The end of a chapter...

 Last Wednesday was Jake's last cub pack meeting.  I blogged about all of Jake's achievements recently - he's really been an amazing cub.  As the first boy in his group EVER to get each and every badge, he's learnt so much and grown up so much since he started when he was 7.

Corky and Bi were spending the night with my mom and dad, so we popped in for a quick bite to eat before going to cubs.  They wanted in on the photo action...

 Salute!  Jake has earned 57 badges, as well as all his advancement badges - another 12!!

 Jake with Pip and Duracell...

 Corky decided that he wanted to go with Jake to cubs...

 Jake seems to have become physically too big for cubs - he's much bigger than the other boys and girls now...

 Introducing Corky to one of the leaders (he's a scout that helps out at cubs)...

 Playing games - Jake and Corky are together in the middle...

 I think that Jake is going to miss the silly games and fun that they have at cubs.  Scouts is much more serious and they do proper scout things (don't ask me what, I have no idea)...

   Indoor games.  Funny story - both Jake's dad and I did cubs and brownies in this same hall.  It was also my pre-school classroom one year and my mom was involved with friends in the fundraising to get it built...

 Nini and Pa brought Bi down to see Jake's leaving ceremony...

  Jake being awarded his last cub badges...

 Jake taking the flag down for the last time as a cub.  We were mid-power failure, so my photos are not wonderful...

  One of the other boys, Luke, was also moving up to scouts with Jake.  They paid a lovely tribute to both boys and I cried the whole way through it.  What is wrong with me...

 Each boy walked around the pack to shake hands in farewell with each of the remaining cubs...

 Corky was a little embarrassed to shake hands and Jake wasn't quite sure what to do - I mean, it wasn't like he was never seeing Corky again...

 Saying farewell to his six...

 And waiting for Luke to finish his farewells...

 Jake and Luke saluting the pack...

 And the pack all saluting their final goodbyes... sob, sob, sob...

 Some of the scouts were there too - they created a step with a stick to symbolise the boys leaving cubs and stepping into scouts.  Jake and Luke were then introduced to all the scouts and welcomed into their new family...

 And now Jake looks so little again as we prepare for the next chapter in his scouting journey...

 Before the cubs were dismissed, the scouts leave the hall with Jake and Luke.  Back to the beginning...

Because it was Jake's birthday, I had baked for the boys, not registering that the scouts would be there too.  They were THRILLED with the home made treats and have asked Jake to bring more as often as possible.  Jake's been to about 4 scout meetings already (prior to leaving cubs) and will be invested shortly.  He is already learning lots of new things and loving every moment.  There is a lot more structure in scouts and he is still learning his place.  He is busy and excited.

I've already been warned that there's a competition at the end of May, where the scouts are split into groups of 4 and dropped off at an undisclosed location.  They have to hike 15km in 8 hours, preparing food along the way.  I'm not sure how I feel about this letting go stuff just yet, but if Jake's keen I guess I have to follow his lead.  Thankfully, when I told him about the competition, he told me he'll do it next time... phew!!

Love,

Sue XXX