This weekend is the first weekend of The Eagle Project.  To SonBo this is the culmination of years of scouting - the big project that he runs to earn his Eagle Scout rank.  To me it means becoming a worker bee for the next two weekends...doing what I am told, when I am told, how I am told...with a smile on my face!

The smile will be easy, because I am very proud of our son and very proud of the way our family worked together to make his project happen.  It's incredibly difficult to not to take over a project when you see someone you love struggling.  In our case, SonBo was just overwhelmed with the details.  Luckily, we have the ability to walk him through the steps and prod him in the right direction.  Here's the upshot:  he got ALL of the materials donated.  ALL OF THEM.  It was a total cost well over $750.00.  We bought 8 connector plates for 63 cents each...our big contribution.  We either already owned the tools needed or borrowed them from the tool lending library.  This is going to be way cool.

What's the project?  Well, he is building an edible plant garden at the zoo.  This means the project must be completely "green."  Nothing from the building materials can leach into the soil.  So he decided to use Trex and managed to get a company to donate not only the boards, but the posts - all Trex!  Then another local lumber company donated all of the concrete (Qwikrete green), carriage bolts, nuts, corner brackets, washers, etc.  Once the plot is constructed, he will fill it with compost, and then plant only edible plants.  It's a pretty big project for an Eagle candidate.  He thought the whole thing up himself...and then we helped with the details.

So, bring on the work, SonBo.  I will follow orders and do my best work on your behalf.  Thanks for making us so very proud.

Peace and joy ~ Shannon

Oh, and our dog was chosen to be on the local TV station as one of their special pups!  It's a great week!