Pack 101 goes to camp!

Summertime means day camp for the Cub Scouts, wooo!  This year, we attended an official BSA day camp and ended up heading over to Caldwell on a Tuesday and Wednesday earlier this month to participate in the 'Quest for Excalibur'.

We had eleven boys attend and we met at the church each morning to carpool.  Chuck and I bought our minivan last summer with the full knowledge that it would be driven on many a Scout outing, and sure enough, it was used for Boy Scout Camp in June and Cub Scout Camp in July :).

I corralled the Scouts all together at the beginning of the first day for a quick Pack photo; I'd say the results were mixed (movie reference there anyone?).  

Note the water bottles - we managed to pick two of the hottest days ever to spend OUTSIDE, so the boys were subjected to all sorts of hassling as we sunscreened them at two-hour intervals, dunked their hats in cold water regularly, and carefully monitored their water intake.  At one point a camp leader frowned upon my yelling "Chug!" to the boys and proposed I use 'Guzzle' instead, but that didn't seem to roll off the tongue as easily, so we stuck with chug :).  Seth proved to be our best water drinker (we lost track of how many refills his water bottle went through each day) and that inadvertently contributed to our most hilarious moment of camp, which I can't tell here but I'd be happy to regale to anyone in person - ask about the 'zipper' story, haha...

And here are our awesome leaders - Brother Allen, Brother Forrester, Sister Murphy, Sister Smith, and of course Sister Izatt.  Brother Forrester and Sister Smith are brand new leaders who were so awesome to jump right in and volunteer their time to help.  Brother Allen isn't an official leader, but generously offered to come with his son and help.  And Sister Murphy is just amazing; any success or competency I display in my calling is due to her knowledge and guidance!

The boys had SO much fun; the activities each day were really well put together and carried out.

The boys played Knight's Ball (aka kickball) both days.  I jumped in and played real quick the second day and made it to third base before our time there ran out; I was pretty proud :).

More fun - making gargoyles out of a sticky playdough mixture (that resulted in crumbs all over the backseat of my minivan, haha), putting together wooden catapults, playing 'minute to win it' type games.

More activities - using BIG catapults to 'storm the castle', practicing penmanship with feather quills, and sweet Noah hanging out with me.  He had just turned 8 a few days prior, so this was his first Cub Scout experience - what an introduction!

Even more - archery, knot-tying, leather work, science (lever and fulcrum), jousting, and BB gun shooting!  The BB shooting was an activity both days as well, so the second day I decided to give it a whirl.  As you may know, I've had a little bit of experience shooting (much to everyone else's amusement) but I'd never shot a BB gun before.

Christian was my buddy down at our end of the table, and Joseph and Brother Forrester took the spots at the other end.  Brother Forrester and I had a little competition going, and I'm pretty psyched to say my target's grouping was more concentrated that his was... and I now know what that means!

Emily B, this is for you - Tristin was a pro at this 'minute to win it' game where you stack dice on a popsicle stick in your mouth (don't worry, used popsicle sticks were immediately disposed of!).  He got eight for sure, and the ninth stayed for about a millisecond before they all toppled.

At the end of camp each day, boys were invited to come up and tell a (pre-approved) joke or do a skit, so our boys did the 'stiff neck' skit that they had learned a few months ago for a den meeting.  I was really proud of them, and we all got a piece of taffy for our efforts!  (Myself included, I was the stage director).

Much thanks to Chuck who had all three boys on Tuesday and Grandma Pam who came over to stay with the boys on Wednesday so that I could go traipse around in the dirt.  This was my first prolonged absence from Jack so I was so happy to know that he was in good hands.  He did absolutely refuse to drink formula, instead opting to (quite happily) subsist on rice cereal and sweet potatoes during my eight-hour absence each day, goofy kid! 

My mom obliged me with cell phone pictures through out the day - the boys were SO excited for the 'Captain America' and 'Captain Sunshine' shields Grandma Pam made with them :).

I had so much fun at day camp with my little Scouts.  I've worked in Cub Scouts for two and a half years now (first Wolf den leader, then Bears, now Cubmaster) and I really, really love it. Our pack was SO well-behaved at camp - they always stayed with their 'buddy' (which was a feat, considering the number of porta-potty trips that were made) and were respectful to the other scouts and leaders, and (rarely) complained when I made them line up for sunscreen or water refills.  Everybody CHUG!

Extended family pics: Braden side!

We took advantage of being [almost - we sure missed Cody!!] all together the weekend of Isaac's baby blessing and did some family pictures with my dad. 

 Here we are - Sam (and Bailey), Quinn, Dad, Chuck, Terri (and Hazel), Eden (and Isaac), Jana (and Jack), Will, and Clyde.  This picture makes me so, so happy - I sure love all these people!!

I was DANG pleased with how our pictures turn out, considering the color scheme was revised about seven times (my brothers have unusually strong opinions about wardrobe...) and we had spent the four hours previous outside in the heat/driving (remember the cherry picking?) and in lieu of a professional photographer, we combined resources (Sam's camera, my tripod, Quinn's best friend Cameron) and went the amateur route.

 We did some shots of just our family, and thanks to the collective goofiness of the aunts and uncles on the other side of the camera, Clyde and Will both smiled lots, hooray!!

 I love the progression of Clyde cracking up here - I think this is when Quinn was piling cowboy hats on his head and melodramatically despairing when they toppled off.

Because six wee grandkids under six is a sight to be seen, we gathered them all together for a quick photo op with Grandpa. Will's good mood had long since given in to tears, and Jack and Bailey quickly joined him. I love how chill and uninterested Hazel and Isaac are :). And mad props to Clyde for (once again) holding a wiggly baby and maintaining his smile.  

Speaking of props, that's what my dad provided to our photo session, starting with cowboy hats!  Between the slight chaos of rotating the hats every couple of shots and watching Sam's hilarious cowboy stances, this was one of my favorite group of pictures.

We did make sure to get a nice one of my dad and his three kids that were present.

AND thanks to Cameron wearing a blue polo shirt and my sister-in-law Melissa's talent with photoshop, we even managed to get a picture of my dad with his three kids that were present plus the kid that wasn't!  (L to R: Quinn, Cody, Jana, Dad, Sam).  I love my dad and brothers so much!

In an effort to be in as many pictures as possible, I suggested a 'girls only picture' (sometimes I do this at home, but it's much lonelier...).  I'm SO blessed to have two of the coolest girls ever as sisters-in-law. Seriously love them both.

I think we all look like runway models just off the catwalk . . . well, mostly Eden.

Finally, my dad had also brought a selection of cool Hawaiian shirts, so before we wrapped up he and Sam and Quinn donned those for a bit. And once again please note Sam's inability to wear any kind of costume without mixing in some of the character as well :).

I'm so glad we took the time to do these pictures and that they turned out so well!

Isaac's special weekend

A couple of weekends ago we had lots of fun when Quinn and Eden came to town to bless baby Isaac!  Sam and Terri and their girls came as well and we got lots of good family bonding in while we were [almost] all together (Cody wasn't here and Chuck had to work most of the weekend, bummer on both counts!).

The first order of business was to get acquainted (Clyde and Will met their wee cousin Isaac for the first time!) and re-acquainted (Clyde took about three minutes to warm back up to Cameron) while we ate pizza at Grandma Pam's house on Saturday. 

One of our main goals for the afternoon was to get a nice picture of my mom with her six grandchildren.

Most of the shots looked like this...

But we got a couple good ones!  I was SO proud of Clyde; he held Jack the whole time and smiled like a champ.

Thanks to multiple cameras, we have this cute picture of Will and Unky Quinn from two different angles.  We're big on documentation.

We're also big on juice boxes.

And pizza and SunChips.

Next, let's play a fun game called 'Candidly Photogenic'.  It's where we admire people who look really really good in candid pictures.

Ahh, here is one of our winners, Eden.  Just chillin' on the couch... beautifully. 

The next winner is Terri, just chillin' on the back patio, also beautifully.  I kind of feel like this one should be in an 'easy/breezy/beautiful CoverGirl' ad.

And here we have our ... not-winner.

(Seriously though... I'm sure whatever child I'm reprimanding had it coming, but next time I might opt to keep my mouth closed and my eyebrows un-raised when I'm the presence of trigger-happy brothers.  Good thing Isaac is so dang cute!)

Oh, and just for fun, here's what Sam and Quinn would look like if they were a loving gay couple who took turns holding their triplets that they internationally adopted from three different countries:

Sam still can't believe how blessed they've been!

Our next activity on Saturday was meeting my dad at an orchard in Emmett for some cherry-picking fun.

But first it was time for Grandpa to meet his newest grandson!!

Then we got to work filling up the buckets.  Clyde was SO dang cute as he stuck real close to Sheets and made efforts to recruit more pickers by calling out "Hey, does anybody want to join our team? Cameron knows all the good spots to pick!"

Will was also darling.  He happily swung his bucket to and fro as he improvised a song about cherries and then watched verrry carefully while his loot was weighed.

This sweet boy was sooo happy despite the sweltering heat that curled his hair :).

Aaaand here's another awesome candid shot of me.  I don't feel too bad about it though, because I kind of think I look like a celebrity.  I can see this on an Us Weekly "Stars - They're Just Like Us!" spread with the caption 'They push strollers through the treacherous terrain of cherry orchards too!'

This picture made me laugh because that is also how I wear my camera and that is also how I frequently take pictures. 

After getting the cherries weighed and paid for (thanks Dad!!) we piled back into the cars for the caravan back to Nampa.

Cameron may have gotten the short stick - the very back row of the minivan between Clyde and Will, making sure Jack and Isaac were both happy (and buckled!!) in the middle row while Eden and I chatted happily up front :).

Once we got back to Nampa, we grabbed a freshly-off work Chuck and all changed clothes and headed to a nearby park for some family pictures, the awesomeness of which necessitates a separate post.

Then it was back to our house for a barbeque and an official introduction between baby Isaac and Uncle Chuck!

Sunday was the main event - Isaac's blessing at church.  Quinn did a wonderful job and there was such a sweet spirit in the meeting.

Some quick shots after church at the brunch at Eden's mom's house: Quinn and Eden and their sweet little redhead, Aunt Summer with Isaac, and Grandma Pam and Great-Uncle Larry.  Fun fact: Isaac wore the same blessing outfit that my three boys all wore, which was originally purchased by Uncle Larry and Aunt Iris for baby Quinn to be blessed in back in the day.  Circle of life, my friends.  (Well, not really, but you know what I mean.)

My boys were happy to shed their white collared shirts and ties and roll up their pants for some trampoline fun, only stopping to refuel with chocolate muffins :).

We're so glad that we were able to attend Isaac's blessing and spend time with my family over this weekend, we sure love you all! 

Happy b-day America!

 We had a pretty fun fourth of July this year, starting off with our traditional ward breakfast over at the church:

 My cute Cub Scouts did the flag ceremony, we ate delicious pancakes, the boys wore the same shirts they wore last year and ran around and played a lot, I hit a wiffle ball home run, cute little Daisy wandered around with me, Gabe showed off his roping skills.  Basically an awesome morning!

 Oh, and Chuck and I got to eat (mostly) in peace because we pawned off baby Jack on other people!  Alison, Jaylynn, and Brother York all took turns holding our little firecracker :).

 

 After the pancake breakfast, we came home (by way of the fireworks stand) and took naps, made star-shaped sugar cookies, played Qwirkle with Grandma Pam, and changed Jack into his second Independence Day outfit.  Pretty busy afternoon.

 We also made a VERY exciting discovery in our garden - a sugar snap pea pod was ready to eat, yaaay!  So naturally we all shared it - some of us enjoyed it more than others . . .

 I also may have fed baby Jack his cereal in the grass. . . and honestly, I might do it again. 

 At dusk, we pulled out our eight dollars worth of fireworks and lit 'em up and then proceeded to enjoy the BIG fireworks that all of our neighbors were sending up into the sky.  Clyde and Will loved it - which made me excited to make it back down to Elko for a 4th of July again sometime; the city fireworks show down there is awesome.

And it was time for s'mores and bed - which for Grandma Pam, Clyde, and Will was in sleeping bags in the tent!  They fell asleep still watching fireworks overhead :).

Happy birthday America!  Thanks for letting us live in your beautiful land and have lots of wonderful freedoms that we much too often take for granted.  And of course, thanks for letting us celebrate your birthday with food, family, and fireworks - pretty much the best recipe for a superfun bday party!

Everything you wanted to know about JUNE at the Izatt household...

Disclaimer: this is a very long, quite scattered recap of June.  BUT to reward you and make it a bit more bearable, there are darling pictures of baby Jack strewn throughout. . . .

like this one!  You're welcome in advance.

Sooo summer has hit our house pretty hard; we've all been getting a pretty good amount of 'screen time' in every day.  BUT we've also been hitting the books in an effort to keep our brains semi-mush-free:

 Seriously, I love when the house gets reeeal quite and I find the boys reading to themselves in their room.  So cute.  And we recently acquired desks for Clyde and Will (hand-me-down/back desk from the Dalbeys and good deal on craigslist, respectively) so every morning I chain them to the chairs until they've each practiced their penmanship.  Suckers.

 I read a book too! I'm not gonna lie; it's been a while since I read a new book (as opposed to re-reading Anne of Green Gables or Harry Potter or Goose Girl for the sixty-fourth time) but Chuck found this one for me at the library and I really enjoyed it.  I don't think it's important that my interest in it stemmed from a TV show addiction; let's just stay focused on the fact that I read a book!

GRATUITOUS CUTE PICTURE OF BABY JACK

 (thanks to Grandma Izatt for the shirt and Savers for the shorts!)

Oh, June brought some medical excitement to our lives.  I had a couple moles that were weird (what moles aren't, I know) so I headed to the dermatologist early in the month.  She wasn't worried about my moles, but she was intrigued by a weird bump on the side of my face.  So intrigued that she decided to 'punch out' a bit of it to biopsy.  

(Side note: serious thanks to the amazing Holly for insisting she needed some Clyde and Will time and watching my boys that day so Chuck could come with me to the doctor. We weren't anticipating the little procedure, but it made it sooo much better that Chuck was there with me and could drive afterwards because I'm a LIGHTWEIGHT and felt a little out of it afterwards. Love you Holly.)

 Here's the progression - I started with an awesomely large bandaid that first day, then I just sported the teeny three stitches (with blue thread!) for a week, then a cute circle bandaid the day the stitches came out, now it pretty much looks the same as it did before.  And the good news is that it was nothing to worry about, so yay for that!

 We took advantage of having babysitters readily available on our anniversary (it fell during the time that Chuck's mom and grandma were in town) and went on THREE dates that day.

 The first was to play tennis, yay!  We both love to play tennis but haven't taken the opportunity to do so in forever, so we decided to make it a priority this summer.  SO fun, and not just because I won :).

 The second date was to the doctor to get my stitches out (what? it counts!) and the third was out to dinner that night (spoiler alert: we picked Mexican). 

 The boys did another round of swimming lessons at the beginning of June, this time in a regular class with other kids.

 They did SO well and we loved their instructors Kellie and Elmer, who were both really friendly and connected with both boys.  Clyde officially passed the preschool level, so when we do lessons again in July and August he'll be in level one, wooo!

Since baby Jack has been racking up a list of milestones lately, we figured we'd add another one and hook him up with some baby food.

 He seems to like the rice cereal pretty well.  Also, I think this should count as a gratuitous cute picture of Jack, because, seriously isn't it darling how intently he's staring at Chuck?  I think we're three for three on daddy's boys around here...

 

 Speaking of which, it was Father's Day this month!!

 I think Chuck had a pretty good day, despite the fact that I spent most of the morning ignoring him and the children as I finished writing my talk for sacrament meeting.  I spoke about the characteristics of Heavenly Father and included personal stories about four men that I love and respect a great deal and how they exemplify a certain characteristic.  Reviews were pretty glowing, so that made me feel good!

 Father's Day decor around the house:

 It may or may not still be up.  I figure dads should get hugs every day, right?

 GRATUITOUS CUTE PICTURE OF BABY JACK

 My mom had a garage sale in mid-June to bulk up the 'gas money' fund for her upcoming road trip with Lyn to Nauvoo. I apparently love her more than I thought I did, because I went over on Friday and helped run the show. 

(The thumbs-up picture was a cell phone shot I texted to my brothers as part of an ongoing series about what a better offspring I am than them. I'm hoping the guilt I cause them comes in handy when it's time to split up the inheritance...)

 It was a pretty fun day; the elders spent part of the morning washing (and waxing!) their car, so Clyde helped for about five seconds before bailing on them in favor of umbrella-twirling.  And isn't that a cute shot of my mom reading on the couch? Well, I kid you not, she was actually reading out loud. To those two boxes.  That may or may not have contained my two oldest children.

 The end of June brought Scout Camp, hooray!  Once again, Chuck was in charge of the four-day expedition as the Boy Scout Committee Chairman.

They took up nine boys (and managed to bring nine home, which is always good).  Chuck and Brother Murphy were there the whole time and four additional leaders made it up for at least a night.  It sounds like everyone had a great time - the food turned out excellently, there was lots of fishing, it rained all one day, they canoed and swam, and the boys all did really well.

 

Back at the ranch, the little boys and I happily had a little stay-cation, only leaving the house for a daily walk/bike/trike ride, sometimes with friends.

 (Naturally, I feel like this should count as another gratuitous cute picture of baby Jack.)

My dad came over one evening to provide some adult interaction for me and a fresh face for the boys to gaze upon. He played football in the backyard with the boys forever, which they absolutely loved.

 Oh, and he brought delicious cherries he hand-picked in Emmett!

We busted out the paint to make a fun sign to welcome Chuck home:

 The full effect on the garage door.

 

 Close-up. I wanted Jack to be involved so I may have painted his foot orange :).  He was surprisingly okay with it!

The next day Will seemed pretty attached to Chuck . . . and the lawn mower :).

Clyde opted to tool around on his brand. new. bike!  He had outgrown his old one a while ago (he's had it almost two years) so a bigger one was definitely in order. We opted for a much bigger one, apparently we're planning on him taking it on his mission. . .

GRATUITOUS CUTE PICTURE OF BABY JACK

Aaaand that's a ridiculously detailed account of the month of June around these parts. As a reward for making it through this post, please enjoy this hilarious picture of Clyde and Will:

Who needs actual pets when you have roly polies to dote on??