So who are we?
My name is Chris. By day, I work as an applications engineer for a computer software company that is owned by a large European chipmaker. In layman's terms, I look at applications of our computer software, and help our company's software developers find ways to improve our software. It's a fun job, and I work with some great people. I am also a husband to Heather, and the father of three sons, all of whom are currently involved in Scouting. I currently serve as a Tiger Den Leader for our youngest son's den. I am BSA-certified as a fully-trained Tiger and Webelos Den Leader, and I will be completing the training for Cub Den Leader (Wolves/Bears) to complete that certification soon. I also recently completed the BALOO training course.
I myself was involved in Scouting as a youth many moons ago. I earned my Arrow of Light award as a Cub Scout in 1984, with a pack in Texas that is now defunct. I went on to Boy Scouts with a troop in Texas that is still going strong, where I earned my Eagle Scout award in 1991. (Yes, I took my sweet time...I probably could have done it much sooner, but I did finish it in the end.) I was inducted into the Order of the Arrow as an Ordeal member in 1988, and I earned Brotherhood membership in 1989.
Aside from me, Scouting is something of a tradition in our family. My dad was a Life Scout who nearly made Eagle as a boy himself. His dad - my grandfather, who grew up on a farm in a rural part of Iowa, was a Lone Scout. On Heather's side of the family, several of her relatives were involved in Scouting, too. (I'll let her elaborate more on that, if she chooses.) So, as in many Scouting families, our boys come by it naturally from both sides of the family. Thus, we got them involved in Scouting, too. It's more than just family tradition with us, though. We believe in the principles, values, and methods of Scouting, and we think it is a great way to train our boys to become future leaders of men. I highly recommend it for your boy, even if he would be only the first Scout in his family.
Our oldest son, Zachary, is a 1st year Webelos Scout this year. He has been involved with Cub Scouts since Tigers, and he really enjoys it. He has made a lot of friends through Scouting - especially important, as we are a homeschooling family, and it is one of the many social outlets we provide for our children. Zachary is well on his way to earning his Arrow of Light award, with over eight activity badges on his tri-color already. We have set a goal for him to earn his "Super Achiever" award (all 20 activity badges) by the time he finishes his Arrow of Light award next year and moves on to Boy Scouts. His Webelos Den Leader is superb, and she has a great group of parents backing her up as assistants. With around 20 boys in that den, you need a lot of parents around to keep that many boys on task!
(Yes, there had been some discussion about splitting up that den, but the boys are all friends with one another, and couldn't bear the thought of not being in a den with all their friends. So, while the size does indeed make things a little unwieldy at times, they make it work. And work very well it does.)
Our middle son, Ryan, is a Wolf Scout this year. This is his second year as a Cub Scout, and he is really enjoying it as well. Heather, my wife, is serving as his Assistant Den Leader this year. They have a rather large den as well, with over 12 boys.
Our youngest son, Joshua, is a Tiger Cub this year. I am his Den Leader, and we have a great group of parents and boys in our den, too. We have 9 Tigers in our den, and I am proud to say that 100% of them have earned their Tiger badge and will move on to Wolves next year. At one time, we had over 14 boys in our den, but we split some of them off and formed another den. We have a lot of fun, and I will tell you more about it as we go along.
As I mentioned before, my wife Heather is also involved. This is particularly noble and challenging for her - as with a lot of moms, she was briefly involved in Girl Scouts for a time, but never in Boy Scouts. The jargon and methods of the BSA were somewhat alien to her at first. However, she is doing a great job, and has taken to her role as an assistant for Ryan's den very well. I have invited Heather to contribute her perspective and experiences in Scouting to this blog, and I hope she will do so as we go along.
Well, that's pretty much it for the introductions.
So you might be asking, how did I come up with the title for this blog? One of the recurring themes in our Scouting career is that when things get a little challenging - for example, the weather dipped down below 30 degrees at night on the fall campout, and we had a terrible time staying warm - we jokingly ask each other, "are you having fun yet?" Seriously, fun is one of the most important things about Scouting. Even when times get tough, you remember them and laugh about them later on. If your Scouting program isn't fun, your boys will not choose to get involved with Scouting. There are too many other alternatives out there. This is perhaps one of the most important lessons we can take away as Scouters.
So - are you having fun yet?
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