Raingutter Regatta Champion!!

A few years ago, when Adam first signed up for the raingutter regatta, his hope of winning first place were sky high.  It was adorable and a little hard to watch as it quickly became apparent that his little 8-year-old height and lung capacity did not have what it would take to beat the older, taller, and breathier Scouts he was competing against.  More so than the pine wood derby, this competition clearly seemed to favor physical advantages.  

Which is what made this year so fun!

In addition to being one of the oldest and tallest of the group this time around, Adam was also one of the most diligent in deep breaths, steady nerves, and intense concentration.  

With a brief respite while giving his little brother a turn. 

And it all payed off because.... he won!!!  He won six out of seven races, and that made him the overall champion of the Raingutter Regatta 2019!  

The look of surprise and joy on his face when they announced him as the winner made the three years of carving, decorating, screwing and gluing his boats all worth it!  Congratulations Adam!  What a way to finish out your church Cub Scouting experience!

Wrapping Up the Spring

 There has been a whole lot of life going on around here lately.  So much to squeeze in before the lazy days of summer start!

I had a piano recital for my 8 students- Adam and Leah played and boy was that piano out of tune.  

All of my students did a great job!

Leah has had concerts galore- choir concert, 

band concert (possibly her last one since she's not signed up for 7th grade band), 

and an orchestra concert. 

Which some of us enjoyed more than others.

Leah and I also squeezed in a temple trip with her Beehive class and leader.

 Adam continues to be happily busy with Cub Scouts. 

Whittling and wood burning- a nine year old boy's dream come true!

Noah started t-ball- his very first sports endeavor.  

It's fun to remember how the sport starts out- lots of scrambling for the ball, spinning around and around when hitting and some running the wrong direction. 

Running for home!

There have been plenty of rainy days, but even more beautiful days for riding bikes and playing in the yard.

Emma has been faithfully marching off to first grade every morning.  She has made a huge improvement from the beginning of the year when she woke up with a grumpy cloud over her head every morning to now, when she wakes up with a smile and a happy attitude (her words, she's helping me write this).  She's most looking forward to summer because she loves swimming and going on picnics. 

 Throw in a bunch of graduation and birthday parties, end of the year projects and parties, and a visiting general authority staying at our house for stake conference, and it's been a pretty full life around here lately.  We're all looking forward to the arrival of summer!

Pinewood Derby

Adam's second Cub Scouts pinewood derby race was a success!

He and Daddy worked hard to get the cars- because Noah and Emma got racecars too!- ready for the big night (which was rescheduled twice due to horrible winter weather).  

Adam's expectations were a bit more reasonable this year, but there were still plenty of jitters in the moments leading up to the race.  And while he didn't win first place, he did have plenty of races where his car was the first across the finish line!  And really, the best part is the time spent with Daddy designing and cutting, painting and testing and weighing it out.  The races are just the bonus fun!

Adam's, Emma's, and Noah's cars all lined up and ready to race!

Adam is one of the big boys in the this group!  Cub scouts is always a fun time for our family. 

And of course we've had a few races of our own at home.  Pinewood derby cars are too fun to only race one night!

Cub Scout Fun Day

Adam and Daddy had a great time at the Cub Scout Fun Day- shooting cannons, 

learning about weapons, 

climbing around a log cabin, 

pedal-carting, 

and spending time with some buddies!

Raingutter Regatta

This year Adam modeled his boat after Lloyd's Mech Dragon from LEGO Ninjago.  The Chinese characters say his name and "scout".

 I'd say his expectations were slightly lower this year than they were last year.  Some rounds were won, some were lost, but overall he was a good sport and gave it his best.

And he won third place!  It was a well earned prize for a job well done.  Way to go Adam!

Advancing

Adam advanced from the rank of Wolf to Bear in Scouting recently.

Every belt loop, pin, and badge is a great accomplishment!

 Our whole family loves the scouting program and all that it teaches.

 Like how to properly retire the American flag, 

 safety around fire, 

 and which berries are safe to eat in the woods.

Cub Scout camp is just a few weeks away and I have a feeling it's going to be a highlight of Adam's summer.

First Pinewood Derby

The preparations were thorough.

The Cub Scout was ready.

The race was so close

Fourth place and an honorable mention for best paint job!

Adam's first Pinewood Derby was a success!  With three derbies in his Cub Scouts career, his plan is to build three awesome cars, then race them to determine the overall champion.  He's already designing next year's model.

Cub Scout Camp {by Jason}

Adam went to his first scout camp last month and he had a blast!  He has some great leaders who are very engaging and they have made scouting a wonderful experience for him so far - and this adventure was no exception.  This particular scout camp was open to all the troops in the Des Moines area so there were lot of new scouts to meet.  The morning started off cool and cloudy and it had rained the night before so attendance was a little light but that meant we didn't have to wait in line as long for some of the activities.  We started at the climbing wall.  Adam almost made it to the top but his legs started getting shaky toward the top and there were some big stretches you had to make to get all the way to the top that were a little too big for Adam.  He did great for his first time on the climbing wall. 

 After the climbing wall it was on to the indoor activity where Adam built a toolbox - he did all the nailing!  Once the tool box was done we went over to another station where they branded Adam's tool box with the Boy Scout symbol.  

After we finished the tool box it was time for lunch.  During lunch it began to rain and kept raining the rest of the day.  Fortunately, Adam was prepared with three layers of clothes, a jacket, and a rain poncho so the fun kept going.

 

 The afternoon was filled with archery (Adam got a bulls-eye on his first round!), rifle shooting, soda bottle rockets, and wooden bird houses.  

I was pretty proud of Adam for not letting the rain get in the way.  We got to do all of the activities we wanted to and on the way home Adam was already asking when the next scout camp will be - I think he's going to really enjoy scouting!