blessed fall break

First of all...I think the lack of laptop is causing the fall off in my blogging.  I've had stuff all week to post, but the best vehicle is my laptop.  If I hook it up to the monitor in the computer room when no one is occupying the desktop computer, I am almost c.o.n.s.t.a.n.t.l.y interrupted by my loving family.

For the first time ever, my school system had an entire week off for Fall Break!!  And to say that we surely needed it after the circus that the first nine weeks has been, is an understatement.

My family and I took advantage of the pleasant fall weather and rented a cabin at a State Park not far from our home. 

  This was the view from our cabin, which featured a screen porch overlooking the water.

We rented a canoe one day, and one of my children humored me and we paddled around on the Inner Canoe Trail.

We saw small alligators, bunches of turtles and random birds.

In  the evening, the grill masters bar-b-q'd.

A crane flew over to check it out...

We finished off the evening with s'mores and child #2 rearranging the furniture to have a good view of the television for the Presidential debate.

Dear hubby, bless his heart, had never made s'mores before, but had seen a recipe on TV.  He had bought semi-sweet chocolate earlier in the day, which he melted in a pan and spread on the marshmallow-graham cracker combos.

It was tres bien!

We spent two nights in the swamp and then made our way home where we had time to catch up on things that seem to get left in the dust during school...Eagle Project, blogging, haircuts, attending school board meetings,  Boy Scout things.  It has been a lovely week.  Trust me when I say that the time has flown!

Happy Fall Break!

empty tent syndrome

We used to camp a couple of times a year when we were in Cub Scouts, and those were always fun-filled memorable times.  Times I looked forward to and enjoyed.  Sometimes my dear hubby came with us, but most often, it was me with the boys.  Our scout groups have always been pretty close-knit, so there were always good friends (dads and moms) along, too.  The adults had fun.  The boys had fun.

We had a nice sized tent.  I think it was an "8-man" tent, which means that 4 people can fit comfortably in it.  Eight people will fit only if they have no gear and you pack 'em in like sardines.  In Cub Scouts, boys stay with their parents.  Those were good times - together, without the interruption of television or other things.  Some of those times we will always remember.  In Boy Scouts, they generally share a tent with another boy.  Last year when we went camping, I shared a tent with another mom.  But this year, none of my close mom-friends were coming, so I was all alone in my big empty tent.  It really wasn't that bad.  :-)

 That's my tent, on the right.  It was a little warm.  It seemed on Saturday the hottest part of the day was after the sun went down.  It probably seemed that way because the breeze died and the humidity picked up.  Anyway, sleeping alone, I was able to sleep with only the essentials covered. 

We didn't have too much planned.  The boys swam in the lake (and played with algae and scooped clay off of the bottom).

A mid-afternoon nap fit the bill.

I was hoping for one myself, but some of my companions were a *little* on the talkative side.  Towards evening, I told one of the dads that I was taking my camera and going for a walk to find some quiet time.  As I was making my escape someone saw me leaving and asked where I was going.  "For a walk to find some quiet."  "Mind if I come?"  Oh well.  It was a new person.  So we walked together.

We ate.  Here are some of the guys waiting in line for lunch.  Hot dogs always taste better in the woods.

I got a quick peek at brotherly love. 

I walked up "the road less traveled".  It led to the showers.

And even though the weather didn't reflect it - I saw signs of fall in the changing colors of leaves.

All in all, a good weekend.  :-)

they're ba-ack

The boys are back from camp.  Last  year, the only complaints were the hills (we are flat-landers) and the food.  Cajuns take food seriously, and they were unimpressed with both the quantity and the quality of what was offered in the dining hall.  So....they took their burners and loaded the trailer with food, and cooked for themselves this year.  Sausage po-boys, gumbo, jambalaya, fried fish, chili.  No complaints at all this year!  Not even about the hills.

The sun was setting while we waited for them to arrive.

Finally the van and trailer pulled up, and they emerged from the van after a 13 hour ride.  They had all grown a few inches in the week that they were gone.

He looks like a happy camper, wouldn't you say?

15 in a couple of weeks, and he is just too cool for words!  He personalized his shirt a few weeks ago when we painted the parking lot at church.

The each took a camera and two whole pictures came home.  A slushie and a flower.  I'll have to see if they are blog-worthy!

And just for me - they brought.....

They each earned two "real" merit badges.  Little brother earned Lifesaving and Leatherwork and big brother earned Small-boat Sailing and Rowing.  They both took Water Sports (Water Skiing), but didn't quite finish it, and both took Personal Fitness, which is required for Eagle, but must be finished at home.   They also earned two "spoof" merit badges - Duct Tape Preparedness and Pirate Cultural Awareness.

silent reflection

There were a few camp pictures that didn't make the good, the bad, and the ugly posts, but which I thought were still worth posting.  All of them reflections in the lake.  For some reason, the colors that are reflected in the lake are more vivid than the actual colors.  Maybe if we look at ourselves in God's mirror, the same thing happens??

the good

Two days and one night with my boys at Boy Scout camp, were filled with many good things:

Beautiful, peaceful sights:

Time spent with my sons:

Personal achievements and new skills:

And friends: 

and the ugly

Accidents at camp are never a good thing.  This is what happens when one kid throws a stick at another kid and misses by a large margin. When the target sarcastically says, "nice job, " a rock lands a little closer to the mark.  This is why our mothers told us not to throw rocks.  This could have been SO much worse.  Missed it by that much.

And this is why Boy Scouts teach knife safety AND first aid.  Five stitches later....

be fire!

This afternoon, I was going through some things looking for lost items (which I did not find) when I came across this tidbit.  It was on a handout that I received last May when I went to a Mother's Day of Reflection.   I thought it was appropriate since I will be camping for the next two days:

God's endeavor is to give himself to us entirely.

Just as the fire seeks to draw the wood into itself,

and itself into the wood, it first finds the wood unlike itself.

It takes a little time.

Fire begins by warming it, then heating it,

and then it smokes and crackles

because the two are so unlike each other.

The hotter the wood becomes,

the more still and quiet it grows.

The more it is likened to the fire, the more peaceful it is,

until it becomes entirely flame.

That the wood be transformed into fire,

all dissimilarity must be chased out of it.

Meister Eckhart, OP (13th - 14th century) 

Lord, chase away the things in my life that are dissimilar to You.

chillin'

I spent last weekend with my kiddos' Boy Scout troop at the recreation area of a military installation.  One of the boys has a military contact.  Thursday night when we were packing, I asked Kid #1, if he knew the whereabouts of any of our air mattresses, because another mom coming along needed one.  "Oh, y'all are coming, too?  Awesome!"  How many 14 year old boys think that it is awesome that their mom goes camping with their Boy Scout troop? 

We camped on the side of a lake and had modern conveniences (flush toilets and electricity) within easy reach.  The day time weather was beautiful.  The night - a little cooler than I would have liked.  Even though I have a pretty decent sleeping bag, I could never get everything warm at the same time.  Then there was the soothing sound of gunfire (night target practice) in the background. 

The boys worked on a few outstanding requirements from some of the merit badges that they had started at summer camp or winter camp, but other than that there was plenty of time just to "be".  They spent time canoeing, fishing, hiking, skipping rocks on the lake, and beating sticks on a dead tree (??).  They cooked in their patrols with little adult interference. 

A few pictures:

breaking bread

It was a wonderful weekend of camping.  Gorgeous fall weather, wonderful friends, and great food.  We are so fortunate that in our scout group everyone pretty much gets along.  There are sometimes differences of opinions, but there is not the back-stabbing and bitterness that you see in so many groups. 

Besides the peacefulness and the relaxation, one of the best parts is the food. The boys had favorites like foil dinners and the adults were treated to deer meat chilli and apple turnovers.  It is good to eat with friends. 

It always does my heart good to see a good many of our group at Sunday evening Mass after these expeditions.  Tonight, of the 9 who camped, 5 or 6 were at Mass.  Cleaned up from the smoke and grime of the weekend.  Tired, but there.  It is a chance to share one more meal together.  A chance to give thanks for the gifts of the weekend.