Keeping it Real

ÎComments from the boys today. 

Cole comes in this morning and says, "You should take a shower two times a day if you sleep because your bed smells bad--well these blankets smell and so then you smell like them." I don't respond because if I open my mouth I'll likely laugh. Before I can compose myself he says, "Do you see how I said that so I didn't hurt your feelings? I said the blankets smell bad, not you."  Again trying to compose myself. I was so impressed with his awareness of what would be hurtful but it was so cute I wanted to laugh. Anyway, guess I'll be washing sheets today. ;-)

Later this afternoon Kade and I are talking and he begins to study my face and says, "You don't have anymore makeup on your zit." Nice. Yes, I've got a zit, and yes, it is a beauty.  :-( Feeling pretty good about myself.

Love that I have these boys who keep it real around here. 

Brown Family Party

12/26 Jodi and Buzz had a fun idea for our gift exchange this year. All the kids sat in a circle with a gift under their chair and Jodi asked a question, if it applies to you then you have to find a different chair to sit in. When she ran out of questions everyone got the present that was under their chair.  It was a super fun way to mix up the gifts. After they opened them there was a little bit of exchanging.  One of the funniest moments was when Jodi asked, 'Have you ever... Run in a race?' A group of people stood up exchanged seats and just after the last person had sat down Cole jumped up and shot his finger up in the air, "I rosed!"  What? We couldn't figure out what he was talking about. It didn't occur to us that it had anything to do with the question because it was all over.  He explained he did the race at the park and I realized he was saying he raced. Funny learning this crazy English  language.  Cole was saying rosed instead of raced.

Aircraft Carrier

12/1 (add pic)Cole was so cute today. I heard him say, "I'm an aircraft carrier." I looked over and he was flying his plane down his belly. Such a cutie.

Webelos Woods

Sept 12

Kade just really loves most everything about scouting. It really is a program that is just designed around his personality. Today he had Webelos Woods, basically a day camp. They left at 6 am and got home about 6 pm. When Kade arrived home he bursted through the door and announced, "Best day ever!"  I love that he has something he finds so wonderful.

Inmates are Everyday People

Sept9th.

We had a terrific Young Men and Young Women activity tonight. We got to tour the county jail and then hear from two inmates. It was eye opening for many of the kids to see that the inmates weren't scary looking or didn't seem "evil." The inmates talked about how they were so similar to each of the kids there but then they started dabbling with drugs and it was a slippery slope from that landed them on an undesirable course. They talked about how hard it is to stick to living the life they really want to live because the drugs have such a hold on them and once they use they usually end up doing something to get themselves locked up. One of the jail wardens told us a very sad statistic. He said that even though the inmates seem to be thinking clearly now and are very determined to never do anything that would get them in trouble with the law, they have a 86% chance they will be back in jail within six months after their release. I think that was surprising to the kids because the two inmates that talked to us seemed like they were genuinely fixed and they didn't seem like repeat offenders. Before tonight I think in the kids minds, they thought people in jail were just worthless human beings. After tonight I think they saw that it's just someone like them that made a bad choice.  One of the inmates talked about how his drug addiction stemmed from him feeling worthless and now he realizes the worth he does possess. I hoped all the youth really heard what he was saying and realized their own worth, and not to underestimate it.  One of the most powerful messages the inmates shared was that after they had messed up they felt like they were completely worthless. They said if they would have realized that their worth wasn't determined by their mistakes, and just dealt with their choices, they would not have turned to the drugs and become dependent on them.  I hope the youth know that they will make mistakes, because we all do, but one choice isn't all you get--you get trillions, if you choose to keep going!  It was such a great night and I'm sure those immmates shaped the lives of many who were there.

Theater Junkies

Sept. 5thYes, we went to another play with the Goodes tonight. We had our date scheduled at the Hale long before we knew about the play we went to last night. :-)

We love a good show and so we didn't mind going back to back.

TVT's The Curious Savage

Sept. 4thWe love a good play and The Curious Savage is one of our favorites,  so we couldn't pass up watching Timpanogus Valley Theater's production tonight. The Goodes love any chance they can get to go too so they came along with us. It was a fun show and spending time with Darryl and the Goodes made it even better.

Special Moment

Sept. 3rd

Tonight Wendy and I went over to my old neighbor's house, the Chavez'. Their son was murdered in Mexico and they were having a service of some sort and she invited us to come. We didn't know what to expect. It ended up being a 2.5 hour ceremony of everyone chanting in Spanish, but it was pretty special to be apart of it. I really think it meant a lot to Maria to have us there and so I was happy to be there for her.  Turns out they do the ceremony for 9 days and so she invited us to come back but there was just no way I could do it this week. I hope she receives peace soon.

Lake Powell

Aug.25th

I got to fly to Lake Powell this year! They had an open spot on the plane that was taking the staff down. So I got to go down and help get all set up for the Lake Powell trips.  I don't mind the work. Everything is enjoyable in paradise.  Man that plane ride might have spoiled me! To be in my sanctuary in about 45 minutes instead of 6 hours, man was that nice!

This year's trip was wonderful, as always. I learn so much, my mind gets stretched, and I feel like I am a more enlightened parent. My most favorite thing about these trips though is meeting so many wonderful people! I've decided everyone is fascinating with so much to offer everyone so I get so excited to discover new people everyday!  This group was a little more laid back and so there wasn't a lot of high energy or late nights but we still had a lot of fun. We got to slip in a little rappelling in Labrynth, which was fun to see others who have never tried it do it.  I also tried and went a ways on the Aquaskipper this trip--that was fun!  Another big moment this trip was, after a little coaching from Justin, I improved a lot with my wake surfing. 

Unplugged 2015

Aug. 21st

We had a great time being Unplugged again this summer. Tonight was the end of the season party. It was neat to see that there were about a dozen kids that got all 101 tags this year--that's pretty amazing. We love this program! This year the tags we did were:

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