A Cub Scout Family Campout

We went camping last weekend. The boys' Cub Scout pack held a family campout at Jackson Lake Campground. We enjoyed beautiful weather and many fun activities with some very nice families.

Yes, those of you who know me know that I am NOT a camper. And after this experience I can honestly still say that I am NOT a camper. But I did survive. I tried to smile a lot. I did have some fun. But wow is it yucky to wake up on an air mattress... still covered in bug spray and sunscreen.... feeling cold and damp.... smelling last night's campfire.... looking at the messy tent with piles of dirty clothes.... and knowing that the bathroom is a far walk away and a shower is several hours away. Just saying.... that's not a good feeling. Especially when you spent most of the night dreaming about and checking for wild raccoons.

My favorite weekend of the year continues to involve camping, though. It's the Father-Son Campout for our homeschool group! ;) Seriously, I'm so glad Jon likes to do these things with the boys. They love it.

We borrowed this awesome big tent from our friends!
It really worked out great.

The boys enjoyed swimming in the campground pool.

Big, fun playset

Hanging out in the tent

Playing Frisbee
 

The boys really enjoyed the Frisbee golf course.

Within minutes of arriving at camp, Adam had amassed an arsenal of "weapons."

This boy just loves hiking and exploring.
We need to do more of that.

Yummy dinner!

Corn hole

What's a campout without a good game of chess?

Jon was quite the joiner in all the camp cooking and clean up tasks.

Out for an evening hike

Campfire!

Ray loves to roast marshmallows, but doesn't like to eat them. I think he supplied roasted marshmallows for all of the adults.

Adam found a new friend!

We are blessed to be part of this wonderful group!

Out of Control?

Well, it's the most wonderful time of the year.... according to a tv commercial. It's back to school shopping time. Obviously, since we homeschool, our back to school shopping is a bit different from many families. We don't have to buy uniforms or stock up on lots of fashionable clothes. We don't have the famous "lists" to take with us to the store.

We don't, however, by any means, get off "cheap." After all, we are planning and purchasing our own curriculum, textbooks, educational resources, etc. And there are always basic supplies that need to be replenished. Right now (with lots of help from my dad and Mary) I'm working on re-arranging and organizing our school room. I'll post on that soon.

However, I just have to share this ad I recently received in the mail -----

 

I feel like an old lady saying this.... but this is just out of control! Locker decorations? Really? Back in my days (a gazillion years ago), our lockers held books and coats and backpacks. On football Friday nights we sometimes had ribbons or homemade signs for band.

 

But now you can BUY locker mirrors, organizers, wallpaper, noteboards, rugs, flowers, lights, and.....

 

 

CHANDELIERS!!!!

 

Don't get me wrong. I love a good glittery chandelier.... but in a locker?????

 

Also, I can't help but notice the lack of many BOOKS in those lockers.

 

I guess those marketing/retail people have found even more ways to eke out even more dollars.... even more ways to make kids feel like they have to have even more stuff.

 

It makes me angry. It really tells a lot about the priorities of our culture.

 

Ok.... down from the soapbox and back to the lesson plans.

More Summer Science

We're continuing to enjoy lots of summer adventures.... and squeezing some science in when we can.

 

We visited the super cool fountains downtown. We splashed and played.... and did a little experiment with water, paper towels, and watercolor markers. We watched colors separate as the marked paper towels became saturated. Fun little observation.

 

 

While we were playing, a representative from the Columbus Crew soccer team showed up with this trophy. It was like the Pied Piper... All the kids followed him and wanted their pictures taken.

This little guy... and several of his relatives are living in our backyard. We've been observing, sketching, and (sadly) pretty much torturing the poor guy. I hope he soon gets smart and hops to our neighbor's yard where he'll be safer.

 



Last week we visited a new Metro Park --- Battelle Darby Creek. The weather has continued to be beautiful and cool... and we had a perfect park day. I highly recommend this park! The nature center was amazing... with an actual stream inside and lots of interactive exhibits. We also played on the playground and took a really nice hike. We tried to see the herd of six bison... but only got to see them from a distance.

Our next science adventure ---- WATER DAY at our house this Friday! It's going to be WET and WILD!

A Beautiful Day at the Ohio State Fair

One fun summer tradition we have is attending the Ohio State Fair. We took last year off because it was unbearably hot, but this year we enjoyed a beautiful and surprisingly cool day at the fair. As the boys get older, the trip is so much more fun. They really enjoy checking out all the interesting animals and exhibits and I don't have to spend the whole day worrying about losing them in the crowd. I'd love to go back through the years and compile some pictures of them from each year at the fair, especially at the petting zoo (which somehow is always a big highlight). Here are some shots from this year's visit....

Although we had no luck catching anything, we really enjoyed fishing at the Natural Resources Park. And we even got to listen to a choir concert while we fished!

 

Fortunately, the boys weren't real interested in the rides this year.... except for the giant slide! And they are old enough now that Jon and I didn't have to go with them! I think they rode it four times.

Foot-long corndogs!
 

Dippin Dots
Adam sure does love fair food!



Adam definitely was the most photogenic on fair day.
He HAD to have this inflatable Mohawk hat.
Suits him, huh?

Although I didn't get a good picture of the teams of horses and wagons, we enjoyed sitting and watching them parade into the coliseum.

Love of my life!

This calf was JUST born.
We had fun watching it try to stand and walk.

This picture just makes me laugh.
Mohawk Ray and a calf butt.

This was Adam's favorite "game" at the fair.
It was a version of the show "Wipeout."
He LOVED jumping over and ducking under the revolving arms.

Even before we got to the fair, Ray was planning to play this game.
He was very serious and intense as he threw the ping pong balls.
He won not one, but TWO prizes....
and immediately stated that he would let Adam have the second one.
So sweet!

What did he win?

GOLDFISH!
...which I got to carry the whole way to the car.
I got lots of "Wow! Lucky you!" comments.
Yes, we came home with two new pets.

And the next day at the pet store the clerk told me he's had lots of customers just like us.
Ray is thrilled with his new pets, for which he's been asking for a long time.

 It was a great family fun day at the Ohio State Fair!