Court of Honor

Tonight we attended the older boys' Court of Honor, where Boy Scouts are honored for the achievements they have made.

Evyn was awarded three Merit Badges: fingerprinting, leather work, and swimming. All three were earned while he was at camp this summer. The swimming badge is required for Eagle Scout.

Chris Hildebrand, Eagle Scout and leader, congratulates Evyn.

Ian was awarded four Merit Badges: fingerprinting, leather work, swimming, and citizenship in the community. The first three he earned at camp this summer, too. The last was earned during scout meetings.

Scout Master Eric Kruse, also an Eagle Scout, congratulates Ian.

Ian was also awarded the Patrol Leader patch, to be worn for the next three months. It's an elected position in his troop. He also earned the Recruiter patch. He recruited his friend David Gaskey into their troop.

They are both working on another merit badge while at their meetings. Evyn's group is doing citizenship in the community, and Ian is working on citizenship in the nation. There is a third in this group, citizenship in the world. All three are required for Eagle Scout.

Because the boys need some time to work on merit badges, we are going to take some of them and institute them into our curriculum for school. The one we are going to work on next as a family, in school, and for scouts, is art. I'm the counselor for it, but as there are no other boys signed up to work on it, I'm not sure how that will work for our boys. I'm hoping another boy has been working on it also and they can present their works of art at a future meeting. We are also going to work on physical fitness for both boys, as well as reading for Evyn and American heritage for Ian. Ian actually only has one more requirement to complete before he meets with his counselor for American heritage. He needs to contact his grandparents ... heads up. Phone calls and e-mails will be coming your way shortly!

What's going on in Port Orchard?

Well, we do have busy schedules here. Although I may not have photos, I'm not adverse to saying everyone is very busy in one way or another!

Mondays Amber is off for sewing class from 10 to 11 a.m. and then comes home for the rest of her lessons. She is currently working on a denim skirt. It's an early dinner that night as Daryn, Webelos I Den Leader, and the boys all head off for scouts. Amber leaves shortly there after for Nutcracker rehearsal and we all gather back around the home fires around 8 p.m. or so to watch this season's Dancing With The Stars. The kids are rooting for Melissa Joan Hart, who stared in the sitcom series Sabrina The Teenage Witch, which they enjoyed watching throughout the summer.

Tuesdays start early because Ian has taken on a student to tutor. His dance teacher was looking for someone to tutor her 6-year-old son in math. Ian wanted to do it. So, his little student is supposed to be here at the house from 8-8:40 a.m. He was late the first day and didn't show this week. We aren't sure why, but possibly he was not well, and it was a day after a holiday. Then the boys head down the street for their sewing lesson from 10 to 11 a.m. They are the Sewing Ninjas ... or something like that. They wear a piece of scrap material around their heads while they sew. It's quite comical, but they do it in all seriousness. (I must add that all four children have completed project bags to date and they have been converted to backpacks.) Right now the boys are working on a pair of pants. Tuesdays is also a dance day and we are at Just for Kicks from 4-5:45 p.m. That is ballet day.

Wednesday mornings Ian is TA-ing with Ms. Tanya Bleil, their tap/jazz teacher. He is at the East Port Orchard (EPO) Elementary School from 8:30-9:15 p.m. and helps her with the dance program. Amber and I work together on her lessons while sitting in the cafeteria. When Ian's done we head down to Mile Hill and Just for Kicks where Amber is TA-ing with Ms. Tanya from 9:45-11:15 a.m. Amber loves helping the little 3-year old girls. And they love her. Aside from the fact that this is an early morning start for us, it's really our "day off" from schedules.

Thursdays are horrible days! We are up early and packed and ready to leave the house by (or at least we try) 8:30 so we can be in Bremerton for Homeschool Band by 9 a.m. Ian is in Jazz Band this year and that's 9-10:30 a.m. That is followed by Advanced Band from 10:30-noon. Both Ian and Evyn, and I, play in that band. I haven't started yet this year, but will need to do so soon so I don't fall behind. I play bells while Ian plays trumpet and Evyn percussion. Ethan, Amber and I occupy a classroom in the basement of the church doing our school lessons until noon, and then we head up for Intermediate Band, from noon to 1 p.m. And then we head home. We aren't home long before we have to head out for dance from 4-6:45. This is tap and musical theatre day. We are so blessed that Daryn helps by making dinner most Thursday evenings.

Fridays are reasonably quiet. Dance is from 3:30-6:15 p.m. The boys have jazz, and Amber has select team practice. She loves it, and her teachers love her. She's doing very well.

Intermixed with all this of late has been popcorn sales for the scouts. I am happy to say that the end is near and after this weekend, that is over! All monies and forms will be turned in on Monday night! Yeah!

Well, it's late now, and I need to head up to bed for another exciting day of school. Tomorrow completes our KONOS unit on horses. The kids are supposed to dress like cowboys and we are supposed to BBQ dinner tomorrow and sing campfire songs to bring the unit to an end. I'm excited to see what they come up with. Ethan has transformed his big polar bear into a horse already.

Outlander KAL - Voyager Socks - What a Bruja!

These are the final product of the two month knitting I did on a pair of Mysetery Knit-Along socks with the Outlander Ravelry group. Hard to see here, but the patterns are skulls (for the pirate ship Bruja in Diana Gabaldon's book), and beaded hearts (located on the front and back of the sock) ... and are, of course, representative of the love between Jamie and Claire. These socks were a whole bunch of firsts for me ... knitting toe up, beading, patterning as it was given to us ... not easy ... and I must say, I'm happy they are completed. Haven't worn them yet, either. I think they will have to be for a special day ... maybe our car trip to Idaho tomorrow!

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho - July 4th Celebrations

On July 3, 2009 we participated in a mini parade where Daryn's mother, Judy, lives. Daryn and I ended up in front with a banner stretched across the road and everyone followed, either on foot, little golf scooters, or mini carts.

The girls all decked out for the Fourth!

Borrowing Grandma Judy's Uncle Sam hat!

A trip to the boardwalk overlooking Coeur d'Alene Lake. All the girl cousins strike a pose.

Here are our kids!

July 4th

Our eldest with Uncle Kenny, the master planner of all the festivities.

Grandma Judy (center) surrounded by her children and their spouses,

her grandchildren, great grandchild, and Rose.

Grandma Judy, the grandkids, and great-grandchild.

Rose and Daddy.

This one LOVED playing in the water and spent a great deal of time

dumping and redumping, and dumping again, bucketfuls of water

over his head!

July 5th

Story weather approaches Coeur d'Alene Lake and we were on a quick trip

around the boardwalk. Lightning danced around in the distance, but came upon

us quickly and we ended up running the last part of the boardwalk before the rains came!

July 6th

Another trip to the boardwalk ... just fooling around.

One had his eyes dilated ... can you tell who???

July 7th

Joule joins the family. Daryn's new puppy.

Ravelry KAL - Outlander Group - Voyager Socks - Mystery KAL

This is my first attempt at several new things: knitting toe-up socks, doing a knit-along (KAL), participating in a mystery KAL (getting the pattern bit by bit), and beading (which will come along as we get to the leg and/or cuff). You may be able to see the beads off there to the right. The color is 'champagne' and do complement the burgundy yarn. I have guessed the pattern in the middle are skulls, not something I'm completely happy about as I'm not "into" skulls, but they do tie into "Voyager" by Diana Gabaldon and represent the pirate ship Bruja. I've considered trying to alter the pattern so they won't look like skulls, but perhaps buttons, but since this is a sock made up of a bunch of firsts, I decided to leave it alone and just go with it!

Memorial Day Walk Through Theler Wetlands

Today we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and went for a hike at the Theler Wetlands. This is the entrance heading toward the Nature Center.

Sadly, I had to do a lot of work on this photo. The kids were completely washed out, and I'm not quite sure why. The gate was beautiful.


As always, an opportunity comes up to teach the children something. Daryn found a leaf with spores underneat the fronds and we had a little science lesson right there on the path.

There was a beautiful view from the path overlooking a portion of the Hood Canal. We saw so many different kinds of birds and their songs were heard throughout the wetlands. The most recongizable songs were those of the red-winged blackbird and the stellar jay.

Just another great shot overlooking the wetlands.

We just happened to catch

this beautiful tree swallow.

These are just some of the interesting plants we saw during our hike.

Heading back down the trail. We hiked about 3.5 miles by the time we were done.

What a beautiful day!

Ian's Photography Merit Badge Photos

Ian just completed his Boy Scout Photography Merit Badge and these were some the photos he took and used in a Power Point presentation for the final requirement.

This purple flower was in our side garden and blooms every year. We aren't sure what it is.

This fungus was at the base of one of our trees that has been broken off in the wind. These stripes did not show up until after the fungus had dried out.

Can you see a little animal head in the design? Can you find the bug?

These little blue flowers were spotted on our walk through our neighborhood. We don't quite know what they're called, but Ian really likes the little white skirt at the bottom of them.

Mom likes this photo because she thinks it looks like a kiwi. So, we call it the kiwi flower. We also spotted this one on a walk through our neighborhood.

This is my sunset daffodil. I love the fact that I was able to use the light from the sunset to really capture the glow of the flower.