BSA National Jamboree Staff!

Ed has been chosen to be part of the Coronado Area Council contingent. He will be serving on staff as 2nd Assistant Scoutmaster. He will be attending the 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree in Ft. AP Hill, Virginia July 26th to Aug 4th, 2010.

Quenton and Tabor will also be attending the jamboree that is celebrating 100 years of the Boy Scouts of America.

Halloween Kids

We finally got the Halloween photos off the camera! We had a very warm day for Halloween! The evening was so warm that we did not need any coats at all!

Victoria was a princess riding a pink unicorn, Elyssa a lion and Tabor was a Jedi Knight from Star Wars. Quenton stayed home and handed out goodies to the kids.

Hoot that!

I have finished the practical part of Wood Badge training where I was the Troop Guide for a wonderful Owl Patrol! I spent 6 days guiding them throught the process.

We had an awesome time and a great bunch of Owls! I am eager to help the patrol members finish their Wood Badge tickets over the next 18 months so they can earn their beads!

Quenton Elected into Order of the Arrow!

This weekend Ed and Quenton were elected into Order of the Arrow and completed their Ordeal. The Order of the Arrow is the national honary camping and service organiztion for the Boy Scouts of America. They spent the entire weekend at Camp Hansen and survived the severe weather that dumped 6 inches of rain on the camp!

Quenton was also elected as assistant lodge chief of the Tomahawk District! After Order of the Arrow weekend was completed, Ed spent time in training for the pre-course Wood Badge where he will be an instructor. Quenton spent the afternoon with the Camp Ranger's son hanging out and playing video games. Needless to say, we were very tired after the long weekend with little sleep due to the severe weather.

Pow Wow

Last weekend Ed took 4 boys to the 2nd Annual Colby Merit Badge Pow Wow. This is an event where the Boy Scouts campout overnight and the following day work on Merit Badges to help them advance in scouting. The boys got up at 6:15 am to start breakfast. They cooked pancakes and sausage. You can tell from the photo that they are a little tired. I do not know if it was because of two of the boys talking most of the night or the 5 hours of rain overnight!

Quenton (the one on the right), who is the Sr. Patrol Leader, ended up earning Vetrinary Medicine, Astronomy and Weather. In the afternoon Ed taught Geocaching to 25 scouts plus leaders. The boys also had the opportunity to take part in Elk Calling, Flint knapping and swimming. In the evening they got to watch a movie and then had a campfire and a boy scout troop performed Indian dances in full regalia. Notice the new tents the boys got! They received 6 of them through donations!

We are home!

Bev here. Between the Wade Fair and a trip to the Midwest Catholic Family Conference we have been gone more than here for the past three weeks! It sure feels good to be home!

The Wade Fair was soooooo much fun! Patty Keenan and her crew always put on a excellent weekend. If you haven't ever made it to the PA Wadefest - you have go next year.

We got home on Tuesday. That's right, we left PA at 3:00 Sunday afternoon (BIG thank you to Casey and his mom for helping us pack or it would have been 4:00). Anyway, we left at 3:00, drove til 11:00. Found a motel and caught a few hours of sleep. Got back up and were on the road by 7:30. Drove until 5:00pm. Stopped to visit my parents for the night. Then drove the rest of the way home the next morning. Ed was at work by 3:00.

Then we turned around on Friday and left again. If you are Catholic, you have to attend a Catholic Family Conference. The Midwest one was amazing. They had programs for our three older children to participate. So, Ed and I were able to go and listen to the most amazing speakers with only Elyssa. Who, BTW, was an angel this weekend. I was able to here and participate in everything I wanted to. I wish that I had remembered to pack the camera.

Well, that is the bare bones of it. We are still trying to catch up on all the emails that we received during this time and Ed has so much to do at his day job, it isn't even funny. I'd better get cracking!

Hershey's Chocolate World

We toured the Hershey's Chocolate World today! America sure loves chocolate! These numbers just keep going and going and going. It is hard to believe that well over 9 million kisses are made each day. The numbers were from around 7:15 pm tonight.

The place smells wonderful! We were not hungry but when we came out we were sure hungry for chocolate! We are so glad they gave out free samples! The tour was enjoyed by all especially Elyssa with the singing cows! The tour of course ended directly into the world's largest selection of Hershey chocolates and merchandise. We did not have time to buy chocolate today but will be back tomorrow again to the amusement park with plans to stop back by Chocolate World to get some goodies!

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park

On Tuesday and Wednesday we spent the day in Dayton, OH so Quenton, Tabor and Victoria could take part in the Jr. Ranger program. The kids learned a lot about Orville and Wilber Wright while we were at the park and they earned their Jr. Ranger Badges! The kids also learned about the printing and bicycle shops the Wright Brothers had before they became famous for their aviation research and development.

Our Lady of Snows Shrine

Today we took time to see the Our Lady of Snows Shrine. It is a wonderful place to visit. We wish it was cooler so we could of seen more of the shrine. We did not want to be out much as it was 103 degrees when we left the shrine! This grotto was one of the favories of our family. The grotto is of Our Lady Of Guadalupe. The Lady of Guadalupe is the patron of the Catholic Mom group that Bev belongs to. Elyssa did not want to leave this grotto and kept saying "Mary, Mary!"

We decided to take our time on the road today and made it to Effingham, IL. We ended up eating at a Chinese Buffet which is one of our favorites. We did try some squid tonight but it was very tough and chewy. Not that good. On the buffet was also some peppered frog legs - none of us would try it at all. I do remember my parents cooking frog legs when I was young and watching the legs "kick" as they were fried in a pan. I do remember that they DO NOT taste like chicken! Tomorrow Dayton, OH is on the schedule.

On Our Way to PA!

We are almost out of Kansas! The Jayhawk is pointing us to Missouri. Were elso would you find a large Jayhawk sculpture than close to Lawrence, KS? Victoria was the only one that would let me take their photo today! We made it to Kansas City this evening after a very very long trip with a lot of potty breaks! It was pretty hot and humid today and lets just say that the kids kept very well hydrated. Tomorrow we are planing to go to St. Louis, MO to see Our Lady of Snows Shrine and then see where we end up for the night.

Elyssa is 2 Today!

Today Elyssa is 2! She is showing everyone where her smile is. For her birthday she got a purple tricycle! She loves it! We will be celebrating her birthday tomorrow with Grandma and Grandad on our way to the PA Wade Fair.

Almost Ready for Vacation!

We are almost ready for vacation! Still alot to do before we can leave early Saturday morning. Our family is attending the Summer Wade Fest in Camp Hill, PA next weekend. Shown at the left is our Fair Special we commissioned in a LE 100. We think he is so cute!

Tonight we need to finish packing all the Wades in boxes and pack the van. Mow the yard. Weed, mulch and harvest the garden. Get ready for a Scout overnight campout tomorrow night and then set-up for the County Fair early Saturday morning before we can leave! Alot to do and a little time. Tomorrow night the Boy Scouts are working on marking the Great Western Cattle Trail that came through Hoxie years ago. Should be a fun project for they boys!