be a better father

Well the Cub Scout year started anew, and I signed up as a leader this time. Went camping, sold popcorn, and helped Nate earn a bunch of Belt Loops for various activities like Chess, Fishing, Map & Compass, etc.

Love www.theonion.com.

Had a lot of time on vacation to spend with the kids, especially Emma.

Collected samples of creek water and looked at them under the microscope, went for a mini-hike while “letterboxing”. Played with a cool electronics kit. Most of this was with Nate, so I need to find my inner 4-year-old girl.

http://www.letterboxing.org/

http://www.geocaching.com/

Need to work on the stamps this week!

She is a mystery to me. I want to be Atticus Finch (http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-143,pageNum-48.html), but I find myself yelling at her instead.

Nate and I worked a loooong time on Nate’s Pinewood Derby car. We spent a lot of time together during the project. I told Nate to be ready to go out “in the first round” because I knew the car was underweight and drifted right.

When we arrived, they weighed us in at 4.5oz instead of the preferred maximum of 5oz, and I was worried. They let us add some small weights and we got to 5oz.

54 competitors later, Nate took home the 1st place trophy for his Den and Pack, and retired the day having NEVER BEEN BEATEN at 16-0. It was amazing.

Now, am I a better father because he won? No.

...but was it nice to have Nate and I work together so much, and end with such a happy and satisfying victory that we could share? You bet. My stock with Nate (and surprisingly, my wife) went up considerably.