Canyoneering Trip

Well, the boys are packed for their trip. Jared has tried his hardest to lighten his backpack to under 25 pounds. He can easily be a minimalist so it shouldn't be hard for him to do. He weighed his pack and it weighed 25 pounds. You should have seen the look on his face. He thought for sure that it would have been at the most 23 pounds.

Next up, Kaleb. Jared came up the stairs claiming that Kaleb was packing the kitchen sink in his backpack. He sat on the stool with a smile on his face while Kaleb weighed his pack...24 pounds!

Now you really should have seen the look on Jared's face!

WHAT?!?

He concluded that since Kaleb is SOOOO skinny, he has smaller clothing. Even though they wear the same size shirt.

 My tough chickie decided to check out Kaleb's pack. It was kind of funny watching her try to walk around with 24 pounds on her back. Her legs were like lead weights with each step.

 Some mom's pack their sons packs and make their sack dinner for them.  I don't. Nope. If you have a son, you aren't doing them any favors by doing things for them. Plus...I think they made a pretty awesome looking sandwich. They did say that it tasted pretty good too. And...it was huge. I had bought a loaf of french bread which they proceeded to cut the rounded edges off and made two huge sandwiches out of it. Pretty impressive. Not just a wimpy sandwich. This was a Man Sandwich with lots of turkey, peppers and hot mustard. Along with all the veges that a mother encourages. I think I saw cucumber and tomatoe.

Yep, they're ready. I wish I were going.

Rock Climbing

Mid June, both the boys were preparing for a big trip to Leeds, Utah for a Canyoneering trip. They practiced in Logan Canyon for this. I got to watch....and take pictures. I was nervous at first for them but was excited for them at the same time. Two of the parents, a husband and wife team, led the boys. They go canyoneering all the time through out the year so they are quite experienced and bless the troop with their expertise.

 Jared was actually the first one down and followed the instructions to a "T". I get so proud of my boys when I see them do really cool things like this. They are growing into wonderful young men with a range of experiences.

 A look of satisfaction. Is it just me or is he handsome.....

 Kaleb really impressed me.  He has always been really cautious. You should see him with a knife. The funny thing about Kaleb is he is always so careful to not make a mistake and very cautious. Always the first one to pipe up with an instruction on how not to hurt yourself. He was very excited about this and was willing to take the risk rapelling down this cliff! I think because he is so cautious, he feels secure in knowing what he knows. It doesn't keep him from actually doing it in this case. I am really proud of him for sucking it up and doing it. They had extra safety lines that are required by the BSA anyway. So he was pretty secure up there.

 I got a lot of pictures of behinds. It is a little hard to get a picture otherwise. I would have had to be up there with them to get a better one......but I was not about to do that.

 Thumbs up and a big smile!

Out of all 6 boys going on this trip, 4 of them homeschool and attend Star Academy co-op with us. They should have a great time on this upcoming trip. They have done a good job preparing for it.