Trail to Eagle Scout

This year Alex, our oldest, earned his Eagle Scout award - the highest ranking in Boy Scouts of America. It is a big deal and those who earn it are recognized with a very special ceremony called an Eagle Scout Court of Honor.

Getting an Eagle is a ton of work, and Alex really worked hard and certainly earned it. Dennis puts in a ton of time and work helping all the boys in scouts. Usually all I have to do is wash the stinky post-campout laundry, and I get to wear a pin whenever my boys achieve a new rank.

Well, I finally got my turn doing the hard work. I had to plan the court of honor.

Alex loves hiking and once he hits the trail there is no stopping him. Also, his Eagle Scout project involved cleaning and marking trails in the LQ cove (see post here), so I thought it was very appropriate to have a hiking theme to this Court of Honor.

I decorated with hiking sticks, hiking boots. canteens, and backpacks, and made a few trail marking signs with lattice boards.

For the refreshments I filled large apothecary jars with what else? - trail mix and beef jerky, and had open backpacks full of granola bars.

I had three different kinds of trail mix. Any guesses which one the kids liked best?

I had red and blue cello bags for people to put their trail mix in, but nobody noticed them.

And of course cupcakes - not that people eat cupcakes when they are hiking, but if they did, I just might do more hiking. Wouldn't you?

As far as the food goes, the cupcakes were the only part that took any work at all so I decided to make 3 different kinds and decorate them differently. Chocolate with chocolate frosting and star sprinkles, vanilla with blue frosting and sprinkled with trail mix, and red velvet with cream cheese frosting and red, white, and blue nonpareils. I used Mom's Cricut to cut out eagles and compasses, and stamped hiking boots to make the little toppers.

The refreshments were a huge hit - especially the beef jerky which disappeared in a matter of seconds. Cha-ching! A few kids, including mine, just took fist-fulls. If I were to do it all over, beef jerky would NOT be on the menu.

But it was a great time to visit with the people we love.

In the foyer I set up a table with some vintage scout stuff my dad had - a leather BSA bag, a cool hat, some old scout manuals, Dad's favorite hiking stick, and Dennis' old merit badge sash.

In the cultural hall, near the refreshments, I also set up a display table with all of the certificates and letters of congratulations from important people that Alex received, as well as photos I took of him in his uniform, newspaper articles, and other memorabilia.

I also displayed the flag that was flown in Alex' honor over the US Capitol building back in March. I think it is so cool that they do that!

The ceremony itself also had a hiking theme to it, and everybody got involved. Dylan did the flag salute, and the Nathan and Derek did a cool thing with the scout oath where Derek said the oath, stopping after each phrase so Nate could explain what each part meant, or should mean to a boy scout that is saying it.

Then there is always an Eagle segment where you talk about what it takes to be an eagle and you honor the boy getting it. We decided to do something called "The Trail Up Eagle Mountain" which was just so cool. As it was read, Alex "hiked" slowly past boys of every rank starting at a little Wolf Cub, all the way up to Eagle.

Here is the script. I found it somewhere, and then did some revising to personalize it to reflect Alex and his own climb up Eagle Mountain.

Early one morning a young boy stood at a trailhead. Before him rose a mighty mountain, which seemed all the mightier when compared with his smallness. He looked up at the mountain with a smile on his freckled face, and thought how great it would be to climb all the way to the top.

He knew there was only one way to get up there, and that was to hike up the Mountain on the trail – the same trail his own father and grandfather, and many others had hiked when they themselves were merely boys as well. The trail led to the mountain and then up it to incredible heights before vanishing in the clouds. On this trail the boy could see other boys and young men, some of whom turned and beckoned him to follow, and so he did. He hit the trail!

The level and wide trail of cub scouts that he started out on eventually lead to the head of the steeper and narrow trail of the boy scouts. He had enjoyed his hike on the Cub trail so much, he never hesitated heading up the Boy Scout trail – the trail up Eagle Mountain.

The boy began to climb. At first it seemed to him nearly impossible to reach the top. But, he soon realized that he really liked hiking. He enjoyed the feeling – the strain on his muscles, the smell of the forest around him and the cool fresh air in his lungs. He especially enjoyed the new surprises he would find around each turn in the trail. There was so much to see and learn and do on the trail up Eagle Mountain.

At first the trail rose gently, and the boy had many companions. But soon he began to sweat and breathe heavily, and many of his companions turned away. And still the boy climbed, looking back only to encourage others to continue up the trail with him..

He climbed quickly. He loved the climb so much he never slowed down and never stopped. He just kept going and going. The trail became steeper, the air thinner, but the climber scarcely noticed for he had, along the way, become stronger of body and hardier of spirit. And still he climbed.

He noticed that there were some parts of the trail that needed his attention, so he stopped to organize other hikers in clearing the trail of trash and debris and in clearly marking the trail so that others would be able to easily follow. By then, he was almost at the top.

And finally in the cool peace of eveningtime, he stood alone at the top of the world. He had made it! Somehow, one step at a time, the small boy who had started on that trail so long ago had made it to the top of Eagle Mounbtain! He looked around him. To the left he saw a fiery golden sunset. To the right he saw a diamond-studded, silky-black night sky. Behind him he saw the trail that he had followed and the hikers who were following in his footsteps.

But it was what he saw in front of him that took his breath away. In front of him he saw another mountain. And another. And another. And a whole procession of mountains marching off to the horizon. But the young man (for now he was a man) knew now that none of these other mountains was insurmountable, that all could and would be climbed. For he had learned many skills in the climbing of the first mountain, and he would carry those skills with him long after this mountain was forgotten.

And besides, he could begin climbing the next mountain tomorrow. Tonight he would rest and celebrate and ponder the journey that he had completed. And so tonight, we pause to rest and celebrate and honor this fine young man, Eagle Scout Alex VanBuskirk, as he stands at the top of the world and looks around him.

I'm sorry to say that I had spent hours and hours and hours putting a side show together of pictures of Alex in scouting through the years, from the time he was a tiny little thing until now and I had planned on showing those pictures as it was read. It would have been really powerful. Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties and last minute it wouldn't work. I was VERY upset, to say the least.

Here are a few of the pictures anyway:

Aww, they grow up so fast! They unexpectedly asked me to say a few words during the program, and that was what I said, that he grew up so fast - and then I bawled, of course (not about the technical difficulties, but about babies turning into grown men instantly.) It was an emotional day, OK?

Despite my disappointment about the pictures, and the blubbering mother syndrome, everything turned out very nice.

They have all the Eagles in attendance sit up in the "Eagle's Nest" as is tradition. Both Dennis and my Dad are Eagles and got to make some remarks. They were both wonderful.

Then came the big moment. Alex took the Eagle Scout Oath. Mamma is so proud!

Then Alex was presented with his Eagle medal and scarf, and then he got to saw a few words. (And when I say a "few" words, I meant it. Alex is NOT a fan of microphones or spotlights.)

Then, after the hard part was over, Alex just got to visit with friends and family - coaches, teachers, and neighbors. It was really great!

And of course, family - lots and lots of family!

My favorite part was seeing all my guys dressed up in full uniform!

Check out all my scouts! I think that is so cool. We practically have a whole troop in our family. Caleb will be joining their ranks in a few months.

Three generations of Eagle Scouts.

And a special thanks to Brother Noall, the scoutmaster. He has done such a great job helping and preparing these boys.

I am so proud of Alex and his thirty four merit badges and counting. It has been fun watching him as he climbed this mountain, and it was worth all the work I put into making it such a special evening for him.

Now I better get planning Nathan's!

(OK, so I had to throw this picture in. Yep, I know it is gross that Derek was giving Luke rides down the hallway afterward in the trash can, but it wasn't my idea, nor was it sanctioned my me - I just snapped the picture. And if it helps the gross factor, please note that the building was brand new when we had this event, and therefore so was the trash can, and also that there was no actual trash in the can. Boys. What do you do?)