Scout Summer Camp

 

Our scouts look forward to Summer Camp each year - definitely a highlight of the summer.  So glad Boy Scout Summer Camp was able to happen for Davis, Hendrick, and Kolpin this year!  

Camp 2021 was a bit different than previous years: the boys wore masks indoors, camp numbers were reduced, and merit badge work was limited (only 2 per scout) - but as with previous experiences, it was a great experience for our boys!  

Their Ohio troop was the largest to attend camp this year - they have a very active group of guys!   Our boys worked on Fishing and Wood Carving (Kolpin), Engineering and Wildlife Conservation (Davis), and Animal Science and Mammal Studies (Hendrick).   The boys thoroughly enjoyed their retreat. 

*This was Kolpin's first week-long overnight Scout Camp!

Hendrick and Davis will have the opportunity to return to Seven Ranges Camp later this summer for their Order of the Arrow (OA) Ordeals - so proud of our young men!

Shovels

We have had snow on the ground in northeastern Ohio since Christmas - we've had over 40 inches of snowfall this winter!

Davis and Burke have been very industrious.  These boys have gone door-to-door offering to shovel neighbors driveways.  In a few weeks time, with several regular jobs and a lot of hard work, they have made quite a lot of money - over $500!!!  

So proud of these young men and their hard work!  And I know our neighbors are grateful to have the help.  

(Davis used his earnings for Pokemon cards.  Burke was thrilled to make enough to buy himself a animation tablet!)

Boy Scouts

Davis and Hendrick have continued their Boy Scout journey through the Covid pandemic.  Summer camp was canceled this year, monthly camp-outs halted, and regular in-person meetings took a prolonged break - but this Fall, their troop started back up (with proper Covid safety precautions).  

Though it all, the boys led a clean-up project with their troop to fix up a Boy Scout building and meet the necessary requirements for rank advancement.  

Davis recently advanced to Star. 

Hendrick recently advanced to Life.

I'm thankful so many groups have found creative ways to continue despite this difficult and different pandemic year - their troop was able to participate in a modified "Gold Rush" in January.  No overnight camping, but a good (and cold!) experience for all. 

Hendrick is now on a 12-month journey to achieve Eagle Scout status.  

We're so proud of our young men! 

(Kolpin just joined the troop as a Webelo!)

FOURTEEN

Happy Birthday Davis!

He's our 2nd child/third son, building master, outdoors man; audio book listener, Zelda switch expert, Magic player; sarcastic, wordsmith, master annoyer; dishes go-to, early riser, recent runner; fort builder, household Lego helper, board game starter;  deep thinker, math wiz, Boy Scout, engineer-minded; frozen-faced-picture poser, fast talker, awesome hair, little sibling buddy, household Mr. Fix-it . . . and he's FOURTEEN!

Favorites:

food:  mashed potatoes and meatballs

drink:  Code Red

dessert:  ice cream cake

fruit:  banana

veggie:  carrots

restaurant: Skyline

sport: baseball

team: Reds

car: Ferrari

superhero:  Captain America

game: Zelda, Breath of the Wild (Nintendo Switch)

color: green

music: classical

audio book:  Jurassic Park

movie: Captain America

book:  Jurassic Park

author:  Michael Crichton

school subject: science

animal: woodchuck

activity: Scouts, karate

outing:  running

indoor activity: Nintendo Switch

outdoor activity: run

with mom: cook

with dad: chess

with sisters: crafts (making pinatas)

with brothers: baseball

day trip: zoo

city: Perham

vacation destination: OBX

best things about this past year: 13
worst thing about this past year:  moving

dream vacation: the moon

career aspiration: engineer

my best quality:  school smart

my life in 25 years:  working as an engineer and I'm going to have a house in a neighborhood in the USA

likes: french toast casserole, jello, mashed potatoes, Nintendo Switch, family, friends, Monopoly, Legos, Boy Scouts

dislikes: spicy food, annoying little brothers

For his Palm Sunday/ 14th Birthday during Covid-19 Quarentine:

french toast casserole with bacon

adoration at Santa Clara Monastery

 drive to Akron for take-out Skyline Chili

homemade pinata

(Davis made it for his younger siblings - they loved it!)

2-mile run

Euchre 

Nintendo Switch

Little Caesar's Pizza and Crazy Bread

Milk & Honey Ice Cream Cake

. Zelda book . Lego set . Adidas clothes . Swiss Army Knife . Milk & Honey candy from siblings . 

and a phone ;)

Happy Birthday Davis!

We're so proud of the young man he's become and are excited to see what this next year will bring for him.  He has the potential to do big things.

He's my go-to Mr. Fix-it at home.  Learning quickly from his dad and, thanks to years of Legos, possessing a tremendous amount of patience, he's replaced the washing machine motor, maintenanced our fleet of bikes, and built furniture. I'm in awe of the way his mind works.  Davis is usually one step ahead of me.  He tends to talk fast because his mind works so fast.  I try to remind him to slow his words to give me a chance to catch up - I don't want to miss what he has to say.  He's such a smart guy and such a strong guy.  The past four months, with the encouragement of Tesfaye, Davis has been dedicated to a tough regular exercise regimen - running in the neighborhood everyday and basement training.  It's amazing what he can accomplish.

God has blessed Davis with some amazing gifts - a clever mind, quick thinking, and real determination.  He's a special kid.   
 

Mentos Experiment

Davis, as part of his middle school Physical Science class, got to create a soda explosion in our new neighborhood.

Mentos added to Diet Coke rapidly removes carbon dioxide from the soda, causing a geyser of carbon dioxide bubbles out of the top.  Davis first hot glued a stack of 10 Mentos together so he could quickly add them all at once to the soda.  He performed his experiment on the street in front of our new house - with an audience of siblings looking on from the front windows, and big brother recording the results for Davis' class. 

Hands-on experiments are the best!

Bowling

This Fall we have 3 bowlers on our town's high school bowling team: Hendrick, Tesfaye, and Davis.

Our knowledgeable bowling coach does a great job helping them to better their game, change-up their approach, encourage their effort, and celebrate their victories - all while keeping it so much fun. 

The boys practice once a week at our local alley (The Cactus is so supportive of the kids, welcoming them to come bowl even while under construction), and then have meets every Sunday all over northwestern Minnesota.  In the meets, teams of 5 take turns bowling frames in a best-of-5-game-match, playing 3 matches against rotating opponents.  12 lanes filled with kids, Varsity and Junior Varsity teams competing - the atmosphere is loud and fun, and there's always lots of food :) 

So far this season, Tesfaye has been impressive in his still approach to muscle the ball down the lane for nearly all strikes and spares for the Varsity team.  Hendrick has been the anchor of the JV squad, whipping his ball with crazy lightening speed and accuracy.  Davis's game has improved so much as he's adding new steps to his approach and switching to his left hand - and has been on fire recently for JV. 

It's been a lot of fun! 

The other teams have many more bowlers and much more experience - they're incredible to watch! - but I'd say our team seems to have the most fun :)

(And this mama loves traveling with my boys to the meets as official score keeper of the team!)

THIRTEEN

We have another teenager in the house!

Davis is our engineer minded, Lego master; button pusher, trickster, tease; computer and cards gamer, outdoors man, Mr. Fix-it; extra chores, motivated money maker; quick math wiz, dairy drinker, lactose intolerant (?); late sleeper, lazy morning person; picky eater, eager helper, silly sense of humor, goofball . . . and he's thirteen! 

Happy 13th Birthday Davis!

Favorites at 13:

food:  Skyline Chili, Mashed Potatoes

dessert:  Cherry Delight, Angel Food Cake, Pistachio Cake

drink:  pop, milk

restaurant:  Lakes Cafe

sport:  baseball

color:  red

superhero:  Spiderman

car:  Mustang

fruit:  mango

veggie:  cucumber

animal:  German Shepherd

sports team:  Cincinnati Reds and my Fantasy Team (Whammy Kablammy)

movie:  Spiderman into the Spiderverse

tv:  Pokemon

music:  Queen

school subject:  science

book:  "Masterminds" by Korman

(currently reading:  "Slacker" by Korman)

indoor activity:  Magic the Gathering

outdoor activity:  biking

extracurricular activity:  Scouts, Dungeons and Dragons night at Ultima, 

with sisters:  relay races in the park

with brothers:  Legos

with dad:  fixing stuff around the house

with mom:  going to the PACC in the morning

outing:  Ultima Gaming

vacation:  beach

dream vacation:  Mount Everest

career aspiration:  Engineer

my life in 25 years:  retired.  I'll live in a cabin near Mount Rushmore.  I'll hike and hunt.  

favorites from the past year:  Scout Camp, Robotics Club, Dakotas trip

most looking forward to this year:  beach, Scout Camp, Robotics Club, and hopefully bowling and Speech

likes:  Magic, tv, my bed, books, dairy, D&D, Boy Scouts, Boy Scout Camp, the beach, Gatlinburg, Smoky Mountains,  Maplewood State Park, Mount Rushmore, State Parks and National Parks, tens and twenties (money), Legos, Pokemon, snowball fights, snow forts, sledding, 4-wheeling, basketball, Robotics, friends and family, Minecraft computer game, Overwatch

dislikes:  spinach, peppers, broccoli, anything spicy, poison ivy, cleaning my room, being stuck watching babies at the park, picking up dog poop, chores, waking up early, combing my hair

for his 13th birthday:

french toast casserole

decorated chalkboard

Corn Dogs

school and chores :(

daddy dinner (tater tots and fish sticks)

balloons

Magic the Gathering tournament (last place!)

Angel Food cake with strawberries and whipped cream

Star Wars Legos , Magic the Gathering cards . baseball cards . Spiderverse DVD

 Wings of Fire book 6 . Minecraft guides . silly putty . clothes . D&D dice . Ultima game card

*Poor Davis had an orthodontic adjustment the day before his birthday - ouch!  Being unable to chew, our traditional 13th birthday steak dinner out was delayed.  Davis and Dad will go out next week!

(Unfortunately I was out of town for Davis' birthday - I hated missing celebrating this special day!  I did sing "Happy Birthday" to him at 6 in the morning, before I left town.  I'm glad everyone else did such a great job celebrating him.)  

We're so thankful for our teen and so proud of the young man he's becoming.  We love you Davis!

Robotics

Each person is blessed with unique gifts.  It's a privilege as parents to watch our children experience, experiment, discover, and develop their own special talents.  Davis' brain is wired for building.  He's always been our resident Lego master.  He comes up with the most amazing creations - utilizing simple machines to manipulate the blocks creating incredible working battle fortresses, vehicles, and robots.  He blows us away.

For his birthday, wanting to encourage him take his building to the next level, we invested in a Lego Boost kit: an introduction to robotics and programming.  He's already built through the set and has had fun being creative with the sounds and commands.

This summer Davis is looking forward to participating in a robotics camp to take his learning even further. 

TWELVE

Davis, our quiet, tough, strongest-kid-I-know; spectacle wearing, braces sporting, game leader; deep thinker, Lego man, amazing designer; laid back, "okay" responder, intricate builder, nature guy; engineer minded, basement dweller, board game fanatic (and tough competitor); math wiz, emotional funk tendency, trickster; pudding chef, science experimenter, go-to Lego expert; Boy Scout, and pickiest eater (with a great head of hair!) . . . and he's TWELVE!

Happy Birthday Davis!

Favorites at 12:

food: mashed potatoes

drink: rootbeer

dessert: cherry delight

restaurant:  Lakes Cafe

movie: action, sci-fi, fantasy (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Spiderman)

books: Age of Extinction series, Goosebumps books

color: red

animal: dog

sport: baseball

superhero: spiderman

toys: Legos

school subject: history

with brothers: games (Monopoly, soccer, baseball)

with sisters: games

with dad: hiking and camping

with mom: hiking and camping

outside activity: hiking and camping and sports

inside activity: building stuff (Legos, marble tracks, block castles, robots)

outing: going out to dinner or shopping for Legos

vacation destination: OuterBanks, NC

most looking forward to this year: Christmas, Boy Scout summer camp, visiting National Parks

career aspirations: engineer or builder or Lego designer

my life in 25 years: I'd like a beach house and to live at the Outer Banks.  I'll design houses or Lego sets.  I'll have a dog, a Goldendoodle.  I'll swim in the ocean.  Maybe I'll be married, I don't know.  I don't know if I'll have kids.

likes:  playing with Legos, board games, sports, marble tracks, Boy Scouts, going to the PACC, cheese, meat, dairy, fruit, pudding, Christmas, hiking, camping, the beach, reading, sleeping in my bed, fires in the fireplace, s'mores, soda, computer games, milk shakes, Greek gyros, sleeping in late.

dislikes:  changing diapers, waking up early, spicy food (Indian food), princess movies, stuffed peppers, cooked carrots, steamed broccoli, my braces, people playing with my stuff without permission, Language Arts, chores, cleaning bathrooms, coffee, that I'm not supposed to eat gummy candy.. 

For this 12th birthday, we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast (poor boy had sore teeth thanks to his braces and had to forgo bacon and was only able to eat his pancakes soaked in syrup), tuna fish for lunch, mashed potatoes and homemade personal pizzas for dinner (Davis make a triple layer pizza), and cookies 'n' cream ice cream cake for dessert.  It was a busy day with online classes, school, Tesfaye's track practice and the girls' dance classes - but Davis was able to fit in time for a nap and Legos.  We're going out to Lakes Cafe to celebrate a late birthday lunch out as a family this coming weekend.

. baseball glove . Monopoly . Legos . MN Twins shirt . clothes . Science experiments book . Age of Extinction (the next book in his series) . Lego robotics set . comics . 

We are so proud of our tough boy. 

Glasses

We have one more stud in glasses!

At our most recent visit to our family doctor, thanks to a basic eye exam, we discovered Davis has impaired vision in one eye - off to the eye doctor we went.

Davis has a form of lazy eye: Refractive Amblyopia.  His vision impairment affects only his left eye.  Unknown to us all, Davis has a "good" eye which has been providing his brain with a clearer picture and became dominant causing the other eye to become weaker.  Thankfully this condition was discovered and we hope that with corrective glasses (and a +2.75 lens for his left eye), his brain will start utilizing both eyes and any loss of vision will halt.

We are so thankful for this discovery and so thankful we are able to get the corrective eye wear he needs.  
He sure looks handsome in his spectacles! :)

*Davis joins our growing crew of glasses wearing kids: we now have FIVE!!!

Soccer

Spring soccer has ended - it's been a great season for our four boys, Jackson, Davis, Burke, and Kolpin.  All four boys, on three teams in two divisions, practiced and played the same time twice each week - which was incredibly convenient for our family, but also meant we were rotating between fields the entire time, catching only snippets of play at each. 

Kolpin's U8 team's coach was great with the kids, energetic and incredibly funny, keeping things light and humorous calling from the sidelines.  This was Kolpin's first soccer team experience - there were several awesome seasoned players in the league, but many beginners too, and 7-year-olds can be quite entertaining in general - it was very fun to witness. 

Jackson, our Tesfaye, loves the game.  He's one of the strongest players on the field and is so aware - always thinking many moves ahead and expertly setting up plays for his team.  His coach has been challenging him all season to work on passing - trying to prepare him for Middle School soccer where opposing teams would most likely play 3 on 1 - wanting Tesfaye to be expert at getting out of tough situations on the field and finding the open player.  All season, Tesfaye has been fun to watch carrying the ball down the field and taking incredible shots on goal - he averaged 2 goals each game.  He's all over the field!  Their team won every game.  The kid has skill. 

Davis has been so proud to be on the winning team.  His understanding of the game has grown exponentially.  He's very proud of his defense playing and enjoyed taking a few turns as striker.  He is definitely one of the hardest working players on the field (even when his shoe flies off!). 

Kolpin played soccer the same way he approaches everything - with a lot of energy.  We refer to him very lovingly as our "spaz."  He's a bit of a spaz on the soccer field - with proper focus, his fast running and energy could help him be an unstoppable force on the field.  For now, we're just glad this has been such a positive experience for him.  He really had fun running around the field with his teammates :)

Kolpin's team played several fields away from the bigger boys, but thankfully, Jackson, Davis, and Burke were all in the same U12 league.  Some weeks we saw brother v. brothers, other weeks they played on adjacent fields, but they were always playing close to each other, making it easier to watch two fields and three boys at once. 

Watching the boys, we often took turns (and their siblings often ventured down to the playground), sometimes rotating 15-30 minutes at each field for the 90 minute practice/game time. 

The U12 league had three teams - they took turns playing games and having practices throughout the season.  All the coaches have been wonderful working with the boys to set them up for more challenging leagues in the future. They're really working to build a strong soccer tradition in this region. 

This day, Burke's final Saturday soccer, his team was on the practice rotation - working on soccer skills and then scrimmaging.  It had been several years since he'd last played on a team, and he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  He was quite pleased with his skill on the field and loved making friends with teammates.  (And everyone was jealous he got to play on John Mark's team!). 

Finding and filling water bottles, searching for the illusive soccer socks, trying to match uniform tops to clean shorts out of the laundry piles - it was an ordeal to get everyone to the fields.  Then, back and forth, back and forth, soccer days were always busy.  I would have loved to sit and enjoy a full game, but on days we all ventured to the fields it was important for me to see all my boys play - field to field to field.  Strollers and chairs, a family camp set up in the middle, and siblings venturing together to the playground and stream under Hendrick's watchful eye. 

It's been a great season. 

Their final game was a parent v. kid challenge.  In the U12 league, they played more than 20 kids against their parents.  Mike played for an hour against his three boys.  When Tesfaye was put on goal towards the end the game (to give him a rest), Mike moved up to offense saying he needed to score on his son . . . he did :)

Then, Mike moved down to Kolpin's field to play against the U8 team.  This wasn't quite as competitive as the play against the big kids, but daddy was worn out after TWO games that morning - he's so good! 

Great season to our Soccer boys!