Tower Building

Every year, our stake have a "Commitment Fireside" for all the 11-year-olds.  I think it is really neat ... they talk about some very important issues with these kids, right at the cusp of their teenage years.

At the end of the fireside, they commit to keeping the commandments and being pure.

The theme, in previous years, has been King Benjamin from the Book of Mormon ... the fireside speakers speak from a tower while all the kids and their parents sit in tents.

This year, they kept the tower, but not the tents.  Instead the theme is the 2000 Stripling Warriors.

So ahead of the fireside is the tower-building.  The 11-year-old Scouts get to help out.  Since Ben is just a week away from joining our troop, he joined me and the rest of the boys in building the tower.

The boys did all the lashings ... but lest you become too worried for the people who have to climb the tower ... every joint in the tower was screwed and secured.  If you look closely enough, you'll see we've anchored the tower to the volleyball pole-net holder in the floor.

Anyway - cool stuff!

Stay tuned for Ben's Webelos / Arrow of Light ceremony in a few weeks.

Pinewood Derby 2013

 The Pinewood Derby was last night.  This was Ben's last year and Erick's first year in the derby.

We consulted a veteran Pinewood Derby builder this year ... and just in the nick of time as he was heading out of town on a business trip.

We went with the minimal design and optimal speed option.

Ben placed 4th in the Webelos division.

And Erick placed 1st in the Wolf division!  Ben was really happy for Erick and Erick was very pumped up!

If you want to see a pre-race picture of the cars, click here.

We only have two more years of the derby now!