Recently in Kids Category

I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems like Pinewood Derby cars can be made so much cooler than when I was a kid. Maybe I just didn’t have the imagination, but it seems like so many other design options are available to Cub Scouts nowadays.

Maybe it’s just the tools that are available. Band saws make the big cuts easy. (Jigsaw, anyone? I bet Dad remembers that.) Electric sanders make the smoothing out process easy. And I’ve got to believe that our color options just weren’t as plentiful, especially for spray paint — spraying it on is so much cleaner and consistent.

Anyway, it’s fun working with Will to get his car done. Race day is tomorrow, so look for more updates soon. (He has a lot to live up to for last year.) But can I say that making a race car is SWEET?

Did you know you can help me earn my own way in Scouting? Just click here and place an order on my behalf. Trail’s End has made a lot of improvements this year. All microwave products are made with canola oil and all chocolate products contain no hydrogenated oils, so there are plenty of healthy, flavorful snacks to choose from.

70% of your purchase will be returned to my council, my unit and my Scout rewards. Online purchases help us fund fun, educational activities and help more kids experience all the things that make Scouting great. Our fundraiser last year helped send us on a camping trip to Luray, VA this fall, including visiting Luray Caverns. It was awesome seeing everything underground! I’m really looking forward to taking trips this spring for overnight trips to the Hampton Air & Space Museum and the battleship Wisconsin in Norfolk.

You can order at any time of the year, though our main sales run through early November. Even if you do not like popcorn or other treats, consider a donation to send one of these treats to our military personnel overseas via a Silver or Gold Level Donation (see the Military Sales section).

Thanks for your support,
Will

If you cannot click on the first link above, please copy and paste this full URL into your Internet browser address bar:

http://www.trails-end.com/estore/scouts/email_referral.jsp?id=4403561

This is what greeted me tonight, when I made my rounds to check on the kids before I went to bed.

I had to chuckle (and get a picture). Pleasant dreams, everyone!

Where did the month of May go? 31 days, and no blog posts. There aren’t a huge number of pictures to share, but a lot did go on. There was someone’s 42nd birthday (mine), someone’s 12th anniversary (mine and Kellie’s), a first birthday (my niece), another birthday (no age provided, Mom!), weekly Blastball games for the twins, Cub Scouts and swim lessons for Will, other birthday parties to attend (kids), a vacation (to the Outer Banks), a 5k race (placed 3rd in my age group), and the pool has opened up (Sean and Daniel are now kicking themselves around the pool with arm floats without Mom and Dad holding on, and Will is swimming all around on his own).

Here are a few of the cool pictures from our vacation earlier this month. The weather was great (lows in the 50s, highs around 70), the crowds few, and just enough wind to fly the kites, like this evening on the beach.

We did take a trip to the Corolla Lighthouse, and all 3 kids made it to the top without a problem. It was windy (~20 mph), but it was kind of cool to let the kids see in all directions. The sky was clear enough that we were probably seeing up close to Virginia in the north.

Even cooler was the shot I got at the bottom, while Kellie and the kids visited the gift shop — an upside-down rainbow appeared behind the lighthouse.

The surprise of our visit? It would have to be the raccoon that decided to hang out next to one of our sliding doors. We have no idea why he thought we’d be a good place to hang out. The only reason he left is that the maintenance staff (with a little assistance from me) almost caught the bugger (he escaped the fish net they originally snagged him in). He ran off after that, never to be seen again. Not to say we weren’t paranoid he might return.

Here’s hoping everyone has a great summer planned. May you not be visited by uninvited guests — like our racoon.

This is a fundraiser that Will enjoys doing every year - the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart Program. A lot of schools do this one, and they have a bunch of activities that they do to raise awareness — and do some jumping rope, I’m sure.

For once, I’m almost organized enough to announce his fundraising plan here. Kellie set up a website for pledges and donations if you want to sponsor him.

Good luck, Will! And have fun (as you always do)!

I know — what’s with this burst of writing?

I found Daniel in this pose when I went in late this afternoon. Sean had just awoken from his nap, but Daniel was still asleep. I went to wake up Daniel, and I found him in a rather odd pose. And he was totally asleep. Even the flash didn’t wake him up.

Hey, no comments about his fashion sense! (Nor mine.)

I will say this — this isn’t even the oddest sleeping posture for these guys. Wait until I get a chance to show you what Sean does.

Just a small delay in getting this posted, but I wanted to do it some justice. This past Saturday was the annual Pinewood Derby race for Will’s Cub Scout pack, and Will wanted a more competitive car. So we went with a more traditional car shape and worked together to create something that we hoped would be competitive.

To be honest, it was more competitive than I ever figured.

Will won his race against his Bear den. Well, there are only 2 Cubs in his Bear den, so the competition wasn’t too stiff. (Although the other Cub took second overall last year.) That win got Will pumped.

But it also meant he got to go against the winners in the other 3 dens. His first race was against the winner from the Webelos den, and it was a photo finish. (You can see this race, as well as every other race, in the video below.) The Scouts manning the finish line actually thought Will had won, but the electronic eye said otherwise. (And slowing down the video at home shows that as well.)

But Will won the consolation round race and got into a final run for the top 3. It was close, but he could only pull out a 3rd place finish. (The car he essentially tied earlier won the overall title.) So somehow, Will and his mechanically-ungifted* Dad had constructed a top 3 Pinewood Derby racing car.

Who knew?

*If you need further evidence of my ungiftedness, just consider that the night before the race, I split the wood in 2 separate places, trying to install the wheels, causing one of the pieces to completely break off. And another wheel was first installed to almost rub against the car — it was installed not too straight. Luckily, the kids were asleep and I was in the garage, so the words I chose to use during those 45 minutes were not heard. (And Crazy Glue helped put it back together without the damage being too noticeable.)

I don’t know how we’ll top it next year. There are definitely some lessons learned on putting it together, and we’ll see what style Will wants to go with next year. But it sure doesn’t beat the feeling of winning. Wait a minute — I mean I’m sure Will is really proud of winning. (Yeah, that’s what I meant. Ha ha!)

I meant to include this picture in the slide show in honor of their birthday, but we got this shot of Sean and Daniel this past weekend that really shows them off.

And here’s wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend.

Four years ago today, I was driving on a rainy highway to get Kellie to the hospital so that Daniel (5 minutes older) and Sean could be born. How lucky we have been and are. Such a wonderful year this has been, and they really are turning into little boys now. They are not anything I would call a toddler any more.

They have had quite a weekend for celebrating their birthdays — 3 days of different events with variations on the family. I think (hope?) that’s all of the presents for now. After all, Christmas is only a month away. (Yikes!)

OK, so Kellie got some pictures of the boys with their Iron Man masks. (They actually like to dress up in them after dinner.) She did a good job getting a nice progression. I really love the fake muscles in the costumes, buffing up their young bodies.

Now everyone don’t rush out to order your own costumes.