Drew has decided to try out Cub Scouts this year. He is a Tiger Cub. One of their first activities this year was a family campout! We headed up to Smithville Lake on Saturday morning to the Youth Camp, which had been reserved for the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts in their Pack. When we arrived we went right to work putting up our tent! The boys loved helping with this...
Once the tent was up and all of our stuff was unloaded, it was about 11:00 and Jack kept asking when it was going to be nighttime!
One of the first things they did was have a flag raising ceremony. That was really neat. Drew is in the gray shirt and hat. It was neat watching the bigger boys doing some of these things - gave the little guys an idea of what they can do as they get older!
There were some great climbing trees around - of course the boys made a beeline for those. And Drew only fell off once. :)
Gathering sticks for the fire later that evening!
There were 4 other Tiger Cubs there and they had a blast playing and exploring together. Not sure what they were doing in the grass here...
Playing a little football...
Hanging out with his friend Elliott from his class on the tree!
They did a little fishing but didn't catch anything.
One of the things they have to do to get their Tiger badge is go on a hike with their Den. So the 5 Tiger Cubs and their families took a little hike around the campgrounds. This picture is so funny because the big boys were running ahead and little Jack is trying so hard to keep up with them! The boys didn't let anything get in their way - they went through weeds up to their heads, through prickly bushes...
Here is Drew showing the other boys his discovery that he made earlier - a dead catfish that was at least 3 feet long! It had been there for a long time so you could see his bones - pretty gross but the boys loved it!
The boys spent at LEAST an hour and a half climbing on the rocks around the lake and throwing rocks into the water. They were pretending all sorts of things and having a blast! At one point they were pretending to be on the "lookout" for something and then were sitting there rubbing two sticks together trying to start a fire! It was so fun to watch them.
Jake, Drew and Elliott (both of those boys are in his class.)
It was a really windy day and this sailboat was truckin'!
Jack found a new buddy and they had a blast as well - Joey, Jake's little brother. :)
They had another flag ceremony to take the flag down before we ate diner. Drew is 2nd from the end doing the Scout salute. :)
Jack and Joey driving their cars around the "dirt track" - they were SO dirty but having SO much fun! After dinner they had an awards ceremony where some of the older Scouts received some badges. Then they got the fire going and we roasted Smores! The boys ran around some more with their flashlights and glow sticks - they were exhausted by about 8:00!
We headed back to the tent to get settled in for the night - I only have one word - BRRRRRRRR. It was COLD. The boys both slept in 2 layers of clothes, sweatshirts, socks, mittens and stocking hats! We were all in sleeping bags with 2 or 3 more blankets on top of that! The boys slept pretty well but Brian and I were awake off and on all night - too many nature noises! Drew said he wasn't cold at all but the rest of us were pretty chilly. Here we are ready for bed!
We got up about 7:30, had a couple donuts with the Scouts and then broke down our camp and headed home. With lots of layers on. :) Aside from the cold, it was really a lot of fun and the boys loved it. We will definitely have to do some more camping on our own next spring and summer when it's a bit warmer!
