An Overnight Adventure: Cub Scout Campout at Lake Texana

We were off on another adventure over the weekend. This time we had a Cub Scout campout down at Lake Texana, which is about an hour and a half southwest of town. We got up bright and early on Saturday morning to pack up all our gear and hit the road before 10am. We had an easy drive, and once again, I put Gene in charge of finding us a lunch spot. He picked Pinchers in El Campo, and boy, was it good! Gene and I shared a pound of boiled shrimp while the boys munched on fried alligator.

It was a fun spot, too, with water, geese, and these cut-outs.  

We were the first ones in our den to reach Lake Texana and got right to work setting up our tent. We chose a spot near the lake, but then moved the tent further back under a tree to escape the gusty winds.   

The boys are such good helpers.

Moving the tent...

Once the tent was all set up, the boys headed down to explore the lake shore.

View from the tent. 

One of my favorite things about Cub Scouts is that it is family-oriented. Siblings and parents are encouraged to come to all Pack meetings and campouts, and we had lots of moms and siblings roaming our campsite. We were like one huge family, with lots and lots of watchful eyes on all the kiddos.  

Our first order of business was the opening flag ceremony. All the Scouts were in uniform. 

After the flag ceremony, the kids played a few games of tug-o-war. Henry got right in there to help. This boy is ready to be a Cub Scout next year!

Gene was the anchor when it was Dads vs. Scouts.

After the flag ceremony, we had downtime until dinner. We chose to go on a short hike

and try out Gene's new binoculars (his 5th anniversary gift from his company).

We even saw another armadillo!

After our hike, we lounged in our tent for awhile. Gene and I were exhausted and both dozed off while the boys read. The whole den cooked dinner together. We had hot dogs and hamburgers, steaks, sausage, grilled veggies, chips, baby carrots and more. It was a huge feast! Dinner finished just in time for the Pack campfire. 

The Scouts performed skits and songs and we learned how to respectfully retire old, worn-out American flags. 

After the campfire, it was back to our campsite for s'mores and then lights-out at 9 o'clock.

It rained quite a bit during the night between 11 pm and 6 am but we were lucky and the rain had completely stopped by the time the sun came up. Will found spider webs covered in water droplets.

Our amazing camp cooks were back at it for breakfast, and we enjoyed eggs, sausage, leftover steak, and more. It was another feast!

Then we were off on a hike with our den. 

Our family always enjoys camping and it was even more fun to do it with our whole Cub Scout Pack. We're already looking forward to the next Cub Scout campout in April!

Lately: Books and Art

This week was jam-packed with some new things for our family! 

Book drive was this week at the boys' school. We've supported the drive for the past three year, but this year, for the first time, I was one of the co-chairs of the project.  It was a big job but it's such a good cause. We had a great drive, collecting over 7000 books. All the books are donated underprivileged Houston-area kids to start their own home libraries. It's my favorite service project and I'm honored to be involved in it!

My boys cleaned out their bookcases and we brought a couple of bags of books to the school.

Also this week, Henry started spring soccer. We were so busy rushing out the door to practice that I didn't get to snap a photo, but he's back on the soccer field and loving it.  

Another new beginning this week was that Henry has truly graduated to reading chapter books on his own. He spent the past few weeks reading easy chapter books like Henry and Mudge, Poppleton, and Mercy Watson, but now he has realized that he doesn't have to wait for us to read him the Magic Treehouse books and he is averaging one a day! Like his brother, he reads all the time: while eating breakfast, driving to and from school, and even while walking. I am so excited to have another little boy in the house who loves to read!

Gene started a seven-week drawing class in the continuing education department at Rice. In his spare time, you can find him sketching cubes, eggs, and cylinder people. We think he's really good!

And finally, Gramma and Grampa are now the proud owners of a house in the city. The boys and I spent yesterday afternoon with them at their new place, enjoying pizza on the living rooms floors. There are some renovations that need to happen before they officially move in, but we are all excited for their big move. It has been a full week indeed!

Will's Half Birthday in Kingwood

On Sunday, we celebrated Will's half birthday (7 1/2 already!) in Kingwood.  Gramma and Grampa are always in Maine for Will's August birthday, so each February, we celebrate Will's half birthday with them.

It's a small celebration, but one we always enjoy. Gramma and Grampa cook a meal, make a special dessert and give both boys a couple small gifts.  

This year, Gramma made a yellow cake that we layered with key lime curd, fakey whipped cream (sweetened Greek yogurt), and strawberries. It was the perfect dessert for a boy who likes cake but doesn't like overly sweet icing!

Present time. Henry got two easy reader chapter books, Will got a myth and legends book, and the whole family got Sorry! Happy 7 1/2 years, Will!

After lunch, we played outside. It was another beautiful day and we always enjoy playing at the park across the street. 

All three boys played HARD. They ran and slid and climbed and played tag.  

Our visit was a bittersweet one as this was likely our last time to go up to Gramma and Grampa's Kingwood house. They are moving to a home closer to us next month and we are beyond excited to have them nearby. For the past four years, though, we have loved visiting Kingwood, and have so many happy memories up there. I remember our first outings to the playground across the street, where we had to be so careful to watch Henry so that he wouldn't fall off the play structures. Last spring, the boys mastered riding their bikes without training wheels at the park's parking lot, and we spent countless hours exploring the trails, watching leafcutter ants work and listening to birds sing. We know we'll make many new memories at Gramma and Grampa's new house, though, and look forward to lots of adventures with them in town.

 Goodbye, Kingwood!