Conquerers of Ben Lomond

So here are some sweet pics from our expedition up Ben Lomond on September 19th and 20th. I had a hard time finding a second leader to come with us so I had my dad come with us. He was glad to get out of canning peaches but not quite as excited to hike 16 miles. He was a good sport.

Brian and Samuel both had tests to prepare for and take so they couldn't come. We had a pretty good turnout. Jake, Ben, Harrell, Cody, and Michael came.

Day one we hiked about 3 miles with our packs to our campsite. That night, Ben, Harrell, Cody, and Michael all crammed into a 3 man tent (I usually subtract one to get the right number of people for a tent). They broke a zipper or two but I think that kept them warm. Jake slept in a 2 man tent. My dad and I slept on a tarp under a tarp to protect us from the rain.

I don't think many of us slept well. It was very windy and the tarp above my dad and I flapped really loudly. It sprinkled a little during the night but wasn't too bad and the ground was dry by morning.

In the morning we grabbed some water and snacks, left our packs and other items at camp and hiked to the peak. It took us just over 2 hours from camp to the peak but we all made it... even my dad. Check him out.

We rested at the peak for a while before heading back to camp for another short rest and then took our packs and headed back to the cars. When we got to the cars, most of us laid down on the asphalt because we were so tired.

All in all, it was a great experience and I think everyone (except my dad) will probably want to do it again... as long as it isn't next week.

Campout on Ben Lomond

Hey guys, I don't know who is still paying attention to this. I still need to get everyone access to it. I just wanted to say that we are planning on going up Ben Lomond again this year. We plan to leave as quick as possible after school on Friday. I am trying to get a second leader so we can go. I'll try to keep you all posted. I'll also try to get some pictures on here next week.

No Leaders

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to appoligize for the lack of communication lately. My work is doing a rec softball team this year and my wife really wanted to play. I am not trying to abandon you but I think I need to support my wife. I will probably not be to scouts/ym on tuesdays for the next while because we have games each Tuesday.

I know Brian is normally working on Tuesday nights and can't be there either. For the meanwhile, I don't know what we are going to do. We are trying to talk to the Bishopric to figure out a temporary or permanent solution to this problem. Hopefully we can get some more leaders to help out on Tuesdays when Brian and I cannot make it.

Hopefully you all have fun anyway. Just look to the Calander for what we planned. Stick to the plan as much as possible and we will try to help out if possible.

I am thinking of doing our activities to Wednesday nights temporarily so that you guys can have at least one leader with you. I don't know if that is possible, but we'll see. Let me know what you think.

Calander updated

Hey guys thanks to those fo you who came and participated at our planning meeting. We were a little slow getting started but we got a lot planned. Check out the calander to see all the activities that we have planned for the summer. It should be a fun one.

Next week is our Court of Honor. Everyone wear your uniform if you have one. If you don't have one, talk to me or Brian and we'll see what we can do to help you get one. Either way come and show your support to the boys that have earned awards. They have been working hard to achieve them.

Patrol Positions

We chose patrol positions a while ago. Here they are:

• Jayden - Patrol Leader
• Harrell - Historian
• Jake - Scribe
• Ben - Chaplain's Aid
• Carl - Quartermaster

Also, our Patrol name is the Flaming Arrows. Everyone think of a good patrol yell.

No YM March 25th

Because of the political mumbo jumbo going on next Tuesday, there will be no mutual. They are encouraging all of us adults to attend the caucus (however you spell it). Enjoy the week off and we will have scouts again on April 1st.

Swimming last week, scavenger hunt this week

For those of you who missed it, we went swimming last week. No one drowned. We went to Surf-N-Swim. I think it's safe to say that we all had a good time.

Tonight is the combined activity with the young women. I've been told that it will be a scavenger hunt. I'm not sure what kind of scavenger hunt it is but come at the regular time with a good attitude and it should be a lot of fun.

Call me or Brian if you need a ride. See you there. Also, remember that you all have positions and responsibilities now. Talk to Brian or me if you aren't sure what you should be doing.

Broom Hockey

Last Tuesday we played broom hockey with the young women for the combined activity. I think everyone had a lot of fun. We broke probably about half the brooms that we brought. We had a lot of rough play but miraculously only ended up with one injury. Poor Karl (aka Carlitos). He hurt his foot/ankle when he was going against two of the girls and scored. Here are the pics from my phone.

Another update

I just wanted to say that the Klondike derby was a blast. I think everyone had an awesome time. We got to shoot black powder rifles, throw tamahawks and knife, do archery, sled, freeze our toes and do belly flops in the snow. We all came back alive and with all our appendages intact.

Also, Congratulations to all the Giants fans out there (and anti-Patriots). Superbowl champions who upset the previously undefeated Patriots. Poor babies. I didn't get to watch the game, but I've seen highlights and it looked like the Giants just outplayed the Patriots.

Alright, enough of that. Tomorrow, we are having another planning meeting. We will have a hobo fire at Brian's (I think). Come with ideas for what you want to do for the next 3 months. Take a look back at the last planning meeting and see if you are still interested in the same merit badges or if you have new ideas.

See you all tomorrow.

Back on the blog again...

Hey guys, I know its been a while since I posted anything here. I thought I'd post some pics from our combined activity last month. We went downtown and it was a blast. Enjoy these pictures.

I also just wanted to say that I appreciated the four boys who bore their testimonies and went to the temple last week for baptisms for the dead. You know who you are. You guys are awesome.

As far as this week, Brian and I are trying to come up with an exciting activity to get us all back into scouts. Let us know if you have any good ideas. Call me or Brian tomorrow afternoon and we should know what's going on. I updated the calendar today. I'll try to do a better job. I'd like to keep this updated better. Also, if you need help getting setup on the blog, let me know. You can call me almost any evening and I'm home. I really would like to not be the only one who posts things. Let me know if you need another invite.

Combined Activity

Hey guys, tomorrow is our combined activity with the young women. We are going to temple square to see the lights and a movie. Meet at the church at 5:30 pm. We want to leave right away so don't be late.

Last week's climbing wall activity was a blast. I was very impressed with how good some of you guys were. I wasn't as dissapointed in myself as I thought I'd be either. Those of you who didn't come definitely missed out. Hopefully you can come next time we go.

Next Tuesday is Christmas and the one after that is New Year's so we are not going to meet. Our next night for scouts in January 8th. The following weekend on the 12th we want to go to wolf mountain or go sledding so get ready.

See you guys tomorrow.

Climbing wall activity

Sorry guys, the climbing wall activity has been postponed. We are going to do it next week. Please go to the Irock site (link on previous post) and print off the release form and have your parents sign it. If you don't, you can't climb. Call Brian, Shane, or Jeremy if you have trouble printing the form or need us to help you.

Come tonight anyway. We are going to be joining the young women in their food drive thingy. I'm not sure exactly what we are doing, but I will do my best to make it fun and entertaining for all.

Climbing Wall

This Tuesday we are going to the irock climbing wall in downtown. We need everyone to have a signed release form in order to go. Go here to get the form and print it. At church on Sunday, Brother Green said that we were going to do food donations this Tuesday, but according to our planning that was not this week. I am waiting on Brian for confirmation of what is going on. I will update this post as soon as I have more information.
If it turns out that we are doing the food donations this Tuesday I think we will do the climbing wall next week.

Hobo Fire/ Planning

Just so that you all know, I have created a calendar that you guys can all see on our blog. I will do my best to keep it updated. If I have missed anything, please tell me. I am excited for the activities that we have planned. So you all know, these are the possible activities that were suggested at the hobo fire in Brian's back yard:

• bowling
• driving range
• mini-golf
• sledding
• geocaching
• flowrider
• climbing wall
• snow shoeing
• ice fishing
• snowboarding/ skiing

We also came up with a list of merit badges to work on:

• archery
• shooting (guns)
• hiking
• swimming
• computers
• aviation
• wood carving
• basket weaving
• fishing
• automechanics

Let me know if you have more ideas or if I forgot some. Thanks!

Hobo Fire at Brian's

Hey everyone. Tonight we are going to be at Brian's house from 7-10 pm. We will be having a campfire (hobo fire) in his back yard. We will be planning out our activities for the next 2 months, so come with ideas and get ready to decide your own fate. If you don't come and help plan, don't complain about not getting to do what you want.

So come and have fun. You know you want to.... There will be food and fire!

Dooly Knob

Last saturday we went to Antelope Island to hide a GeoCache box. When we got to the island we saw a few of the most popular residents of the island: buffalo. Taylor and I got out of the van to get a better picture of them. I didn't feel like we were too close, but I didn't plan on getting closer, when a ranger came and told us that we needed to get back to our vehicles. He said the buffalo could charge without notice and we would not have time to get away. We did what he said and he told us that Dooly Knob would be a short hike with a great view. We headed to the trailhead. Dooly Knob was part way to Frary Peak (the highest point on the island). We started off and Jake, Ben, Taylor, and I would run in little spurts up the mountain. On our way to the knob, we stopped at a small outcropping of rocks to enjoy the few. When we decided it was time to move on, Taylor tripped and fell, banging and scraping his knee.

After we made sure that Taylor was ok, we continued on the path. When we made it to the top of Dooly Knob, we stopped to rest and put things in our GeoCache box. I took this video when we were at the top (hopefully it works).

On our way back down, I jokingly told Shane to climb a small outcropping of rocks to put the box on top. He took me seriously and started rock climbing. All of a sudden, one of the rocks he was holding onto came loose and he slid down the jagged rock face, cutting his hand open. Apparently, we are not good boy scouts because we were not prepared with first aid. Shane cut a piece out of his shirt to use as a bandage and we tied it with yo-yo string. I think next time we need to be more prepared. All in all, I think we had fun and did end up using our GPS and orienteering skills to successfully hide our GeoCache box.

Activity for Saturday November 17th.

Remember everyone that we are going to be going to Antelope Island this Saturday morning. We are meeting at the church at 8:00 am where we will eat some pancakes before we leave. Call me or Brian if you need a ride to get there. Be on time or you may not get any pancakes.
We are going to be placing a geocache (spelling?) box on Antelope Island and each of you needs to bring something that you can leave in it.
Also, don't forget to bring a camelbak or water bottle and wear layered clothing so you can remove layers if you get hot but make sure you dress warm enough and bring clothes that can get dirty/muddy just in case.
We should be back around noon, possibly a little later.

We also get to setup for the Ward Thanksgiving dinner when we get back. The dinner starts at 5pm so we need to be done before that.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Setting up your access to this blog.

Hey guys,
I've received a lot of comments saying you can't accept my invitation to join this blog. It should be pretty simple.

1. Open the invitation e-mail I sent.


2. Click the link that says "To contribute to this blog, visit:" (this should open up another page)


3. Create a google account using your existing e-mail. (basically follow the directions.)


4. Once you have finished it should take you to a page where you enter your e-mail and password (to the google account; not your e-mail) and then you click the button that says you accept the invitation.


5. This should be enough but if you still have problems, go back to your e-mail where you should have received an e-mail from blogger where you will need to click the link to "activate" your account.

This should be all you need to do. If you keep having trouble tell me. I know this works because I invited myself on another e-mail and was able to do it.

The winning pine wood derby car

Picture Scavenger Hunt

Hey guys, I thought I'd post some pics for the scavenger hunt a few weeks ago. Send me your pics if you want them put on here.

Brady and the handicap sign.

Cody with a guy wearing NFL paraphernalia.

Michael in a choke-hold from a 79 year old man.