Carnival and The Navy / USS Constitution

April 26, 2014 - This Saturday started at 8:00 a.m. at the little scouts' school to help prepare for the school carnival. After this mom scout spend over 4 hours separating and bagging carnival tickets in company of another scout mom with coffee and pleasant conversations, I headed home to get the kids ready for; of course, the school carnival. Once there, the kids had a blast, going from bounce house, to hamster ball, to games, to petting zoo, to hair painting (some of which may just have to grow out) ... a good time was had by all. Best part for me was bidding on this awesome basket with camping supplies (one of the many different themed baskets); worse part ... I was outbid. There is always next year!

Two and half hours later and a few dollars spent, I dropped off Kaylee at her friends house for a birthday party. Dylan was instructed to stay home with dad and get ready for yet another event. Shortly after I got home; which was no more than 20 minutes after I went to drop off Kaylee, we headed out to the Pack meeting. This was one amazing experience for both the scouts and the parents. We had the privilege to be part of an amazing presentation performed by some outstanding U.S. Navy Soldiers part of the USS Constitution. After a reenactment created by a sailor soldier (also an Eagle Scout) involving all scouts and parents,  a group of Explosive Ordinance Disposal Navy Soldiers demonstrated the use of a robot and the equipment they use to perform their job safely. The scouts had the opportunity to control the robot and try on some of the equipment. An amazing experience for sure!
After the Scout Pack Meeting, we picked up Kaylee and headed to eat something. This day ended with some very exhausted scouts.

The Scouts Camp for the Weekend

April 4-6, 2014 - The scouts camp out for the weekend, and what a weekend it was! 

First to the GIRLS Camp out: Kaylee and her friend Rylee with her mom and myself were truly roughing it this weekend. At Stevens Ranch, we enjoyed a weekend full of fun activities together with over 200 other ladies. From playing games, to singing, to hiking, to eating, to enjoying a fire circle, to making new friends, we had a blast. Our sleeping tent was just awesome! (Really, I want to have one just like it on my backyard.) No electricity, no plugs to charge my phone, no heater, no five star hotel; just nature. A weekend away from city lights and without technology, It was marvelous! What we did not enjoy was the very cold weather. We should have known that Texas weather is crazy, and even though it was 80+ degrees the week prior, the temperatures manage to drop to the 40+ that weekend. Top that with plenty of rain and thunder. It was nature at its best. The latrines were also another of our not so favorite thing, but they did the trick. Despite the cold weather we were not prepared for, the girls had a great time and we are all looking forward to the next camping event.

Now the BOYS: Angel and Dylan set up the tent on our backyard and camped out there the entire weekend. They built a fire, cooked their hot dogs and kept their beverages out in a cooler, made s'mores, told stories, and they too enjoyed two cold nights under the rain. They both had so much fun that they too were planning their next camping event when we (the girls) got home from our camp site. Sadly, there are not very many pictures of Dylan because I took the camera and dad used his cell phone for very few pictures.

During our camp outs we learned that:

• We must be better prepared for the weather. (Perhaps if I would have looked ahead at what the weather was going to be like, we would have had a better chance of being warm. Live and learn!)
• Don't always expect to be in a cabin, be prepared to be in a tent without electricity (honestly this was the most fun, and if I had a choice I would do it just like that again)
• Hiking socks and shoes are always best for camp outs
• Not being able to shower the entire weekend is really not a big deal (it makes you appreciate that hot shower at home so much more)
• Camp food is great when you are starving (this too helps you appreciate home cooked meals; but better yet, we all learned to eat what is available and even try a new food)
• Camping is just a must, it is fun for the entire family

Camping must go on!

A Scout Gives Back

March 24, 2014 - A scout gives back to the community; and that is exactly what they did on this sunny afternoon. Giving back to our community means many things. Today, it meant helping to clean one of the town parks to ensure other children can focus on having fun without worrying about trash. After tidying up the park area, they learned about how plants grow and planted their own seeds to grow future trees. The boys were resourceful and used biodegradable containers and empty cans as the container to start growing their trees. This is one awesome group of little scouts! They ended their meeting with some fun play time.
 

Tigers Attend the Webelos Crossover

March 22, 2014 - Can you imagine the excitement? The Webelos were showing off their years of experience as Cubs and were about to join a new journey as Boy Scouts. On this windy, chilly Saturday the parents and kids shared some laughter and shed some tears of emotion as the boys were presented with their awards and recognition. The Ceremony presented by older Boy Scouts to welcome the younger ones to their Troop was truly something to appreciate. And as I let it all soak in, I wondered what it will be like when Dylan becomes a Boy Scout ... and to think that is just a few short years away.

During this ceremony, Dylan received his Computers Belt Loop, Video Games Belt Loop, Weather Belt Loop, and Weather Academic Pin.

The Young Meteorologist Award

Kaylee decided to work on the AHG Young Meteorologist Award. How fun!

(Let me apologize right now to all the teachers out there for probably making a mess out of this project.)

Here is what Kaylee (with the help of mom) accomplished:

Defined weather, made a windsock (more like wind ribbons), made a water gauge, and created a tornado in a jar. Kaylee (with Dylan as a volunteer assistant) observed and recorded the findings in Kaylee's AHG Journal.

WINDSOCK: (or wind ribbons) an "instrument" to determine which direction (with the help of a compass) the wind comes from in our area. To make the windsock Kaylee covered an empty tape roll with electrical tape to make it waterproof. She then made a handle with pipe-cleaners; and tied ribbon to the tape dispenser. We found the ideal spot in our yard to hang the windsock and observed for two weeks. Actually, we hung three windsocks - Dylan and I also made our own.

RAIN GAUGE: an instrument to keep record of the rainfall in our backyard (also for two (2) weeks). The rain gauge was very simple to make. This is how we did it:

• Taped a funnel to an empty tennis ball container (with the smaller opening to the inside of the container) 
• Drew the inch markers using a ruler as a guide (we made the markings on masking tape for better visibility)
• Taped skewers to the container to allow it to stay put in the ground even when wind was determined to pay us a visit.  
• Set the container in an area where it would get rain (only from the sky and not our roof top), was stable enough, and not at all disturbed by any of our wildlife friends and pet. Combining all those was a challenge but we managed. 

Side Note: We probably would have been just as fine leaving it under our roof since the rain did not cooperate and Kaylee collected 0 inches of water... She is determined to collect whatever comes down, so the rain gauge has now taken a permanent spot on our yard until it does it's job.

TORNADO IN A JAR: a fun project to simulate a tornado. Here is how we made it:

• Filled a jar 3/4 with water 
• Added 1 teaspoon of liquid soap 
• Added 1 teaspoon of vinegar 
• Covered the jar and swirl around to see the magic happen.

Another Side Note: Actually, no magic happened, in fact nothing happened and the kids were disappointed, so we tried again, and again, and again ... Until we just used a spoon to swirl the water and the fierce tornado made its appearance.

So, what did we conclude?

• During this time of year in our area the wind comes pretty consistently from the SW
• During this time of year in our area we had 0 inches of rain. We did have some moisture and a few gloomy days
• The temperatures change drastically from cold to warm from one day to another
• Recording findings in a journal is actually fun
• Tornado in a jar is pretty cool (even if it takes many tries to make it work)
• Kaylee is "officially" a young meteorologist - at least she likes to think so

Puppetry, Money Management, Ancestor Detector

March 18, 2014 - It was a meeting packed with fun activities. To culminate the Puppetry Award the girls brought a common object from home to use for making noise that would represent a specific kind of sound in a show . They shared their object, made a sound (or a few) with them and discussed what the sound may represent. The girls were very creative with their choice of objects and coming up with what each sound could have been used for. It was loud, it was musical, it was fun! Can you guess what Kaylee's objects were?

To continue to work on their Money Management Award, they each brought a stuffed animal friend to trade with each other. They were responsible for taking care of it during the meeting. Through this, they learned stewardship. The girls discussed what makes each one of them a good manager, the things God entrust them with, and how they felt when entrusting their things to others.

With clear skies and a great temperature of just a little above 80, the girls had the opportunity to go outside to work on their Ancestor Detector Award. After learning the official rules of hopscotch, the girls made three groups and played hopscotch until their hearts were content. Later they discussed other games their ancestors may have played. Lastly, they enjoyed the playground, fun that our ancestors passed on.

April 29, 2014: Today the girls continued working on another part of the Ancestor Detector badge. They made their own kites and flew them in the play ground. It was a beautiful site to see the many girls running around as they made their kites fly as high as they could. It was a very exciting time for us all.  After flying their kites, they learned the rules of the game Kick the Can and enjoyed playing that for a while before returning inside to take part in the closing ceremony. This was another day full of excitement for the American Heritage Girls.

The Scouts Explore Nature

March 1, 2014 - This past Saturday was just an amazing day to walk in the park. The temperature neared 80 degrees and the sky was clear. And good thing we decided to go out and explore nature on that day because Sunday was the complete opposite, with temperatures at 20 degrees and freezing rain. You just have to love TX climate. Granted, the temperatures are still not steady enough to find all those beautiful things you see during the spring time; but one can still look, right? Besides encountering many dogs being walked by their owners; and my Kaylee wanting to pet each and every one of them, we did discovered the following things.

1. A long stick that helped us reach Kaylee's paper boat before it got too far into the center of the pond. Of course to reach the stick (which was by the edge of the water) we had to get our shoes muddy; but hey, we got the boat. 

2. Large logs that allowed the scouts to count their rings to see how old the trees were. Well, in reality they tried but couldn't determine how old the trees were. Let's just say they must have been old since the logs were very large. We also discovered that large logs make great places to sit and rest while observing our surroundings. 

3. An amazing pattern on a tree trunk which we believe it was carved by termites.

4. Holes on a tree trunk which we believe were made by wood peckers.
5. And we also discovered that going on a long trail walk with kids and forgetting the water in the car is not a good idea unless you are willing to put up with complaining scouts. I suppose the lesson of the day was to always be prepared. Good going mom scout!