In uniform

I can't get either of my boys to wear their complete uniform to Den Meetings. Maybe I can for Pack Meetings. They absolutely refuse to put on hat, neckerchief and slide...

But when the school announces that boys can wear their uniform to participate in a Flag Ceremony everything goes on...and Aidan was very adamant about making sure that his recently earned patches and pins were on for the occasion. They even wore their Cub Scout activity shirt underneath.


It's a chance to show off (a more humbling term wouldn't be appropriate for this age) their "bling".

...and for mom to snap a photo because this hardly ever happens.

Just wait Hunter, when you turn eight you'll get the pants and socks.

Hurricane Aidan

That would be the perfect day. When they name a Hurricane after my son. He does comment on some of the names they pick...Hermine? Igor? What kind of names are those? Aidan would be so much better. Course, then he complains that "his hurricane" wouldn't amount to much because it would form at the beginning of the season. Oh darn. Yep, I worry about those things too...all the time.

Sure enough, Aidan's been at it again all summer. Now that we've hit the peak of Hurricane season he's really anxious. Not sure if it's because activity seems to increase at this time of year or because he's sad that Hurricane Season is half over and therefore all the excitement goes away. Right now he's keeping a close eye on Hurricane Igor. But he keeps a close eye on every Tropical Storm although he missed Hermine because we were out of town. That one just kind of snuck up on us.

While I admire his love for knowledge sometimes it gets a little uncomfortable for me when he says "I need some action!" Hermine dropped a lot of rain on us but that of course wasn't enough for him.

Every year he understands more and it's gotten to the point where I'm not familiar with all the technical jargon that he uses when he's giving me the forecast. He introduced me to Stormpulse.com this morning. That website is a goldmine for him. It has EVERY recorded Tropical Storm in history. He's been studying up on his Weather history with that website.

I asked him the other day "If he wanted to go anywhere in the USA, where would you like to go?" And I really meant anywhere. You'd think he'd mention Disneyworld or Disneyland or some place like that. Maybe I hoped for him to mention Yellowstone, Washington or The Beach. Nope. He immediately screamed "The Weather Channel!" Caught me off guard. Unfortunately they don't do tours in their facility. So, then he said "The National Hurricane Center!" Again--not prepared for that response either. That one does tours but you have to be 12 years old. He melted and complained that he would have to wait another 2 1/2 yrs. before he could visit! It was the end of the world for just a moment...

Anybody else know of any other places that Aidan can visit?

New vehicle

I decided long ago that I was not a minivan person. But, I'm not an SUV person either. I was in between. Crossover vehicles really appeal to me. You get the seating and a bit of extra space--but not minivan space. I was okay with that. However, we came to learn that Crossovers just aren't as popular as everything else...near impossible to find THE perfect Crossover vehicle with an affordable price tag.

We finally opted to trade in the Ford Explorer. Let's face it, 4 seats--5 people in the family. It just wasn't working for us anymore. The search was on when child #3 came around and we knew a bigger vehicle would be in store. Until then our family vacations and outings would come to a stand still as there was no way 5 people and all of our belongings would fit in our Galant. This fact alone led us to purchase a bigger vehicle sooner rather than later! I've been itching to go on family outings (for longer than a day) and I just couldn't take it anymore!

After two weeks (and a new battery) I'm still not sold on the whole minivan idea.
But, a minivan owner we are! It'll take me a LONG while to figure out all the bells and whistles. This van is loaded with them! Let's see if it grows on me...and I'm sure it will.

AFTERTHOUGHT: After reading a few of your comments I have to agree that little ones do enjoy pushing the buttons that make the van do amazing things. Robyn loves being able to see out the windows. However, now she absolutely refuses to ride in the car!