Cute Kids!

Christmas came early to our house.  Bryan and I got cell phones...oh...I am probably not supposed to say that Bryan got a cell phone because he has RESISTED for so long and hates being tied down to a cell phon!  But he needed one because he left the phone the firm gave him in his car and fried it.  So...he needed a new one....not that he used it all that much and ....not that he uses it much now but, you know....

So I had to get a new photo to put on my wallpaper.  Here it is:

Don't you love all the holes in Courtney's mouth?  Hilarious!!

Webelos Night Camp

Ethan had a night camp for Webelos.  They didn't actually camp but it was held at night so it wasn't a "day camp" but a "night camp."  Bryan went as a leader but he ended up helping with a station so he only saw Ethan a few times.

He got to shoot a bow and arrow:

 Set up a tent using knots (yea!!  This passed off his Outdoorsman requirement he was lacking!):

 And showing off his survival bracelet that he tied himself:

They had a great time and got home really late and smelling like campfire!  And, Courtney and I had a "girls night" so it was a win-win for everyone!

Book Report #2

Ethan did his second book report last night and this morning.  I think he just wants to get me off his back and get a Subway seafood sensation out of the deal.  He made a powerpoint presentation again but then he made a stop motion video to go along with it.  I don't remember the name of the book he read but here is the video he made that is a scene from the book.  We put it in the presentation and then saved everything on a thumb drive.  I can't wait to hear how it went at school when he gets home!
We made this video this morning before school (between piano practicing and scripture reading and eating breakfast...it was a crazy morning.  I was the camera person until I made a suggestion that made Ethan mad, then I was fired and he did it all by himself.  The video I helped with is on the "cutting room floor" i.e. he deleted all the pictures because he was mad at me.  So this video is all his creation.  I think he did a great job!

Pears

A woman brought down a truck load of pears from :up north" for people to buy for bottling.  I had ordered 2-30 pound cases and my parents ordered 1-30 pound case.  They picked them up for us last week and then we decided to use Labor Day to bottle them.

It was quite the process, but we finihsed my parents box and one of my boxes before noon (at least they were ready to process but weren't completely finished yet).  It was a mess but we now have 26 quarts and 51 pints of pears!

For FHE the kids and Bryan helped me finish the other box.  We pulled the TV out into the living room and watched Harry Potter while Ethan peeled pears, Bryan cut them and Courtney put them in the Vitamin C water (so they wouldn't go brown).  I loaded them in the jars and put them in the water bath to process.  It was actually a lot of fun!

Fiesta Fun!

I spent all morning on Labor Day bottle pears with my parents (more on that to come) and the kitchen was a sticky mess.  We decided to take the kids for some fun before doing a work FHE and finishing up the pears.  We had free coupons for Fiesta Fun so we decided to go there and then out to an early dinner.

It was a hot day.  We started by going miniature golfing.  We all cheat because, with the exception of Bryan, we aren't any good at golfing.  Ethan tries but Courtney doesn't really get the "hold the club this way" thing and I just don't have the patience.  We did really well though...for the first 10 holes before the kids got grumpy and were really sweaty.  So we called it a game and walked to the last hole where we dropped our balls in.

Ethan after getting his ball from the hole:

Courtney putting:

Ethan taking a break in some shade:

Courtney fishing a ball out of the pond:

We had free tickets to the bumper boats so Courtney and Ethan took a swim.  Ethan had been on them before but Courtney hadn't ever been on the bumper boats and she was tall enough to go by herself!  They were drenched by the time they finished but that cooled them off.

Ethan had brought some of his money so he got tokens for the arcade.  Being a nice brother, he shared them with Courtney.  She likes the motorcycle games but she doesn't lean far enough from side to side to drive well.  Ethan thought he would help her so he stood behind her and pulled on the bike to help her out.  She obviously didn't know who was doing it because she kept yelling "Stop it Dad!!"  It was hilarious because it was Ethan the entire time.  But it shows who is usually the tease in the family.  She ended up in 4th place!

Book Report #1

We do not believe in bribbing our children with money....food, now that's a totally different story!  Ethan has to do 6 book reports during his 5th grade year.  He LOVES to read so reading the book isn't a problem.  The problem comes when he has to sit down and do a project to present to his class.  I think he has it easy because he doesn't have to write anything up, he just has to do a powerpoint presentation, a movie, a poster, a drawing or something else to present before the class.  His teacher said it should take no more than 60 minutes to do the project.

But yet, he doesn't like doing it.  He would rather just read the books.  So, being the anti-bribbing parents that we are...at least with money...we told Ethan that we would make his favorite dinner if he would do his book report and present it for the class.  It took him 30 minutes to make a powerpoint presentation which he presented the next day at school (and got maximum points).  I ran to the store and bought steak and shrimp and we ate like kings! 

He was pretty happy with how that turned out and had a great time with his presentation.  He was nervous that everyone would think it was dumb, but they loved it and he said he was "really cool."  I hope the rest go a bit easier, but they probably won't.  He said that he wants a seafood sensation foot long from Subway for his next reward.  Oh no!

Raingutter Regata

The August pack meeting was the Raingutter Regata.  Ethan had been working hard, with the help of his Webelos leaders, and he finished up a few more badgets and earned his Webelos Badge.  He was excited because he has a goal of getting his Arrow of Light soon.  His best friend got his this month and it was really cool to watch so now Ethan really wants his.  He has enough badges done he just has to wait for the 6 months that are required to be "active" in his den.

I got to paint his face with a blue "W" to symbolize the Webelos badge.

After the badges and awards were given out, the Raingutter Regata began.  Bryan was in charge of the bracket so he got to tell each scout when it was his turn to race.  Ethan had to race his best friend and his boat was a little hammered when all the racing was over, but he got 4th!!  His tissue paper sail didn't hold up to all the water but it looked cool in the end.

 The "Ghost Ship":

 Then everyone hopped in the pool and had a great time swimming.  It's nice that we have so many pools in the neighborhood because you can use one of them for the regata and just have fun without going very far or paying money.  The kids had a lot of fun!

Ethan and his friends:

 Courtney going down the slide and landing in a packed pool!!