End of an Era

Tonight was Nate's last Cub Scout Pack Meeting. After being in Cub Scouts for almost 9 years, Webelos Den leader for the last 3 years, he is moving on to be Scout Master.

His boys are going to miss him, but his previous boys are excited for him to be their leader once again.

It just happened to be Blue and Gold Banquet tonight and we had a great turnout.

It is always fun to see the Webelos

do their "Man Practice" yell at the beginning

of the meeting.

Jen Mote and I, both 2nd Counselors in our respective wards Primaries recognized Nate and his Webelos den leader partner, Ben Crook, for their outstanding service to the boys.

He was a Webelos leader til the very

end of the night. Guiding and influencing

the boys to their greatest potential.

The Cub Scouts and their fearless leaders from our joint packs from the Willard 5th and Maguire Canyon wards.

Cub of the Year 2014

Tonight we had the pleasure of going to the Cub of the Year Banquet Dinner for 2014.

Ryland was nominated for Cub of the Year and went through 

an interview process last week for it.

There were about 30 Cubs interviewed. Tonight they presented the Wolf, Bear and Webelos Cub of the Year Awards. 

There was one boy chosen from each rank to be Cub of the Year for the entire district. The other boy's were selected to be

in the Honor Guard for the District and get to be in the Peach Days parade this September. They are also Cub of the Year for their packs.

Ryland did a great job during the interview. 

They asked him to recite the Boy Scout Oath and the Scout Law. They were impressed by how well he knew it already, especially for being such a young Webelo.

 They also asked him how he shows Scout Spirit in his family, school and community. He said you show Scout Spirit by inviting your family to pack meeting but I think honestly my sisters come for the treats at the end. That made them all laugh pretty good. 

They asked him if he was wearing Scout socks that night, he told them he was wearing red and blue socks. They asked him to show them and laughed when they realized he had on mismatched socks.

They said Ryland did a great job and had a fun sense of humor.

Ryland received a neat certificate as well as this cool neckerchief.

Proud Mom and Dad

Love my Scouters! So proud of them!

Blue and Gold 2014

Tonight was our Blue and Gold Banquet. 

It was super fun and lively for our Scouts.

Nate recently bought his Grandpa Lundberg's old Indian Chief headdress. He was able to put it to good use tonight

when Ethan and the other Order of the Arrow boys came to help with a Arrow of Light during the Blue and Gold dinner. 

But first Ryland and Evelyn had a go of wearing it.

Ethan, Kaden and Dakota Mote

I love seeing Ethan all done up to help with an Arrow of Light ceremony. 

Ryland and Nate are sure enjoying being in Webelos together. 

Tonight when Ryland was earning his Readyman pin they had a great time. You can tell their bond is growing stronger and stronger through their time together there. I love seeing Nate be so involved in Scouting with our boys. 

Award of Merit

Tonight was the Bird Haven District's Annual Awards Dinner.

I received a fun phone call about a week ago and was informed that Nate would be receiving the District's Award of Merit tonight. I was told to keep it a secret. I am surprised that Nate didn't figure it out when I said that the whole family would be going. 

The presenter for Nate was Kay Kraus, she is the mother to one of Nate's Order of the Arrow boys, she is on the District Recognition committee and she works at Camp Fife in the summers among other things. She had a wonderful write up about him. The presenters read it without the audience knowing who they are reading about. It was fun to watch Nate's face as she read about him and seeing the realization it was him dawn on him. As Kay read about him and his influence on the boys she choked up a bit. She has thanked Nate previously about his influence he has had on her son, Spencer. It was a wonderful night. Below is the wonderful presentation they had about him. 

BIRD HAVEN DISTRICT AWARD OF MERIT

Nathaniel Mills

This person has been an adult leader in scouting for over eight years and in that time he has touched many lives. He has attended NYLT as a youth and Wood Badge as a leader, for which he recently earned his beads. He has also earned the Den Leader award, and the Cub Scouter award. He has held various positions in scouting including Assistant Team Coach, Pack Committee Chair,

Pack Trainer, Wolf Den Leader, Webelos Den Leader, Order of the Arrow Associate Advisor, District Trainer, and District Training Chairman. This past year he was able to go to the National Jamboree in West Virginia with his son while serving on the National Jamboree staff.

(Nate and Ron Bingham)

He has made a huge impact on all the young men that he has worked with in his pack and in the Order of the Arrow. In the OA, he has driven himself and the young men to OA events all over including those in Wyoming and Delta, Utah. He has been a mentor to many of these young men and he is an example to them of someone who lives the scout law. He always has a positive attitude in all that he does.

Also, this person is actively involved in service in the community. For the past six years, he has helped with the community project to clean irrigation ditches. For the past four years, he has been a peer counselor for Cancer survivors. He is active in his children's school and he is on the Parents Crew of Service for Venture Academy.

He is an active member of his church and has served in many callings including Elder's Quorum President, Teacher's Quorum Advisor, primary teacher, Gospel Doctrine Teacher and Sunday School President. He served a mission for his church to Taiwan and his Chinese is Excellent! He is the father of two daughters and two sons.

Bird Haven District is pleased to present Nathaniel Mills with the District Award of Merit and recognize his wife Ronda.

I don't even know where they got all of that information on him. They didn't ask me any questions about him. 

It was such a wonderful night and so fun to see Nate's surprise and delight at receiving the award. So proud of him and all of the hard work he does in Scouting. 

Wordless Wednesday: Hungry Scouts, A Common Sight Around Here

The Year That Blue and Gold Was On Valentines Day

This year the Blue and Gold Pack Meeting was on Valentines Day. Super romantic, I know. Oh well, we still had a great time.

Evelyn and her little friend from her church class, Bailey B.

The theme was Travel thru time. Ryland's den, the Bears, were from the Wild West.

 Sister Warner brought her cotton candy machine. It was a big hit with the kids. Just take a look at Evelyn after she had hers. Oh my! It is all over her face and in her hair. A bath was definitely in order.



Raingutter Regatta 2012

Tonight was our Raingutter Regatta. We had a great turnout and the boys all had a great time racing.

 Grayson G., Preston B., Ethan L., Jaxon L., Shawn A., Logan O., Zach G., Ryland, John L.

 What a cute Wolf Cub he is.

Nate received his Silver Knot tonight as well. It is also called the On My Honor Award. It is the adult Religious Award. I am telling you, he is the next Baden Powell. 

Blue and Gold: Bobcat Tail Edition

Tonight was Blue and Gold. It is so fun to watch Ryland learn how to be a Cub Scout. He has only been in Cub Scouts since November.

He had earned his Bobcat so they pinned a "Bobcat tail" onto his pants and he was required to do an act of service in order to have it removed. He loved it!

He helped me get my dinner as his act of service.



Meet The Newest Tiger Cub

Photographing Ryland is quite the experience. To say the least. He sure is a bundle of energy. He has been dying slowly of impatience to become a cub scout as he has watched Ethan go through his cub scout years. We figured why make him wait another year, let's just get that ball rolling now and let him be a Tiger Cub. As you can see here by the myriad of faces he is making that we made the right choice. Stay tuned for some Tiger Cub Awesome-ness coming your way!

Wordless Wednesday: Channeling His Inner Akela

(november 2007)

Ethan's Last Pack Meeting

Ethan's last Cub Scout Pack meeting was awesome! I still can't believe my boy is no longer a Cub, but an actual Boy Scout! Where does the time go? He earned the Super Achiever Award in Webelos, which means he earned all 20 pins that you can earn in Webelos. He also earned the World Conservation patch. Way to go kid!

This is when Ethan, was presented with his neckerchief for the Boy Scout troop he is moving on to.

Ethan was asked to give a small presentation of some of the things he had done this last summer while in Boy scouts. Those Cubs sure got excited about Boy Scouts.

This was Ethan when he turned eight and joined Cub Scouts. Look how he has grown, and how decorated his uniform has become through the years. He sure has worked hard.

Raingutter Regatta and The Tale Of The Fastest Sailor

Last week our Cub Scouts had their Raingutter Regatta. It was a huge, fun success! Here are some of the highlights.
Ethan up against the Black Pearl. Looks like it could turn into a close race!

Ally headed for a victory!

He's in the lead! He's going for it! I just hope his breath holds out!

Isn't he super cute? I love seeing his joyful energy splashed across his face! Way to go Chub! Another win for the Mills clan.

These are the Webelos (plus Ally) while singing a Scout song "Vas ist Das?" I love how they are all supposed to be doing the same song and the same hand motions, but they are all pointing at completely different things! Ah, good times.

After racing undefeated against every Cub Scout, Ethan is declared to be the Fastest Sailor with the Fastest Boat! Way to go Tiny Man!

Ethan up against fellow 11 year old, and best friend Trey S. Looks like another victory! Fastest Sailor is undefeated yet again!

But wait! What's this? Fastest Sailor being dethroned by who? LITTLE SISTER! What an upset!
I love this photo because of the happiness (cockiness?) exuding off of Ally after her victory! Hey, us little sister's have to enjoy the gettin' while the gettin' is good! Way to go Sis! Live it up!

Ally rejoicing in being the winner! What's better than beating your older brother, the fastest Raingutter Regatta Cub Scout of the night? Having him do your chores for TWO days because you won!!

What was Evie doing during all of this? Well, when she wasn't running wild like a banshee, she was "mother-henning" the Adams baby. Here were some of the antics she was pulling to entertain him. What a character!
All in all it was a great event! The Mills kids were very happy in being so victorious!