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AJ's Eagle Court of Honor was held (finally) on February 24, 2006. It was a fairly well attended function, as these sorts of thing go. The dynamics of hosting a "non-required" function and getting people to attend has never been intuitively obvious to me, so I was somewhat surprised at the large turnout. Then again, seventeen family members were there and seven others were part of the program so maybe that isn't so surprising after all.
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David Ellis (AJ's Scoutmaster for four years) gave a slide presentation contrasting the growth and development of an eaglet (the subject of Dave's doctoral dissertation) with that of a young man excelling in the Scouting program.
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This was basically the same presentation given at Jon's Eagle Court of Honor (and some others,) with some adaptations. I have to admit that it was my kind of presentation, being both funny and informative at the same time.
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For some reason, orchestrating this function was more taxing than most (and ridiculously more than was appropriate). Even with all my checking and re-checking I arrived without a copy of the Eagle Oath. Fortunately, AJ's current Scoutmaster, Elliott Simons, made up for my shortfall. I kept repeating PPPPPP (Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance) but it just didn't seem to work!
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For some reason, Barbara was surprised she was called up to receive a "Mother's Pin." Perhaps the briefing I gave her, was not sufficiently detailed, or maybe she just forgot. This isn't the first time she has "Been Round The Block," so I suspect she should have known even if I did omit the details. Then again, it has been a few years since the older boys received their Eagle Scout Awards.
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A word of caution to you novice parents out there. The Scout Motto is "Be Prepared," and that means you need to be prepared for a lot of work and a lot more hassle if you want one of these. I suspect that in the long run, however, it is probably worth it. I thought it interesting and informative that AJ insisted that both his parents wear their respective pieces of jewelry to church the next Sunday. |
Ameilia thought AJ's current haircut was modeled after Spock (and if you recognize that reference, you are revealing details about your age), so AJ accommodated her with the Vulcan hand gesture. Those of you who are true Star Trek fans will had already noted the absence of the pointed ears.
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One nice thing about family festivities is that they bring grandchildren. Abbie is obviously well advanced along the path to mastering the fine art of getting her way, and Grandma was a pushover for one so practiced. Still, it was fun to watch...
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Mike and Margie also attended, and we got to visit with them briefly. If my understanding is correct, they are preparing for a mission in about the same time frame as AJ. I realize that, "There is many a slip twix cup and lip," but there exists a miniscule possibility that they will end up in the same mission....a (Really) L - O - N - G shot.
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Wyatt and Ethen enjoyed each others company to the point that, it was audible to most everyone in the building. Wouldn't it be nice to still be able to derive such joy from such simple pleasures? I can just vaguely remember...
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According to Ameilia, it is not possible to place Abbie on a Height/Weight/Age chart. Her numbers just don't compute. Still, I don't think I have seen her go for any significant length of time without consuming something (usually with great gusto). Averages are just that--that point with equal amounts above and below. There are always "outliers," both in mental and physical attributes (in both directions).
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Notice who gave Abbie the real food, and who provided "toy" food.Barbara received a message from Mia a few days ago. While Mia was going over names for the soon to arrive new "Baby" Ramsay, she would ask Abbie who the people were in the various photos that she pointed to. Well, when Mia pointed to Grandma Barbara, Abbie said "Bubbles!!" So you know how she remembers Grandma! Of course we thought that was really a cute remark! Of course you can imagine what Grandpa had to say about that. (And we thought Barbara's previous career as a dancer was such a well hidden secret...) |
| Barbara was able to spend some "Quality" time with Ethen last week while Nathen, Terre and Kyle went to a job interview at the Paper Mill in Snowflake. She was dismayed to learn that he doesn't take naps anymore... Terre did point out that he does sleep from 7:00 pm - 7:00am. During this two day visit, Ethen was quite facinated at the Mary Kay facial mask that Grandma put on her face. He didn't stray any farther than two feet away from her during this procedure. Grandma also taught him how to make a blanket tent in the front room to "pretend" to go camping (Good thing, Mr. Goodman, the owner, was gone on vacation). They watched "Veggie Tales" N-U-M-E-R-O-U-S times; They read many of his books; Put several puzzles together that they eventually picked up off the floor, colored, she was able to talk Ethen into letting her change his diaper. ..He didn't want anyone but "Momma" to change his diaper. At his age, it is hard for him to grasp the concept of time, and he didn't realise that Momma wouldn't be there to change his diaper for a few days. He wasn't very thrilled when it came time to take a bath and was somewhat comforted to hear that Grandma wasn't going to wet his head. It was interesting for her to think of different creative ways to "get him" to do things her way! You know... Be reasonable....do it my way! Overall, she felt very sucessful at getting him to eat quite alot of nutricous food. (He is notorious for eating VERY Little!) |
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If popular folklore is to be believed, I'm not as wise as I used to be. Last Thursday, I had one of my three remaining "Wisdom" teeth removed. But I'm still "Wise" enough to know I don't want to repeat that experience. At this point, I regret not bringing the offending member home so I could photograph it. The root was not the slender, graceful, thing usually depicted in drawings, but a massive chunk having the same cross section as the crown but being four or five times its length. I may recover... eventually. I would like to close this subject with some witty, clever, or funny remark. Unfortunately, an extracted wisdom tooth is none of these. *Barbara's Note: For someone who has a Ph.D. and is susposed to be quite knowledgeable...it sure took him quite awhile to finally get it removed. (He was told about one year ago to have the tooth pulled.) I guess there really is a difference between knowledge and stubborness in the Hatch genetics. I participated in a ward service project yesterday, and it left me with feelings that are definitely ambivalent. We helped (generally older) people in the community by hauling off items that they had designated as "trash." The ambivalence comes from the process by what someone determines what is "trash". I saw piles 25 feet tall of "goodies" that people in the Third World countries only dream of owning, crushed by front end loaders in a very successful attempt to reduce their volume. I personally helped dispose of a lawnmower that according to it's owner, had been used only once but, had been left out in the weather. Such a waste... I have no idea where I obtained my affinity for "experienced" equipment, but it is alive and well squatting in our yard in Oracle. Surely there is a better way... |