So long Cub Scouts

May 31, 2011

Today at pack meeting Tyler earned his Webelos award, Arrow of Light and his religious knot.  He is now done with cub scouts and will be moving on to the boy scout program.

Meredith is collecting more mother’s pins.  By the end of Tyler’s scout career, Mere will have a lot of hardware on that jacket. (Side note: that is Mere’s scout jacket.  She has worn it to all the pack meetings that Tyler has earned pins.  Where is the Dad pin?)

Tyler crossed over the bridge which represents the move from cubs to boy scouts.  After they “cross over” he gets to sign his name on the bridge.  Our pack does a great job!

I can’t believe that we are done with cubs!  This is probably a good thing as our pinewood derby cars have not performed too well!

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge

On Saturday I was able to go with Tyler and the other Webelos to the Wildlife Refuge right here in Sherwood.  I hate to admit that I have never been to the Refuge yet.  We had a great time walking around and trying to spot different types of birds.

The Refuge is now home to nearly 200 species of birds, over 50 species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles and amphibians, and a wide variety of insects, fish and plants.

One of the volunteers told us to look for a screech owl.  We were lucky enough to spot that owl….he is pictured in one of the pictures below.  Can you spot him?

Jeff is our fearless leader teaching us about tracks.

Just a little moss on these trees.

Just a cool looking tree.

This little guy was found all over the place.  Tyler wanted to bring him home, but I told him he needed to stay on the refuge.

The screech owl is in picture number 5.  He is sitting on a branch close to the middle of the picture and he is close to the trunk.  The picture isn’t the clearest, but you can see him.

Raingutter Regatta 2010

Yesterday was the Raingutter Regatta for Tyler.  I was proud of him because he built his boat on his own.  I came home from work and all I needed to help him with was gluing the fin and sail on.  He painted an eagle on his boat with some other designs.  It looked great.

When it comes to these competitions in Cub Scouts, I fear that I am not the best Dad as I don’t get too into it.  So far our performance in the Pinewood Derby has been a little disappointing.  I am just not that into it when it comes to building the car.  Maybe next year I will recruit some help and try to help Tyler build a competitive car.  Or, I can do as my brother does and just buy a winning car online.

Back to the regatta.  Tyler’s boat performed great.  The race has more to do with how you blow on the sail than anything else.  He came in 2nd place in his Den and 3rd overall.

I love scouting.  It is so much more than learning to tie knots.  Giving these boys a chance to set goals, learn new things, compete, have leadership experiences etc.  Scouting is great!

Boy Scout Spring Camporee 2010