Reaching for the Eagle

After more than ten hours of preparation, Cameron began the construction on his Eagle project yesterday. A few months ago during a Soccer Board meeting, we were discussing the need for a new equipment shed. Our old shed has required numerous repairs over recent years and it no longer keeps the moisture off the soccer equipment. Brother Gould happens to be on the Board with us, and suggested that the new shed would make a good Eagle project. He offered to oversee the construction. James and I thought that would be great if Cameron wanted to choose that for his Eagle project because he was in the process of deciding what he was going to do. When we talked to him about it, he was very excited. He got the appropriate approvals so that he could begin working on his Eagle. He started making sketches of what the new shed would look like. He even made a 3D sketch on the computer that you could walk through and see both the inside and outside.

Cameron went to each of the local lumber companies to get the supplies donated for the shed. The two Lander companies both donated a substantial amount of the supplies. The company in Riverton declined to donate anything, but when Valley Lumber heard that, they said they'd talk to the company themselves to hopefully get them to be more generous. I don't know what came about after that, but I hope they do end up donating some items as well. Cameron and Brother Gould had made a list of the needed supplies and Cameron ordered all of them and also gave the lumber company the Soccer Board Treasurer's billing address because the Soccer Board is paying for the portion of the supplies that are not donated. Cameron also asked Triple L to donate the transportation of the shed from the construction site (which is at the Byrd's house out North 2nd Street) to its position on the Soccer Complex at the high school. Cameron set up the times that the construction would take place and he invited all of the boys and leaders. I'm really proud of him for making this completely his project. We have offered advice and transportation, but he has made the decisions and done all of the work. In fact, some of the advice we have given him he hasn't liked and he's done things his way. :) That is fine. That is part of learning to be a leader.

Yesterday morning at 9 a.m. all of the scouts arrived at the church. Brother Smith came even though it was his birthday! Brother Crowley also came to help. We drove out to the Byrd's where the lumber company had delivered the majority of the supplies the day before. Brother Gould was very good about explaining how they would be building and then letting Cameron give assignments to everybody. Cameron did pretty well at not being too bossy. This is a picture of all the boys inside Brother Byrd's giant building-in-progress where the shed is being contructed. This is our "before picture" of the boys with the supplies before they started building:

Kamden and Colby organizing boards to get ready for wall construction:

The boys listen to Brother Gould explain construction:

Brother Gould is a very conscientious contractor. He measures everything exactly to the sixteenth of an inch and makes sure it is completely perfect before moving on. The boys were held to this standard and I think they learned some valuable skills. I bet each of them could go home and build a dog house if they wanted to now because he taught them how to build something from scratch. The boys all worked hard and listened to Cameron without arguing or slacking off. And thus the construction began:

The weather was very cold when we arrived. I ran home to get a bag of gloves and when I returned, they had already finished construction on this frame for the floor.

It must be time for lunch! The hungry scouts lined up:

They ate 6 1/2 pizzas, 2 1/2 bags of chips, 2 3/4 packages of cookies, 1 bag of apples, and 1/16 bag of carrots. My kids gladly finished off the remaining 1 1/2 pizzas, chips, and cookies when we got home. The carrots still remain in the refrigerator... for next week...

...and then construction continued.
Brother Gould and Micah cutting boards for the walls:

The boys were the most excited when they finally got to use their hammers to pound in lots and lots of nails. They also loved it every time they got to use the chalk line. Brother Gould had a prior commitment and had to leave, so he left Cameron with instructions of what to do next and then to stop once they reached that point. They finished an hour before Cameron's designated stopping time and none of them wanted to stop. Especially Cameron wanted to keep going, but we didn't dare to go on without Brother Gould's instructions because we want it to be perfect just like he does. So once they had the 4 walls standing, they cleaned up and then we drove them home.

This is how the shed currently looks. They are scheduled to work on it again next Saturday.
All of my kids were there the whole day. Teancum, Rebecca, and Jamey mostly watched movies in the van and ate snacks. Ethan and Ian helped quite a bit, but also were banished to the van a few times (Ian is attracted to Brother Gould's very expensive equipment! Not a good thing!). Lizzie walked around "helping" the whole time and also played with the dog a lot. Around 1 p.m. I put her in her car seat in the mazda and rolled the window down so she could see what we were doing and feel the breeze on her face. I gave her a binkey and she went right to sleep and slept until we were leaving. She really liked being in the middle of the action, though. Here is a photo of her hugging Micah while he's trying to work:
James admitted that this is perhaps a more involved Eagle project than most are. I know it is more difficult than the one Micah has in mind. But Cameron likes this type of thing and it has been great for him to plan it and prepare for it. And what an incredible thing that now it is really coming to fruition! There is yet more to do, and I'm confident that he will do it. What a great program scouting is!