Matt's Trip to AZ

At the ripe old age of 11, Matt was deemed old enough to travel by himself to spend a couple of weeks in Arizona with family.  He got to fly on an airplane all by himself with both departing and receiving parties at the airport much earlier than needed.  As I did not get to experience this adventure first hand, we will have to turn to Matt's narrative of events.

The first full day that I was there they put me right to work organizing the  food storage room.  We measured for the refrigerator and freezer to be moved from the garage.  (Of course nicking the wall and base board a little bit)  I also got to organize the cans by type and size.  Here I am looking cool in front of all our hard work.

I got to spend a lot of time with my cousin, Vash.  The first night I was at Nana and Papa's, Vash played with his rings.  Vash doesn't so much play as organize his toys.  His favorite game is to hand toys to you, only to take them back and put them away.  He's a cute boy.  I really like the way he runs, head first.  Although Vash talks a lot you can't understand a word he says, but don't tell him that.  He talks like you understand everything he is saying.

 

I got to spend time with Papa at work.  I got my teeth cleaned and x-rays taken.  Papa is a real busy guy.  I spent most of the time reading as Papa saw patients.  But he took time to do his dentist pose for me when I took his picture.

Cool Aunt Jen took me boxing.  I jumped rope, did push-ups, and curl-ups.  Once the trainer thought that I was strong enough, he started to teach me the correct stance, how to hold my hands, and punch.  I got to shadow box, punch a bag, and do foot work.  I really had fun but tiring time.

My mom wonders who she has given her child to

 

Another thing I got to do was make a pen with Papa.  Even though it was hot outside, Papa set up a fan and mister system and we stayed pretty cool.  I got to pick out the wood and brass for the pen.  Papa showed me how to use the different tools to shape and make a pen.

Although I didn't take pictures, I also got to eat dinner with Nana at work, go swimming with Aunt Jen, attend a slip and slide family home evening, go see the movie "Despicable Me", and visit with my Holmes' family.  I painted trees, went out to dinner with Grampy, Aunt Jymie took me to IHOP, watched lots of movies and played lots of Wii.  I wished I could have stayed longer even though I missed everyone in Texas.

Cub Scout Day Camp

This year Danny, Nate, and Doug were able to attend day camp at the Alamo Council and what a fun time they had.  To forewarn you I'm adding my advertisement for the Air Force now.  Doug was able to attend all four days of camp while still being paid thanks to the support the Air Force shows to the Boy Scout of America. 

There were so many fun activities to participate in during camp.  Since it was so hot there were lots of water activities.  The boys got to go swimming each day.  We have really been working with Danny on his swimming this year so he was excited to show off his stuff.  Doug said he did really well until he saw that he was almost to the edge, that is when the child decided to drown.

Danny says this is when he is drowning and the life guard had to pull him out.  Nice to know his dad is looking out for him and not taking pictures or anything.

The boys also got a visit from the wildlife people at Sea World.  They brought a python that Dan got to touch.  (Our boys are the ones in the green hats)

Of course, the BB guns and archery were a big hit

I was able to attend closing ceremonies and was so impressed with the boys.  They were loud and crazy one moment but as soon as attention was called for the lowering of the flag you could have heard a pin drop.  What a wonderful program we have in scouting.

Nate's Glasses

At Nate's last yearly doctor appointment it was suggested that he visit the ophthalmologist.  So off we go to see the eye doctor (Dr. C. Moore or Dr. Peeps was not a possibility).  At the appointment we find out that Nate is near-sighted and has no sense of clarity.  When Nate sat for the "is number 1 or 2 clearer" test he stated that everything was the same.  Finally the doctor had to show him an octagon on a screen and tell her when it was a circle and when he could see clear sides.  That finally seemed to work and we got a prescription. 

The next big step was actually picking out the frames for his glasses.  At first he thought all glasses had to look like Harry Potters.  He was very happy to find out that he could pick out a different style.  This process took days as we stopped at every place that we could think of that had frames.  He finally picked out a pair that he and his brothers deemed to look cool. 

He was so excited to wear them and surprised when he could read signs that were in the distance.  We had to pick out a "safe place" in the house for the glasses to live so they won't get lost, broken, or forgotten.

Dan's Reader Theatre

Through the moth of June, Dan (as he likes to be called now since he is so big) attended summer school.  When summer school was first mentioned Dan was pretty upset but once he found out that he would be able to have a cafeteria lunch each day he was sold.  He worked really hard on his reading and was rewarded when he did an excellent job in his Reader Theatre.  He was the meat eating dinosaur that was trying to convince the plant eating dinosaur that his way of life was better.  They both did a great job, but of course I think Dan did the best.