GimletBlog

While he’s working at scout summer camp, Thing One gets to come home Saturday afternoon, spend the night at home, and then The Gimlet drives him back to camp Sunday morning.   His usual work assignment is in the Trading Post, where he makes a lot of popcorn and reports that pocket knives are the top selling item.  He also does extra work around camp as needed, with the result that for the time he is home, our utterly exhausted Thing One does little more than sleep and eat.

The past two Saturdays he’s fallen sound asleep in front of the television after dinner.  It’s a milestone in parenting when mom or dad (or even mom + dad working together) can no longer pick up a sleeping child from the couch and carry him to bed.

All teenage first year staffers have to take a turn running the industrial dishwashing machines for the camp, otherwise known as working in the Dish Pit.  Last week was Thing One’s turn.  It was also the week that the camp was filled to capacity, with over four hundred scouts and scoutmasters using plates, bowls, cups, forks, knives, and spoons for breakfast, lunch, and dinner … and the cooks using pots, pans, and cooking tools to prepare food for them all …

Needless to say Thing One is very glad this week is over, and if he had ever entertained thoughts of a career as a commercial dishwasher, he is now considering other options.   Doing dishes at home doesn’t seem so bad now, either.

Thing One was able to come home a little earlier this week, so he arrived home just as we were heading out to pick up Thing Two from a friend’s birthday party in the park.  Thing Two was delighted to see his big brother and show him off to his friends (a few of whom have big brothers, but not BIG brothers).  And after his long week, Thing One didn’t mind playing with his little brother for a while.

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Thing One may or may not be swinging from the rafters in the Quartermaster’s store, but this weekend he reported for duty on his first day of staff at Camp Pigott.  But first, we had to take a base measurement so we can see if he grows any taller while he’s away for the summer.

We discovered that Thing One has grown half an inch in the past two weeks, putting him at 5’11½”. (Since he spent last week doing little but sleeping, eating, and catching up on Doctor Who, this growth spurt is not too surprising.) Thing Two is fast approaching the 4′ mark as well.

Then, it was time to load up the car and take another picture.  Thing One is already getting into the staff spirit.

We had originally invited Bopa to come along to see Thing One’s camp, if he were feeling well enough to make the trip.  Instead, Hå joined us.

While Thing One and the Gimlet were signing in, the rest of us took a walk along the lake.

(more…)

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Our first official day of summer vacation, and the big guys are already heading out.

The Gimlet and Thing One are working on NYLT staff in August, and their final training session is this weekend.  Next week, it’s off to camp staff for Thing One.  While picturing (1) scout camp subsidizing a teenager’s food intake and (2) Thing One doing his own laundry are happy thoughts, we always miss Thing One when he’s not at home.

Meanwhile, Thing Two and Your Humble Narrator are keeping vigil at the local fruit stand:

We’re down to our last container of homemade strawberry jam, so we really hope “Soon” means soon!

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Before the summer gets started, here’s a look back at some of Thing One’s Boy Scout activities this year.

In January the Gimlet took some of his scouts to a Friends of Scouting breakfast.  Not only would the area’s scouting supporters get to meet and talk with local boys about their experiences in Scouting, but the guys would get to meet some of the Seattle Mariners and get their picture taken with the Moose.  And the appeal of a big breakfast to teenagers cannot be underestimated.  Win-win!

Next was the traditional Winter Camp at Paradise on Mount Rainier.

Plenty of snow this year for snow caves, snowshoeing and extreme sledding.

One of the adult leaders, Sam, took some great action shots and generously shared them with us.  This year two young men who had recently moved to the US from Africa (and had never seen any snow) came along with the troop.  Reports are that they were quite cold (never fear, they were provided with plenty of warm gear) but had a lot of fun playing in the snow for the first time.

Group photo under the mountain.  Look at how big these guys are now!

Skipping ahead three months, last week Uncle Q joined Thing One on the Mount Si hike.

It was a bit too foggy for photos, and it snowed at the top, but they had a good time.

The traditional OA visit to Evergreen-Washelli to place flags at veterans’ graves was bittersweet this year.

Looking ahead, Thing One has been hired to work on the staff at Camp Pigott for the summer, and following that a second year of NYLT staff.  We can hardly believe that he’s old enough to be on staff, and measurements taken last month revealed that Thing One is now taller than both his parents.  When did this happen?  We’ll try to be better about posting scout photos throughout the summer.

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I looked out the window and what did I see?
The back yard has turned into a Scout Jamboree!
The Scoutmaster brought me such a big surprise:
Tents popping up right before my eyes!
Would the shipping container produce a treat
Wet, hot gear that would smell so sweet?
That wasn’t really so …
But it seems to me
The back yard has turned into a Scout Jamboree.

(With apologies to Popcorn Popping)

We should probably explain:  after the jamboree, all of the troop gear, which was brand new for the jamboree, was available for purchase at a heavily discounted rate.  As this was a great opportunity to replace and upgrade our home troop’s equipment, The Gimlet was able to get a dining fly, five of the two-man tents, and two propane cook stoves.  The patrol boxes were also available; Thing One’s Eagle patrol box had already been spoken for, but the Bear patrol box was still up for grabs, so The Gimlet grabbed.

On the last night of the jamboree, the troop packed up most of their gear so it could be easily loaded into the shipping container the following morning.  At about 3:00 in the morning, a large thunderstorm rolled through, drenching all the boys (most of whom had chosen to sleep out under the stars, as their tents were packed), their duffel bags, and the gear.  There was no way to dry out the gear before it had to be loaded, so the wet bags and equipment sat in the shipping container for a week in the 100° Virginia heat before arriving in Seattle last Friday.

Aren’t you glad that these photos are not scratch-and-sniff?

Your Humble Narrator is not usually fond of hot weather, but our recent heat wave is perfect for drying and airing out camping gear, so we hope the sun stays around for the week.

After the Gimlet Patrol was assembled, we asked Thing One, just returned from Camp Parsons, if he would prefer to continue sleeping outdoors, as he has spent nearly his entire summer doing so.  He declined.

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What do you say about summer camp?  Camp Parsons is great.  We met early on Monday morning, August 9, 2010 at the church.  Piled into cars and drove to the ferry.  I called that a little close.  It did mean we did not have to wait long to get on the ferry, but if we had missed it we would have been hurting.

We arrived in camp, quickly moved our gear to our campsite and sent the Scouts off to their first merit badge classes.  (more…)

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Last Thursday morning Thing One arrived home from the National Jamboree.  He picked up the sharp hat at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.   He also brought home two memory cards filled with pictures, some of his souvenirs (others, including most of his patches, were packed in the container which arrives in one week), new friends, and many stories to share.

But before we could extract a blog post from him (much less sort through the pictures), he was on his way out the door again, this time for a week at Camp Parsons with his scout troop.  We barely had time to wash and dry his uniforms and gear before they had to be repacked.

Will we catch up with him before he heads off to NYLT staff?

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The 2010 National Jamboree ended yesterday, and Thing One’s troop was scheduled to leave early this morning.  They will spend the day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, then fly home to Seattle on Thursday.  We’re eager to hear Thing One’s stories and see his photos.  Until then, here are a few final glimpses of the Jamboree.

We’ve been impressed by how orderly and sharp the troop has looked in the photos.  The scoutmaster reports that the scouts have been learning how to work as teams and how to be effective leaders.  They have learned to count on each other and be counted upon.

Friday evening the troop had a very special guest:  President Charles Dahlquist, the recently released LDS General Young Men’s President and head chaplain for the National Jamboree.  President Dahlquist, his executive secretary, and two other LDS chaplains ate dinner with the troop, then held a special devotional service for the two LDS troops from Chief Seattle Council.  President Dahlquist spoke with the boys about making the decision to serve a mission, effective scripture study, and quite a bit about how they should treat girls and how to honor and respect them.

All but one troop member earned the George Albert Smith award, offered by the LDS church at the Jamboree to scouts of all backgrounds who wished to earn it.

The Centennial Celebration arena show was held Saturday night, with approximately 70,000 in attendance at the arena.

Thing One isn’t much of a night owl; he looks worn out after the long, fun day.

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