Consummate Salesmen....

I was stuck with some really cute guys for a couple of hours today.....

They are really cute, but seriously, where do they get that energy? I was exhausted just watching....and taking pictures of course, because I always have energy for pictures! So all in all a super fantastic, get to repeat this process on Friday, day!

Be Prepared.....

When we went up to Waimea for the Makahiki on Saturday, we made sure to be prepared and take our rain gear since it rains EVERY SINGLE TIME we go there. I packed Buddy's rain jacket, but since he was participating in a scouting activity he felt he needed to use the "Emergency Weather Poncho" so he would feel prepared like a good scout! It didn't rain, but that didn't deter him from wearing it in the hot sun and then making good use of it in the "rain"....what can I say, you gotta improvise sometimes!

So all in all a super fantastic, prepared, day!

Done....

 Today was our Makahiki. The boys ran a booth with Duck Tape crafts....

Then, because we're awesome and all we made everyone waddle like a duck down a maze path  whilst balancing duct tape on their heads....

It was pretty awesome....well, except for that part where I misplaced Buddy for 30 minutes and had a search party out for him. Other than that it was awesome! Of course he had no idea he was misplaced, me and the 5 other parents however, that's another story! In other news, I'm planning an Arrow of Light  ceremony for next Saturday...Then I'm planning a long winter's nap  afterwards (I'm pretty sure I'll need it by then)! So all in all a super fantastic, stick a fork in me, I'm done, day! 

Just Ducky....

This week is our Makahiki (Pinewood Derby) and I had a fantastic idea to combine 3 awesome things for our booth this year....boys, ducks and duct tape....

That's the poster we made tonight for it (of course when I say we, I mean me with a Buddy supervising over my shoulder). I have some "waddle boards" (basically one man see-saws) that I'm making the kids go through a course waddling....hopefully quacking on the way and then at the end I'm letting them make a duct tape craft. Strolling the internet I wanted something awesome, something cool, this is what I came up with...

Wallets! Pretty cool, but uses way too much duct tape when I'm expecting 200 kids.....so I thought who doesn't like a good bow...

I actually have barretts for the little girls that come to our booth to make hairbows, but I'm still not sold that bowties are the answer, so I experimented a little bit more....

Perfect!

Just kidding! I did find some cute bookmarks, so I think I'll let the kids pick between bowties and bookmarks. Now if I could only find my pack flag we'd be set....seriously, sometimes I think dementia is already setting in. Not sure how I could misplace a gigantic flag, of course several months ago Shane bought a bunch of LED lights and I put them away....then I couldn't find them when he asked for them. He found them today in the linen closet hidden behind the toilet paper. I'd like to pretend that I was really just trying to make his life more difficult, but I think I'm just getting one more step closer to being blissfully confused! So all in all a super fantastic, I think I definitely need more sleep, day!

Buried Alive....

Buddy has become obsessed with digging in the sand lately, thankfully, I know a few locations that happen to have a few grains of sand to oblige us....

Who knew that living in Hawaii would give you an unlimited access to a larger than life sandbox? Hmmm, it's probably good we're suffering through living here, if it's only for the sake of Buddy's creativity needs being met! So all in all, anything for my boy, day!

Easter Roundup....

Today is Easter and, like most holiday's, it makes me miss my family, so to make myself feel better Buddy and I decided to have biscuits and gravy for dinner. Now I'm still missing my parents AND I feel 10 pounds fatter! Hmmm, that's the last time I'll take Buddy's advice! Of course, I should have learned not to listen to him after he talked me into a little "family fun activity" before  church....

In other news, in prepping for today, Buddy recruited a few helpers to do this over the extended weekend....

In other other news, what is good for the goose is not always necessarily good for the gander....

Also, in other news, Buddy woke up this morning wondering what kind of mischief the Easter Bunny got into over night! Ummm, a mischievous Bunny is suppose to come visit and play pranks on unsuspecting little kids? Where does Buddy think he lives? The nut farm?

Exactly! So all in all a super fantastic,http://easter.mormon.org/, day!

Levels....

Shane took us out for dinner tonight....he just forgot to mention the fact that we would be dining in a "fancy" (and I am totally using this word loosely) restaurant with a bunch of other grown ups and not another child in site. Thank goodness for our addiction to video games, because this lame little water path quickly became a leaf maze with varying levels of difficulty....

A little boredom never hurt anybody, that's for sure! But next time we may want to pre-screen all dinner companions to check for age compatibility. So all in all a super fantastic, leveling up, day!

Leaders leading?

Today the cubs went on their VERY FIRST HIKE as a pack (these are just some of the Bears and Wolves, the Webelos had to hike 3 miles so we decided they could have that kind of fun without us).....

They hiked to a petroglyph field, so they could pose as petroglyphs....

Thankfully, they all left their pants on for the picture. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the petroglyphs!!!!! Also, in awesome me news, the boys were leading the pack and found their way safely back to the car......unfortunately, I can't say the same for the leaders. If I confess here that I was leading, do I have to turn in my Cub Master badge???? Errr, at least we weren't the only ones, the boys said they had to help a Chinese couple that had gotten lost on the trail too...so really, I was just giving them an opportunity to be Good Samaritans! I'm good that way! I'm sure they'll want to thank me later. The boys had a great time, which we measured in grains of dirt....

and grumpy faces! So basically we hit a 10 on the Richter Scale! Yay us! In other news, I'm currently shopping for a compass and possibly a personal map reader! So all in all a super fantastic, following the leader, day!   

Ah-ha......

Is it slightly disturbing to anyone else that Buddy entered into the bathroom that I was using armed with binoculars and a monocular? I mean, me on the toilet is a sight to behold, but it's not that awesome of a sight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So in other news, Buddy completed a full day of school, followed by a hike in the woods (technically it was dried shrubbery, but the woods makes it sound a lot cooler), then a 4D movie, some ice cream and then we hung out at Shane's work until he flew in. Thankfully, Shane's work is a lot cooler to hang out at than a regular old office filled with cubicles, and paper and computers......BORING!!!!! Buddy, the child that I'm pretending to be raising, is currently reading over my shoulder instead of sleeping like I told him to be, insists that he would LOVE a cubicle to visit. Pretty sure he has no idea what a cubicle is and he is instead imagining someone working inside of a Rubic's Cube....which I have to agree, that does sound pretty cool. Now I have go sit on my child who is giving me a dissertation on how he could create a desk out of Rubic's Cubes!!!! Sheesh.....this creativity crap is really disturbing my sleep cycle! So all in all a super fantastic, go to bed Buddy, day!

Awkward.....

We have implemented Monday's as our family fun night. Unfortunately we are either not very creative, or Buddy is having too good of a time drenching me with cold water and hearing me scream like a little girl (I will go with the latter)....

We didn't invite any families to join us this time, we thought things might get a little awkward when we showcased our new family team uniforms....

It is a little awkward, I admit it, but look at Buddy's team pride radiating through! Go Beeders.....and if I were you, I'd think twice before accepting an invitation for a family water fight at our house (that is, unless you like wearing diapers, in that case, that's strange and I'll think twice before inviting you!) So all in all a super fantastic, not at all awkward, day! 

Tween.....

Buddy has been extra emotional lately. Then, today when we went on a hike and he posed like this....

It was official....he is turning into a tween. If there is anyway to enlarge that picture,  do it, that face is a classic " embarrassed by my mother" face! There is plenty more where that came from. So all in all a super fantastic, putting our best face forward, face!

Planning....

Today was Cub Scouts....

The lesson was really short and I didn't have much of a plan, so I let the kids come up with some games.....

This was a game called "tackle"....it's pretty self explanatory. The kids played for a good 30 minutes and then when I had to end the meeting (if that's what we want to call it), they begged for me to plan an entire Pack Night around the game! Silly boys! In other news, while we were outside cleaning our trash that was strewn across our entire backyard (compliments of the neighbor's dog), we found this....

We put it in the abandoned turtle tank for a while, then Buddy felt bad about keeping it in captivity, so he released it back into the wild....that is after he built a cardboard house for it to live in! So all in all a super fantastic, planned out, day!

Literally

The other day I took the boys out for a day of hard work testing the buoyancy of the family floats....

Turns out, the floats float. Hmmmm, who knew? Then I took Buddy out today to see some rock shelters....

Turns out there is a lot of rock in those shelters! So all in all a super fantastic, literal meaning, day!

Lonely?

Yesterday we had a family water fight on the lanai. Turns out, we don't have a huge family so Buddy asked if we could invite some families over to completely appreciate a HUGE water fight. Thankfully, we know a few  families to remedy that! Tonight we had our first annual  Family vs Family, fight to the drenched, water fight on our lanai...

We were all completely soaked and the kids asked if they could come back next week! Pretty certain that means it was a success! So all in all a super fantastic, good to have a little help from your friends, day!

Tech Savy?

You know your kid has way too much technical savvy when, at a young age, you send them into their room to clean it and you find them doing this....

That would be Buddy watching TV from the comforts of his room while using Facetime connecting the family phones! This kid is too smart and, do I dare say, too lazy for his own good. I would like to say that his room is now clean, but that would be a bold faced lie....and this kid has more excuses that I have the imagination for....but we're working on it! So all in all a super fantastic, seriously clean your room already Buddy, day!

Ham?

I believe this kid has it made! So all in all a super fantastic, living the good life, day!

Searching....

It's amazing what you find when you start searching for things. Today Buddy found an awkward view of some tourists in a condo....

He found a bow tie under a seat in the car (if you can't tell from that smile, he's pretty darn stoked about the find!)....

Lastly, he found a great excuse (in his own mind) to get out of cleaning his room....

I think I may get into cardboard box construction to see if I can get out of cleaning....pretty sure the entire household will be on board with my plan (actually, I'm pretty certain Buddy would back me up on that one)! So all in all a super fantastic, searching for some more excuses, day!

Bonding....

Today for Faith in God, the boys competed in a Father/Son Fishing tournament....

I do believe the Faith in God leader is a genius! The boys had a fantastic time, and now it's got me thinking I need to up my awesome game! Also, Buddy was sick this morning....the good parent that I am, I let him skip school, but go fishing!!!!! If it makes you feel any better about my lacking skills as a parent, Buddy's teacher dropped by after school to HAND DELIVER his homework! Yep, doesn't make me feel better...but it makes me think his teacher really is the most awesome teacher EVER!!!!! So all in all a super fantastic, fishing with dads, day!