He worked on and completed several merit badges at scout camp and found that he is a better swimmer than he thought he was. He came home exhausted but happy having spent a week without a shower, playing and sleeping in the woods and pulling pranks with the other boys in his troop.
At Cedar Badge he only knew two other kids and those kids weren't even in his troop. He was a little nervous about it when he left but came home with new friends and many new jokes, silly songs and even sillier stories.
Justin isn't afraid to pull a pose now and then. This was the moment I could tell that he was comfortable with his new buddies. In group settings he can come across somewhat reserved but when he starts posing and doing hand stands, all is well.
While we were waiting for the graduation ceremony to start, Nathan and Hyrum entertained themselves by trying to throw pine cones in a can and climbing the trees. According to Nathan, the branches on the trees were perfect for his size and just like a ladder. Hyrum didn't want to go very high but was so proud that he could go up and down all by himself.
After the graduation we waited for Justin to get all of his stuff from the tent to the van. We took our time walking, knowing that he would be a while saying goodbye and gathering his stuff. Again, Nathan and Hyrum made up their own forest games as they balanced along the trail logs and stood tall on the stumps along the way. I was glad they had their matching Tigger hats on so that I could keep track of them in the crowd.
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Derek was signed up for Cedar Badge and was excited to be on staff this year but when we got the youth calendar for the month of August he was bummed that the High Adventure camp with the Priests in our ward was going to be the same week. We gave him the choice of which one to do and he took the High Adventure.
They had been told that they would be riding bikes for almost 50 miles but that it would mostly be downhill. Funny, you have to get UP the hill before you can go down. And it was closer to 70 miles but after 30 who's counting? Derek's knees hurt from all that peddling and from his bike not quite being tall enough for his long legs, even with the seat raised as high as it would go. That didn't stop him from having a good time.
He loved the old train tunnel that has been converted to part of the trail. He was a little freaked out in the pitch black, mile long tunnel where he couldn't see a light at the end and had to depend on his helmet lamp to guide him but that was part of what made it so exciting. He had quite a rush on the down hill stretches and all the boys were thrilled to have their picture taken in front of the Nudist sign. The bishop mumbled "yeah, just think of all the sixty-somethings with their saggy everythings". The boys were immediately grossed out and the bishop chuckled, "just wanted to clear out any inappropriate thoughts you might have had".
I'm so glad that Derek and Justin both have these opportunities to be with other good young men, burning off some of their need for excitement and adrenalin activities in their lives. Though I worry about them each time they leave for a week with no intentions of showering, brushing their teeth or thinking of safety first, I'm glad they have a great way to have their adventures.
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