys also fingerprinted themselves, just like real criminals!

At their next den meeting, they went to Arni’s Pizza to make their own pizzas! They toured the kitchen and learned how a pizza is made from scratch. Then, of course, they got to eat their own creations! The boys also listened to some folk tales at this meeting.

Hayden and the Waffle attended a pro basketball game as part of the “Circuit of Fun” scout program that is organized by the council in Indianapolis. The Scouts get to do lots of really neat things with Circuit of Fun such as Monster Jam, the Indians Overnight, Indianapolis Ice Hockey game, events at the Indianapolis 500, and many more. Hayden had never been to Conseco Field House before, so this was a real treat.

Everything was big - big basketball . . .

. . . big shoes . . .

. . . big arena . . .

(OK, so maybe the seats could have been a little better!)

Scouting keeps us all pretty busy, but I am so glad that we’ve decided to stick with it. I can tell a difference in his maturity and confidence. He believes in himself, and he isn’t afraid to try new things. He offers to do chores. He’s respectful, helpful and kind. Of course, I’d be lying if I told you that he was like this 24/7. So, I won’t. Lie, that is. We still have our moments. And I’m sure we always will!

The Good Scout Award

Today, a man in Lafayette was given a very high honor, the "Good Scout" Award. That man is Joe Bumbleburg.

Today, a mother and a father were given a very high honor, to be the parents of a "good scout" of our own! That Scout is our son, Hayden.

We were asked several weeks ago if we would consider allowing Hayden to come during the school day to the Union Ballroom at Purdue to speak at this special event. The event serves as a fundraiser for the Tecumseh District of the Sagamore Council of the Boy Scouts of America. So, we said, "Sure, why not?" We know that Hayden can speak in front of a group, after all, he's been doing speeches since 1st grade. A man from the Council came over one evening and interviewed Hayden. He asked all sorts of questions about what Hayden likes to do, and also what he likes about being in Cub Scouts. After the interview, he wrote up a short speech for Hayden to practice.

And practice he did.

And speak he did.

At a podium.

With a microphone.

On stage.

In front of a room of 150 + people!

This picture doesn't do justice to the number of people who were there.

I don't know what I was expecting, but when I arrived and saw the room and the stage, it really sunk in . . . this is a big deal. Then I saw the people who started arriving: mayors, past mayors, state representatives, well known lawyers from established firms in town, property owners and managers (like rental properties), etc. Overall, some fairly important people in our area, to say the least.

I can't even begin to tell you how many people stopped us on the way out to say how well Hayden had done, congratulating him, thanking him for speaking, and telling him how they, as adults, couldn't have done as well! He was the only child on the program to speak. His talk lasted about 3 minutes or so. He had great volume, appropriate pauses, and did a good job making eye contact with the audience. I knew he could do it, but when grown ups say that they could NOT have done it, now that is saying something, don't you think? What an honor, for both us and for him!

Today's event was a big success, for Mr. Bumbleburg, for Hayden, and for Scouts - over $14,000 was raised as a result of this luncheon today! Amazing!

He was amazing. And we were so proud.

Here is a photo of his name in the program.

He also got a little award of his own to take home. How special is that???

Hayden had his picture taken with Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski.

And also with the Good Scout Honoree, Joe Bumbleburg.

A Scout is prepared, so here is Hayden practicing before the luncheon began.

During the luncheon, I was trying to video tape and take photos, and wipe my tears, too (Spaghetti), so I didn't get the entire speech recorded. I only got bits and pieces. I tried to upload it, but couldn't get it to work. Need to work on it. I will try again later - so check back!

Did I mention that we are so proud of him???

Space Academy (Cub Scout style, that is!)

Cub Scout Day Camp 2009 was held from August 3 – 7 at Cary Camp in Lafayette. This was Hayden’s 2nd year to go to day camp. Our pack’s attendance really grew – last year there were 5 from our pack, and this year there were over 20! That’s awesome!

Monday morning flag raising.

HK starts the week.

The boys enjoyed 5 days full of space themed activities including rocket launching, Yoda’s friends, galaxy exploring, space grub, zero gravity training, space mining, alien egg blasting, missile launching and lots of other stuff! The Waffle went with Hayden on Monday to enjoy the fun. Then on Friday, all the parents are invited to see all the skits prepared by the different dens.

Hayden is a good shot with both archery and BB guns, and passed the swimmers test, too!

All those lessons last year really paid off!

Honoring the 5 Day Walkers

Cary Camp has the largest attendance of any camp in the whole Council this year!

The "Two suckers on a stick" skit!

Dirty and tired every evening, learning and growing every day, that’s what Scout camp is all about.

Scouts Visit the Ropkey Armory Museum

Pack 3310 held their July Pack meeting at the Ropkey Armory Museum just outside of Crawfordsville, IN. This place was packed full of tanks, jeeps, motorcycle, boats, helicopters, a bi-plane, a large variety of firearms and other weapons. It was total guy-heaven, ‘cuz you know, guys like to blow things up. Here's a slideshow of photos from the day.

Indians Outfield Adventure

This past weekend, we went on the most unique campout. Ever. We pitched our tent on the outfield of the Indianapolis Indians' Victory Field! It was amazing. The Indians host an annual Cub Scout Campout where scouts can attend the game, watch a fireworks show, then see a movie on the big screen scoreboard, and finally camp in the outfield. It was C-O-O-L. As many of you know, we love to camp. Yes, in tents. And yes, we all went. It was a whirlwind weekend for the family. Hayden had his own ball game at 5:15 on Friday. After his game, we hit the road to Indy. We arrived during the 3rd inning and there was no score, so we hadn't missed much. Our seats were pretty good - 2nd level, 1st baseline - perfect for catching foul balls. The Indians won it 2 - 0. Hayden was really into watching the game - I've noticed this much more lately. He is really turning into a basbeall player and fan. He's watching them to see how to get better. Being at the field after the game was over was pretty neat, too. We got to see everything they do to care for the field - they worked a long time on the pitcher's mound, then they rolled out a HUGE tarp to cover all of the infield. Sure wish we could get some of those for our little league fields! The fireworks show was very good. I couldn't believe how long it went - very impressive. Then it was time for the movie. They played Everybody's Hero which was very fitting for the occasion. Pitching the tents was total chaos, but the picture I got when it was all done is totally worth it. I've never seen anything like it. We obviously enjoyed every minute of it. And when it's time to do it again, we will be there. Definitely.

From Wolf to Bear

This past weekend, the Waffle took Hayden to his "Cross Over Campout" for Cub Scouts. It's held at the end of every school year after the boys have worked toward earning their next badge in scouting. Hayden crossed over from Wolf Scout to Bear Scout. He started Cub Scouts in 1st grade and has really enjoyed it a lot. Our Pack has grown significantly and is getting more organized, so it's really turning out to be a great program. Here are a handful of photos from this weekend's events.

Whittling Chip class gives Scouts the privilege of carrying a pocket knife.

These happy campers earned $1 each for finding lucky 4 leaf clovers.

Hayden at the BB gun range shooting his Daisy rifle from Grandpa Ed.

This is the ampitheater where the Cross Over Ceremony took place.

Little Sis arrives to share the fun.

The Waffle looks just as good when all done as when he first begun!

The boys came home Saturday night after the ceremony.  Hayden was very proud of his earning his Whittling Chip Badge.  The next day he wanted to carve another bar of soap (that's how you learn - with a bar of soap).  So, the Waffle let him take his new pocket knife out back with the bar of soap . . . . 

AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!

Hayden earned his first "Badge of Honor."  There was really more blood than I care to talk about, but he's fine now.  This evening, little more than 24 hours later, he was playing baseball, shooting a bow and arrow and also shooting a BB gun again.  I think he likes this guy stuff!