Alex is doing well at Hampton High School. He has made a couple of friends and seems to be getting used to the high school routine. One of his favorite classes is a Sports Marketing class, which is an elective. He is the only freshman in that class. I attended a Back to School Night last week and briefly got to meet all of his 8 teachers. I'm quite impressed with the progress reports that come home every two weeks and the daily updates on assignments, homework, tests and quizzes that are posted on-line. It's nice to be able to stay on top of these things.
Alex recently celebrated his 15th Birthday! It's hard to believe that in less than 6 months, he will be able to get his learner's permit. He had a blast going on a backpacking trip with his Boy Scout Troop along the Appalachian Trail. Although his Troop spent several weekends conditioning for this trip, it was not adequate preparation for the 10-mile hike up and down steep terrain with 1/4 of the boys' body weight in their packs. Ted thought it was cool watching all the scouts cooking their meals on little propane stoves, and when the meal was over they stuffed everything into their packs and hit the trail. The boys loved it! They have committed to making more backpacking trips in the coming months. Alex also received his Life Rank badge at a recent Court of Honor ceremony. We are very proud of him.
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| Outdoor cooking. |
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| Hiking the Appalachian Trail. |
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| Alex being awarded his Life Rank. |
After the big boys enjoyed the Appalachian Trail, the Cub Scouts camped two weekends later at the Coast Guard Station in Yorktown. It rained, of course, and we got a chance to see who lives by the Boy Scout motto and remembered their galoshes. The Cubs all had a good time making smores, performing skits, and singing songs. Ted also showed the boys how to handle a pocketknife and had them practice by carving bars of soap with plastic knives. The boys earned their Whittling Chip. No stitches required. Unsure about the weather, we also took the scouts to the Watermen's Museum located in Yorktown, along the York River. The curator was very accomodating in handling our group on short notice and only charged us $1/person for admission! The scouts learned about the work done by those who work on the Chesapeake Bay.The museum also houses a boat building shop that teaches local students how to build wooden boats from scratch. After the trip to the museum, we took advantage of a free ride on the Yorktown Trolley. On our round-trip ride, we got to see a view of the York River, the Yorktown Victory Center, historic buildings in Yorktown, and parts of the Yorktown Battlefield. The best part of camping at the Coast Guard Station, however, is eating breakfast at the Coastie's chow hall. Omelets cooked to order, fresh fruit, waffles, french toast...the list goes on. Matt's den even won the Spirit Stick! That means the Cubmaster decided that Den 4 displayed the most scout spirit, despite the weather.
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Bear Cub Scouts carving soap. |
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| Scouts visit the Boat Building Shop at the Watermen's Museum in Yorktown. |
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| Bear Den 4 performing their Astronaut Song and Skit. |
Sophia is enjoying Cross Country. She practices 3 times a week. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been fair and the first 2 meets so far have been cancelled. I'm looking forward to seeing her actually compete. The X-Country coaches said she is doing great and has improved greatly in her time. She is doing well in 7th grade and enjoying her Girl Scout activities.
Matthew and Alex are both playing soccer. The weather doesn't seem to be a factor for soccer games. The boys seem to enjoy getting all muddy kicking a soccer ball around. One of Alex's games 2 weeks ago was at Langley Air Force Base (or Joint Base Langley-Eustis as they are calling it these days). I couldn't believe so many players showed up. The rain was coming down so hard that it was going THROUGH my umbrella. My "rainproof" pants were completely soaked. Thankfully the referees were too smart to join us, and the game was cancelled.
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| Matt dribbling down the field. |
Although September was a very busy month, we know that the upcoming months will continue to be so as well. We hope you all are enjoying the beautiful fall colors, and the cooler and crisp temperatures!
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