I’m working on about 1.5 years of service as a Scoutmaster in my neighborhood. I feel like things are going fairly well — we’re camping 9 or 10 times in a year, we’re learning new skills, the boys are advancing, and we’re having fun. Our numbers are growing, too. When I became the Scoutmaster, we had about 4 boys in the troop. We’re at 10 now, with 6-8 more joining by the beginning of August. More boys is great and difficult. When we go camping with 10+ boys, there are more logistics to manage now (do we have enough vehicles and seat belts? do we have multiple trucks to haul all their gear? how do we not blow our budget on food with all these young mouths to feed? and etc.). Luckily, there are two other adults who serve with me and we make it work.
A successful lashing exercise. These fellas can now cook with a dutch oven over a fire if they had to.
With spring, comes softball. All three of my girls are playing this year. Our plan was for Lauren (first time!) to play in an 8U league, Leah in a 10U league, and Abby a 12U league. I’ve coached Leah’s volleyball team twice and softball team once, so I decided to coach Abby’s team this spring. In the 12U league, they have the girls try out and participate in a draft. Everyone who signs up gets drafted and the girls are not privy to the actual draft, so they don’t know whether they were drafted first or last. The tryouts and accompanying draft were last Friday (while my troop left on a campout that I later joined) and I actually was awarded the first pick due to dumb luck. I ended up drafting 10 girls and, based on the skills I saw at tryouts, decided to play Leah up into the older league. Now she and Abby can play on the same team, therefore saving Jen and me the logistic headache of getting three girls to three practices and games. We’re all looking forward to playing again.
It’s softball and baseball season! My kids are lucky and happy to have some great neighbors who are close friends.
I participated in the WatchDOGS program at school last week and, like last year, chose St. Patrick’s Day. Except for a Scout shirt, I literally don’t own any green clothes, so my kids made me embellish my beard so I wouldn’t get pinched all day. Needless to say, it was a hit with all the kids.
A little St. Patrick’s cheer
Finally, my brother Jason is visiting from Iowa for the weekend. Of the 11 Clark kids, only 3 actually live in Utah (one in Utah County, one in Salt Lake County, and me in Davis County), so having him here was a treat. My sister Chelsey and I met up with Jason in Provo and hiked the iconic Y to enjoy the scenery and awesome weather. It was a fun few hours on the mountain. And about 200 other people. (Way too popular a trail for me!)
The Y on the mountain was formed by volunteers in an assembly line handing buckets of lime and other materials up the chain. The hike is short, but steep, and offers a great view.
Jess - n - Jen 