Blue and Gold Banquet

One of the many hats I wear is temporary Cub Master for our local Cub Scouts. I say temporary as I am already Scout Master for the Boy Scouts. I only stepped in to help fill the position and help the Pack out for a few months. While serving as Cub Master, I was given the opportunity to host the Blue and Gold Banquet yesterday...what a great time!

The Pack has some wonderful leaders in place who stepped up and helped get the setting up and decorating done.

Like any good function, it started with a potluck meal...MmmMmmm...I sure love a potluck meal! Somehow, the table I was sitting at went first (golly, I wonder how that happened).

Each Den performed a skit before receiving their awards. Is there anything more cute then nervous little boys talking in front of a crowd of people?

All in all, it was a great day. I think everyone walked away having a good time and encouraged in their Scouting path.

Sparky for Cancer!

I would like to introduce all of you to an incredible young man. Dan Knapp is the kind of man we would all love to have as a son...or son-in-law.

I met Dan many many years ago at Ingersoll Scout Reservation while camping there with my Boy Scouts. He went by Sparky then, and believe me, he lived up to his name! Dan was only 12 (I think) at the time but already serving in a leadership role. I've had the honor of watching him grow up over the years, grow into a caring young man who isn't afraid to step way outside the box. Because of this, he relates well with young people, helping to spread a positive message to them.

You may be wondering why I am singing the praises of Dan today, well, let me tell you. He is once again stepping outside that box to help others. He is raising money for childhood cancer by agreeing to have his head shaved.
Here are a few pictures of Dan (Sparky) and some of his wild hair-do's.

In case you are wondering, no, he isn't some kind of weirdo. Well, not in a bad way anyway.

Dan in unselfishly giving each and every one of us an opportunity to help others. Please click on this link to help children with cancer.

http://www.stbaldricks.org/teams/mypage/77638/2012

Thank you so much for not only taking the time to read this blog post, but for also helping those who are unable to help themselves.

Home from Camp

Well, Dear Friends, once again a great time was had by all at Boy Scout summer camp. Except for a few sprinkles, it was a rain free week. Temperatures also co-operated with us. (Thank you, Lord).

The boys cooked almost all of our meals. They had to walk up to the commissary before each meal (that would be 6:00 am for breakfast) to pick up the meal supplies. The first breakfast was very slow, almost making them late to their first merit badge class. They did improve after that though. There were 12 Troops (250 boys) at camp while we were there and there were only 2 of us doing jambo (cooking our own meals). It's a great opportunity for us to spend some down time together as a troop. Talk about what everyone has been up to. Go over plans for the rest of the day. Watch the boys be complete goofs.

We shared a campsite with Walnut's Troop again this year. The boys seem to enjoy it and I enjoy learning from their Scout Master, Ron. It also gives us 4 adults in camp instead of just 2. Twice as many eyes to watch for naughtiness. LOL

There are platform tents on our site. They are basically a wooden platform with a wall tent on top. This means they are not fully enclosed...so bugs and critters can come in if they so choose. Believe me, they chose to come in my tent all the time! I'm thinking my platform had a mouse nest under it as I was visited by a herd of mice every night! On one particular evening, they pulled my make-up bag and belt out of my shower bag and then tried to take off with my cell phone!!

Ron, Walnut's leader, and one of his older scouts decided to help me with my mouse problem....they put marshmallows outside my tent and up the stairs into it. Their justification for this is that the raccoons would keep the mice out!!! I seriously laid on my cot not moving for almost 1 1/2 hours due to a raccoon invasion! Oh yeah, they thought they were real funny!

The boys learned to do a 'gravity check'. It involves running and jumping. If they fall to the ground, gravity is still working. They actually thought this was fun. So, if you know Austin, Terry, Trevor or Devin and see them, ask them to do a gravity check for you.

I'm very proud of my boys and their accomplishments. They all went to camp as Tenderfoots and left as 1st Class. They all earned their fingerprinting merit badge. Devin earned his archery badge while Terry, Austin and Trevor only need to catch and fillet a fish for me to finish their fishing badge. All 4 boys earned their Greenhorn and On my Honor rockers also. AND, they got a 100% on site inspection their first year there!! This is a difficult thing for jambo troops to earn as there is so much more to be inspected. Did I happen to mention how proud I am of them?!

Now that they have their first year of camp under their belts, they've already started making plans for next year. I'm looking forward to using some of the new ideas I got when we do our weekend campouts.

Is your son is scouting? If not, contact me and I can help you out with that. Cub and Boy Scouts is a wonderful organization that helps boys channel their energies into positive directions.

Time for Boy Scout camp

The end of June is upon us and that means one thing, it's time for Boy Scout Summer Camp! I look forward to taking my Scouts down every year. It's a week of living in the timber. We are a 'jamboree' troop, meaning we cook all our own food instead of going to the dining hall. This year I'm taking four new boys...fresh meat LOL! They've actually only been on two campouts so far, so summer camp is going to be a great experience for them. Ingersoll Scout Reservation in London Mills, IL is our camp of choice. It's over 1000 acres of timber, hiking, fishing, swimming, climbing, shooting....you get the idea.

This year is my 8th year at ISR. Over these years I've had the pleasure of meeting many great Scouts and Scouters (adult leaders). Most of us camping this week go this same time every year so it's like a big reunion for us all.

One of the perks of going to camp for so many years is getting to know the staff. They are a great group people who endure far more than I could dealing with 11-18 year old boys for six weeks straight. Last year we were not able to have 'our' site as our Troop is too small. This year I...uummm...bribed the powers that be to ensure our site back. I'm taking down homemade cookies to all the staff! Anyone want to come help me make about 20 dozen cookies Saturday?

So, Dear Friends, I will me missing for the next week. Papa Bear will be holding down the fort. I look forward to sharing pictures and stories when I get back.

I want to do SOMETHING!

To do good, you actually have to do SOMETHING!

When something tragic happens, we tend to react with our emotions and feel a need to do...something. We don't always know what we can do, we just want to do...something.

Saturday, the Boy Scouts conducted a Disaster Relief Drive for flood and tornado victims. We collected enough items for about 50 health kits. I'm sure those who receive these kits will be very graitful. The problem though is there is still such a need. I'm sure most everyone reading this today has seen the devestation on the news from the tornado that went through Joplin MO. last night.



This could happen to any one of our towns. This could be YOU with your child, or grandchild, or your neighbor's child. You have no home left. You have only the clothes on your back. No money, debit or credit cards. No cell phone.

There are 50 health kits to give away, how is it decided who gets one?

Are you looking at this with emotion and a need to do...something?

Wyanet Boy Scouts will be at the Wyanet Locker this coming Saturday from 10:00-1:00. We will be accepting items for health kits while we are there. This is an opportunity for you to do a very little something that will be a very BIG something to the person who receives the kit.

Here is a link to the items that are being collected
http://bearnecessities-mama.blogspot.com/2011/05/disaster-relief-drive.html

I know I sound like a broken record with all this disaster relief stuff, but if it was your town that was hit, wouldn't you want someone to reach out a helping hand?

Disaster Relief Drive

"...To help other people at all times."

"A Scout is helpful"

"Do a good turn daily"

Being helpful to others is just one area in which Boy Scouts are trained. Troop 1056 of Wyanet will be putting this into practise on Saturday, May 21st, 9:00am-2:00pm, outside Sullivan's Foods in Princeton. The Troop is sponsoring a disaster relief drive in conjunction with UMCOR for tornado and flood victims. Being collected are specific items for needed health kits.

*1 hand towel (15"x25" up to 17"x27", not kitchen towels)
*1 wash cloth
*1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket size)
*1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
*1 bath size bar of soap (3 oz. or larger in original wrapper)
*1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, no child size, no multiple packs, no dentist name or phone number)
*1 tube toothpaste (6.4 oz or larger.)
*6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages (regular size and wrapped in a rubberband)

ONLY these items are being collected. We are collecting in bulk so if you want to bring, let's say, a whole box of bandages instead of just 6 of them, we will gladly take your whole box. This goes for all the listed items.

Take a moment and consider what life would be like if you lost everything you own. Imagine not being able to brush your teeth for a week. Imagine how special something as a simple health kit would be.

Troop 1056 asks you to join us in:
"...To help other people at all times."

"A Scout is helpful"

"Do a good turn daily"

Mama Bear

Boy Scout camp 2009

I'm home from Boy Scout camp and it was a blast!! Have to do a quick little brag on the boys as they were the only Troop (out of about 200 people) to receive a perfect score on their daily inspection!!!

The weather turned out to be just about perfect. No humidity, no real heat and no rain until our camp was all packed up and we were heading to bed on Friday night.

Below are a few pictures from our week:

The boys made an oven out of a cardboard box using tin foil and wire hangers. Brownies were a wonderful treat for us during the week.





Home sweet home for me. The boys laughed at the way I add embelishments to my tent to make it more comfy...like the table, throw rugs, flowers and fence. But...I had a nice comfortable (well, as comfortable as you can be with spiders crawling on you) week.




Welcome to our kitchen and our dining room. We are a 'jambo' troop, which means we cook all our own meals. We were the only jambo troop there this week. All the other troops go up top to the dining hall for their meals...Tsk...that's not real camping! Might as well have the maid come in too!



Here's my guys!! The man on the left is grandpa to two of the boys. He stayed part of the week and then their uncle came down for the remainder of the time. I'm so thankful that even though we are a very small troop right now, there is the support there so that the boys can continue to enjoy things like this camp.




This would be me going up the rope side of the 40' tall climbing tower! After climbing, I actually went down the other side of it on the zip line!! WOW!!! That was so much fun!

Leaving for camp

Well my dear friends, this will be my last post for a week. Sunday morning I will be taking my Boy Scouts on a week long campout. It's an awesome time that I look forward to all year long. When I get back, I'll post pictures so that you can all see the beautiful timber that will be our home while there. Been watching the weather and it looks like this heat is going to break which will give us beautiful mid 80's or so for the days....aahhhhh, I'm getting so excited!!!