Fort Wilderness

The primary reason we participate in Scouting would have to be the opportunity to go camping with friends. I'm sure that statement surprises some of you. You probably thought I would say something about the Pinewood Derby! As much as all the boys enjoy the Derby, camping is definitely the best part of being a Scout, and our Pack's Disney camping trip has to be the highlight of the year. Fort Wilderness is great, but honestly, Disney excels at just about everything they offer.

While most of our Pack was "roughing it" in tents on the manicured grounds of Fort Wilderness, we were spending our weekend in a cabin. Anh says I can't call it camping when we're staying in a cabin, but I beg to differ. Four adults and 3 children in a 1-bedroom cabin is far from luxury. It's as close to camping as I'm getting with a 1-year old in tow! Grandfather & Grandma joined us as well, and I know for a fact they much preferred the cabin to roughing it in tents as they had done a year before when they escorted the boys alone.

While there's only 1 bedroom, the cabin is set up to hold a large group. The bedroom has both a double bed and bunk beds, and the living room has a murphy bed that folds down from the wall. Throw in a portable crib and we were all quite comfy.

Forget the beds, it's the luxury of having a private bathroom that really makes the camping experience luxurious!

Grant's attempt to claim the murphy bed! Not happening, kid!

It wouldn't be Disney if there wasn't an awesome pool, and Fort Wilderness does not disappoint. There's an elaborate playground complete and a waterslide!

And, there's always Dad!

And campfires for roasting s'mores! S'mores!!!

I was a little worried about how Grant would handle the experience, but he really enjoyed himself immensely. Not only did he score new Chip & Dale Chipmunk babies...

He met the real deal!!! He liked them, but didn't want them to touch him.

Even without a visit to the parks, Disney magic was in full effect!

Super Jax Speed Demon

To say the boys are competitive would be a bit of an understatement. They are wildly competitive! I wish I could blame their father, but I fear it's a trait they were doomed to inherit. It definitely runs on both sides of the family. At least, I can say that they are rarely if ever poor sports. We've tried to teach them that you always give 110%, but it doesn't guarantee you'll come out on top. Yes, it's awesome to win, but it's being a gracious loser that really shows what you're made of.  Luckily, we don't have to show that side often! Ha! See...competitiveness is in our blood!

January seems to be a highly competitive month in our household. Why? That's when our Pack holds their annual Pinewood Derby. It's a chance for young and old testosterone-fueled boys to plan and plot while daydreaming of trophies and more importantly bragging rights! I can't say I completely understand the fascination, but the energy is contagious. I'm not necessarily saying that is a positive. I don't enjoy surrendering every inch of my kitchen table to the building of 4 cars every January. Yes, FOUR cars! Why four? Well, each of the boys builds a car for the race that must be surrendered at check-in. Then, they each build a "fun" car. You see, the fast cars aren't the most eye-catching. They typically are low profile wedges of wood that produce little drag. The "fun" cars allow the boys to show their personalities and add character.

Last year,  the boys were rookies at the event.  Baylor isn't eligible yet for the real competition since he's not old enough to officially join Scouts, but he is allowed to race in the sibling category.  In two years of competing, he has landed squarely in the middle of the heat. His cars serve as guinea pigs. The boys can see what works and what doesn't which allows them to form strategies for future derbies. In 2012, Jaxon's car performed well enough to take home the First Place trophy for the Tiger heat, but the older more experienced Scouts dominated in the Finals.

This year, the boys set out to improve on last year's performance. Ok, that's sort of a given, but I'm not going to lie. I was nervous! Anh spoke of nothing but total domination for weeks leading up to the race, and I was afraid the boys might be devastated if they walked away without a victory. Grandfather was the one who constructed the boys competition cars last year. Anh only helped with the "fun" cars. I wouldn't say is particularly handy with tools. So, I had serious concerns about how these new cars would perform. I felt it would be wise to prepare the boys for a possible loss, but Anh had a much different approach. Needless to say, I was a ball of stress at the Derby. How would the boys handle disappointment after such a grand prediction.

Well...I guess I'll discover the answer another year. In 2012, Jaxon won...He won BIG!

Jaxon's car won the Wolf heat by a wide margin. As we sat patiently through the remaining heats waiting to race in the Final, we saw that no car had matched the track record set by Jaxon's car. Barring a catastrophe like a wreck, we all knew Jaxon would take top prize, and that's exactly how it played out. Jaxon was the Superstar! He walked out of there with two trophies and bragging rights for the year.

Of course, Jaxon also strolled out of that cafeteria as everyone's target for next year. He's public enemy #1 in their eyes. At least, he's got some time to enjoy the victory before the pressure to defend the title sets in. Enjoy your time at the top, Son! You certainly earned it!

Blue & Gold

As a family, we're still enjoying the adventures associated with Scouting, but it's Jaxon who is climbing the ranks. On Saturday, Jax was awarded his Tiger badge at the annual Blue & Gold Banquet. Shhhh! Please don't tell Baylor! While both boys completed all of the requirements for the badge, only Jaxon is officially enrolled in Cub Scouts due to the age requirements. Baylor has no idea that he's only a tag-a-long little brother, and we prefer to keep it that way. The only resulting confusion is explaining to Baylor why he doesn't get every single badge, belt loop, or pin that Jaxon receives. Sometimes the Pack plays along and awards both boys with an honor, and Baylor ALWAYS goes up on stage with Jaxon to receive acknowledgement. However, for such an important award, we felt it was better to let Jaxon enjoy his moment in the spotlight alone. Thankfully, Grandfather had other plans for Baylor.The theme for this year's banquet was robots, and each Den was challenged to build a robot out of recycled materials. As a group, we would vote to select a winner at the banquet. Our Den robot was a Super Cub, our Pack's mascot. Even Grant embraced the theme by sporting his robot bib. He was a hit with the crowd as always.The Pack went all out for this special occasion. Volunteers created robot centerpieces to adorn the decorated tables and went above and beyond to create a festive mood in the banquet hall.We gathered to acknowledge all of the Scouts' efforts. Dinner and a wide array of desserts were served. Pictures were taken. Badges were awarded, and the Scouts were thrilled. Congratulations on the achievement, Jaxon! As Grandfather would say, "Tiger is the first step towards Eagle!"

Derby Day

If you've ever been around Jaxon for longer than 5 minutes, then you know the boy is obsessed with cars. He was born this way. I can remember Jaxon pointing out my car in a crowded parking lot at 12 months old, and by the time he was 18 months, Jaxon would point to various cars we would pass on the road and say, "There's Grandfather's car!" It might not have been Grandfather, but it was most certainly the exact same model of car or truck! By the time Jaxon was 2, he was pointing out the cars of people he might have only met once. I'd hear, "There's Ms. Stephanie's car!" shouted from the backseat while driving down the road, and I'd have to think, "Who's Ms. Stephanie?"

So when our Cub Scout Pack leaders distributed kits for the boys to build their own Pinewood Derby cars, I knew Jaxon was going to be THRILLED about the project. Little brother Baylor was equally excited! Originally, both boys were going to work on their cars when they visited Grandfather and Grandma for the December camping trip. However, there just wasn't enough time due to all the other activities. The revised plan was for Grandfather to help the boys construct their cars while he watched the boys during my hospital stay for Grant's delivery. Unfortunately, Grandfather came down with a chest cold and his visit consisted of 5-minute driveway pitstop. Yeah, to say the very least, that wasn't the way anyone wanted or expected the visit to go.

Grandfather ended up building and decorating the derby cars on his own which I knew would lead to disappointment on race day. Knowing that this project would be something that Jaxon and Baylor would truly enjoy, I went to the store and purchased 2 new car kits so the boys could design and construct "play" cars.

We would use Grandfather's cars in the actual race, but the boys could play with their cars. This worked out perfectly because Grandfather's cars had to be considered "off limits" so the time and effort he put into weighting the bodies and aligning the wheels wasn't ruined by little hands hurling them across the floor and into the wall. Plus, once weighed and officially entered into the derby, the cars truly were off limits. Again, the play cars proved to be quite handy and helped us avoid a 3-year old meltdown when his car was taken.

The boys took the task of creating their cars VERY seriously. Thankfully, the kits I bought came with precut bodies that just needed to be sanded. It didn't require anywhere near the amount of effort as Grandfather's kits which came with a block of wood that had to be transformed into a car. I'd say Grandfather's years of experience running his own Pack's Pinewood Derby proved to be quite the asset for Jaxon and Baylor. Over the years, Grandfather picked up a trick or two for increasing the car's speed on the track. Once our competition learned of Grandfather's background, they started to refer to him as "The Ringer."

Here's a look at our team of racers. Grandfather themed his cars after Anh's practice which I was less than thrilled about, but only because I worried the boys would be disappointed by the brown and tan car bodies. Classy choices for business cards...perhaps, but not exactly thrilling race car colors, in my opinion. As you can see, Jaxon and Baylor went with more vibrant color options for their cars. Like I said, it worked out perfectly that we built separate cars to play with on race day. The only thing that mattered for the official cars entered into the race was SPEED, and Grandfather came through brilliantly in that department...at least for Jaxon.
Jaxon easily took first place in the Tiger division and advanced to the finals. Baylor wasn't as fortunate, but we wisely fibbed and told him he won his heat. Sometimes a little white lie is in everyone's best interest. Baylor was blissfully unaware of his loss and was able to instead focus on and celebrate his brother's win.
Jaxon ended up placing 6th in the finals, but his First Place win in the Tiger division resulted in a TROPHY!!! That trophy is now a prized possession by both Jaxon AND Baylor who promptly announced, "We share!" as Jaxon was presented with his trophy during the awards ceremony.
Well, Baylor, that's true. So, Grandfather will likely want to enjoy his allotted time with the trophy because if anyone deserves the acknowledgment, it's most definitely him. Thanks for guaranteeing us the win, Grandfather. You proved brown and tan can be cool, and in the process set the bar pretty high for next year!

Ace of Cakes

Since Grant arrived earlier this month, we've been asked, "How do you all do it?" more than a few times regarding our activity-filled lives. Well, honestly, I'm not exactly sure. We just do. Somehow we find the time and energy because we're fortunate to have so many wonderful opportunities, and we don't want to miss out on the fun. Now, just because we embrace the chaos doesn't mean we always look forward to it.

I can't say I was thrilled to learn last December that January is the busiest month for our Pack. In fact, I'm pretty darn certain that my initial reaction was something like, "Oh sh*t!" and then I proceeded to have a type-A mental meltdown over how we could possibly do it all with a newborn in tow and me recovering from surgery. Then, the type-A answer occurred to me. We just would! One way or another, we would do it all. Of course, when the Pack leaders announced that the January camping trip was cancelled, I'll admit that I wasn't disappointed one bit. I think every parent probably did an inner "happy dance" while breaking the news to our little guys that we wouldn't be able to camp this month. Too bad. So sad. Thank God!

There was still plenty of "fun" on the calendar. Like for instance, destroying mom's kitchen...errr...I mean participating in our Pack's 3rd annual fundraising cake auction. How could we possibly pass up the chance for the boys to make a huge mess...I mean design and bake a cake all on their own that could then be auctioned off to the highest bidder? We couldn't!The only rule imposed on us was that the boys needed to do 85% of the work involved in baking and decorating the cake. The neat-freak side of me would just have to relax and accept that this was going to be "fun." Jaxon and Baylor decided on a theme, and I gathered the necessary supplies and formulated a design for the cake. The three of us wanted something grand that would attract bidders, but had to keep in mind that Jaxon and Baylor needed to actually complete this project almost completely on their own.
The baking of the cake was easily tackled. We used boxed cake mix to eliminate the need for exact ingredient measurements. Jaxon selected chocolate for the top and bottom layers of the cake and vanilla for the middle. The boys only needed my help with transferring the cake pans into and out of the hot oven. As we waited for the cakes to cool, Jax and Baylor dyed our white store-bought icing blue and cut out fondant stars that they would use to decorate. Truthfully, the only role I played in the decorating of the cake was smoothing out the pound of blue frosting that the boys slathered on. The rule was that the boys complete 85% of the work involved, but I'd say they easily provided 95% of the effort. With the cake completely constructed and iced, Jaxon and Baylor applied he fondant stars and topped their creation with a bobble head character. The end result...a fabulous Star Wars themed 3-tiered masterpiece!
The only negative to the entire experience wasn't actually the clean-up involved for mom, but rather Baylor's disappointment when we didn't leave the auction with our cake. He didn't agree with me on it being more fun to leave with someone else's beautiful creation. All Baylor wanted was to eat the cake that he helped bake. However, I was the one wielding the bidder's paddle and I felt our Star Wars cake deserved to go to the bidder willing to pay a whopping $70! Don't feel too bad for Baylor. We snatched up this race car themed cake for the bargain basement price of $17.50.
AND, we also took home the highly prized Phineas & Ferb cake with it's elaborate fondant characters. It was easily the most detailed and impressive cake donated for the auction, but I do question whether it met the 85% rule. Regardless, it was whimsical and attracted plenty of bids. Within seconds, bidding topped $100. Thankfully, an additional $30 sealed the deal. So, now do you understand why we had to surrender the Star Wars cake. We were already committed to almost $150 worth of cake. Plus, bidding on the Phineas & Ferb cake came down to us and the family that eventually ended up buying our cake. I couldn't be a jerk and outbid them twice!
Baylor pouted most of the way home, but then perked up as he bit the heads off our fondant characters. I also agreed that we would recreate our Star Wars masterpiece in the future, and that seemed to be what really made the difference. So while this may have been our first attempt at masterful cake baking, it certainly won't be our last.
Next time, I'll look forward to the task because while Jaxon and Baylor learned the steps involved in baking, I learned that we aren't making a cake. We're making a memory!