End of the Year Cub Scout Campout

   At the end of the school year the Cub Scouts do an end of the year camp out. This is the time that the boys all 'graduate' to their new den. Carter crossed over to a Tiger this year. He is pretty excited since this is normally the first actual cub scout level. He was a Lion this year which is a new (and not nation-wide) program. There aren't really any badges to earn. So, Carter was excited to a get a Tiger book and objectives to meet. He also will now get to wear a real cub scout uniform (his favorite part)! Also, Cory took over as Pack Master this year so we will have a very exciting year ahead of us!
   For this camp out Cory and Carter drove up on Friday night and camped out with the pack. Clay, Vivi and I joined them mid morning on Saturday. The boys were all still on a hike (a VERY long hike) and we were able to all eat lunch together and stay for the 'Crossing Over". Immediately afterwards, me and the little ones raced back to Edwards to say goodbye to our WONDERFUL neighbors who were leaving that week. Cory and Carter stayed for the rest of the day and the evening activities and came home very late on Saturday night since Cory had to leave to go to Phoenix the next morning. He's still there and me and the kids are in TX for a visit. Here's a few pictures I captured with my phone while we were up there at the campsite.
 

Kindergarten Program

The Kindergarten classes did an end of the year program on the last day of school. They didn't do any kind of graduation, which is fine by me, and I'm assuming did this performance instead. There were plenty of cute songs and we've been singing "This Land is Your Land" for months now. While I know that in a few weeks I'll be begging for school to start again, I am so GLAD it's over for the summer. Carter and I (and the rest of the kids) were all needing a break from the everyday school happenings. I have some video of this performance as well but can't figure out how to get them to play on blogger.

Carter and his EdBest Austin

Say "Cheese!"

Viv's best friend Emma (Which happens to be Austin's little sister)

Carter's teacher Mrs. Berglund. We will miss her for sure!

In laws for Memorial Day

Cory's parents visited for Memorial Day. We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving, so it was nice to catch up. We hung out at the house the first day and took a quick trip to town to play some mini golf. Carter, Vivi and I actually all got hole in ones! There was one time, that I still remember, when I was about 5 that I got 4 or 5 hole in ones in one game! I don't have much skill, but every now and then, good luck will seep from my pores. I always seem to be far away from Vegas when this happens. I hope that Carter and Vivi get some of my good luck genes.

The next day. we decided to venture out and hit Santa Monica Pier. Everyone was tall enough to ride most of the rides, so we got the all day pass and everyone had a great time! We tried to put everyone on a "swingy, back and forth boat ride" and Vivi did great....until they put down the seat belt bar. She burst into tears and we had to take her off. Poor kid. This is new territory for me. The boys will always try something and tell me afterwards whether they liked it or not. But Vivi seems to be a bit more scared and reluctant to try a lot of things. I'm not sure how to handle it. With the boys, 'force it until it works' has actually worked out well for us with food, roller coasters, discipline, etc. But leave it to that next kiddo to throw a wrench into things when you think you've got it figured out. If you need more proof of this, have at least 3 children and see also: potty training.
Vivi has all these delicate....emotions. What the heck?

Cory and Viv posing on the pier

Luckily, Vivi was not scarred for life and rode all the kiddie rides just fine

We had a pretty good time at the pier and the kids did really well. They're all getting old enough to handle days out without much tumult. It wasn't too crowded amazingly! It started to get pretty bad at around 2-3pm - when we were leaving.

View from the Ferris Wheel

End of the pier. Just previous to the photo we all had giant margaritas at the restaurant there at the end.

It was chilly at the top!

Chillaxin' on the sand

After we left Santa Monica, we drove down Hollywood Blvd to point out the stars on the ground and the Chinese theatre. I had forgotten about all the sketchy characters that hang out on Hollywood for tips (Scary looking Elmo, Mickey Mouse, etc.)
The boys flipped their lids because there was a Sonic the Hedgehog, A storm trooper, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker and Batman all hanging around. One of the boys (I don't remember who) started screaming to PULL THE CAR OVER, WE HAVE TO GET OUT! But after the long day, we weren't about to pay $20 to park for 5 minutes and brave the insane Hollywood Blvd crowds. Eek.

Two stinkers