Cub Scout Fall Campout 2014

November 8-9, 2014: We always look forward to campouts, and this one was no different. Starting Saturday early morning to Sunday mid morning, the days where packed with activities. We found a great spot for our tent and pitched it in a matter of minutes thanks to the instant capability our tent has. Dylan helped to inflate the air mattresses with a hand pump, and drove some of the stakes into the ground. We set everything else in place and had breakfast with the rest of the scouts and their families.

The boys practiced their skit, played hide and seek, worked on their softball and astronomy belt loops, and gathered around the fire to tell stories and jokes. 

During our Pack Meeting, the boys received their awards, performed their skits, and made s'mores. The meeting culminated with a Flag Retirement Retirement.

Our night ended with more jokes, stories, and even more s'mores around the campfire (which felt great considering the low temperatures of 40's in our very hot state of Texas). The night felt cold even with hand warmers inside our sleeping bags, but we made it through the next morning where again breakfast was around the campfire. And just as everything was set up Saturday, it was taken down Sunday. Our morning ended at the camp site with a religious service and flag ceremony. A good time was had by all!

 

A Day at Camp

May 17, 2014: Spring calls for outdoor time, and how better to spend it outdoors than camping. After setting our instant tent (which I highly recommend) the fun began. The scouts played in the dark with their glow sticks, glow in the dark balloons, and sang songs as we "baked" apples with butter and brown sugar in aluminum foil on the camp fire. Our night snack was surprisingly delicious and fun to make. The fun and conversation continued until about 11:00 p.m. After putting out the fire we all headed to our tents for a restful night.

May 18, 2014: After a great night sleep, the birds manage to get us up at approximately 6:00 a.m. Relaxed and excited to start the day after our egg breakfast burrito and cleaning up, the scouts began their day with a flag ceremony at which Dylan was once again a Color Guard. With one activity after the other planned the scouts did not get a chance to say they were bored. What did we do? Emergency Preparedness, Kickball, Volleyball, Hide and Seek, Hiking, Tree Climbing, Scooter Riding, Story Telling, Cooking, S'More Eating, and Memories Making. The scouts also transitioned to the next rank; but I will cover this on another post. It was an absolutely wonderful weekend for everyone; and best of all - Technology Free!

 

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!