What's Keepin' Us Busy Now -

Oh man, what is NOT keeping us busy these days. Kevin and Matt and RJ and I have visited Angels Stadium for a few games with Esther and Cliff this season, and have taken some souvenir shots with the old camera phone. Kevin and I are wearing Snuggies, and helped set a world record for most worn at the same time. Or something stupid like that.

Matt had never been to a professional baseball game before, so he was having a ball at this one. It was a school night, and he got to eat hamburgers, fries, soda, popcorn, cotton candy - the works. He even got to watch a 9th inning homerun from behind the Angels dugout... high-fiving the total strangers all around him, too. I told him he had to not complain how tired he was the next morning, and he was a trooper.

April saw the return of Camporee, and for the first time for us, Webelosree. The theme was Scouting 100 yrs into the future, so we decked out our campsites and t-shirts with a futuristic space-theme. Kevin's troop decided to try to all cram into this one large tent - less setup and teardown, you see. That didn't fly the whole time- the larger boys were too crammed, and setup their own tents the second night.

Meanwhile, the Pack boys had a grand time, and they won just TONS of awards in multiple events. We ended up getting 2nd place Overall Spirit, and 2nd place Overall Pack, and winning a special Director's award for outstanding teamwork. They had a great time, and the adults took a much needed nap on Sunday afternoon.

On Memorial Day we joined Stephanie and her kids for an excursion up to Forest Falls for the day. There was just the perfect amount of water in the river for them to climb around and hike in , without it being too dangerous. I remember doing this as a kid in Azusa Canyon and having a blast; our kids felt the same way. We took a sack lunch, and stopped at the A&W in Mentone for root beer floats on the way back home- just like we did on the way home from Camp Cherith.

The kids got a great lesson in navigation as we went from one side of the LA map to the other, I showed them that this is where the Santa Ana river starts - the one that goes right through the middle of Anaheim.

This was only the small lower portion of the falls, that is probably an 8ft drop behind us. Next time we'll climb up higher.

We ended up this past weekend with the Pack graduation. Matt earned his Webelos badge, and his Compass for extra activities (just a little shy of a compass point!), and a bunch of belt loops. He is ready to take on Arrow of Light in the fall.

Kevin is cranking through his rank advancement, he just had his board of review for Star on Monday. He will go to BSA summer camp at the end of the month.. after we get through the end of the school year next week! We've also had Scout-o-Rama, merit badge days, awards banquets, tutoring sessions, and a birthday movie outing for Sam's 19th.

Another crazy weekend

Ronnie, Brenda, and the kids came out for another weekend visit - two in the past four weeks. This time we skipped the crowds at DL, and headed to the faraway locale of Buena Park.

We started out the day checking out Camp Snoopy - bus rides, truck driving, and bounce houses.

The rest of the day we checked out a bunch of roller coasters (Brenda and I were the only ones BRAVE ENOUGH for Montezuma's Revenge), rode water rides, had slurpees, ate BBQ, talked to the guy in the jail, and watched a quick concert in the square.

Since eight hours+ of walking wasn't enough yesterday, today we went on a hike with the Cub Scouts at Oak Canyon. We walked up and down trails, scooted past poison oak, and maneuvered under a tree that had fallen over one spot on the trail. Lots of lizards out sunning themselves, with no snakes or mountain lions in sight. Since I interrupted them with two days of being outdoors in fresh air, I made sure to be home in plenty of time for the boys to play video games before dark.

Bloomin' Flowers

Feb and March Happenings

Well you know us - busy busy busy. In February, we had our Cub Scout Pack Blue & Gold at the bowling alley. We reviewed the rules with everyone, bought lots of pizza and drinks, and turned loose on six lanes for two hours. A blast was had by all.

The Troop and siblings were invited as well.

Camporee for the Scouts is in April, so we have had a couple campouts and meetings practicing skills like knots, lashings, compass orienteering, campsite setup, and cooking. The food has been pretty good, and we are still alive, so that's a good thing.

Last weekend Ronnie and Brenda and gang came out for a visit for the weekend. They took in the sights of Disneyland and Huntington Beach, and we spent an evening playing a round of miniature golf with the kids. It has been too long since we all got to just hang out, visit, and enjoy each other.

Kevin and Austin lost their golf balls on the fourth hole, but they had a good time anyways just rolling around on the course.

Andre is getting so big - here we are hanging out with the Playstation.

The big discussion on the last night of dinner was writing on someone's face when they are dog-tired and don't even know it. Guess what happened at six am before they drove back home to AZ?

It Never Rains in Sunny Southern California..

...but when it rains, man it pours.

We have had some wild, rainy weather this winter. Noooo, it's not an El Nino, they say, but who are they kidding? Lots of weeks with 1-2 storms a week, and several rained out weekends.

Makes for some great weather pictures, and the flowers sure love the rain too.

Some other things that have happened the last few months include a Pinewood Derby, a day hike while on the lookout for cougars, a day brushing up on Camporee skills, cleaning up a park, strep throat, cooking practice, algebra tutoring sessions, a bowling outing and a Vegas outing.

Kevin, Matthew, and I have campouts scheduled this month and next month, some concerts to attend, and family get togethers planned, so stay tuned for more pictures.