The Great Outdoors

We had the most beautiful weather for our Cub Scout Pack's annual fall camp-out! Days were warm and slightly breezy, while nights had the perfect amount of chill to make the campfire and snuggly sleeping bags well appreciated. For the first time, Kevin and I slept out both nights!

Little Black Creek Campground, Lumberton, MS was our destination and the drive from home took almost 2 hours. We pulled into the camp ground just as the sun and temperatures were dipping. I hurriedly set up our new tent not far from the fire circle and set off for my dinner duty, browning Texas toast garlic bread over one of the BBQ pits. Spaghetti and meatballs rounded out the meal. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing by the fire and by 10PM a bored little boy was ready for bed. None of his Bear scout buddies were arriving until the next day so going to sleep seemed like the best way to hasten the arrival of morning. Tucked into his sleeping bag, he was soon asleep, but I couldn't figure out which was more comfortable, in or out, and spent most of the night alternating between the two. I missed my mattress and by morning, my back ached! A trip into town for Aleve was put on the day's agenda.

We did a little cheating before bed and in the morning by driving down to the restrooms in the van. Tee-hee! Well, hey...it's uncomfortable walking such a distance when you really have to go!

After a breakfast of donuts, milk and cereal, other campers, including Kevin's best friend, began arriving and filled in the rest of the campground with tents. Morning activities included sack races, egg toss, and tug-of-war. I'd swear those eggs were pre-boiled as they bounced and rolled around in the grass when the kids missed a toss. Lunch consisted of hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, cookies, and chips. Then, it was on to afternoon activities, which were both instructional and fun!

At the first station, the boys were taught elements of survival...what to pack for a wilderness adventure, using a compass and making a map, rope tying, shelter building, and how to make a sling for an injured camper using just sticks and a tarp. Another station taught them the basics of building a fire: the four necessary ingredients (tender, kindling, fuel, and oxygen), what to use to start a fire (matches, magnifying glass, or flint and steel), fire safety, and different fire construction methods. The third activity was canoing...always a favorite! Then they learned how to cook potatoes in the embers of a campfire by peeling, cutting, and wrapping them in foil. Yum! Since Kevin is not a big potato-eater, his leftovers became my afternoon snack. There's something extra tasty about potatoes cooked over a fire.

Saturday nights at the camp-out are always the best! First we enjoyed a dinner of salad, BBQ chicken, and potatoes with all the fixings. Then the kids separated into dens for a scavenger hunt in the dark. A pack tradition, one of the men dresses up in a bear/wolf/where-wolf suit and jumps out at the kids. They scream and carry on and run around like a pack of wolves themselves, even though they've been expecting it all evening. Finally it was time for s'mores, those roasted marshmallow, chocolate, and graham cracker goodies that can never be duplicated at home. No problem getting the kids to bed this evening...they were worn out!

Sunday morning was big breakfast day: pancakes, eggs, bacon, biscuits and grits. Then it was time to clean up the grounds, pack up the tents and gear and head on home. Yep...I was ready. I love the great outdoors, but am so ready to sleep in my own bed again!

A memorable quote:

Kevin (overheard while he and Christian were playing inside our tent): "Let's pretend like we're relaxing!"

LOL! Why pretend?! Isn't that what camp-outs are for?!

Happy Birthday Dad!

In a month of numerous family birthdays today's belongs to my Dad. In his honor, I'm posting the following scrapbook page:


























While on vacation in Florida this past summer, we were constantly snapping photos of the kids on the beach and in the water. I think my Dad felt left out. So I got this one of him eating watermelon in the shade of the canopy. I love how it came out. It's so him! Enjoying a relaxing day besides the gulf, cooling off with a slice of ice cold watermelon, wearing his favorite U. S. Army baseball cap...with kids and cousins all around him. I love that we are all able to vacation together like this!

Parking Wars!

It's a silly little game...but so much fun to play with my Facebook friends! It doesn't require a lot of skill...or time...or thinking to move my cars around on my friends' virtual streets (accumulating cash and status over time). But beware! If a car is left too long in one spot, the SIGNS CHANGE...and a legal spot then sports a NO Parking Sign inviting a stiff fine. First thing I do every morning...log on and check my street. I'm so ruthless that my west coast friends know better than to park on my street at night. While they're still sleeping, I'm handing out tickets! LOL! All's fair in Parking Wars!

Here's an ATC that I made to memorialize the game:


Materials used:

Patterned paper-Glitz Designs
Ticket-Jenny Bowlin Designs
Letter stickers-Making Memories, Bo-Bunny Designs
Ticket stamp-Maya Road
Chipboard car button-Maya Road
Also-Magic mesh, dye ink, and one of Kevin's toy cars...to roll around in the ink and on the paper! Fun!

One Word Answers

Playing along with Petunia in Paradise, I've followed each prompt with a word. It's not always easy to restrict your answers to simply one! Try it yourself!

Your hair? long
Your mother? dancer
Your father? salesman
Your favorite thing (not including people)? art
Your dream last night? dunno
Your dream/goal? fitness
Your favorite drink? Barq's
The room you're in? den
Your ex? none
Your hobby? scrapbooking
Your fear? war
Where do you want to be in 6 year? #3 (My neighbor's house...that we'd love to buy...one day when they...move!)
Where were you last night? parent's
What you're not? 20
Muffins? blueberry
One of your wish list items? maid
Time? scarce
Where you grew up? suburbs
The last thing you did? yawn
Favorite weather? warm
What are you wearing? jeans
Favorite book? (A Tree Grows In) Brooklyn
Your TV? antique
Your pet? none
Your computer? MAC (but it's still at the Apple store waiting for me to buy it)
Your mood? happy
Missing someone? My younger self
Your car? Odyssey
Something you're not wearing? socks
Favorite store? LM
Love someone? Yes
Favorite color/shade? ocean
Last thing you ate? pancake
Your life? busy
Your friends? best
What are you thinking right now? noisy
What are you doing at this moment? Duh!
Your summer? Elmwood
Your relationship status? married
What do you do when you can't sleep? ridiculous!
When is the last time you laughed? today
Last time you cried? Dunno

Save Trees...Eliminate Homework

Repost back at 9-18-08 11:55PM

Here they are...first or second day back pics memorialized for all time on a scrapbook page. A T-shirt inspired the title of Kevin's Back2School layout. I'm still laughing at the expression of trepidation on his face.


























Brendan surprisingly enough looks happy as he heads out the door! This totally out of character expression is explained in the post below.


























These scrapbook pages were done for Lifetime Moments and are featured in the September 18th issue of their weekly newsletter. Each issue is packed full of articles about techniques, how to's, tips, member profiles, product reviews, picks of the week from the member Gallery, contest information, announcements, and updates about the latest products to hit the store! Get LM Style in your email every Thursday! Go to: http://www.lifetimemoments.com/newsletter.htm to subscribe!

What's Wrong With This Photo?!

#1 It's a Back To School photo of a teenager!
#2 That teenager is Brendan!
#3 Brendan is SMILING on his way out the door to Brother Martin High School!
#4 There are KEYS in his hand!

Ahhh...but the secret is this:
It is the LAST First Day at Brother Martin EVER!

And that makes all the difference in the world to him.

Back 2 School

I thought I'd do something a little different this year...SECOND Day of School Pictures! OK...so actually I was rushing around too much on day 1 and never got around to it. No biggie. There were a few subtle changes in attitude this year. Kevin heard that one of the 3rd grade teachers decorates her classroom in a Spongebob motif, but sadly, it was not his fate to be assigned there. Instead he was put into another third grade classroom. He had also already decided that he wasn't going to like this teacher, having formed faulty opinions based on last year's observations from afar. Thankfully, as the days progress, he is realizing that she is NOT mean and DOES in fact smile. Another plus...his best friend Christian is in the same class! But homework is as dreaded as ever.


Doesn't this face say it all!?