Ethan the Eagle Scout

I am interrupting the pandemic update and skipping back to February when Ethan was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout.  This all happened right before we flew to Mexico but we haven't forgotten this big event.   Ethan completed all his requirements in November 2019 but we waited to do his Eagle Court of Honor with all the other boys.  It was a special night for many reasons.  First of all, there were fifteen boys who earned their Eagle that night.  It was crazy!  It was also Randy's last act of duty as a scout leader.  He has spent countless hours helping the boys earn their Eagles over the past ten years of church service and told all the boys in our ward if they wanted their Eagle, he would help them get it.  And he did! He's been serving the Young Men in scouts or as their Priesthood Leader for ten years so it was no surprise when he received a standing ovation with many former scout masters in attendance as well.  The local paper also wrote about it, which you can read here.

A few women also recognized me for all my sacrifices through the years like being a single parent on the weekends during all the monthly campouts, annual scout camps, and weekly night activities.  I could go on and on but I'll spare you.  Let's just say I stood up in front of everyone and cried with relief that it's all finished.

That's a lot of Eagle Certificates!

Randy with a whole bunch of Eagle Scouts.  None of these boys would have gotten their Eagles without Randy and now Randy has quite a large stash of mentor pins he's been given over the years.

 We would've been there all night if all the boys had gotten their awards one at a time, so we sped up the process and all the boys got them at once.

For Ethan's eagle project, he built eight bat boxes with the help of a few other scouts, and installed them at Ensign Ranch, a church property about an hour from our home.  We had so many boys doing eagle projects that our Saturdays were filled with helping boys finish their projects and Randy managed to be at all of them.

Building the bat boxes

Future eagle scouts helping out

The finished product.  Bats fly into these boxes and I guess somehow the more bat boxes the more bats you have, and bats eat mosquitoes so they're a good thing to have around.

Ethan finished hanging all 8 boxes.  He's done!

We also combined the Eagle Court of Honor with Marcus and Ethan's priesthood ordinations so both sets of grandparents could be here for all the festivities. It was a crazy weekend because it was also Stake Conference which meant I had lots going on with my church calling.  Let's just say that after all this was over, I deserved a trip to Mexico.  Thankfully I got one!

Ethan was ordained to the office of a Teacher and Marcus to a Priest.  Our tall Bishop came over to our house to do the ordinations which was so nice of him since we didn't have our regular church meetings that day where we would typically have the ordinations take place. 

Everyone but Henry in this photo.  We intentionally do a lot of things while he's napping.

"I Will Do My Duty"

Ethan, the newest Wolf

We are gearing up for a winter blizzard the likes of which we've never seen before.  I've got the heat turned up, every light turned on, electronics charging, and the washing machine running, while I make as much food as possible before we lose power for what could be days.
But before the kids all come home from school and we're sitting in the freezing cold house with nothing to do, I thought I'd put up these pictures from our recent cub scout pack meeting.
Pack meeting was a big deal for a couple reasons.  First, because I actually got all the boys badges sewn on their shirts.  They've been waiting for almost a year and I finally got it done, with help and nagging from Randy.  Second, Ethan earned his Wolf badge {three months early} and Marcus earned his WEBELOS badge.  Hooray!
I hate scouts.  You would too if your husband spent nearly every waking moment outside of work helping boys {who are not your boys} work on their scout requirements, going on over-nighters {also not with your boys}, and taking days off work to go to scout camp {also not with your boys}.  Do I sound bitter?  I am and I should be.  This has been going on for years now.
But I have to say I'm glad my kids get to do it.  Ethan loves it.  He loves getting rewarded for his efforts, he loves the things he gets to do, and he loves wearing the uniform.  Marcus is not as enthusiastic but he gets it done and I think that's important too.  We are in this scouting thing for the long haul so I need to embrace it and love it.  I will try.  In the meantime, those "other boys" sure are getting a good deal!

A proud WEBELO.  Randy wasn't able to be there because he was with his scouts so I had to take pictures.  Parker is obviously very interested in the whole thing ;)

Parker and Landon keeping themselves occupied during another scout night

Ethan grilled hot dogs in 25 degree weather so he could pass off his last requirement.  He's hard cord.  So is Randy