Chuck is a fox

[SO, this post is about Chuck's and Dan's Wood Badge beading ceremony from two months ago. I clearly should have blogged about it in a more timely manner because in the meantime... four days ago..., Dan was called as our ward's bishop and so now he's 'Bishop Swenson' instead of, you know, 'Dan'. But since he wasn't the bishop two months ago, I'm just going to refer to him as Dan for this post with no disrespect intended :). ]

Once upon a time [a year and two months ago] Chuck and Dan went to Wood Badge! From my somewhat shoddy understanding, Wood Badge is an intense Scout leadership training up in the mountains for six days - attendees learn about the Boy Scout program origins and and methods and songs (hahaha) and communication skills and come home dirty and tired and pretty taken with Robert Baden-Powell (the nice gentleman who founded BSA) and eager to implement what they've learned in their lives and in their interactions with their Scouts.

They alllllso come home with homework! Each participant comes up with some 'ticket' items - goals they select to help them improve in their Scouting roles. They're given eighteen months to complete all of their ticket items and when that's done, they receive their Wood Badge beads! Chuck and Dan finished around the same time and were beaded together :).

Here's the excellent invitation that Dan put together, using the picture I took of them when they got home last year. I knew they'd thank me someday for making them pose for it...

The Murphys very generously donated their yard for the evening and helped a ton with the BBQ. Chuck and Dan had lots of support from other Wood Badge-rs, friends from the ward, and family.

 Some pictures of the actual beading. Caitlin (in blue) and Shan'l (in tan) were Dan's and Chuck's troop guides, respectively. They shared some of the history of Wood Badge and the significance of the beads and new neckerchiefs.

Chuck and Dan were given an opportunity to share a bit about their experiences and ticket items. One neat thing was that they coordinated a bit and completed two goals together - Chuck researched and compiled a pamphlet with tips and advice for Scout leaders as they work with Scouts with autism. Dan then organized an informational meeting about working with Scouts with autism and other special needs where the pamphlets were distributed. They did a great job... and I'm not just saying that because I was one of the speakers :).

Chuck and Shan'l. Troop guides are a vital part of Wood Badge - they teach and encourage their patrol members and then follow up afterwards as the participants work on their goals. At the time of the beading, Chuck was preparing to return to Wood Badge as a troop guide himself, with Shan'l as his mentor for that role on staff.

 As part of the ceremony, all past attendees of Wood Badge got to go up and sing a song together. It was very nice and also kind of funny and an excellent to chance to take pictures to capture the awesomeness of a group of people singing together without any prior rehearsal :).

Brother Murphy has been a great supporter of Chuck and Dan as they've gone to Wood Badge and worked on their goals. A few months ago he gave them both special neckerchief slides with their 'critter' on them - at Wood Badge you're sorted assigned into different patrols, each with a different animal, and that distinction follows you throughout your Scouting life. If you've never seen the excitement when a Scouter finds a fellow owl or beaver, then you're missing out...

 This time he carved them special plaques for the occasion, including their critter. Dan is an antelope and Chuck is a fox - something that he gets a great deal of pleasure out of repeating on a regular basis, haha.

 Random break for pictures of the kids:

 Carma was not a huge fan of the evening, luckily Grandma Pam was there to take care of her, although Ryan was recruited for a bit as well!.

 It was really neat to have Chuck's parents be here for the beading; they are very enthusiastic Scouters and have both attended Wood Badge and been on staff in various positions. I think Pops has even directed a course... Right? Pretty sure :)

 Oh man, somewhere I have a picture of Chuck with his parents at his Eagle Scout Court of Honor. I feel like I should dig that up...

We grabbed all the boys from their game of tag and made them pose for some pictures. Here are the Izatt and Swenson families:

 Have I mentioned how much we love the Swensons?? We do. A lot.

 And then some of just us, which went reeeeeally well:

 Can I just say how much I love the picture on the bottom right? Will finally has his game face on for the picture, SO cute and chipper and for the first time ever, I'm the one not looking. AHHHHHHHHH!

 We opted to stop while we were [kind of] ahead with this one:

 OH, and look what I took a ten minute break to find:

Chuck receiving his Eagle Scout award! 

Circa... spring of '98?

(Also pictured are Ronnie Pooler, Chuck's friend and Scouting chum, and Dick Wills, their long-suffering Scouting leader and good, good family friend. Dick passed away five years ago and many of his Scouts, Chuck included, were able to attend his funeral and serve as pall bearers.)

I'm really proud of Chuck and the time and effort he puts into his calling as Young Men's President in our ward and his enthusiasm for the Scouting program and even more importantly, his love for the gospel and his desire to serve our Heavenly Father and be a tool in His hands to help the boys under his care grow and learn and become men who embody the Scout law: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Chuck is a stellar example of those characteristics and I'm grateful for the role that Scouting has played in his life. 

[let the record show that I'm also grateful that Chuck's Scout uniform gives him a slight resemblance to Peter Pan, because, come on, how cute/slightly dorky can you get? I'm also grateful that the 'having fun camping in the mountains whilst Jana is at home keeping multiple children alive' portion of Wood Badge is over, haha.]