Our Scout's Adventures

Benjamin started Scouts this year as a Tiger Cub. He has been enjoying many outings and events as a scout here.


Don took both the boys on a historical Battle of Bastone hike. I don't think they enjoyed the hike and walking too much but they sounded thrilled about the parade that followed.


And Benjamin ended up on the front cover of our local weekly paper here called The Herald Post. He was thrilled about that! Yep, that's our lil man in the bright blue sweatshirt and blue and orange hat. You can read the entire story at: http://www.bw.eur.army.mil/news/HPpdf/2011/Dec_15_2011.pdf


We also participated in the Peace Light Ceremony that was held at the chapel on post. 


What is the Peace Light? 


Each year, a child from Upper Austria fetches the light from the grotto in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The light is carried in two blast proof miners lamps on an Austrian Airlines jet from Tel Aviv Israel to Vienna  Austria from where it is distributed at a Service of Dedication to delegations from across Europe who take it back, with a message of Peace, to their own countries. Austrian Airlines then flies the miners lamps containing the Peace Light from Bethlehem to New York City. 


Scouts from our area are chosen as well to attend the Peace Light Ceremony in Vienna Austria and bring back the Peace Light to our community. So, we went with a candle in hand and as we left the chapel the flame went out. :(


Oh well, it was a neat ceremony even though I probably was the only one who understood what was going on (Don was traveling that week so he couldn't attend). 


When our candle went out Benjamin said... "We can relight it at home." hmmm. It was a very windy night and the chances of us making it home with it lit were not too good anyway. 

December was a  busy time for us to say the least! And the scouting events were no exception. At their December Pack Meeting we gathered for a pot luck with a visit from a special guest... SANTA! There was a lot of excitement that night. All the scouts received their Pinewood Derby Kits from Santa and then the siblings had a chance to meet and greet Santa too. Grace was so excited! And sat very happily on Santa's lap. With much contrast from last year, Grace was a huge fan of the jolly bearded man this year. Phew! 

December: The Hunt

It's been forever since I posted so I thought I'd go back and look through some of our somewhat recent happenings and some favorite memories and photos. So, way back in December we went to a Christmas tree farm here in Heidelberg to find our perfect tree for the season. The kids all had a good time running around the trees and exploring the tree farm.

They loved finding lose branches on the ground and entertained themselves with their stick collections and making them into reindeer antlers. 

We found a great tree that the kids helped decorate more than any previous year! It's so awesome how they get into the spirit of Christmas and everything is so magical.

I have tons of more pictures from the Christmas season as we enjoyed our last Christmas in Europe... I hope to most more soon... we shall see!