First Date! :)

Aubrey recently went on her very first official date!   Well, aside from the mandatory first date with her father anyway.  ;)

She went with a boy named Dylon.


She had an absolutely wonderful time on her date.  Dylon was a perfect gentleman.  He opened doors for her.  Of course, paid for the date and treated her with the utmost respect and kindness.  They double dated with another couple which only added to the fun.  Together they all went and watched the new movie, Malificent.  Aubrey LOVED it.  Then the boys took them out to the sand dunes located just north of our town for a picnic.  The boys made up some turkey sandwiches according to the girls' taste and wishes.  For Aubrey that meant a ton of mayo - she takes after her mother on that one.  They played out there for awhile...threw frisbees and the girls buried the boys all the way up to their necks.  :)  Afterwards, they went to a local dairy farm where they bought and ate their deliciously fresh ice cream. 

I waited up for her to get home.  I could already tell she enjoyed her date before she walked into the house because I could hear her laughing with him as he walked her to the door.  That's a good sign right there....and of course the next 10 minutes of her telling me all about it with a smile on her face.  It was a great first date for Aubrey.

Arrow of Light Award

Ronin has been actively participating in Cub Scouts since he was 8 years old but recently outgrew the program once he turned 11 years old.  However, he went out with a bang by earning several awards at his last pack meeting a few days ago. 

The biggest award he earned that evening was the Arrow of Light Award....it is the highest ranking award a Cub Scout can earn in the program.  It is also the only award that is allowed on the Scout uniform when he turns twelve years of age.  

A special ceremony was performed for Ronin...it was pretty cool.  Chief Akela with his Guard, Guide, and Medicine Man showed up to do the honors.  ;P 

During the ceremony, Ronin was given a small leather pouch with a feather in it to symbolize the feather of an eagle. 

In not so many words, the Indian said:
"This pouch with the eagle feather symbolizes that which had been given to eagles since the time of our ancestors, and it is perhaps the most difficult to understand. Like freedom, the eagle had to soar and survey the land beneath him; so too will you have the freedom to choose the goals in your life and pursue them with eagle's courage. Know who you are, where your powers lie, and use them to achieve your goals. You are to soar with the eagles."

 
The Indian then presented Ronin to the Scoutmaster....which position just happens to be held by his very own dad (who also happened to be working on duty at the time.)  So when Ronin joins the older Scouting program, Jed will be his new leader.  Pretty cool.  :)  

  We, as parents, were both then given the opportunity to present Ronins' awards to him personally.

The seven rays of the Arrow of Light represent wisdom, courage, self-control, justice, faith, hope, and love.

 

We are very proud of this young man!  Congrats, Ronin!

Baseball Wrap Up

Ronin's baseball season is winding down to a close this week, with tournaments next week.  He's had a really good year - he has steadily improved throughout the season, especially the last three games.  His last game he caught two fly balls in the outfield - he was pretty excited about that.

Season Highlights:

* Ronin still managed to get in some goof-off time during practices and games with some of the other teammates.  He loves to laugh and play with others, so it's really no different in baseball either.
* In one particular game, the pitcher nailed Ronin right in the head.  Good thing for helmets, Ronin was a little dizzy after that but it could have been so much worse.
* One cracked windshield from parking my vehicle a little too closely during baseball practice....Jed was really happy about that one.  :)
* Grandma & Grandpa Hansen coming out to watch the games and cheer Ronin on.
* Stealing bases, getting walked many times, windy, cold days, dirty uniform, playing several positions, hitting a double, bad calls from the umpires, cheering for your teammates, a coach pushing you to do your best, etc...what's not to love about baseball?

TEAM PICTURES