Junior Ranger Rules! National Park Program for Kids

“I, [child's name], am proud to be a National Park Service Junior Ranger. I promise to appreciate, respect, and protect all national parks. I also promise to continue learning about the landscape, plants, animals and history of these special places. I will share what I learn with my friends and family.”

Several years ago, while searching for ways to keep our sons actively engaged during our family vacations, we learned about the Junior Ranger program offered at National Parks across the country. These programs invite children to become a part of the National Park family through the completion of educational activities during park visits. Once a Junior Ranger has completed his activities and discussed what he (or she) has learned with a Park Ranger, he earns a Junior Ranger badge. My children have earned several of these badges -- after our years of moving and traveling during our military life.

An excerpt from my son's scrapbook shares how enriching the Junior Ranger experience was for our family:

"The summer of 2004 was one you will always remember! During our visits to Mesa Verde, Arches, and Grand Canyon National Parks, you became a Junior Ranger. You were completely in your element as you explored nature, completed assignments, and soaked up as much knowledge as you could about the Parks we visited. You took your job very seriously! I was so impressed with how you took responsibility for the environment, learned from the experience, and loved every minute of it. You should be very proud of yourself! We certainly are!"

Tools for the Trail: Or What Ranger Andrew carried each day.

1. Bottled Water - Lots of It!

2. Sunglasses

3. Magnifier

4. Nature Guide

5. Sunscreen

6. Trash Bag

7. Pen and Notebook

8. Good Walking Shoes

9. Can Do Attitude

Some Ranger Rules -- things to remember for the trip:

Stay on Trail! The cryptobiotic soil is alive! If you walk on it, it dies. It takes 50-250 years to grow back!

Keep the trails clean.

Help your brother along the way.

Visit the National Park Service website to learn more about Junior Ranger programs.

A few more beach memories

A few more beach memories to share. . .

"Until I saw the sea, I did not know that wind could wrinkle water
so.

I never knew that sun could splinter a whole sea of blue.

Nor did I know before that sea breathes in and out upon the shore." ~Lillian Moore

I love this photo of my girl and her daddy. It was her first day on the beach -- she was just under one year old. Thankfully, this was just one of many in her life spent along the Gulf Coast. She's very excited to go visit again soon.

This was a Delaware beach. Whenever we have a choice in this military life, we ask to get stationed near a coastline -- the sea breeze and salty air always feel like home to me.

My favorite photo with my daughter. Simply titled: "Remember This." The water was so beautiful along the Gulf that day, and I was thrilled to share it with her.

Gulf Coast Memories

I ran across this scrapbook page recently. These photos of my children were taken on Okaloosa Island between Fort Walton Beach and Destin, Florida. This nice memory really makes a recent life-changing event seem even more surreal. More to follow on that . . . but for now, the thoughts I journaled for this amazing day:

"I remember this Gulf Coast Beach, located along the shoreline on Hwy 98 between Destin and Fort Walton Beach, Florida. I remember skipping through here on Christmas Day when I was young singing, “I'm having a White Christmas, but not the kind with freezing snow!” I remember trying to skim board along the emerald shore over and over, until my buns became so bruised I decided I didn't need to learn that skill. I remember sunning here for hours, back when I wore a bikini with pride, and had not a single worry about skin cancer and wrinkles. I remember walking hand in hand with my very first boyfriend here—my stomach all fluttery. Then many years later, and what feels like yesterday, my stomach fluttered again as I walked here with a photographer and an even more special guy for a photo shoot that would help announce our intentions to the world. I remember the dunes then were so tall and vast you could get lost in them . . .

But that was then . . .

Now, after three “30-year” hurricanes have stormed them head-on within 10 years, the dunes look like moguls on a flattened ski slope. But they are still a beautiful backdrop for a photo shoot. The sand is still snow white, the surf is still emerald green, and my children love this beach just as much as I did—even though its landscape has changed. The Gulf Coast will always be my home. Hopefully, my children keep their own fond memories of this beach— the one I shall never forget." ~ Photos—August, 2005; Journaling—September 2005

Lego King

"Know your limits,

Not so you can honor them,

but so you can smash them to pieces and

Reach for Magnificence!"

~Cherie Carter Scott

Below is the letter I wrote to my oldest son on the above scrapbook page. This layout is now framed above his bed -- a reminder that he can do anything he sets his mind to do. I hope he always understands that although our time on earth is limited, our possibilities are limitless! He is truly an amazing kid, and I am so proud to be his MOM.

A, you are the LEGO KING. Everyone thinks so. Not because you inherited every LEGO your father ever owned. Not because – thanks to grandparents, uncles, Santa, and your own piggy bank – you own virtually every Bionicle, every Harry Potter, and every Star Wars LEGO ever built. No, you are the LEGO KING because you are an absolute MASTER at building these structures. Give you an instruction sheet, and you can build any new kit to perfect specifications in record time. Without instructions, you create masterpieces guided by an amazing imagination.

Half-way through the building of this Star Wars set (bought, by the way, with your own money,) you realized the instructions left out the final steps needed to complete the model. You got angry and screamed in frustration. I was firm with you and told you that screaming was not going to fix the LEGO. I did know it made you feel better temporarily, though. We considered your choices together. We could write LEGO for more instructions, but they would surely take weeks to arrive. We could pack the whole thing up and take it back to the store when we got a free moment, but that too would require more patience than you could muster. Still angry, you stomped back to your room and yelled at the half-built station. Since no one was getting hurt, nothing was getting smashed, and you were, for the moment containing your tirade within your room, I chose to excuse the outburst.

As expected, you grew quiet almost immediately. A few minutes later, you came downstairs with pink but fading cheeks, moist but gleaming eyes, and a grin stretched wide across your face. You were ready to utter the words I knew from the start I would eventually hear, “Don’t worry about ordering the instructions, Mom! I figured it out on my own!”

"I knew you could do it,” I answered. And you definitely DID!

Love To Be Loved

"In your life, you may become a famous architect. You might establish a colony of life on Mars. It is possible for you to cure cancer. You could even teach a classroom of children to read. I have no doubt that you can and will achieve whatever your heart desires in life. And as your mother, I know for sure no one will ever be more proud of you than I am. But at this moment in your life, I watch as your classmates spontaneously run toward you and encircle my precious son in a warm embrace. And I realize that nothing could ever delight my heart more than a moment like this. -- a moment when I see how very much your friends love you. This world is so happy and so lucky to have you, Joshua, and so am I!"

This moment is time -- January, 2005 -- my son's preschool friends in Altus, OK hug him goodbye. His response: "They love me Mommy!" Yes, dear one, they do!

A life recorded is twice precious, first the experience itself, then the memory of it, full and sweet, when we read about it later. ~Elain Cannon

Once upon a time, I was a scrapbooker. . .

There, it's official. I'm reaching the acceptance that I either no longer have the time or just don't wish to create the time I need to scrapbook anymore. Or perhaps, I'm just finally cleaning house and realizing decluttering my workspace of little used and vastly disorganized designer papers, punches, tapes and glues will greatly contribute to my sense of peace in this world. After all, every clean-up-your-act expert agrees that if a person hasn't used something in six months, then chances are she never will. And well . . . it's been a year. Time to donate the goods and find a new hobby.

Blogging seems to be a clutter-free endeavor, so I think I will give it fair chance to sustain my creative flow while freeing my home of excess paper.

Words can still be written. Photographs still taken, compiled, and treasured. The two may still connect peacefully into a collection of memories I wish to share.

But this time, the process doesn't completely impede the usefulness of three industrial shelves and six cabinets -- spaces, I'm sure, that will function much better as holding pens for an ever growing supply of toys and trinkets --many of which will probably be looking for a more loving home within the next year as well.

So, here I am . . . ex-scrapbooker and blogging newcomer : Leisa_T. a.k.a IdeaMom, wife to Rob, mother to three darling children, and friend to, hopefully, too many to name. Ready to face a new adventure, traverse new terrain -- in a delightfully new (to me) clutter-free way. Thank you for joining me in the journey.