Eagle Court of Honor

Brian, Ryan, Russ, Zak, TJ

Jared, Tanner

Last night our ward held an Eagle Court of Honor for seven boys. Since there were so many they wanted to make it a big deal and have a dinner along with the awards ceremony. I was in charge of the dinner. We had pulled pork sandwiches, salads, chips and my famous chocolate chip cookies. Sounds simple enough right? Well, I decided it would be easier for me to cook all the pork rather than assigning it out. What a mistake. I had five roasts that weighed almost ten pounds a piece, in order to feed 100 people. I had never done this before and didn't take into account how long it would take to shred that much meat. Two of the roasts turned out great and the meat just fell off the bone. I don't know what I did wrong with the other three roasts, but I had to cut and rip and tear them apart. I was still shredding pork in my parents kitchen at 4:30 when I needed to be in Parker at 5 p.m. to start setting up. The pork was still hot and I was trying to tear it apart bare handed and screaming my head off at the pain and frustration, wondering how I got myself into this mess. I flew out the door with only half the pork shredded and left the kitchen in a terrible mess. Bless my sweet dad's heart, he had it mostly clean this morning.

I called Zak and asked him to take my keys to the scout leader at the church so she could get the table clothes out and let her know I was running late. When I arrived at 5:20 he hadn't shown up. It turns out he had delegated the assignment to Tanner, who had forgotten all about it while he was riding his motorbike all over town. So the evening of honoring my well accomplished sons was not going well since I wanted to wring both of their necks. I must give them credit for having all the tables and chairs set up for me though.

Of course it all came off without a hitch. Everyone loved the food and I told everyone that my turn was done. Then one of the members of the bishopric reminded me that I knew better than that. After making over 200 cookies I also told everyone that I was putting the cookies into retirement. The response to that was rolled eyes, knee slapping and laughter.

Once my end of the evening was done I could actually sit back and enjoy the rest of the program. It was really neat to see such a large group of boys make this accomplishment together. Five of them came in under the wire just before they turned 18. Two of them, including Tanner completed their Eagle when they were 14, which is quite an accomplishment. It was stated that only 1% of scouts earn their Eagle Award. So it is pretty neat that during the 100th Anniversary of Scouting our boys become one of the select few.

They had about ten men and boys sitting in the Eagles nest. One of them was the grandfather of one of the new eagles. He reminded the boys that throughout their life they will be asked who they are and one of the responses they can give that will sum up their life and character is, "I am an Eagle Scout."

After each boy was presented with their Eagle award they gave each of their parents a pin and a hug. Then they gave a Mentor pin to someone who they felt had inspired them to finish their Eagle. I didn't know this was part of the program. So the control freak mother that I am, whispered to Zak, are you prepared, do you know who you are giving it to? He nodded yes. So what a pleasant surprise when it was his turn he gave his to Tanner. He said that when he saw Tanner coming up behind him, ready to pass him and get his Eagle it inspired him to finish and get his too.

Tanner gave his Mentor pin to our current bishop, Brent Williams. He was Tanner's scout master for most of Tanner's scouting experience. He has been a great influence on so many of these boys getting their Eagles. We also have had two great Scout Advancement Chairmen, Laurie Forbush and Sherry Scheirs, that have really pushed the boys to get it done. In fact Brian Rhodehouse wanted two Mentor pins, one for each of them since Laurie got him motivated to even try to get his Eagle and Sherry motivated him to get it finished. Brian's mother was especially proud that he is the only one of her three boys to get his Eagle. She said he would always have that over his brothers. He said, "Yeah, that and my weight!" There is more than one reason they call him House.

I am very thankful that my sister-in-law, Leisa, was there taking pictures. It really allowed me to sit back and enjoy the evening without worrying that I was getting all the right pictures.

I am very proud of all these boys, especially mine, for this great accomplishment.