Mom & Me Cub Scout Campout

After spending the day at the pumpkin patch on Friday, we went to a local Catholic high school football game.  The weather was perfect and they had a KidFEST going on with games and bouncy houses and lots of activities for the kiddos.  Plus it was next to the last home game of the season, so we wanted to see one more game. It was exciting to say the least.  Buddy has two 3rd grade friends whose brothers are both on the team - so we have two to cheer for.
Bright and early Saturday morning, I got up and headed to Walmart for some last minute supplies before Buddy and I headed to his annual Mom & Me Cub Scout Camp Out on the lake. WooHoo!
The weather could not have been better.

Buddy with two of his 3rd grade friends. 

We got to take two hikes and make leather crafts and visit with the other scouts.  We had a really good time and although I had my camera, I didn't manage that many good shots.  I was too busy keeping up with Buddy. 

Late night tent shot. 

It didn't take us long to get settled in the tent and fall asleep because we were so tired. It was really nice to just hang out with Buddy and talk and visit.  The hour drive over and back was great too!

The sun peeking over the trees first thing in the morning.  We were fortunate enough to camp on the lake and so it was beautiful to wake up to. 

The boys spent as much free time as possible on the lake shore, throwing rocks, finding fish bones and other random stuff. Yes, Buddy is in his pajamas. 

Our Shadows!

It was a very happy Mom & Me time!

Weekend Update - Pinewood Derby

Saturday was Buddy's cub scout pinewood derby race. As I mentioned early, he and the Man got a bit of a late start on working on his car, but Buddy put in quite a bit of work on sanding it and helping the Man paint and sanding the wheels down. They were up late Friday night and up early Saturday morning. But the work was not in vain. Buddy's car was fast! Here's Buddy's car coming down the track in first place. Its the red one.

Buddy and his best friend Zkid watching the races. Buddy won race after race.

Another first place finish. I was getting almost embrassed as he continued to win a totally of 19 out of 20 races.

He would take first place in his den. He was pretty stoked as was the Man.

So after all the Den's in our pack raced, Buddy and the Man headed back to school (LG and I went to his baseball game) for another round of races.

He would compete in ten races and win all ten. WOW!

Later that night, the whole family went to the scout banquet.

Here he is with some of his friends being silly. They have such a good time.

He's den performs a dance dressed up as pillow case people. It was too funny. He is on the far left. I wish we had a video to show because if realy was hilarous.

Meanwhile, LG would eat a brownie the size of his head. It was so big he had to use a fork and knife to eat it.

After dinner, dessert and the show was the awards ceremony. Here Buddy gets his first place trophy for his den.

Here his is with both his first place trophy, car and grand champion trophy for the pack.

We are so proud and we are happy to support him in scouts. Its pretty cool.

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And it was also a National Park themed banquet, so through out the night the scout master asked trivia questions about National Parks. The Man, Buddy and M.E. all answered questions correctly. It was pretty cool.

Let's test your knowledge.

1) What was the first National Park?

2) What National Park is home to the world's longest cave?

3) What National Park has the highest volcanoe in the lower 48?

We Got Wet!

This morning found us hustling to a 9AM soccer game. For us, this was early to be out of the house on a Saturday.  I'll just tell you - there were no baths.  And we managed to make it to the game right on time, but forgot the camera and decided against iphone pics because it wouldn't be able to capture the speed of Buddy.

Right out of the gate, we score for the other team. 0 - 1.
After having no practices for the last two weeks, we really thought the kiddos would be rusty but it turned out to be their best game yet. Buddy would score 2 goals and send two goalies to the benches for a power kicked ball to the gut. He has a leg on him.

We would win 7 - 3! Awesome!

After the game we headed East to a Cub Scout Belt Loop Fair.  It was a day camp event for cubscouts to complete trainings/participate in activities to earn a belt loop to wear on their cubscout belt. Buddy was pretty excited about this.  So off we go.

First stop, Chik-fil-A for the Man some coffee and us a quick snack.

Its official. I would weight 500 lbs if I lived close to this place and could eat these chicken nugget wrapped in honey biscuit goodness.

Moments after arriving it started to sprinkle, then rain, then storm. I was windy, chilly and not fun for Babe and M.E.

Buddy was having fun though and loved every second of it.

Here he's got his sights set and shots the target.  I must say I was impressed with his ability to hit the target and many times.

 After the thunderstorm rolled through while we were in a picnic shelter and Buddy learned how to play marbles, he was off to archery.

I think the Man was having just as much fun as Buddy.

Couldn't zoom much with the phone.

 After this adventure and two restroom breaks with LG and trying to nurse Babe outside in the rain. I decided I'd had enough.

A happy LG and M.E. to be out of the rain and headed home.

Cub Scout Campout

Buddy's school boy scout group had its annual Family Camp Out over Mother's Day weekend and yes, I took Babe camping. 

This apparently shocked many people, but we were all good with it and he did fabulous.

Here's the gaint circle of chairs.  We had a great time.

M.E. and Babe

LG was going for the dirtiest kid award.......

Buddy wasn't far behind him in this department.

Buddy and his friends doing a skit around the camp fire.  They were so funny and I couldn't be prouder of him for it and his willingness to get up in front of everyone and do this.  If the cubscouts do nothing else for him, at least he will be able to do some public speaking.

Babe's first camping trip at age 3 Weeks!

Cub Scout Banquet

Tonight after a full day of basketball and derby racing, we had the 100th Birthday Party for Boys Scout of America.  There was a cake decorating contest and of course, I had to enter or rather enter Buddy.

Its hard to tell in this pic, but the 100 is actually made out of cake too. 

I don't know if I got any votes, but the winning cakes were awesome scenes from cub scout camps with trees and lakes.  Buddy's best friend's cake won 1st place.  It had a lake in the middle of it made out of blue jello.  It was really cool.   The dinner was also yummy for a cheap $6 and the boys had a really good time.  Much to our surprise, they handed out awards for the derby races.  We had no idea they were doing this, so we were really happy we went. 

The pic is too blurry, but he was soooooo excited.

The Man was really wanting to take the trophey to work but he thought better of it.  But he was on cloud nine about placing their rookie year.  Hobby Lobby has shadow boxes and display cases on sell this week 50% off, so I'll be heading over there one day this week to find a dome of some sort of place over the winning car. Woo-Hoo!

   

Derby Car

Today was Buddy's official Cub Scout Pine Wood Derby. 

But first things first, this process began a couple of weeks ago, when Buddy designed his block of wood to look like a nascar and then went to a scout master's house and had it cut on the band saw.  It sat in that rough state for a couple of days, until with some nagging from M.E., the Man and Buddy headed over to Chris' and used the belt sander on it.   Then it was back home for some more hand sandy.

Buddy actually helped with the sanding.

Then they finally got out the paint (my craft paints) and Buddy went with navy blue. I really thought he'd go with green.   Then he decided he wanted an orange stripe and the #74, so the Man used some painters tape and got the stripe on and I used my cricut to cut out stencils for the circle and numbers.

Sorry the pics a bit bright, I was alittle too close.  The wheels are a whole other issue, on in which the Man spent many hours working on, but you know what. It paid off.

(We had a basketball game this morning, so the team didn't change into their scout uniforms for the race)

Here's Buddy cheering for his car.  It was so fun and really cool.

They had this very large ramp/track that even included electronic sensors of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, so there was no arguing over winners and they went so fast, they completed 20 heats in no time.

Here's a blurry shot of Buddy's car at the finish line.  I neglected to take a pic of the track but like I said it was really cool. 

Of the 20 heats, Buddy won 13!  3rd Place!  woo-hoo! 

I had totally talked it up that he'd probably only win one maybe two races and to not be upset if he didn't win any, but to my surprise he won race after race.  He was thrilled he could hardly stay in his seat. 

Here's the entire group who raced.  Buddy's on the far left with a crooked smile.  I think he was really wanting second (it came down to the last race).  The winner the little guy in the middle of the back row, is a fabulous little guy and he insisted on his cars design, even when his dad tried to talk him out of it.  I guess he knew what he was doing.  His older brother also won his class, so it must be in their genes.

We had a really good time and the Man's already excited for next year. 

We are very proud of Buddy for his contribution on the car and patiences and for actually coming in 3rd, something we never imagined. 

Our Little Cub Scout

Fact: I will never again attempt to sew patches onto a scout uniform!

It took M.E. an hour to do a sloppy job of it, but at least its done and just look how cute.

And another one. He's on his way to school.
Tonight was the first pack meeting for Buddy's school and he was too excited about getting to go socialize with the other scouts at school. The Man took him and I'm so happy to say he got some pics to share with you.

The evening's activity was rocket boosting. Here's Buddy stomping on the 2-liter bottle to shot off his paper rocket.

Here they are in the gym (bad lighting) in line to receive their scarves and handbook.
He had a blast and was so excited when he got home. I think the Man had a good time too.