. . . . A day in the life

Shhh!!!! It's a secret!

2009-12-08T08:25:00.000-08:00

I'm dying to share these cute little guys... but they are for a secret santa gift exchange, so if you know any of my kids cousins MUM'S THE WORD.

In my searches for fun, creative, handmade but not "HAND" made (as in yuck) gifts, I found *this link* to make rice pillows... I thought they were a good idea, but I was looking for gifts for the under 8 years old crowd, so I almost dismissed them. Then I had an epiphany. :) If they were cute and cuddly, maybe they could be exciting and functional. So, I began scrounging through my fabric scraps to see what I could come up with. For this project, Sweetie was my right hand girl... she "designed" a perfect little monster warm hugger.

Sweetie was ready to carry it around as her own little baby so I thought that was a good indicator that it might be cute enough. Now for the functional test. I put our little hugger into the microwave for a minute and pulled her out. The reactions were priceless. :) Sweetie didn't want to stop hugging it, and when I suggested that it could keep feet warm in a cold bed, she thought that would be awesome. :) That was good enough for me, so I started on the next one...

I let Goose and Twister check this guy out. After it was warmed up, I let Goose check it out first... he immediately asked if he could have one too! He said he needed one for after he comes in from playing in the snow. Good idea buddy!! Need to add that to my instructions card. :) Twister gave it a big hug and walked off with it, so I think he liked it too. I just hope the actual recipients are as excited about them as my kids are. I'm hoping that since my kids have helped design and have tested them out, that they will share their excitement with the cousins they are giving to... :) Now I have to see if I have enough rice to make 4 more for my kids too!! LOL!

Santa

2009-12-07T06:09:00.000-08:00

Twister didn't even cry at Santa this year! Progress, right?

We had a good time at our ward's Christmas breakfast this year. Good food, good company and good times.

So far, I've got about 4 1/2 gifts ready. Still more to go. I'm really hoping what my kids remember is the time, thought and effort we've put into gift giving this year. And obviously that time and effort is not at the stores. I've been trying to spend time *with* the kids making the gifts for others so that they are involved and creating memories. In this commercial world, that is a challenge, but I know it will be worth it.

Crafty websites

2009-11-28T13:08:00.000-08:00

So, I'm doing my own Christmas presents this year. Making them that is. I've been scouring the web for ideas and came across some awesome blogs/websites that have totally inspired me. I thought I would share some of these websites (and record them all in one place for myself).

#1 Opps, I craft my pants

#2 Someday Crafts

#3 Blog party link for christmas craft ideas

#4 Somewhat Simple

#5 Not so idle hands

I'd share what I'm making, but some of you awesome people may be recipients of my stolen creativity, so you'll just have to wait. :) In the mean time, here are a few crafts I've done recently to decorate my house with...

This next one is an advent calendar. I made 25 different magnets for each day. They store on the back of the cookie sheet.

By Christmas our calendar should look like this!

And a few close ups of the magnets just for fun.

Lots more crafting to go, and less than a month to get it all done!!

Our littlest princess

2009-11-18T15:08:00.001-08:00

Ultrasound results

2009-11-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

You'll have to forgive me for being a day late. Goose has been sick with an ear infection and I was absolutely exhausted last night. So much so that I fell asleep at 8pm! Then this morning I went to get the pictures to scan them and Benson had taken them to work with him. So... no pics for now. They were really fuzzy anyway, but its always fun to try to make things out.

Anyway, the ultrasound went well. I felt like the tech was going really fast, but I suppose he does these a lot. He kept saying the baby was really active and moving a lot, but staying face down which made getting a view for gender difficult. There was actually one point where we could see the baby opening and closing the mouth, then moving the hand up by the face. The baby actually even had enough room in there to stretch its legs out straight! I guess that's the advantage of being the fifth... the womb has been well stretched out by now. Anyway, the tech of course can't tell us much of anything, but he said he didn't see anything that he thought was concerning. The peanut is right on target for size... the heart was beating away like crazy, and as I mentioned, there was good movement. The doctor should call early next week with official results.

I wasn't sure the peanut was going to let the tech get any view at all to tell us the gender, but in the end, the tech won the battle.

Its a girl!!!

A glimpse at the crazy lady

2009-11-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

So, I finally went and got a haircut. The last time I had a haircut was in January. Since then, I've just trimmed it myself, and I was beyond hating it by now. I'm loving the new cut, but wondering if I should've gone a little shorter... especially with my tendency to wait too long between cuts. What do you think?

Next up... the big ultrasound is coming up. I'm 19 weeks today, and my ultrasound is next Friday. I'm sort of hoping for a particular gender, but more out of rational convenience than really wishing for one or the other. :) I'll let you know.

Last up, just a fun photo I created in photoshop today. The very front picture was me at 8 weeks. I felt like I was showing at that point (well bloating, but still, I was beginning to LOOK different). The final bit of belly you see is my belly today. Baby seems to be getting big, and I'm finally beginning to feel little kicks.

I'm trying to enjoy the flutters and the relative easiness of the second trimester... especially since I intend for this to be our last pregnancy. LOL. Its nice to have a bit of energy back, but I wish there was a break from the insane pregnancy hormones too! I still feel like I'm struggling a bit much with those. For example, my birthday was about a week ago. We had family in town and they surprised me with a new closet shelving system for my workspace. Benson spent most of the day installing it, then we all went out to dinner at a restaurant. Overall, it was really a good day. I had even gone on a date with Benson earlier in the month to a "They Might Be Giants" concert. So, I really had no reason to complain. However, ON my birthday, there was no birthday cake, and no singing. I thought I was totally fine with it... until 2 days later. I totally bawled like a baby to my husband about poor me and my lack of cake. My good husband caught my ridiculous pregnant "hint" and bought a cake and sang to me with the kids the next night. What a good man. :) I instantly felt a hundred times better. If it isn't obvious, I tend to just blow everything out of proportion lately. A birthday cake was an easy fix, but worrying about the future is a whole different ball game. I won't go there today... then you'd see what a real nutcase of a pregnant lady I can be! Just enjoy your little laugh at my expense, and I'll hopefully be back on Friday with some news! (Pray for uncrossed legs! LOL!)

For a little giggle...

2009-11-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

So... last night my mom invited me and the kids over for dinner. She made sour cream enchiladas (YUMMM!!!!). With the leftover tortillas she decided to put some cheese on them and melt them and let the kids have those too. Well, the tortillas my mom bought were fat free, omega 3 enriched tortillas. Great in theory, however, when those quesidillas came out of the microwave, all my kids were asking "WHAT is that SMELL!!??" After sniffing around and trying to figure it out, our best guess was that the omega 3 in the tortillas didn't agree with the microwave. Anyway, they tasted just fine if you plugged your nose. LOL! The enchiladas came out of the oven and tasted amazing (as always). As dinner was wrapping up, I think it was Tank who asked "Where did that awful smell go?"

Sweetie answered: "We ate it."

Oh the simple wisdom of children. I haven't laughed that hard in weeks.

Trunk or Treat 2009

2009-11-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

We had a COLD but fun Halloween around here. We did a trunk or treat with the members of our ward at church. The kids had a great time and were loaded up with TONS of candy as usual. I let them pick out 20 pieces to eat whenever they felt the need and the rest were put into a community pot. :) They will be our dessert for lunches etc for a good long time. The kids were disappointed that we didn't take them around the neighborhood this year. I guess I don't blame them, but we were freezing!! They tried to be happy with handing out candy to the handful of people who came to our house and eating some of the candy they got.

A few more pictures

2009-10-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

I decided to skip school pictures. Of course I sent them to school on picture day dressed nicely so that the class photos will hopefully have a good remembrance of my kids. However, as far as buying them ourselves, the cost just seemed too outrageous for this year. SO! Today I took their annual fall photos. I don't have the traditional blue watery looking background, but I kind of like how the black turned out.

Why I'm wiped out today.

2009-10-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

I hope that means the kids are wiped out too and they will sleep soundly tonight. :)

Update

2009-10-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

So.... we are well into the swing of fall here. School is in full routine, homework is a daily (might I add awful) battle and the days are getting crisp and beautiful.

Goose is doing great in school. My only complaint is the aforementioned homework battle. He often forgets to bring things home that are required for his homework. He has 3 different teachers through the day because of his gifted classes and I am beginning to feel like they don't coordinate homework very well. There are nights when he has social studies, spelling, reading and math. Those nights he can easily spend from the time he gets home until 7pm (with a break for dinner) doing only homework. Then he need to usually read for 20 minutes as well, which he does at bedtime. After spending ALL day doing school work, it seems like it shouldn't take sooo long for homework. Part of his problem is that he doesn't focus and just get it done, but still!!!

Ok, that rant is over. didn't mean for it to come out like that, but tonight was another battle, and hes' still not done at 6:30pm. I guess I should be grateful that I haven't had any calls from his teachers. I can only assume he is working acceptably in class...

Sweetie is also succeeding in second grade. Homework is much more manageable. Usually just one worksheet and reading for 20 minutes. She is very neat and exact about getting her homework done. Her latest accomplishment is keeping her room clean for the past 2 weeks! I've been very proud of her diligence in keeping it up. The special treats from Nana haven't hurt her willingness either. :)

Tank... in preschool and ready for high school. She loves the attention she gets in class and craves it that much more from me the moment she gets home. She's made some beautiful projects already and we are excited to see what new creativity she brings home next.

Twister is gaining more personality every day. He makes me laugh ALL the time. Its not usually what he's doing that is funny, so much as its the way he looks at me as he's doing it. For example, today he was eating his lunch and climbed down off his chair. I was watching him do this, so he continued walking all the way around the table, without taking his eyes off me. It was like he was just waiting for me to pounce on him and put him back in his chair. It was all I could do to laugh at him. He's such a character, I love this age for that. I don't so much love the enormous messes he is capable of making, but that is a post for another day. :)

The Peanut is growing well I'm told. I'm nearly 15 weeks now and had my doctor's appointment today. The doctor actually really scared me by not finding the heartbeat for several minutes, however once the little peanut stopped moving around, the heartbeat was strong at 150 beats per minute. I feel like I may have FINALLY *really* gotten out of the first trimester yuckies. I hope. Last time I posted that I was feeling better and taking control of the house... then my headaches came back to haunt me full force. NO FUN. They were not typical migraines for me, but they were very persisitant and still painful. Anyway, I've had 2 days headache free, so I'm really hoping I'm on to better days. In general, I do have more energy. My only bad times seem to be around 5pm when I'm trying to juggle making dinner, really needing to eat, and kids that haven't finished their homework yet. ugh!

Benson and I are going on a REAL date this weekend. I can hardly wait! Its been a long time. Between his horrible schedule and not having extra moola for going out, its been months at least since we've been out on a date. We're going to a "They Might Be Giants" Flood Concert. Its somewhat sentimental for us because we went to one of their concerts when we were first dating. :) It will be fun.

So... that's our life in a nutshell. :)

The difference between the first and the fifth pregnancy.

2009-09-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

Right around 3 months with Goose and the peanut. You'll never guess which is which. LOL!

More of the same

2009-09-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

BORING! Ever feel that way? I just don't feel like I have much to contribute to the lovely world of blogging lately. Life hasn't changed much except for the big things I showed you pictures of. I guess I *could* elaborate a little on those.

First up... our little peanut. A happy little surprise (or massively big shock, whatever wording works for you.) LOL. Despite the surprise, we are really excited. Sometimes the best things in life are not planned and I'm completely anticipating that to be the case for us. I'm about 3 months along. I calculated my due date to be at the end of March, but an early ultrasound put the peanut a week and a half behind where I thought I was. So, the due date is April 3rd. I really tried to convince the doctor to stick with my first due date so that it can "look" like I go further along, but he said no. :P (My longest pregnancy was 38 weeks in case you didn't remember, the shortest was 34.) We are praying that Benson is able to get back into a finance job before this little one arrives.

A few funny stories related to the pregnancy. During the week before I found out, I happened to be at the grocery store. As I walked down the aisle, I saw pickles. I like pickles, but I never buy them because Benson and the kids don't touch them. However, on this particular day, I decided I didn't care if they didn't eat them, I wanted them! They looked good! So, I put them in the cart. A few aisles down, ice cream called my name. I usually try to avoid buying sweets, so this was also unusal. Here I was pregnant, not knowing it, not even remotely suspecting it, and buying pickles and ice cream.

Another quick story, I was about 6-7 weeks along and really surprised at how bloated I was. My pants were already not fitting! Anyway, Sweetie came up to me and asked me if I had a baby in my tummy! I was not ready to tell the kids, so I simply asked her why she would ask me that. Her response was just that she really wanted another brother or sister. Although, she WAS looking at my stomach the whole time she said it. LOL. She asked me about 6 various times before I finally spilled the beans to her and the other kids. When she asked that final time, I responded the same way I had before, "Why are you asking that?" This time she said because it looks like I have a baby in there. Well, I couldn't tell her I was just getting fat could I? So I called in the other kids and told them all. Immediately I had "I want a boy" and "I want a girl" being blurted out. Love kids. So glad I don't have any control over that!

I think that's it on the prego front. I'm finally starting to get over the morning sickness. I've even started to get a handle on the inside of my house again. Its hard anyway when you have 4 kids and your husband is gone 60-65 hours every week. Add feeling completely exhausted and nauseous to the mix and its easy to let the house slide out of control. One room at a time, I'm taking back control!

The second topic of interest, the house project! It has been a LOOOONNNNG time coming as you know. The project is officially finished. The only thing left is for the contractor to pick up his tools and us to clean out the garage so that we can start parking in there again. Its only been 11 months since we've been able to do that!!! So glad to have that over with, but SO happy with the results. We've planted grass seed and are hoping for a beautiful green lawn in the spring.

School is going well for the kids. Tank started preschool on Wednesday, so I actually have a couple hours in the morning with just Twister and me. He doesn't let me get much done during that time, but we enjoy playing. Tank is usually better about letting me get a few things accomplished when Twister is taking his nap, so it all works out.

Well, I think that is it! Until next time....

Holy cow!

2009-09-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

My latest excuse

2009-09-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

Progress... we might just finish this!

2009-09-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

Excuses. . .

2009-08-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

for my lack of blogging.

Excuse #1: Work has begun on the house again. We're pushing a year since we started, but the end is in sight! Most recently, WE GOT NEW WINDOWS!!! Finally! Siding, gutters, and a bit of landscaping, and we'll be done!

Excuse #2: Preparing for the inevitable

The kids started school again on Tuesday. I feel blessed that they were excited to go. Tank would've jumped right on that bus if I would let her, but she has one more year of preschool.

Excuse #3: Troub, I mean Twister!

Love that smile. :) But he is getting into a lot of mischief and making lots of messes. Always keeping me on my toes.

So, those are my excuses for today. I have more, but I'm afraid I'll sound really lame if I just keep going. Just know that I am thinking of all you, my blogging buddies) and hope to get into some kind of routine sooner rather than later.

Our trip to Nauvoo

2009-08-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

This past week, we decided at somewhat of the last minute, to go to Nauvoo. I wasn't sure how Tank would be feeling after her surgery, but she made a miraculously quick recovery, so off we went. We left Wednesday morning as early as we could get out the door.
And whoa-la! 4 1/2 hours later, we were in small town Nauvoo. In case the fields and fields of corn weren't enough to prove that this is a different sort of place, the lawnmower at the gas station made its point. LOL!

Our first stop was the LDS visitors center. We walked through the amazing statue gardens and showed the kids where we used to practice our dances in the field behind the place. I was pleasantly surprised at how interested the kids were in "our" history in Nauvoo as well as the church history.

One of the things I think the kids enjoyed the most was a carraige ride around Nauvoo. They pointed out all the homes, we went by the river, and really got a good feel for the city as a whole. I learned on this ride, that I am severely allergic to horses. Luckily I had benadryl along, but it was a bit scary there for a while.
Sweetie took this beatiful shot with the temple in the background. :)

After our tour, a swim, and a yummy dinner, we went to a show called Sunset on the Mississippi. I didn't take any photos, but it was pretty entertaining. It had the feeling of camp skits... mostly cheesy stuff, but still thorougly entertaining with some amazing talent mixed in. We pushed the kids limits by staying after the show for a performance by BYU's Vocal Point (a very talented acapella group). The kids were seriously tired, but I think they enjoyed it as much as we did.

On Thursday we started out by going to Carthage jail. Any mention of John Taylor or Willard Richards got the attention of my kids pretty thoroughly. They let everyone know that they were related.

After Carthage we visited the Community of Christ owned portions of Nauvoo. We went on their tour and I was thoroughly impressed. The tour guide really emphasized what we had in common with them. In addition, he let us go behind some of the gates to see interesting things like a hidden ladder in a closet that Joseph may have used to hide from unfriendly mobs. The kids thought that was REALLY cool. Every house should have some hidden passages. :)
Twister had a hard time on the trip just because we didn't take time out for his naps. I think this picture captures how he "really" felt. LOL!
Here we are at the brick yard collecting our traditional Nauvoo brick. Goose REALLY wanted to keep it for himself, but I think he is resigned to sharing now.
Another favorite thing was a play spot called pioneer past-times. They had clothes for the kids to dress up in and all sorts of games and toys that were traditional in pioneer times.

Inside one of the little play cabins they had for the kids there. Tank was busy cooking for her baby. :)

Benson and I tried out the stilts... they are much harder than they look just for the record. :) You can ignore the picture of Benson, he makes it look easy. Apparantly he became a pro at stilts one year at scout camp.

So, we had a great time. Really, my only complaint would be that it was such a quick trip. I would have loved to have spent more time reminiscing and visiting Benson and my old favorite places. We met and fell in love in Nauvoo. It will always be a very special place for us. It was really great to share some of that with our kids.

A day at the hospital

2009-08-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

This morning, bright and early, I took Tank to the hospital for an outpatient surgery. A little over a month ago, she had some strange urinary symptoms accompanied by some swelling. I took her to the doctor and the urinary symptoms were dismissed since there was no infection, however the swelling was confirmed to be a hernia. We explained the procedure as much as we thought she could understand. We even got to do a tour of the surgery wing, where they showed her everything they would be doing, including taking her blood pressure, changing into pajamas, picking a prize, and using a mask to fall asleep to. She wanted watermelon scent in her mask. She was actually really excited for her surgery. This is her in the waiting room.
Still cheerful and excited in the prep room. They *tried* to give her blue pajamas to change into. Are you kidding? Not this girly girl. She asked if they had any others, this yellow dress was much more appropriate for her. (even though it was all open in the back, lol). Before they took her back for the surgery, she was given a medicine to help her relax and forget everything. She complained when we got home that she didn't get to use the mask with the watermelon scent. She was really looking forward to it, but I guess the first medicine blocked the memory. Oh well.
I skipped any "after pictures" at the hospital. It wasn't a pretty picture. She was pretty miserable for a while there. Finally, some Tylenol with codeine and an hour nap helped her feel a little better. The doctor fixed the hernia on the right side, then checked the left side to find another hernia almost as big as the first. He fixed them both. When I mentioned her urinary symptoms again, he noted that before the surgery, they had to empty her bladder. She woke up in the morning and went pee, then went pee *right* before they took her back. And of course, she hadn't had anything to eat or drink since yesterday. Anyway, he suggested getting that evaluated by her pediatrician. So unfortunately, this surgery may not be the end of medical stuff for her. I guess we'll wait and see for sure though. Anyway, when she woke up, she just wanted to go home. The staff obliged her.
Note the forced smile. She's such a trooper, but she's not walking around just yet. I'm sure she'll be her "Tank"-like self in no time, but for today she's watching movies and letting us wait on her hand and foot. She's such a grateful little patient. Always saying thank you and being so very polite. I don't think I'm such a happy camper when I'm in pain. I should take lessons.

Wildlife preserve

2009-07-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to a local wildlife preserve this week. They take in injured animals and nurse them back to health. If the animals heal completely, they release them back into the wild. Some with serious injuries that would impair thier ability to survive in the wild are kept there. We walked around reading about all the animals. It was a fun little retreat.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

2009-07-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

We said goodbye to the Nissan today. May he be happy resting in pieces as he is sold for parts.

PS: the cash for clunkers program sounds great, but it is somewhat picky about what a clunker is. The car must get horrible gas mileage in order to qualify. Our Nissan guzzled as much oil as it did gas, but still got 40 mpg to its last days... so it didn't qualify.

all is well

2009-07-27T10:04:00.001-07:00

We got the van back today. It was a belt and the water pump. It could've been much worse. Luckily I stopped fast enough that there is no engine damage from it overheating. Go me. lol!

Now to find someone to haul off the nissan...

The saga continues

2009-07-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

So, as you know, our Nissan has been retired from service. We still have to get it out of the driveway, but we're working on that. With our very strict budget we went searching for a new car. In one day, Benson drove about 10 different cars, trying to narrow the playing field for what we wanted. He really liked one of the cars he drove, a Mercury Milan, but it was out of the budget, so we moved on. Well, sort of. What really happened was I got ambitious. I was certain that we should be able to find the car we want in the budget we had. We just had to get creative and start really looking hard. I scoured the web for hours trying to find a good deal. Most of the cars I was finding were listed for between 12 and 16K. Just plain too much. Anyway, I was thrilled to find one listed in our budget, so Benson went to check it out.
It passed his test, and he got a great deal. In fact, the window sticker price said 15,900. There was another couple who came to buy that same car after Benson had already committed to it. They had already negotiated a price of 12,900 for it. Lets just say we didn't pay anywhere NEAR that. Its a beauty. Anyway, the day he paid for it, he couldn't drive it home since he had driven there by himself afterwork. So, we went to pick it up yesterday. We packed the kids up in the minivan and off we went.

Benson looked like a little kid in a candy store. He was just thrilled with the new car. I wasn't at all familiar with the area the dealership was in, so I asked Benson to drive right with me home.

As we were driving home, I noticed a squealing sound that was new. Not so great. Not too long after and the battery light came on the dashboard. I called Benson and told him to watch me closely, because the car wasn't acting right. I then said a quick prayer that we would get home safely. About 5 minutes later, the engine temperature started rising. I tried to grab the phone, but couldn't dial because I was freaking out too much, so I just put on my blinker and pulled over. I'm SOOO glad Benson was paying attention. He pulled over too. We had nothing to cool the car down and we were at a bad spot on the highway, but we were close to an exit. So, we slowly drove the car the short distance to get off the highway. When we opened it up again, Benson was able to grab the broken belt and pull it out. At that point it was obvious we couldn't drive the car ANYWHERE even if it cooled down, so we called for a tow truck. Unfortunately, 6 people don't fit in the fancy shmancy new car. So we packed the kids in and I left Benson to ride along with the tow truck.

So, I *could* whine about my bad luck and the cost of repairs ... but instead I choose to be SOO GRATEFUL that Benson was right there with me when the car broke down. If the belt had broken when I was by myself with all the kids, it could've been really dangerous, and much harder to get home. The Lord did answer my prayer: we all got home safe.

Bully's

2009-07-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

I just don't get it. At all. Yesterday I got to go participate as a parent leader at Goose's cub scout day camp. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but what I got was certainly NOT it. The first hour was a bit chaotic and felt somewhat unorganized. The project the boys were supposed to make was a compass. With a glass of water, a needle and a piece of styrofoam. First of all, what boy scout would NOT have a compass, but would have those supplies. Exactly. Anyway, it was fine, good concept lesson for the boys, learn the reason a compass works... The problem was that the activity took about 15-20 minutes less than the time that was allotted for it. One of the Mom's took action and got the boys started in a game of duck duck goose. However, lets be real, these boys are ages 8-10. Duck duck goose isn't quite as fun for them as it was when they were 3. A few of the boys started to get restless. And therefore the mischief began.

It was a group of 2 boys to begin with, then another joined a bit later. They were just insistant that they must be getting into some sort of trouble. First they were picking on susceptible boys. Tripping them "on accident" and the like. Later in the day, they moved on to name calling, and when that got boring, they just started trying to sneak away. All of the parent leaders spent the entire day watching these 3 boys like hawks to make sure that they didn't do anything irresponsible. They were consistantly put into time outs and taken out of activities, but it was obvious they just didn't care. Not so ironically they were all little angels during the archery and bb gun shooting. No one wanted to be pulled out of THAT activity.

In hindsight, one of the boys in particular should have been sent home. He seemed to be the ringleader and instigator of the problems. The other 2 boys were happy and willing to go along and take part.... and they were all very proficient at explaining away their actions and acting very innocent. I hope the leaders today had better luck with them than we did yesterday. Scouts should behave better than that.

Please help me understand. What in the world makes kids act like that? What is fun about being mean? What is fun about being taken out of activities constantly. I realize they were probably bored, but what goes on in their brains that makes them think that making fun of and hurting other people would be good entertainment? It really bothered me. Goose's personality is such that he often prefers to hang out by himself. I've worried all day yesterday and again today about these "bullies" picking him out as a fun target. So far so good... I hope it lasts.

Both days, Goose has had a great time, so I guess that is what really matters.