Summer Court of Honor

Ethan gets his badges
Alex gets his badges

Ethan introducing...nervously

Alex announcing an award - all business

So the end of summer is here. School has started, and Ethan & Alex had their Boy Scout Court of Honor this weekend. Summer camp is usually the big deal of the year for Troop 44, and at the end of summer they have an award ceremony/cookout to celebrate. Ethan got 4 merit badges( archery, aviation, golf, woodcarving) and a camp badge. Alex received 5 merit badges(aviation,archaeology, forestry, photography, wilderness survival) and a camp badge. I am really proud of the work they did to get them, but I am also proud of the parts they played in the ceremony as well. Each of their patrols had to give out merit badges and rank advancements. This means they had to stand up in front of the crowd(approx. 200 people) say the names of the scout and the awards they received. Now if you know anything about Alex, this is a big deal. I was talking to one of the scout leaders during this and she said she remembers that Alex used to hide behind the pillars or other people so he would not have to speak into the microphone. Today he was right up there with his deep,young man voice and spoke so clearly, that I couldn't believe it. Ethan did great as well. He is not as shy as Alex is, but I have to say the mike can be intimidating. I think his patrol leader made him say his part again, louder the second time, and he was getting braver. In a few years, we will probably have to pry the mike out of his hands before he does a stand up routine. Anyway, lots of fun(&food). Both boys have said their goal id to be an Eagle scout, and so a working(& camping) we will go. Ciao!

First Day of School

Ready for school!?!

What a crew!

I can't believe it! Today is the first day of school. Already! The summer seemed to fly by so fast.I think we had a spectacular summer in the Olson house this year. Boy scout camps, LTC trip, Todd's tri, and the Wash. DC vacation. Good times. Well, now on to the next phase...school. If you know anything about our family, you can guess that some of us are excited and some are not. There are a few different things going on this year. First of all, I am stoked to say that I am now officially a part-time employee. I have been working full time at my job as a lab tech at an oncology office for the last 4 years, since I left the hospital lab. While I love my job, co-workers & patients, I really need to be home for the kids more. That magical time from after school until mom gets home from work had not been a really productive time the last couple of years. Yeah. like nothing gets accomplished. So I decided our tribe needed a bit more structure. So now I will be home on most days that Todd works. The kids are fired up too. What a blessing that we are able to make this choice during this economy! My hubby is a rock star. Oh, and he DID hint that I could iron his work shirts for him now...if I wanted to:)


So the kids. Alex is the big adjustment this year. He is starting 10Th grade and in High School! I can't believe that my baby(yes, he will be embarrassed by this) is a sophomore. I feel a bit old. Alex is not particularly interested in change or school for that matter, so his day started with a bit of nerves and a bit of dread. But he is tough enough to deal with it. He went earlier in the week and found his way around the school (it is huge!) so I think he will do great as long as he remembers to smile. Ethan is going to 7Th grade & big dog @ Middle School. He is fired up to go & left a half hour early to socialize I assume. As long as he tends to his homework, he will be great, even if he has to play percussion in band again this year( he tried hard to get us to let him drop). Abby is going to 3rd grade this year. Her school starts 30 min before her brothers, so she is going to & from on her own with friends. A little bit of independence. She is worried because some of her friends had to switch schools, but I know she will meet some old & new friends today. She told me she had to find a boyfriend soon.(!?!) I told her that would take care of itself, but inside I was freaking out. Thank goodness her idea of a boyfriend is someone to dig in the dirt with at recess still. But for how long??


Anyway, new routines abound. We should be able to get organized in a week or so(dream on, right?)

Todd's Triathalon

5th wave starts out

How do I get out of this??

Coming in from the bike

Heading out to the run. Go Todd Go!

Today, Todd participated in his first ever triathlon! What an awesome accomplishment. He decided to do this last year after watching highlights from the Hy-Vee triathlon. He figured since it was in his "backyard", and he has always wanted to try it, now would be a good time to go for it. So the training began. He had not been working out regularly for the last few years, so the beginning was rough for him. But he is a determined guy so he kept with it. If you saw him before and after training , you know the transformation that took place. He looks and feels so great. He discovered a couple of months ago that scheduling conflicts would not allow him to do the Hy-Vee Triathlon this year so we checked around and found the Big Creek Tri up in Polk City for this weekend. It is an Olympic sized race with a 1.5K swim, 40 K bike and 10K run. For a first timer with no race experience, this is a big deal. He was really nervous this morning, but felt ready to go. He went out to Big Creek to get ready and Alex, Ethan, Abby & I along with Denny & Donna, Todd's parents, went out to see the start at 8 am. His wave actually took off at 8:16 am, by cannon shot start! I was a bit nervous too, about the swim part because there were swimmers all over the place out there and I hoped he wouldn't get kicked or swam over. He did a great job! Got through the swim in 39 min. Not bad for a half blind guy who was outside the buoys most of the time. Next was the bike and this is his favorite part. 40 K in 1:27. It was, by this time of the morning, starting to get a bit windy. He came in and the off to the 10K run! He looked like he was getting a bit tired, but kept on moving. He finished the run in 1:14 but he said the last 2 miles were the toughest and he had to walk some. He came around the bend to the finish, about 200 yards out and the kids were so excited! They took off and ran beside him outside the lane and cheered him to the finish! How great is my family! I am so proud of my man! He took his dream and made it happen. We are so blessed by God with our good health, I am really proud of Todd for using it. Thanks to the Lord for keeping him safe in his race, now he is deciding if he ever wants to do it again!! Great job honey!!