Basketball

Tommy joined basketball, and had his first game ever last week. He's still learning all the rules, but knows he has to dribble...

And is pretty good at guarding and defense.

Get 'em, Tommy!

Gizmo 11 Months

Gizmo's been getting a little more freedom when we let him off the leash up on the trail. He likes to bring home the biggest stick he can find...

And sometimes he brings a friend like Sadie up with him. 

Gizmo has the longest, skinniest tongue, so we decided to put a little peanut butter in a bottle to see if it would keep him busy, and if he'd be able to get it out. No problem!

It's seriously ridiculous!

When Mom does yoga in the morning and rolls out her mat, Gizmo usually sits down on it and stretches. Yesterday she tried to get a picture of him doing it, but the only thing he did was scratch himself...

Yawn...

And then chase his tail in the video below. You'll also see him running around with Tommy, and furiously wagging his tail in his sleep. 

Webelos Camping Trip at IROEC

Mom and Tommy went camping with Tommy's Webelos den at the Irvine Recreation and Outdoor Education Center. Tommy was excited because he got to ride there in the front seat because Mom packed too much camping crud in the back. 

Their first adventure of the day was archery.

Tommy got a bullseye!

Then bb gun shooting. 

Which was Tommy's favorite.

He and his buddy Remy were a pretty good shot!

All the scouts took turns playing chess, it was the favorite game of the outing. This was Tommy and Liam's turn...

Later in the afternoon they did some battle with pool noodles and the younger scouts in the next campsite. Tommy ran defense with the help of this garbage can lid. 

After dinner we made s'mores.

And then there was more pool noodle battling until the younger kids were tired. 

Then it was back to our campsite for some chess and Uno by flashlight. 

The next day we went ziplining!

Here's Tommy, ready to go...

He and Remy were ziplining partners.

 And he even went with Mom once!

In the video you can see some archery, the scouts making mini catapults and launching mini marshmallows, and some ziplining. 

Dog Beach Day

We all love the beach...

But Gizmo LOVES Dog Beach. It has water, Tommy, and other dogs: everything he loves. 

Tommy splashed around in the freezing water, and Kat and Mom laughed and supervised from the sand. 

They both had a ton of fun...

Chased each other around...

And played in the waves. 

Gizmo was pretty tired after we got home, and Kat is his favorite to snuggle with. 

And he's her favorite to take selfies with. 

Camporee 2021

We weren't sure it would happen due to Covid, but the Scouts got to compete at Camporee. The theme was "Summer in Paradise" so they dressed accordingly. 

L to R: Emily, Paula, KaiLani, Tiana, Kira, Kat, Bella, Amanda, Natalie

The patrol helped weave flowers into Kat's hair to make her more festive. 

They did a great job in the knot relay...

In "Height and Distance" they had accurately estimate the height of this pole and the distance from the pole to the cone. 

They had random checks of their 10 essentials...

And the first aid tent even had this giant version of Operation! It was pretty funny, and a car horn went off if the tongs you were using touched the metal barriers.

This event was called "Plutonium Carry". It used a clamp that could open when everyone pulled to stretch it out. You had to grab a candlestick with a ping pong ball balanced on top off the top of a bucket, and work together to carry it to another bucket and place it on top without the ping pong ball falling. It took them a few tries, but they did it! That's Kat on the far right.

They had to walk around a messy campsite and point out all the things that were wrong with it...

And work as a team in all the events. 

They even got to do some archery...

And air rifle shooting. 

Not bad!

Here they are in action, competing in the spirit competition with their Troop 568 chant, then the knot relay, first aid stretcher relay, Plutonium carry, and archery. 

After any Scout event, they ALWAYS want In-N-Out.

Love these girls, they are such a great team, so supportive of each other...

And have way too much fun together!