The Eagle Has Landed

We finally had Landon's Eagle Court of Honor on February 9th. He finished his project last May and then had his final Board of Review August 8, 2013 but he wasn't excited about having his Court of Honor until his friends Brenden and Parker were ready to have theirs. It ended up working out great and was way easier to put this on with the help of their mothers (we divided and conquered beautifully).

Randy's dad flew in (he can fly standby) for the event and stayed with us for 4 days.

Did you know Costco does an Eagle cake if you ask for it?

We just love him.

We had these simple display tables with photos of the boys and pages for guests to sign.

Parker's mom borrowed some vintage scouting stuff for the front table display. Nice.

Parker's mom also put the program the together (I took the photo of the boys). 

Lucas and Landon.

During the program Landon explained a little bit about his Eagle Project.

My favorite part is when he awarded 3 mentor pins to great leaders Dave Johnston, Paulo Bangerter and Rocke Hendry. These men have had a great influence on Landon through his scouting/YM years and I am so, so grateful for their positive influence in his life.

Brother Johnston read the Eagle Charge and invited the boys to join the Eagle Nest.

Front row seats in the Eagle Nest.

Power hug from Adam afterward.

Power hug from Randy.

Official photo with his awesome mentors.

Did you know Landon has gone on two 50 mile hikes?!

Official.

He had so much family and friend support, lucky guy!

Miscellaneous Monday--Phone Photos

Landon has such a hard time smiling like a normal person in photos.

I found this funny message from Whitney waiting for me when I changed the roll of tp one morning.

My last two Secret Pals have been pretty lame, but we got new assignments last week and it looks like this time around I have a good one.

Whitney is supposed to read a book each month for her English Class but is not very keen on that assignment. Last week she needed to have her 215 page book finished by Thursday, but was only on page 67 on Monday. I tried my best to help motivate her, but she put up a lot of resistance...it was maddening for me.

I met my mom for lunch at a new place in AF called Wild Zucchini. I had a steak wrap with all kinds of tasty things inside it and she had a steak salad.

Our parking lot self-portrait.

I finally washed my car after about 6 weeks of filth, it was delightful and stayed clean for 24 hours before the next rain/snow fell.

This is a screenshot of an Instagram post I did of Whitney's nonreading activities...she is the queen of stalling!

When I pulled into the driveway from work on Thursday I actually said a prayer because I feared I would be fighting her all evening to finish her book. Miraculously though, when I entered the house she was sitting on the couch reading and only had 20 pages left! She ended up finishing the book before dinner. I was elated, thrilled, flabbergasted, delighted, tickled and euphoric!

I didn't go to Michelle's house on Friday because she is sick with bronchitis, so I ran errands instead. I hadn't been to Costco since before Christmas, so I had to pay to renew our membership (never fun) and stock up on a bunch of stuff...ouch!

I experienced a bit of a time warp when I saw this car on my way home...oh the 70's were so ugly!

Landon has been taking practice tests online so he can get ready for his Learner's Permit, so I decided to take one too and failed twice! I've been driving for 26 years, but can't remember how many feet away from train tracks I must be and so on. It was embarrassing.

We are finally having Landon's Eagle Court of Honor next Sunday (along with two other boys from the ward) so I had to go to the Scout Store to buy the Eagle Kit ($30, plus $15 for the bandana and $8 for two extra mentor pins). I am hoping that's the last time I will ever have to go there!!

Tuesday Tidbits

It wouldn't kill you to comment...I'm just saying.

Last Tuesday Michelle and I were able to meet up for pedicures at almost the last minute (i.e., arranged by text an hour before). We got there 15 minutes after the place opened so the scent of incense was overpowering! I was mouth-breathing immediately and feared I'd get a headache, but I ended up being fine. It must have been strongest by the front doors where we stood for a long time choosing our polish colors. 

After our pedicures I had to go to the Scout Store to get all the awards for the biggest Court of Honor of the year. Technically I was released a month ago from being the Advancement Chair Person but they hadn't called anyone else yet and I told them I'd do this last one. It ended up being quite the run around getting everything taken care of though so what normally takes 10 minutes at the store took 30. 

The lengthy visit at the store made me late for Lori's birthday lunch at Kneader's, but I texted them my order so it was waiting for me when I arrived.

Whitney made this for Lori's birthday.

I spent much of the evening organizing, labeling and prepping the merit badges for the Court of Honor.

We had deliciously Fall-like weather all week with cool temperatures and rain off and on. I absolutely loved it!

Whitney made a Barbie washer and dryer out of Pop Tart boxes (which I bought especially so she could make these). The shelf is an iPhone box. I wish I looked this cute doing laundry!

I finished reading Revolutionary Road and just loved it. Lori had been raving about it for so long that I finally borrowed her book and gave it a whirl. Now I'm bummed that I didn't have my own copy because there were so many poignant passages I would have marked. I think this is one I'll be rereading. I loved all the delicate nuances going on in the marriages portrayed and I felt comforted to know I'm not alone in some of my less than kind thoughts sometimes. Marriage relationships are complicated and we are all such flawed beings that often what's happening in a conversation is not really what's happening at all; this book beautifully illustrated this complicated dynamic.

"Both the Campbells made conscientious little clucks of amusement, and Shep discreetly inspected his watch. But the worst part--the worst part of the whole weekend, if not of his life to date--was the way April was looking at him. He had never seen such a stare of pitying boredom in her eyes.

It haunted him all night, while he slept alone; it was still there in the morning, when he swallowed his coffee and backed down the driveway in the crumpled old Ford he used for a station car. And riding to work, one of the youngest and healthiest passengers on the train, he sat with the look of a man condemned to a very slow, painless death. He felt middle-aged."
 page 71

Landon's "girl friend" Kassidy was sick on Sunday so he made her some Muddy Buddies (his favorite treat), wrote her a card and gave her a bottle of Powerade as well. We dropped it off after church. What a sweet guy he is! She was giddy about it and posted a picture of it on Instagram and then came into the office at school yesterday to thank me for dropping it off.

Miscellany

Hello...is this thing on? Where is everyone? Comment people comment!

I went over to Michelle's house last week to help her paint Eva's bedroom. It's hard to believe that it's time for an update, but it's over 8 years since I helped her paint that room the first time!

We never know what wackiness Whitney will come up with! She made a mustache out of duct tape one night and then played the part a little too well, it was creepy!

Whitney has been making more fun Barbie creations and totally wowed us with this flute! It is made of toothpicks and eyelets!

 

 She also made this patio table, drinks, nachos and a taco out of paper.

I took Landon for his 4th and final meeting with the guy from the city who worked with us on Landon's Eagle Project...the paperwork is almost all done now!

One of my favorite things about summer is watching "So You Think You Can Dance", this season is looking good so far.

Amie and I got together for a long lunch and some bonus shopping (we ended up having way more time than we thought we'd have), so it felt like we got away with something.

Amy M. was kind enough to have Whitney over for a couple night sleepover (hooray) so we drove up there Friday night to hang out with Adam, Amy and Lori  and to pick Whitney up. It's always fun to see what chalk art will be on their wall.

 Michelle and I got together yesterday for lunch and pedicures. We got our toes done in the same color OPI "Fly" which we're both loving right now (apparently Eva is too). I was sporting my new glittery Rocket Dogs, yeah summer!

I spent a couple hours cleaning out Whitney's side of the closet, this was half the stuff she had shoved on the floor in there! It's best for everyone if I do this while she's at camp otherwise we'd all be crying! I fear she'll be a hoarder when she grows up.

I spent 3 glorious hours sitting under our big shade trees reading (taking small breaks to move the sprinkler) and enjoying our gloriously cool (68 degrees) weather today!! I would love doing this any time, but felt particularly grateful not to be sweaty and miserable at camp in St. George!