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Here is a quick run-down on some of our activities:
 | Scouts - Our scouts have had an active year filled with
camping trips, food drive activities, collections for soldiers,
caroling in the nursing home and more.
 | Villa Pack 324
-- Jack is a Bear, AJ a Weeblo I. Kate is committee chair and
David is camp chef. |
| After surviving a rainy campout and 9-mile hike with the older
boy scouts, Robert went through the Arrow of Light Ceremony (see
photos) and officially became a
Boy Scout. |
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| School -
| Each semester the Kids study a
continent in-depth. Last year, they studied
North America and Asia. Jack gave his classmates a
demonstration on how to make sushi. AJ used his
powerpoint
creation and a live demonstration to teach his class how to use
chopsticks. See the
photo album for a peek at Jack's and AJ's
projects. |
| Elementary II classes (grades 4-6) focused on looking at our
solar system in greater detail than ever before. In October, Kate went
with Robert's class to look through the Lowell Observatory in
Flagstaff for an overnight field trip (see
photos). Robert and
his classmates also raised $10,000 to take a class trip to Catalina Island
to study marine biology. |
| Zoe will enter her Junior year this fall. She is beginning
to consider colleges, including Wellesley,
Stanford and UCLA. |
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| Travel -
| We took
family vacations to Rocky Point, Mexico in January and July. Jack loved snorkeling, AJ found the Holy Grail
of all shells (a complete sand dollar bigger than his hand!) and
Robert and Mom ran most mornings when the others were sleeping.
Check out the
sand sculpture and
sand castle the boys created. |
| There were a few
campouts this year, complete with
fishing, roasting marshmallows and hiking. Arizona is an
ideal place for camping year-round. |
| Kate and David spent last
Christmas in Belgium with his sister and spring break in South
Africa with his parents. |
| This summer was the
McAndrew
Family Reunion in Iowa featured in the
Quad City Times article. |
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| Sports - Baseball, soccer, hiking, skateboarding and tennis dominate
for the boys. Zoe was named captain of her pom squad. The
boys play through Villa Montessori School and on little league teams
in Nebraska. Check out the
pictures. |
| Arts -
| Robert began acting classes at school
and then caught the theater bug when he joined the
Desert
Stages Community Theatre
production of Oliver last fall. In the spring all three boys
appeared in
Grease! Needless to say, with daily 2-3 hour
rehearsals, the family was busy. Nevertheless, it was a
fantastic experience. |
| All three boys are studying piano. They are eager to move
on to other instruments (guitar and African and Taiko drums) but Mom
is not ready for that quite yet. |
| While the boys have ceramics classes at school, they do not have
a wheel. Jack and Mom have started studying ceramics at a
studio in Tempe. |
| An enthusiast of anything Hawaiian, David plays slack-key guitar
and helps us all unwind after dinner. |
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