“I Will Do My Duty…To My Country”

Since Ryan is now in Boy Scouts, he has the responsibility of putting up the flags in our neighborhood on holidays. So on Memorial Day (what used to be a rare chance to sleep in), we got up at 6:15! The flags are literally 10 feet tall, 1 foot of which goes into a post in the ground. The flags are also pretty heavy. So I grabbed about 3 flags at a time to carry, while he ran to me, grabbed one, ran and posted it; ran to me, grabbed one, ran and posted it; etc. Since this was the first time we did it, we had a hard time finding some of the posts. Next time should be a breeze! And I’ll take pictures next time.

Court of Honor

Ryan is doing so well in scouting! On Wednesday, May 9, Ryan was awarded his First Class rank. He has a detailed plan of everything he will complete and when, in order to receive his Eagle when he is 13.

He also participated in the flag ceremony, carrying the American flag.

Alice & Claire were with us, as Marc & Frances prepared for their cruise.

I was wearing my ribbon with all of my “mother’s pins” from Ryan’s cub scout and scouting awards. Claire always loves my necklaces, so she was studying my ribbon and pins intently as she sat on my lap. After she had touched all of them sufficiently, she said, “Where can I get a necklace like this?”

I am so proud of Ryan! He loves the scouting program, and is so motivated to excel in scouting!

Ryan’s Last 11-year-old Scout Campout

Friday afternoon, April 27, I dropped Ryan off with all of his gear for his last campout as an 11-year-old scout. The guys went to Clover Springs, where they have gone before. Our ward and the ward next to us combine for scouts, so Ryan’s best friend in the neighborhood was also there, even though he is in the ward next to us.

They cooked hamburgers, hotdogs, and grilled vegetables for dinner (Ryan’s request). When they turned in for the night, all of the boys were together in one big tent. One boy, who was at camp for the first time, talked and talked. The other boys were a little bit frustrated at his exuberance and desire to stay awake all night. But then they all got up early and ate breakfast by the time the other kid finally rolled out of bed.

For breakfast Saturday morning, they had blueberry pancakes, hash browns, bacon, and orange juice (again, Ryan’s request). They enjoyed playing a bunch of games, and then broke camp and came home. They actually made it home about 2 hours before I thought they would. I was pulling out of the driveway when they pulled up. I hopped out of the car and helped them unload. I was ready to go to Deb’s baby shower, but after a hug from my returning scout, smelled like boy sweat and campfire smoke! Papa came over and hung out with Ryan and got the report of the trip while Rara & I went to Deb’s shower.

Scout Campout @ East Canyon

Ryan’s scout troop had a campout scheduled for the weekend of September 16-17. It was going to be Ryan’s first campout with his good friend, Zack, who came into the troop at the end of August. The Fall weather had been beautiful the first half of September, but it rained HARD the entire day of the 16th. Literally at the last minute, the leaders decided to cancel the trip. They knew the gear (and the boys) would be wet, it would be difficult to get a fire going, and they would all be miserable.

The campout was rescheduled for October 7-8. The weather had been perfect since September 14, so everyone thought we were in the clear. It ended up raining most of the weekend of the 7th and 8th. The leaders once again decided to cancel the trip.

During the next week, the temperatures dropped considerably, but the weather was dry. They were going to try to get a spot on Antelope Island, where it would be a bit warmer. Apparently a lot of other people had that idea. It was full. They ended up going to East Canyon, where they said it was pretty chilly. But it was dry, and they had a great time. They made foil dinners on Friday, and went on a couple of hikes (one was 5 miles). I’m grateful that Ryan has good leaders who make every effort to help the boys have a fun and worthwhile experience.

This was already Ryan’s third scout campout. I know they try to get in four a year. That helps the boys get the Camping merit badge more quickly, which is a required merit badge for the Eagle Scout award.

Ryan's First Court of Honor

On Wednesday, September 14, Ryan had his first official Court of Honor. We attended one in the Spring, right after Ryan had started in scouts.

Ryan has been working so hard the last few months to earn ranks and merit badges. At the Court of Honor, he was presented with his Tenderfoot rank.


He also earned the Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Family Life, and Swimming merit badges (all required!). His scoutmaster, Steve Cohen, complimented Ryan on his desire to start the merit badges early. Most scouts don’t start working on them until they turn 12.

Ryan is well on his way to being an Eagle Scout!

Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge Class ~ July 5-8; Tour of State Capitol Building

Now that Ryan is a boy scout, he can start working on merit badges. Our local church group holds the “Orchard University of Summer Fun” every year, offering many of the merit badges. Ryan took Citizenship in the Nation, appropriately the week of July 4. He was assigned to go on a field trip to the Utah State Capitol Building in order to complete the requirements. So on July 7, Ryan, Papa & I went for a tour at the Capitol. We have taken Ryan there twice before, but it has been a while. It was fun to go back!

Governor’s office…

Supreme Court…
Senate (I think) chamber…
Statue of Philo T. Farnsworth in the Capitol. This statue is also in the United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Our family knew Philo’s wife, Pem, for many years.

Peeking through at the retrofitting that was done a few years ago…

Ryan’s Second Scout Overnighter ~ June 23-25

As a cub scout, Ryan (and I) went to Camp Tracy for two consecutive days. We would go up early in the morning, and attend classes and hike until about 3:00, then come home. As a scout, Ryan went up Thursday morning for the day, came home Thursday evening, and then went back up Friday morning for a two-day overnighter. Ryan (and I) both did a lot better this time around. Since we hiked through the camp area of the older scouts last week, we knew exactly what to expect. It helped that this was our second time around with the overnighters, too.

Here are the boys meeting and packing the truck on Friday morning. I had Ryan’s permission to take pictures. :)





Ryan reported having a great time! While the cub scouts are able to shoot BB guns at Camp Tracy, the older scouts shoot .22s! Ryan even got one bulls-eye on his paper target, and proudly brought it home for display. It sounds like he loved everything about Camp Tracy again this year.

Ryan’s First Scout Overnighter ~ April 22-23, 2011

We rushed home from Frances’ graduation to get Ryan to his first overnighter as a scout. Yes, less than 24 hours after he was welcomed into scouting, he went on his first overnighter!

This was Ryan’s first night away from a family member. Even as I have traveled for work and school, he has always stayed with Rara and Papa. When we said good-bye, he teared up a little bit (if he’s reading this, I mean he was worried about if I would be ok while he was gone).

Ryan is the only 11-year-old boy in our ward, so we combine his scout group with the ward next to us. He knows a couple of the boys a little bit, but with him not going to the neighborhood school, he doesn’t know any of the boys well. I think that was part of the fear – that he was also going with people he didn’t know well. But they were cute to call for him to come over and join them.

I have to admit, I worried about him all evening, all night, and all day Saturday until he came home. I worried if he was warm enough (he wasn’t), and if he was eating enough (he was). He was the last scout to be dropped off by his leaders. They said he did pretty well, and was a pretty good little trooper. I’m proud of him for making the change from a little Cub Scout to an overnight-camping-scout in such a short time and such a brave manner!