Camp Sheppard

Mark and the boys headed home a little early from their weekend at Camp Sheppard due to IJ's morning retching in the snow...looks like our flu bug worked its way into the older kids.

One of the great things about Camp Sheppard is this awesome sledding hill.  The kids are required to wear helmets and they can only go down on inner tubes.  The boys have all sorts of great stories about kids bumping on the sides of their tubes and catching air.

IJ doing outdoor cooking

Another great thing about Camp Sheppard is the opportunity to knock out several activity badges for Webelos!  IJ has already earned all 20, so he just redid some of them.  Redoing activity badges, especially ones like Readyman (first aid and emergency preparedness), is always a good use of time.  See the bandaid on IJ's thumb in the picture above? Yes, first aid is something that should be practiced over and over-as is knife safety *ahem*  Our pack had four Super 20 Webelos attending, so the camp allowed them to practice some of the early requirements for Tenderfoot, the first rank in Boys Scouts!

Shane makes a leather knife case

Shane got most of the requirements done for Craftsman and completed Readyman, Scientist, and Naturalist.  Other pins that can be earned are Artist, Communicator, Forester, Geologist, Outdoorsman, and Showman. They also had campfire and skits.  Shane has shown himself to be quite the showman!

IJ makes a metal bowl

Most of the trip was paid for by the popcorn sales, but we had to pay half.  We used Christmas money from my parents to pay for their trip.  Now that's a great Christmas present!

Shane makes a catapult.

The boys have so much fun on these trips and Mark does too (of course).  We are thankful IJ didn't get sick until the last day; the only thing they missed was the polar bear hike.  IJ joked that they had their very own polar bear hike getting all their gear to the car in the early morning.  Me thinks the flu bug is finally starting to get Mark and I as well...

Engineering a Scout Meeting

One of the requirements for the Webelos Scouts is to build a model of a bridge.  This is what Mark came up with to do with his den:

The problem: The bridge isn't strong enough to keep the car from getting eaten by the dinosaur!

Review some knots: taut line

Suspend the bridge

It works!

Now, the ultimate test.  It survived playtime with Daniel and Fiona, can it survive Mark's Cub Scout den???

Oh yes.  These are the kinds of activities Mark's boys thrive on.  But next time Mark needs to check his boxes before he leave so he knows that Daniel hasn't pilfered through beforehand.  Yes, Mark was short a few materials, but he was able to scrounge up replacements at the church.

February Sun

Days like today cannot be wasted!

Ling Ling wishes she could walk around with us.

Looking at amazing discoveries (snail or slug eggs)!

Jack was hilarious with this paint tray.  He would chomp on the edge and run wildly...and blindly around!

Mark saw us having fun and took a short "coffee break."

Daniel throws "ice ceem" cones into the pond (fir cones).

Checking the trail around the pond.

The bridge to Jungle Pungle Island

Oooo...chilly bare baby feet!

It's almost spring!!!

Puke free for 18 hours!

Mon Petit Chou et Choux de Bruxelles

Climbing barefoot...again!

Poor Baby

Various viruses are making their way through our family.  Daniel seems to be hit the hardest.  As a person who has a hard time relinquishing control, he really struggles with a stomach bug.  His body rebels and there is nothing he can do.  Except scream about things he *thinks* he has control over.  Like whether he should have peanut butter and jelly or oatmeal with raisins for lunch (instead of choosing between a bite of Gerber rice cereal or one saltine cracker).

I love how kids describe their various hurts and illnesses.  Ami used to say her neck hurt when she had a sore throat.  Daniel says his tongue hurts and he "choked" on Daddy's shirt, when he actually barfed.  At least he is learning how to use the bowl!

Blue and Gold

We just had our annual Blue and Gold ceremony for Cub Scouts and there were a few changes this year.

Nice shiner, Shane (trampoline injury).

Instead of potluck on paper plates, we had catered food on glass plates.  The food was good, but I did worry about spills on the table cloth and broken plates-neither of which happened.  Well, we had one little juice spill, but nothing major.

Couldn't listen quietly to the story and had to leave.

Instead of a talent show featuring our scouts, we hired a professional story teller.  I missed watching all the boys do their thing, but there was no stress of keeping the little ones under control.  Because Daniel wanted to run around during the story teller's performance, Mark gave me the look and we had to leave.  So I went out in the lobby area and caught up with my scouting friends and met a few new ones.

Fiona loves our friend who is always all glittery and sparkly.

This fun friend of ours has horses, goats, chickens, and a pot-bellied pig.  We are making plans to go over to her house so the girls can brush her miniature ponies.  She only has boys and loves our girls.  Especially how Fiona oooo's and ahhhhh's over her big sparkly rings!

I've never put flowers or sunglasses on my baby girls, but now that I see how cute they are, I may change my mind!  Each kid got a parting gift (another new thing) when they left the banquet and we got to keep our pretty centerpieces. 

Tag You're It

Fiona (using her most frantic tattle-tale voice): Daniel scribbled all over the bath tub with a marker! It was him, I know it! Because I didn't do it and he is the naughtiest person in the house!
Me: Daniel, did you color on the bathtub with a marker?
Daniel: No!
Fiona: You did so! You did!  You're a LIAR!
Daniel: No, YOU'RE a liar!
Fiona: No I'm not! You're a liar! Because I didn't do it!
Daniel: No, YOU'RE a liar!  I'm not a liar!
(etc, etc, etc)
Me: Daniel, did you color on the refrigerator with a marker?
Daniel: No!
Me: Did you color on the train table with a marker?
Daniel: No!
Me: Did you color on the floor with a marker?
Daniel: No!
Me: Did you color in the school books with a marker?
Daniel: No!
Me: Did you color your toys with a marker?
Daniel: No!
Me: Did you color all over the white board with a marker?
Daniel: No!
Me: Did you color your body with a marker?
Daniel: No!
Me: Did you color your face with a marker?
Daniel: No!

Definitely a Liar

The Park

Friends are nice *smile*