Better Late than Never!

 Christmas Cards are finally in the mail.  Trying to get my family together for some pictures, is like pulling teeth.  

Merry Christmas!

  Some Pictures that did not make the Christmas Card cut.

 

All Done Baking My Christmas Cookies!

This is a Tradition I do every year.  Baking over 700 cookies.   All the Cookies for this year are listed below.  click on the link and you will go to the recipe.

Merry Christmas and Happy Baking.  

Smores
Crisp Sugar Cookie
Chocolate Dipped Lady Fingers
Oat Rageous Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
Almond Rugalas
Oatmeal Cookies full of goodies

Christmas Band Concert!

The Cisco Kid had his first Band Concert at School.  He is playing in the Percussion section.  In this concert he is playing the Xylophone and the Snare Drum.  All these children did a great job for only playing for two and a half months. 

Over 105 students in Beginning Band.

The percussion students have to stand while playing.  Just before the concert they are all waiting patiently.  I do not play drums but I can only imagine that people who like to drum have a hard time keeping their hands and feet from constantly moving.  As I am watching the percussion students I can see that they are anxious to start taping to something.    

He is always very eager to help.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hoping everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  As always we stay home and enjoy the day with family.  This is one of my favorite holidays.  I spend an enormous amount of time peeping and cooking for this holiday.

Loving our new Boy Scout Troop

We have decided to join a new Boy Scout Troop.  I am so happy with the ethical and moral values of our new troop.  Not only with the adults but with all the scout's themselves.  The 12 core values are paramount in this troop.  Safety on camp-out's are everything I imagined they should be on a Boy Scout Camp-out.  It is a true testament to the Scout Master and his ability to run a great Troop.  

This is a boy lead Troop with the guidance of the Scout Master.   The Senior Patrol Leaders teach and mentor the younger scouts in their achievements and rank advancements.  I am so impressed with the attitudes of the Senior Patrol Leaders.  When I look at these boys, I see they have what it takes to hold the title of Eagle Scout. 

We have been in this troop only for a month and I can see that the older scouts are a positive role model for the younger scouts.  They do not fight, argue, bully and disrespect each other or disrespect other Scouts property.   In addition my son has been learning so much at each Troop Meeting.  There has never been a week, where he came home and said we did nothing. 

The Chief and The Cisco Kid went on their first camp-out with the Troop.  They camped in tree-houses.  They got there Friday Night and set up camp.  The troop cooked dinner and Light out at 10:30 p.m.   Saturday they ate breakfast and did the Flag Ceremony.   After the Flag Ceremony, they set up four Challenge Stations.  The first station was putting together a stretcher.   The second station was flag raising.  The third station was  putting up a tent, blind folded.  The fourth station was Knot Tying.  

After the challenge they ate Lunch.  They sat by the Campfire for a about two hours.  Then they went Canoeing and Fishing.   At 7:00 pm they ate dinner, cleaned up and went to the Troops planing meeting.  

The Troop Planing Meeting is where they all vote  on where they will like to go on all there camping trips.  Over the next four months they will be  going to Shands twice for a weekend  to earn their shooting merit badge, Backpacking trip at Torreya State Park and a weekend camp-out at NASA Cape Canaveral Fl.  This Troop is really letting these boys have an adventure.    

That was a full day of very organized and very safe activities.  I feel so good that my son is learning everything the right way. 

This past weekend they camped out in the Tree Houses.  

He was so tired at the Planing meeting he ended up falling asleep. 

 

Halloween

The Chief had to put on a costume for work.  He is Gru From Despicable Me.  His minion is in his front pocket. 

NAS Blue Angel Air Show

 A couple of years ago we went to this Air Show and it was great.  I thought if you have seen one air show you have seen them all.  Not the case.  This one was so different.  Of course the grand finale was the Blue Angels Both times, but all the flights were amazing and more exciting than the next. 

I don't know what I am going to do.....this made his day.

 The pilots are really impressive.

 

F22 Rapture, top speed 1,498 MPH

A stunt Helo.  He twisted and few backwards. 

Stunt woman.  Flying on top of the plane.