Wood Badge- the short explanation

So, here's the deal about Wood Badge. It's official purpose is to train adult BSA leaders. At the end of the day, its simply terrific leadership training.

My initial interest in getting involved with Wood Badge had less to do with leadership than it had to do with being a Boy Scout for a week. When I was a kid and I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer wasn't of the nurse-astronaut-ballerina sort. I wanted to be a Boy Scout like my dad. So when my dad invited me in the summer of 2000 to come to Wood Badge, I couldn't refuse myself the fulfillment of this 20 year dream. I would go, get trained about the BSA program, be part of a troop, wear the uniform for a week... Finally, I would be a Boy Scout.

So I went. I learned a lot about the administration of the Scouting program. I learned so much more. Its a laboratory learning experience. Everything that is preached is experienced. I learned about what good leadership requires. I learned about my strengths and weaknesses as a leader. I learned methods to make my leadership better. Its first class training (Covey material and the like) that the BSA has paid a lot for. Part of the program involves setting and achieving some goals- in WB lingo "working your ticket." I set some pretty big goals for myself and experienced the fulfillment of completing them.

Once a participant completes the program and completes his 'ticket,' he is eligible to participate in the program as a member of the staff. I've been a staffer twice now. (By the way, being on staff = nearly 20 people working harder than any 20 people in their right minds should for months. It also means being part of a high performance team that accomplishes an impressive feat, which is pretty fulfilling) This last week at WB was special because my Father was the Course director (a.k.a. the big cheese of the program) and my sister and I co-chaired a staff position. Well, I was more like her assistant as I was so far away for the preliminary work. Each time I go back to Wood Badge I see again the magic of the laboratory learning environment. Its remarkable to see the changes throughout the week.

The last day of the program, there is a brief period allotted for the participants to share their feelings about the week. I love this. So many come to Wood Badge out of obligation. (The Stake President in my home stake is all about Wood Badge and encourages all stake and ward leaders to attend. This year we had several scoutmasters and the first counselor of the Stake R.S. presidency on course.) Its a sacrifice to give a week of vacation time. Its a sacrifice to take a week of family time at the end of the summer. But every comment echoed the last. They were grateful they came. They wouldn't trade the experience. They were excited about their callings/scouting assignments and felt they had a new set of tools to bring to the table.

And I'm always grateful to be a part of it. Not only am I reminded of all the leadership lessons, but my vision of what the Scouting program should be is strengthened. Its about so much more than merit badges and camping. Its about leadership, achievement, integrity, and confidence. I am reminded of why the Church has used it in the YM program.

This is the extremely condensed version of all my feelings, of course. But if anyone out there is interested in getting more information about the Wood Badge experience, or about attending a Wood Badge course let me know!

What we've been up to

A long long time ago (the first week of August) Cori and I went our separate ways to fulfill some scouting responsibilities. Gracie and I headed to Nevada, where I spent 8 days at Camp Fleichmann on staff for the Wood Badge course that my father directed. My sister was also on staff, and my brother came as a participant. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Jess, that's great that so many of your family were there, but what possessed you to spend a week of wilderness living while 8 1/2 months pregnant?" I'll address this and the wonders of Wood Badge in my next post.

Gracie got to live it up with her Grammie Marla, her Aunt Thea, the three dogs, and the two horses. We got to spend a couple of days with everyone before heading back to Cali. Sara gave me a much needed pedicure. And the fam even had a little belated birthday celebration for me, where I was gifted a beautiful pink pearl jewelry set from their recent trip to China. They also got a white silk pants suit with embroidered dragons, some fun Olympic stuff and these cute ('toot' in Gracese) shoes for Grace. Oh, and a Tommy Bahama shirt for Cori.

Meanwhile, Cori headed to Camp Chiwanakee with the scouts from our ward for their week of summer camp. They kicked it off with a day of water skiing with our Bishop at Shaver Lake, and then spent 7 days at camp. It was a good experience for everyone. Cori is the extra tough looking guy on the left (in case you couldn't recognize him).

Since returning, we've stayed pretty busy. My sweet friends here, headed up by Kristy C*, threw a terrific baby shower for us. It was an intimate evening of great food, and plenty of friends completely free of any games that would distract us from all of our chatting. We were given so many generous gifts. I was waiting for the representative from Baby Gap to show up to congratulate me for owning their complete line of baby boy stuff. The biggest treat was just being able to spend that time with all these special women who have become so important to me.

Gracie and I have made a couple of trips to Disneyland. (Hopefully, we'll get one more in before we leave next weekend) This is Grace at the little water park outside of Bugs Land in California Adventure park. I was smart and brought her swimmies so she could do what she wanted. She loved running from splashy place to splashy place. I loved standing in the misty shade watching her entertain herself.

And we spent our Saturday afternoon at the beach. Grace LOVES the water. She wants to go as deep as her dad will take her, and loves when the waves "crash" on her head. Anytime the word 'beach' is heard, she pats her head and says (about 50 times) "crash, head... crash, head... crash, head...) As you can see in the picture, Gracie loves the waves the way most people love big drops on roller coasters. The smile seems to say "this feels funny, but I love it." We picked up some of our favorite Mexi-food on the way home. El Burrito Jr is the place to go if you ever visit. We like to get the beach basket. Two burritos, two enchiladas, two chicken tacos, beans and rice, chips and salsa: $13.55. It usually takes us about 3 meals to finish it all. So good.

So, we've got about 8 or 9 days left in our little paradise here. We've got a bit to do to make sure we're ready to go. And now that its finally final that we are leaving, we are both a little melancholy. We love the people we've met here, and we will really miss the area. I'm sure I'll spend some more time writing about this soon...

Drum Roll Please...

We've been home for about a week and a half now... despite our efforts to lay low and recoup a little, the changes (and the travel) keep coming. But we'll be settled soon. At last, an offer has been accepted and signed. And not a moment too soon. I've got about 10 days left before I'm not allowed on a plane. So without further adieu, I introduce our new home for the next 18-24 months: Boyne City, Michigan!

We are very excited. Its a great opportunity for Cori. The position is nice and big and has the management opportunities he was hoping for. The area will be a fun adventure for our family too. It is a very popular vacation spot in the north western part of the state on the shore of Lake Charlevoix, which is a little jetty off of Lake Michigan. This translates into hot summers, long winters, glorious autumn colors and lots of outdoors things to do: golfing, hiking, camping, fishing and (at last!) skiing. Boyne City itself is small (population 3,500 I think), but it is near a couple of other bigger cities that afford the accommodations we can't do without, i.e. Target. It is just an hour north of Traverse City which boasts a very active arts community and our nearest airport. We'll also be a day trip away from some other places we've wanted to see, Manitou Island (where 'Somewhere in Time' was filmed) being at the top of the list.

The Church is pretty sparsely populated as well. The whole of northern MI is a district of 8-10 branches functioning (we think) under the direction of the Mission President. This will be a fun adventure as well. Our social life will not be contained in the cozy blanket of church membership-- the way it has been for us both for most of our lives. I will have to rise to the challenge of finding mommy friends and play groups through other venues. I'm actually grateful, as this is something I should be better at already.

More details to come as our adventures in house hunting and home ownership begin. We are hoping to be flying out there next weekend (with as many of our necessary belongings as we can manage) and into temporary housing while we shop for houses and doctors. Then Cori will fly back to CA in Sept. for the couple days of packing and shipping detail.

I'll be posting soon with the exciting things we've all been up to these last few weeks...

Wordless Wednesday: Her Favorite Pal