Another Successful Pack Meeting

Well, I managed to squeak through another pack meeting. It is the second one that I have done and I thought it was going to be a complete mess. Earlier in the month, I had contacted the local fire department to see if they would come and talk to the boys about fire safety...and to see if they could bring a fire engine.

I didn't hear back from them until 2 hours before the pack meeting was supposed to start. ARRGG!

Still, three firefighters showed up in full gear with a fire engine, and the boys had a great time. Although my kids are still too young for cub scouts, they came along because they knew "dad was friends with the firemen." It's kind of distracting having kids underfoot when I'm trying to lead songs/stories/whatnot, but it all turned out okay. Fun was had by all.

Next month theme is "My Family Tree." Geneology stuff...no problem. :)

All is Well

Okay, Isaiah just had an ear infection, not strep throat. I guess I should give my wife more credit when it comes to stuff like that. Anyhow, everyone is better now, although Rebekah is still a little grumpy that she didn't get any medicine.

Only five more weeks until this semester is over! I can't believe that I am almost done. I've started looking into classes for my last semester already, and I think I have it all worked out. It should be a lot better than this semester has been - if only because I'm going to be taking a scuba diving class (to fill out the last few credits I need to be a full time student).

Glub, glub, glub...

More Sick Kids

Mary is feeling better, but now Isaiah is staying home from school. I think he has strep throat as well, but Leslie thinks it might be something less serious since he doesn't have a fever. Emma has also picked up a nasty cough, so we're keeping an eye on her as well. Rebekah goes around giving fake coughs - just to show that she is "sick" too. I guess she doesn't want to feel left out.

Leslie and I are still pretty healthy...just tired. With both of us in school and trying to raise a family, it can be exausting work. But we're hanging in there.

I've gotten away from playing online games. It has just been taking up too much time and it is way down on the priority list. That is not to say that I won't play every now and then; I'm just not going to play for hours on end anymore. Both Leslie and I want to do more stuff as a family like we used to do. It's been a good week for re-prioritizing.

Playing Hookie

I've decided to skip school today. Mary has strep throat, so I'm going to hang out with her while the antibiotics kick in.

Happy Birthday...Cha Cha Cha!

...and two months later it is my birthday! I haven't written lately mostly because I've been going through a bit of a slump. A lot of it started with the hurricane hit New Orleans. I don't really know anyone down there, but for some reason it was very depressing to me to see the horrors that those people went through. I strongly believe that a lot more people are going to be in very similar situations over the course of the next few decades.

I've also been having a lot of dreams where my children are missing or I'm trying to defend them during a hopeless war or other similar things. There have been quite a bit of gut-wrenching sobbing in my dreams - which has also added to my feeling a bit down. The good news is that I'm back on an upswing. I'm still a bit more quiet/thoughtful than Leslie would perhaps like, but it's nice to know that we have a good enough relationship to put up with each others little foibles.

There have also been some school issues (there are ALWAYS schools issues in my life), but I don't feel like going into it right now. Just going to keep my head down and barrel through as best as I can. At least that is balanced by the extremely good financial position we are in - quite a remarkable feat for two married college students with four kids.

So...now I'm 32. In an effort to stop looking like an 18-year old, I have started growing a beard. It has been...what...three or four weeks now. I've stuck with it so long now because I got the go ahead from Mary (our 7-year old). Leslie doesn't mind it either and I think it looks rather good - so it will probably stay for now.

Work is work. Nothing much to report there. I have pretty well blended back into the background. I come in, do my job, and leave. Because of the odd hours I now work, I hardly see any of the full time staffers anymore - which means they don't ask me to do extra stuff, and that is okay too. I've started to really slim down on what I get involved in. My kids are starting to get to the age where I really need to be more involved in their lives. Mary and I have finished reading The Hobbit and have started on the Chronicles of Narnia. I still try to spend one Saturday with each kid each month, which is more or less successful. The kids call it their "special day," so it must be working. I just need to come up with more ideas about what to do. The weather is cooling off and we can't really do bike rides/picnics/outdoor stuff as much.