Cub Scout Camp

It has been a while since I've blogged, but I've got to document this. 

Last weekend was Tyler's last year at Scouthaven as a cub scout. And, it was Ryan's first year as a camper. I got the full experience too this year since we didn't want to diminish either of their experiences by forcing 1 to do the others activities. 4 days and 3 nights.  The pack met on Friday morning at Tim Hortons and off we went.

We had 17 campers this year which meant we got "the good site."  It was fitting that Tyler's first and last year was at that site. 

I knew what I was getting into after visiting camp for the last 3 years and I have been dreading this trip since I realized I was going to have to go last summer.  Now that I've been home for almost a week, I can look back and say that it was better and worse than I anticipated.  The nights were worse.  I had anticipated them to be bad, but I hardly slept.  Nature is loud!!  As are the snores of the Dads. And, it was cold.  Very cold.  Those tents aren't sealed in any way.  Even though it didn't rain, it was still wet everywhere.  At night everything got wet with dew.  I felt soggy the whole time and everything had a smell. I am definitely a suburban girl.

Here is Ry showing off our messy accommodations.

The bug nets were really weird.  I turned the light off as soon as I got in because you feel a little claustrophobic in there.  But, they did their job and kept the bugs off me as I slept... I hope. I have never seen so many daddy long legs ever.  They were on everything.  

This contraption, the chariot, was actually part of last years decor, but it came along this year too and the boys loved it.  Sure does look like a lot of work to me!

Dan and Ty were in the tent next to us for the first 2 nights.  They slept "on the hill" the last night which is intended to be a bonding experience of making a tent out of tarps.  As you can see, Dan was having none of that...

We sent 7 boys up on the hill.  Here's the crew before.

Those poor Dads.

 Dad with his Webelos II.

And with the Wolf too.

Here they are on the way back into camp.  They all made it!

It was a strange experience in parallel camping.  The four of us were there together, but we really didn't see each other.  Each age group has their own schedule of activities and for some reason we didn't even eat at the same table.  I guess it was a good thing that each boy had a designated parent.

Ryan and I walked and walked and walked, enjoying various activities along the way.  We took out a paddle boat, but I think it will be even more enjoyable when his feet can really reach the pedals!

Check this out.  Isn't his face a bit creepy?  Those glasses made him look like a bug! But, he shot really well.  He got 10 balloons with 9 shots.  He was pumped!!

  

While the big boys were gone, Ryan made fast friends with the other boys in his den.  These 4 were stuck like glue the last two days of camp.

They went everywhere together, ate every meal together and even had a play date after coming home. It was nice to see Ry with his own peers instead of tagging along with Ty.

We did it all and wore ourselves out.  I'm still in recovery.  The laundry is finally done!

The days were really enjoyable.  It was special time with Ryan and I'll keep those memories in my heart forever.  The fires at night were especially nice.  The sound of boys running and playing while watching the fire dance... aaahhh. And, then I had to go to bed.  Ugh.

Ryan was willing to try all sorts of things at camp that he would never do at home... like eat weeds pointed out by Nature Mary. But salad or veggies at home?  No way?  Maybe Nature Mary can come visit here.

And, getting into a cold swampy lake.  I took my swim test in that lake and can assure you that it has crazy seaweed that reaches right out and grabs you.  Blech.

He loved archery.

Check out his bullseye!!

On the last day, Dan left early to deal with our crazy lawn so I got a bit of time with both boys.  And once in a while I caught them at the same place at the same time. Briefly.

We lost a few families the last night and a bunch more throughout the last day, but we still had quite a crew there until the very end.

The final event was really special.  The packs did skits and Ryan participated.  It was really cute. Then I got to see my first flag retirement ceremony which was moving.  I learned that there are only 3 organizations approved to retire flags and the boy scouts are one.  They cut each stripe out separately and fed it into the fire piece by piece.  It was worth staying until the end to see that.

On the way out we stopped for one last picture.  While I will visit in future years, I hope that this was my only experience as a resident at Scouthaven.

I'm glad I went and I'm glad it is over.

The North Pole



Once in a rare while you find real magic... Yesterday was that day for me, the boys, Grandma W, Uncle Dave, Owen and our friend Nathan.  

 

We got up early and piled into the car for the long ride to the North Pole!! It was raining when we started out, then turned to ice and finally snow.  The drive took us through a remote winter wonderland surrounded on all sides by frosted evergreens and mountains. It was beautiful (although a bit scary).  And, the boys were convinced that we were headed to the real thing. 

 

We finally arrived and they weren't disappointed. There really was a pole of snow...

 

 They found a hidden slide in the back of the toy shop.

The whole place was beautiful covered in a thin layer of snow.  I'm sure that mid-summer it shows its age, but it was perfect while we were there.

This is the chapel where the elves marry.  Ryan would like to know why elves marry.  Can anyone answer that question for me?  I tried, but he's not accepting my answers.

This boy makes me smile.  He had such a good time.

I'm not sure what is going on here... maybe they were sick of stopping for pictures.

They even got to pet a reindeer!  But, we forgot to ask which one.

I couldn't get Owen to turn away from Tannenbaum, the talking tree. Too funny! The boys asked the tree questions including if he liked being decorated.  He does, by the way, and thinks he looks good!

It was finally time to go inside Santa's House.

The loved checking the place out.

And, even sat on Santa's bed!

Then it was time to see the man himself. Owen was up first and I think he was a little nervous.  Santa asked his name and he said "Guitar."  Ha ha!

I removed Owen's elf hat for this picture because he was whacking Santa in the face.  Santa felt bad so he shared his hat with O. Very special.

Ryan couldn't remember what he wanted.

Santa said he could text in his wish.

I was so focused on putting the boys in clothes that would be comfortable under winter clothes all day that I didn't consider how this neon shirt would look in this pic.  Oops.

The boys had a great time.

They even enjoyed some of the rides.

This kid cracks me up.  Could he smile any bigger?

It is really hard to take a pic while on the coaster.  Hopefully that cheek is enough to remember the pure joy on Ryan's face.

I think we made this trip just in time. They are 9 and 10.  And, are convinced we were at THE north pole. Maybe I should have told them to keep it a secret for when they go to school tomorrow.

 

They're already talking about a trip to the pole in the summer just to make sure it is really frozen all year.

 

This trip was exactly what I had hoped it would be.  As we were leaving, we heard Ryan in the back of the car say "we finally met the real Santa."  Perfect.

Do you see that bag in Tyler's hand? While we were there, the boys saw the "Genuine Elf on the Shelf" sign outside of a shop. Genuine being the key word. They have wanted an Elf for a long time, especially Tyler, but I have always told them that mom has to ok the elf coming into the house and I said no because I didn't want to be spied on.  I held firm.  Until the North Pole.  Because it was the real one. They seemed so sincere. Yup, I got suckered and that was confirmed tonight.  Dan read the boys the book that came with the Elf and afterwards Tyler told him that he has wanted an Elf for a long time and mom kept saying no, no, no, but he broke her.  Seriously, he said he broke me. 

We made some special memories this weekend.