Taylor's Eagle Project at the Soup Ktichen

Another one down... just one more to go! (squeal...)

Taylor's Eagle Project was to plan, organize, prepare, and clean-up a meal at our community Soup Kitchen.

He has been so close to earning his Eagle for the past three years, but let two merit badges keep him from taking the plunge. Yes, of course those would be the infamous Personal Management and Family Life. The two that have kept many a near Eagle Scout from becoming a true Eagle. He finally bucked up and pushed it to completion. I guess most mom's would have been a little more forceful in getting their son to complete it, but I wanted him to know that HE earned this and NOT his mother, which you hear so often. All of my boys have earned their own Eagles. I was a huge help to them when they were Cub Scouts, but once they hit the Varsity Scout level, I backed out. The reasons are numerous, the main one being that I couldn't have earned it for them even if I tried. You see, I am not real skilled when it comes to merit badges relating to turning your clothing into flotation devices in freezing cold water (I would have drowned before I got it made), or in wilderness survival (I think I'd rather NOT survive than eat worms, bugs, etc), or reptile and amphibian study (NO thanks!), or orienteering (I prefer a GPS!). Oh, and lets not forget Environmental Science. That has to be the worst one of all. It's no coincidence that one has "mental" as part of it's name. Just reading that one over, nearly sent me to the looney bin.

Luckily they have all had great leaders, which is a bonus, but what's the point of earning an Eagle if you don't really EARN it? It doesn't mean anything if that's what happens. I do admit, when it comes to the big project, that I enjoy helping them plan and carry that part out. But that's the point of it anyway. They are supposed to recruit enough help to reach at least 60 volunteer hours. Taylor ended up with over a hundred. He had AMAZING support! Our church members were awesome and every single player on the varsity high school basketball team also came and helped out.

He did a great job organizing and planning it. It was a bit overwhelming to plan something that he'd never really done before. Our family has helped out numerous times at the soup kitchen, but planning an entire meal from start to finish is a bit different than just showing up. But it came off without a hitch and was a great success.

We arrived early to get the food prepared and in the oven.. (you will need to click to enlarge)
























We had so many youth show up after school to help that I had to really scrape to come up with something for them all to do. They were all so awesome to do whatever we asked.

The basketball team all arrived together after practice that the coach cut short so they could come and help. They don't look that tall when they are down there on the floor during a game and you are up in the bleachers. They were giants!

They were all so entertaining. Every single one of them was polite, well mannered, and loaded with personality. It was fun for me to get to know some of them better. Taylor is in the middle.

The servers looking all tough in their stylin' hair nets!

These guys (and Coach) volunteered to do the dessert table. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it...

The dishwashers were working very hard the whole night...they had it down to a science before night's end.

They did manage to squeeze in a little fun...

Cobbley trying to come up with a good explanation for his antics...

This cute little guy ↓ was in all his glory being able to meet the entire team.
He still worshipped them even with their hair nets! :)

Once the patrons were served, the team had permission to eat also. And eat they did. They eat a lot! And I mean a LOT!















Serious about their food.
They weren't serious once the entire night, until they started eating. DO NOT INTERRUPT! :)

We had a great clean up crew as well.

We served 87. They are hoping to get the numbers up but since they relocated, they have dropped some. It is a great service that the community provides to those who are in need. It was a great opportunity for all involved that came and helped as well.

Good job Taylor. You are now officially an Eagle Scout. Congrats!

Now the real work begins for me... the Court of Honor! ugh...

Sidenote:
I made the team BEE cupcakes to thank them for helping out. That week they had suffered two tough losses (both by one point & down to the buzzer) that was heartbreaking. But they were still tied for first in Region.














This is a photo of their redeeming game against Bonneville (MY alma mater!) Another game down to the buzzer by one point only this time we were victorious! The students swarmed the floor to get to the team. It was awesome! I'm attributing it to my cupcakes!☺ LOL

~Buzz~ Buzz ~ Buzz~

Pinewood Derby!

Pinewood Down and Derby!!!

This past weekend we attended our LAST Pinewood Derby. After FIFTEEN YEARS of going to Pack Meetings and all the Cub Scout stuff, it is officially over! Waa.. waa...my baby's growing up! He was inducted into Boy Scouts, and so we closed that chapter in our lives. I don't think I like this! And to think of all those times I complained about having to attend yet ANOTHER Pack Meeting! Like they say...the days are LONG but the years are SHORT! Where DID the time go?

At least this chapter ended on a GRAND note. McKay won FIRST PLACE in the race! He was pretty excited. Last year he also won, but they didn't give out awards for it. But it wasn't real hard to figure out who placed where. They just said everyone was a winner and ended it at that. And we thought that was fine too. This year they gave an award for the fastest car but didn't mention what "place" the others took. I thought that was the best way to do it overall.

This year, when I told him he had to get working on his car, he informed me he was going to race his car from last year. The Ninja Turtle car he pretty much designed himself. I told him that I didn't think that was a good idea. I didn't think it would still be any good after a year of being mauled and played with, but he insisted! My other boy's cars are missing wheels and other various and sundry parts, but his was actually in pretty good shape. Wow, that was easy! Last year, he helped his Dad cut it out and then I helped him paint it. I was so grateful we didn't have to start from scratch again, even though I honestly didn't think it would hold up to the others. Boy, was I wrong!

Dave is pretty good at this thing, after FIVE BOYS I guess he would be. The other boys all won (or took 2nd) as well. He makes sure our boys do most of the work on the car though. Well, as much as he can stand to let them! lol Can I just say I love watching the dads! They are instructed that they are only to HELP the boy, not the other way around. Um...yeah right! Over the years it has been so fun to see the intensity with which some of the dads get into it. We have a lot of engineers in our community and so at my oldest son's derby, it was INTENSE! I had never seen anything like it! It was a REAL do or die race. The boys didn't even seem to care and were cheering each other on, but you could tell the blood pressure was rising in that room in those males over 30! I thought there was going to be some action going on in the parking lot after! Back then they only did it every three years because it was too much for the leaders to handle. Have you seen the movie DOWN AND DERBY? Yeah, pretty much the same scenario! Thankfully, it isn't like that anymore. The dads have mellowed quite a bit. The derby's are actually fun to watch now...at least ours.

McKay won ever single race with the exception of two that he raced against his bud Carson. In the end it came down to three. His bud Zack, Carson, and McKay. Carson's car was really fast and I thought for sure it was going to win the whole thing. Then it came down to McKay and Carson. One track seems to be faster than the other and so they were careful to make sure they gave them both a chance on each track. I think overall it should have been called a tie, because it was SO close! I am sure if those two raced against each other over and over, the outcome would have been different each time. It would have been awesome to have them tie! It's kinda hard to beat your best bud! This year they were both selected as the District Cub of the Year - McKay for Webelos and Carson for Bears - and that was so fun for them to share such an honor together. But I don't think this will alter their friendship any. Afterall, they are BOYS! McKay was very excited, but pretty much forgot about it by the next day! Aren't boys great?!!! Here's a few more photos....