The Weekend: Hermann Park, Bingo and Two Carnivals

We spent much of the weekend outside, enjoying fall in Houston! We kicked off the weekend Friday night with a members' preview party at the new McGovern Centennial Gardens in Hermann Park.

We have been watching the progress on these gardens for the past year and were so excited to finally get a sneak peak. The gardens aren't quite finished just yet due to rain delays, but it was fun to get inside and explore a bit. What we saw was spectacular!  

This is "The Mount," a 30-foot tall hill with a spiral walkway to the top

and a cascading water feature.

View of Miller Outdoor Theater from the top of the Mount.

View of Centennial Green from the top of the Mount.

We enjoyed St. Arnold's beer, tasty nibbles and some Michael's Cookie Jar cookies for dessert.

And then explored more! 

There are winding trails in the Woodland Garden

and on the Tudor Family Pine Hill Walk.

The pagoda was moved to a corner in the park near the new rose garden.

The new Centennial Gardens in Hermann Park are beautiful and we cannot wait to go back again and check it out once all the work is completed!

Saturday was our school's annual Boo Bash Carnival. I worked two shifts and the boys played games, ate cotton candy and explored with Gene. I caught with them in time for lunch and a round of jousting!

In the afternoon, the boys went off in search of Halloween costumes and we ended the evening with a few rounds of Bingo at church! We've never been to Bingo before, but it takes place (along with a fajita dinner) the night before the annual Fun Fest carnival. We didn't win anything but we sure had fun! 

Our church's Fun Fest carnival is always the same weekend as the school carnival, so we've never done both (mostly because I am carnival-ed out by the time Sunday afternoon arrives!). This year, everyone was up for Fun Fest at church, so we spent some time exploring and playing games. 

All three of my boys tried their hands at the strongman high striker game. Gene rang the bell on his very first try!

Our weekend ended with a few more hours outside, roasting beer can chicken on the grill and finally setting up our outside Halloween decor. Happy fall, y'all!

Lately: Scouts, School and Family

October is flying by! We have been busy this month with school, Scout and family activities. Here's a peek into what we've been up to lately.

Henry was the first Tiger Cub Scout to earn his Bobcat badge at this month's pack meeting. He was so excited and we are so proud of him!

Our last pack meeting was all about the trebuchet! The boys stuffed old socks with rice and beans and launched the trebuchets across the field. 

It is starting to feel like Halloween around here. Will had to decorate a pumpkin for school this week. He chose Count Dracula and did a great job.

Henry turned some red peppers into creepy claws at lunch.

While Nana was away, we had Pop over for dinner and catching up.

And finally, a few more Scout pictures. Will and Henry are still selling popcorn. They make a good team!

We took Henry's den to the Nature Discovery Center in Bellaire to hike and make some leaf rubbings to change up our regular den meeting schedule.

Up next: pictures from this weekend's fun!

An Overnight Adventure: Cub Scout Campout at Brazos Bend State Park

Our first Cub Scout campout was last weekend. We Houstonians were lucky to have a cool front blow in on Friday, keeping temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s for the weekend with overnight lows in the mid-50s. It was perfect camping weather!  

I have said it before, but we have met the best people through Cub Scouts. Henry's den officially has eight kids but only five come to meetings and events. (I think the other three are still trying to decide if they want to do Scouts or not!) Fortunately, the five boys who show up are neat kids and after a weekend together, they are fast friends.  

Tiger Cubs at the opening flag ceremony

Will carried the flag!

After setting up our tents, we were treated to a Civil War demonstration by one of the dads in our pack. 

He had the kids line up, follow orders, and march! Apparently they did as well as the Union soldiers did 150 years ago. 

The park ranger was on hand to get a lesson in firing a rifle. 

After the Civil War demonstration, our den decided to take a hike around Creekfield Lake.  

So pretty.

We found one lone alligator,

that swam right up to the dock where we were standing!

The evening was spent grilling, enjoying a campfire with skits and songs, and s'mores before bed. After breakfast on Sunday morning, we went for another hike around 40-Acre Lake with the two Bear dens, which meant we were a large group of 1st and 3rd graders plus siblings and parents. Will's den leader went over all the requirements for the hiking belt loop first, 

and we also had a nature checklist to fill out.

Henry and his buddy took the buddy system seriously and held hands for most of the hike!

It was a beautiful sunny day so we knew the alligators would be out. 

Gator #1

Gator #2

Gator #3

Two turtles

Egret

Gator #4 (plus another little guy was nearby)

Gator #6 put on quite a show. We watched him for about five minutes while he ate a snake!

After the hike, we had a debriefing.

Group photo of our boys

We finished the day by cooking lunch back at the campsite, packing up and heading out around 2pm. It was a busy weekend but our first Cub Scout campout of the year was a tremendous success and we look forward to spending more time outdoors with this great group of boys and their families!