The busy weekend continued, see my last two posts for pics of Friday. Saturday A. had a soccer game at 10:15, which they won. We had all planned to go on the family camp out for our Cubscout/Weblos pack but were so wiped out from Fri's running around that I didn't start packing until we returned from the game. By then the day was marching on and I wanted to get out the door and to the camp ground quickly. Since F. had camped w/ A. all weekend the week before, we decided I would go with A. and I. and F. would stay behind with N. She really needed a nap and he needed some time to relax. The problem was that my back was hurting and I didn't want to sleep on the ground. So, we grabbed our smaller tent and minimal supplies and headed out. A. spent the night at the camp ground and shared his tent with two friends, under the care of one boy's parents. I. and I stayed until everyone was ready to turn in, then drove home (about 20 minutes, not too far.) Since we've had unusually warm weather this week, we didn't need to pack alot of warm stuff. This is unlike the week before when F. and A. froze trying to sleep in their tents. They really needed hats and warm socks, then everything would have been just fine. Ooops! Now we know. Back to this weekend...it was great to see so many families camping together, cooking and eating together. A. was returned to us today and since we originally planned to be at the camp out, we stayed home from church to wait for him and actually got a little work done here! Then we were off to a lunch get together at someone's house, then F. took A. to another soccer game that had been rescheduled from earlier in the season. In the eve., F. went to our Crown financial class (www.crown.org) without me and took the girls, while I took A. to his awards ceremony for soccer. They gave EVERYONE a trophy, as our generation tends to do, even though we have more games to play next weekend -- a double header in fact, followed by play offs if we win those!
OK, back to camping...these next two pics are blurry but I added them anyway because I didn't have much else! Here is the camp ground. I. and I were walking back from a small fishing pier at sunset.
The bonfire, surrounded by pumpkins each of the kids carved. It was cool to sees at night when all the candles were lit as well. After a delicious dinner we had homemade camp cobbler, followed by skits and awards. Then we made smores, and finally got to participate in a flag retirement ceremony. This was VERY powerful. We each got to put a piece of the retired flag into the bon fire, which is the proper way to retire a flag. As we did this, the Pack leader read about the history of the flag, what the stars and stripes mean, and reminded us of all the wars and conflicts the US flag has flown over. Only two organizations are authorized to do this, a veteran's group and the Boy Scouts of America. Another American flag was held behind the pack leader and we did the pledge of allegiance. This was a solemn occasion and the flag was folded up properly to be put away for the night. It was a great experience for the kids, and everyone from the youngest to the oldest was very respectful. Given that this is the weekend before such a difficult presidential vote, it had even richer meaning.
A. and a buddy being silly. These guys had been playing football for hours before dinner! They also worked on whitling, and are in the process of becoming "certified" to carry a pocket knife.
I. enjoying some time alone in the tent.
So, there you have a very busy weekend among many other crazy weekends of late.
1 comment:
wow, I'm exhausted just reading about it. :) Thanks for sharing, though, I love all the pics of the costumes and campouts. Most of all, I loved reading about the flag ceremony, that sounds awesome.
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