Awesome Hike

I awoke early Friday morning to the sound of thunder and heard the rain beating upon the roof. I was going to be very grumpy if it kept up and ruined our plans for the hike we were going on at Waubonsie State Park in Iowa. The stars had all aligned when we set up this activity- there was no school, the boys scouts could attend with us and all of our boys could attend. We are working on Arrow of Light requirements and this hike counted for our outdoor activity with the Boy Scouts and a hike for a few of the boys who still need to earn the Outdoorsman Badge.

Thankfully, as we were eating our butter braid and drinking our hot chocolate with halloween marshmellows, the sun decided to come out. And it stayed out the rest of the day! I was so grateful that the weather was cooperative. We had about a 25 minute drive to our destination.

Our first step when we got there was to get our lunch started. The Boy Scouts were awesome about teaching our boys about the different positions they hold and what their responsibilities are. They all worked together to get a fire started and a stew made so that it could simmer while we went on our hike.

We really couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to go hiking. It was crisp and cool with a light breeze. There are some great views from the trail that we took. The last leg of the hike was a hill that was a killer and one of the parents jokingly asked the boys if anyone wanted to do it again and 3 of them ran down it and back up another time. I wish I had their energy!

We got back to our little camp and had our delicious stew and s'mores. The boys had still had quite a bit of energy and so they played capture the flag. Before we knew it our time was up and we had to clean up and head home. I am so grateful for the Scouting program. Even though I grumble sometimes about the responsibilities of being a leader, I am so grateful that Connor and I can spend days like this together.

Good Stuff

We finished up our popcorn sales on Friday. Woohoo- no more popcorn in our trunk, ever- it was our last year of selling. Thanks to all our family who bought from our kids over the past several years.

We got to go out to dinner two times this past weekend-

once to Famous Dave's with my parents and my brother Dave and his wife Melinda, who came up from St. Louis. It was so good to see them and get some pictures of their cute kids!



Then Saturday night, Troy and I went out to the yummiest buffet up at the Horseshoe Casino up in Council Bluff's with Troy's parents, brother Shane and his girlfriend JJ. We had a great time eating and laughing!


Connor had a soccer game on Saturday. He was able to score a goal and had some great assists.

Jameson is having to just practice with the soccer team this year, since he is a month too old to meet the age requirements. He has been a good sport- even though it's been hard to watch all your friends play when he would love to be out there with them.


I went Lincoln this morning with my SIL Michelle and since it was raining, Troy was home for a while and he did 3 loads while I was gone. I had a mountain of laundry and he was so sweet to get it down to bunny slope status for me.

And I won a fun prize on Melissa's blog- 320 Sycamore. You'll have to check out the amazing transformation they have made with their house.

All my mums are blooming and they look so pretty. Last year I had a bunch die out on me and so I am excited they are filling in again.



And last but not least I was excited to figure out how to have large sized pictures on my blog without all the work of sizing them and uploading them to photobucket. All you do is find the HTML code where it says s200 or s400 and change it to s800 for a large photo. Note you might see two sizes one that says s1600 and s200 or s400. Only change the small number. You might have to do some rearranging with your layout- because it doesn't work on inbetween sizes like s600. Don't ask me why.

Example code:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwQbWzm9ihY4npMoe0_78AcpJGhFbav7fZe_pIb-GuJEVTlXEKDsaCIQx88Q-fqvgR7eU4amNhG4r0M6kpnJ3FQYRr-oJSIIHmuDGL1KVDLQtO58YSFtqIYYl-CZl0aNG5Q8d5WQ/
s800/100_9766-1.JPG

First Class

Jameson had a great week at Camp Cornhusker. I was amazed to see the changes in him in just shy of a week. He got almost all of his requirements done for the trail to First Class scout. He also completed his swimming and rifle shooting merit badges. Thankfully there was only one severe thunderstorm that went through their camp the whole week long. That was definitely an answer to prayers considering all the severe weather we've had for the past month here in Nebraska. We all got to go down on Friday night to eat dinner with him and watch their campfire program that evening. We watched as they retired the flags that were half mast all week because of the 4 Scouts who lost their lives. I am really glad he got a chance to go, but I am so happy that the week is over and that he is back safe at home.

Crossing Over

It is so hard to believe that Jameson is now done with Cub Scouts. It seems like it was just a short while ago that he was in Tiger Cubs. The years have seriously flown by.



Thursday night was the Arrow of Light ceremony. He received his Indian name Naalnish, which means hard worker and a beautiful arrow that Cheryl, spent a lot of time painting. The different colors stand for achievements throughout their Cub Scout years. He crossed over the bridge into Boy Scouting. He really has been working on his requirements since August, but now it is official.





I don't know about Jameson, but I am really sad that this is the end. Connor has another year left, but it is not going to be the same without all the dear friends who we won't get to associate with on a monthly basis.

Random Ramblings on a snowy night

My breakfast everyday this week so far- Arizona green tomatoes courtesy of my Mom. Thanks Mom!



I did 3 miles on the treadmill today! My goal this week is 8 miles. I have 3 more to go between tomorrow and Friday!

Genna and I had fun at lunch watching all the birds. We pulled our chairs right up by the window and ate with our bird books on our laps.



After school, the kids and I stopped by here. The boys had to talk with a local artist for a Webelo badge. We spent about an hour with Amy. She showed us how she creates her art and spent a lot of time talking to the boys about how one might go about pursuing a career in art. It was so fascinating. I could have sat and listened to her for hours, had Genna not been extremely clingy and wanting to be held the whole time. My back was aching by the time we left. But we all left feeling very inspired. Connor spent an hour in his room sketching states. He decided he was going to draw the outline of all 50. He started with Texas, of course.

It's actually been snowing for most of the day. It was kind of nice, we had a "snow night"- Troy and Jameson got to stay home since they cancelled church. We didn't have to rush through dinner. We had time to clean up the kitchen and get showers in before American Idol started.

It's almost midnight and I haven't put my pajamas on yet. I still have on my new shirt that I got for $2.49 yesterday. What do you think? Is it cute and fun or does it just make you wonder if I am expecting?



I spent the rest of my day working on the pages I had prepped. I have 4 more to do tomorrow. Here's what I got done:
(You can click on the picture to make it bigger. Sorry I am so lazy about scanning and stitching these 2 page layouts!)

When I finish those layouts and get my office cleaned up- I am a messy scrapbooker, I want to make something for this. Heaven knows, I have enough vintage pillowcases!

Monologues

Tonight was a fun Cub Scout meeting. The boys had to perform a monologue for their Webelos Showman badge. I got roped into leading this topic when Troy ratted me out that I was involved in Drama in high school.

Jameson picked

Recipe for a Hippopotamus Sandwich by Shel Silverstein

A hippo sandwich is easy to make.All you do is simply take One slice of bread,One slice of cake,Some mayonnaise,One onion ring,One hippopotamus,One piece of string,A dash of pepper--That ought to do it.And now comes the problem...Biting into it!

So we made a little stuffed hippo for his sandwich. I worked on sewing him while Jameson got the rest of his ingredients together.







Connor picked

SNOWBALL
by Shel Silverstein
I made myself a snowball
As perfect as could be.
I thought I'd keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me.

I made it some pajamas
And a pillow for its head.
Then last night it ran away,
But first- it wet the bed

Here are the "props" we came up with for Connor's performance. A very kind soul over at 2peas helped me get the pajamas pasted into the picture.






Both boys did a great job and I think they had a lot of fun!

Happy Campers

Like bugs drawn to the street light, our kids were just completely mesmerized by the fire. And we've camped quite a bit. There is just something so magical about the flames dancing around the wood, the embers glowing below. We roasted hotdogs, made s'mores, cobblers and new to me, used a pie iron. It was a gorgeous night for camping. It was warm, but the wind was blowing enough that you needed to snuggle up inside your sleeping bag. One of the better campouts I've been on.

This shot was taken at 6:45am at our Pack campout. Most of them ignored the donuts and juice in favor of trying to put to use their newly acquired fire building skills.

 

Friends, Fun, Flybys and a Few Fotos

I feel so blessed to be friends with some amazing women! Last weekend Cheryl, Tami and I went out to dinner and shopping. We had a great time talking and just being together. The only problem with the night was it ended too soon!



Then today my good friend, Amber and her 2 cute kids came down for a visit. Genna was so excited for Anna and Baby Josh to come over. We had lunch together at Subway and stopped in at the quilt shop in town. Lots of yummy fabric there. Makes me wish I knew how to sew better. After that we came back to my house and just hung out for a bit. After my busy weekend, that was just perfect! Genna had a fun time playing with Anna and loving on Josh.





Saturday was Jameson's first boy scout activity, an 11 year old daycamp. He got to shoot BB guns, do an obstacle course, tie knots and cook his own lunch. It was a fun time. I got to go along because it was the Stake Primary who put this activity on.





I was excited to look out tonight and see about 5 or 6 bluebirds back for a visit. I guess that snake didn't scare them off for good.



Last, here are just a couple of pictures that I thought turned out pretty cool.

Random Ramblings

I am very happy to report that the Pinewood Derby is over for another year. Both boys' cars made it down the track without losing a wheel or stopping before it crossed the finish line. Jameson's did pop a wheelie on one it's runs, but thankfully it stayed on track. Both boys did actually finish in good standings. Jameson got 2nd in his den race and Connor 1st in his.





Before the race we had Troy's parents over for lunch. I made chicken tortilla soup and banana muffins. Our thoughts are with Betty today as she has a knee replacement surgery.

We didn't have church yesterday because of the snow and ice we got the night before. It hailed for a bit and Connor thought it looked like dippin' dots.

Last night, Troy had a meeting for church in Lincoln. While he was gone we played Wiz Kidz, which is a pretty fun game and a good purchase, if you feel obligated to buy something from Discovery Toys. Genna has recently learned all of her letters by sight and so she had fun playing this time too!




Genna was jammin' out today to High School Musical on Connor's MP3 player. She had to have the hat on so she could keep the ear buds in.




Genna wanted to take a picture of me after I took some of her. She was very specific in how she wanted me to pose. Here I am with the book(Pride & Prejudice) I just finished up today. I am looking forward to watching my copies of P&P while I fold laundry this week.



This last time at the library I got a lot of safe books- or rather, books I know I won't be disappointed in. So I ended up with a bag full of Jane Austen books. Most of them will be re-reads. I think next I will start on Sandition, which if I have read before, I don't remember a thing about it.

Pie Anyone?

Last Friday evening we had a pack meeting where our Cubmaster, graciously agreed to take a pie in the face for each den that had scouts who sold over $650 in popcorn sales. In our pack of 32 boys, we had 12 who met that goal. We are extremely proud of how hard the scouts worked to raise money for our pack. Lynn was such a great sport and made the pie throwing event, even better, by his funny facial expressions. Jameson had a blast when it was his turn! We are also having a pizza and swimming party next week at our local Sleep Inn hotel. Who knew popcorn sales could be so fun?