Play ball!

I took this video last night of Will during baseball practice.



Of course, what I didn't show you was the first video I took. It was of him missing the first four balls thrown at him! It's okay. He didn't get discouraged and with a little help from one of the coaches, he hit the very next pitch! Sometimes we all need a little coaching to get it right!

So far, he is having a great time moving up to machine pitch. We still have a few more weeks until the games begin. Opening season games begin on April 25th.

Will's first Pinewood Derby

On February 21, 2009, Will's Cub Scout Pack had its annual Pinewood Derby. I have memories of my brother's Derby car. My dad still tells the story of how he ended up being the one to really build the car. Back then, you had to cut the car out of a block of wood and it certainly isn't a good idea to let your seven or eight year old son play with a saw or power tools! I bet my dad had fun making the car though!

These days you can purchase kits that have the wood pre-cut and apparently there are many different shapes and styles to choose from. Of course you can still design your own if you want and I bet this is still fun for many dads. Lee, on the other hand, chose the pre-cut design...it is tax season for crying out loud! These pre-cut kits come with all of the parts that a Scout would need to make his very own Derby car. This photo below shows the kit, minus the pre-cut wood...Lee was too quick for me to get the shot of the unopened package.



You still have to sand the car and you paint it whatever color you choose. Will's car was royal blue. Here is the freshly painted car. Nice, huh?



The kit came with stickers, wheels, and metals pieces that resemble exhaust pipes, an engine and the windshield. Everything a Scout could need to create a 1950's looking dragster. Lee worked really hard on it while Will watched!



Here is the finished car.



Here is our Cub Scout with his car on the morning of the race. He was so excited!



These are the cars from all of the Tiger Cubs.



Here is the track. Lee was impressed by it. I had never been to a Pinewood Derby, so I had nothing to compare it too. Definitely a guy thing!


And finally, here is some video from his first race. I'll let see the results for yourself.




There were three races in each round, that way they could give each car the opportunity to change lanes for each race. Will won all three races in the first round! Unfortunately, he only won one race during the next round, but that put him in 2nd place for the Tiger Cubs! Another boy from his Den named Garrett won...he is the Den Leader's son, so I am thinking the race was fixed! Will didn't seem to mind not winning...he just had a great time period! He was also happy when it was over because he could finally play with his car!

I'm sure this will be the beginning of many Pinewood Derbies to come!

Who knew?

I always attributed Heather's artistic talent to her father's side of the family. Her grandmother and aunt are terrific painters. She has always been able to draw and loved it when she was younger. We tried to encourage her to pursue some type of career in art, since she does have natural talent. She hasn't been interested in that job path, but we are more than pleased with her nursing plans. She can always fall back on art if she needs too.

Yes, I am crafty and creative, but I definitely cannot draw anything worth looking at! To my complete surprise, Will began coming home earlier this school year with some rather pleasant drawings. He has been proudly displaying them on our refrigerator for the past few months...a new one each week!

On Friday, Jack became the next in line to show off his talent. He brought home a sweet drawing of a penguin. You can barely read his handwriting, but this is common with lefties...at least that is what I am told. But hey, the boy can DRAW!!!

Here are a few of their creations.


This is Will's drawing of our dog, Luke.


Will created this one last week...he really likes it!


And this one is Jack's penguin. It is a little wrinkled, but I just love it!

Who knew???

Will's artwork

Last night after Will finished his homework, I went thru his backpack to look at the papers he brought home for the day. On some days he brings home a folder with graded papers and on others it is just classwork he did during the day. On most days, he brings home a special drawing that he did in class or in Art. These drawings can be very elaborate creations that he took much pride in creating or they can be simple doodlings he did during some free time in class. Yesterday's artwork was one of those doodlings...a battle scene complete with a helicopter deployment, tanks and some type of armored vehicle. What really caught my eye was the big word he wrote inside what is supposed to be an explosion.




Now, I know what he was trying to spell...BOMB. (Update...Will corrected me and said he was trying to spell BOOM which makes more sense...you were right Melissa.) I called him into the room just to make sure. You just never know some times. I asked him what it said and he told me it was BOMB BOOM. I let out a big sigh of relief and then I asked him to sound it out. When he did, he realized that there should be an M and a B at the end. I asked him if he knew what he had really written and thankfully he didn't...he is only 7 and thank God he isn't growing up too fast! He was so embarrassed when he realized what he did write. I don't think I have ever heard him laugh the way he did or see him turn the same shade of red as his explosion. You just have to love that boy! :)

The Christmas card photo

Oh how I always dread taking the photo for our annual Christmas card! Of course, Heather is the easiest to photograph and I know her mouth gets tired from keeping a constant smile! She has to since we never know when I will get the perfect shot. Will is normally pretty cooperative and always photogenic. Jack on the other hand is a completely different story. He is not cooperative and absolutely HATES having his photo taken these days, at least by someone other than himself! I took 143 photos of the three of them together. I finally decided to get some individual shots just in case I didn't get "the one" and could just use three separate poses for the card. I was actually shocked that I did end up with one great shot. Whew! I'm glad that is over for another year! I think the kids are too!!



Here are some funny shots that I took of Jack that night. This will give you an idea of what I had to work with. I call this "The Many Faces of Jack". Enjoy!

Will is 7!

It is so true that our children grow up so fast. It seems like only yesterday Heather was a little girl playing with her horses and now she is a young woman and in her second year of college! They grow up in the blink of an eye!

Now Will is seven and that is even harder for me to believe! He was such a little guy and very content. He didn't fuss much and still doesn't to this day. He was a good sleeper right from the start. He was always a happy baby and very social. He has always loved to learn new things and is still constantly quizzing us. He has a very tender heart. He loves his daddy and wants to grow up to be just like him! He was our first son and we couldn't be more proud of him!

He wanted to have his party at a local theater this year and they saw "Madagascar 2". He was joined by cousins, friends from school, church and Cub Scouts. He had a blast!

Will with his best friend from school, Hunter, and his cousin, Alex.

On his actual birthday, we took Will and Jack to Chuck E. Cheese. Heather and Andy tagged along too! The kids had so much fun eating pizza and playing all of the games. I think they collected a total of 520 tickets that they traded in for "prizes", in other words junk! Afterwards, we took Will to Target and let him pick out his birthday gifts from us. He chose some Star Wars figures and two ships and a book on how to make paper airplanes. I can't tell you how many paper airplanes I have folded in the past two weeks. :)

You can click on any of these photos to enlarge them.

Will w/the one and only Chuck E. Cheese

See, I told you they were with us!

Jack's favorite "game" ~ I love his eyes in this one!

Playing some Skee-ball and winning more tickets!

He will be trying out for Nascar next!