My Daughter's Report Card

My daughter's report card! I am so proud of her. Next year she is planning a bunch of AP classes.

Lizard

I was doing some yard word yesterday and managed to corner a big fat lizard. He must have been eating lots of fat juicy bugs.

I have just been talking to my son about local wild life in the neighborhood as part of his Boy Scout requirements.

Since I had pulled up all of his cover and the source of all his good food, I relocated him to a hedge in the backyard. Hopefully nothing will find and eat him.

Temporary Troop Location

Last year our Boy Scout Troop was informed that they would need to relocate while the First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton did some major construction work on their building. The date for the start of construction hadn't really been set, but was expected to be soon. The troop decided they should relocate before the end of summer. So in August 2008, the troop began meeting at the Sunny Hills Church of Christ, which is on the same street, just a few blocks down.

The new location offered several nice features including more parking, a nice outdoor area and plenty of places for meeting and activities. Part of Coyote Hills is right behind the building with access from the street just a short walk away. Court of Honor was held in the auditorium with plenty of seating and a projection screen available. Parent Meetings were also held in the auditorium away from the kids. Patrol Leader Conference meetings for planning troop activities were also scheduled monthly outside of troop meetings.

This last Monday was the last time the troop met at our temporary location. Construction at First Presbyterian is nearly complete and they are ready for the troop to return. I'll admit this was a little bitter sweet to me. I have been opening and closing the building weekly almost every Monday this last 11 months, ensuring everything was as it should be and locked up before I left. Arriving early and leaving late. It is nice being relieved of that duty. I am glad to have helped the troop find a temporary meeting location and particularly pleased that the Sunny Hills Church of Christ building would serve and facilitate the Boy Scout organization (not for the first time, either).

A special thanks goes out to Donna Delgado for being particularly kind and helpful in arranging access and providing resources when needed and to Ellen Murphy for coordinating the calendar and ensuring we had a place to meet on a regular basis.

Praise God with Mind and Body (PGMB)

All three of my children have gone through the PGMB program at my church. The program was designed and has been run by Steve and Terri Paden for as long as I can remember - at least 15 years and probably a lot longer. It involves memorization, competition and games between teams. The program is designed for 1st through 6th graders. Each year has a different book for a total of 6 books of material. A number of helpers assist in the program including Kathy McBride and Phyllis Goodwin. Some of the past participants have also served as helpers.

My two oldest kids completed the program with 6 straight years of Gold Medals meaning they had perfect scores in memorization. The program includes many other prizes and awards along the way as well.

My youngest son completed the program this year. He entered the program in kindergarten. He has been awarded the Gold Medal 7 years, which only a few other kids have done. Alec R. also completed 7 years of the program with Gold Medals. The picture above shows them being recognized for their accomplishment.

My son also got up and read his favorite memory verse to the church this year to honor his father, and I was presented with a book mark in commemoration of his achievements.

So this ends an era as my youngest moves out of elementary grades. I've been proud of all of their accomplishments.

Thank you to the PGMB team who worked with all of my kids through the years.

Father's Day

My family presented me with some wonderful gifts this morning. I received a card from each kid with appropriate and funny greetings in them. One of the cards talked about using duct tape to repair things. One of the gifts I received had make-shift wrapping on it. The stuff they bought didn't work out. The gift was wrapped in Ariel paper with something other than scotch tape. The card and gift went so well with each other, I got a great kick out of it.

I received two new pairs of shorts, and the Monte Python and the Holy Grail movie that I can watch with the kids. Great fun.

Finally, my dear daughter made me a batch of biscotti. To be honest, my wife makes her father a batch of biscotti, and I am slightly jealous that she doesn't give me any. So I see my wife is teaching the tradition to her daughter.

I am a very proud father and love my children.

Edit: More details.

My Favorite Blogs

I got this idea from one of the bloggers I follow. A review site for the blogs that I like and follow. I don't know how often I will add entries, but will try to add a new one now and then. Take a peek and let me know if you would like me to say something about your blog there.

Columbine Springs Backpack

My boys and I went backpacking with our Boy Scout Troop 1201 this weekend. We went to Columbine Springs camp. The trail head is in Angelus Oaks, just below Big Bear. We had a grueling ascent of about 2300 ft. On the way up we had an incredible view as we climbed about the clouds. The peaks across the valley showed like islands in the clouds. Very picturesque!

At the top of our climb we traversed a saddle between peaks. The relatively flat bridge was covered in manzanita. There was lots of other shrubbery, but the manzanita has smooth bright red bark, making it very unique. I understand that it is protected. The saddle looked like a meadow.

We then made a sharp descent of about 500 feet to our camp area. We had seen plenty of day hikers, but this trail was not used very often and we were completely isolated down in our camping area. Other than a few planes it was very quiet.

The temperature dropped to quickly and went down to 39 degrees over night. We all turned in early to get out of the cold. It is probably just as well, since the boys made up a game involving tying each other up, which the adults nixed in the end.

The next morning we ate breakfast, packed up and made our ascent up 500 feet back to the saddle. Thank goodness the rest was all down hill from there!


Every trip we hand out a camp gadget; something small but very useful on backpacks. This trip we handed out bandanna's with the US flag on them, in honor of Flag Day. Our Scout Master even brought a flag to post in camp - a first for me on a backpack trip!

I am sure I have left out many interesting details and I may come back and edit some in. More pictures are available at the Troop 1201's picasa web album

Thought for Today

Last Saturday I helped a prayer warrior move her daily inspirational thoughts out of e-mail and into a blog. Freda has been serving in her ministry since March 2000, and now she moves her Thought for Today into the blogosphere. Please visit her and say hello.

Birthday Girl

My daughter turned 16 on Wednesday - at 11:00 PM mind you, so our celebration was a tad bit premature. My wife always does such a great job of making people feel special, which she did for my daughter this year. We gave my daughter 16 presents and had her grandparents over for a small family celebration, including chocolate cake, ice cream, and sliced strawberries served with whipped cream.