Scouts Versus Wild

My guys are back, at least one of them is! Richard may have accidentally brought home another boy from camp instead of Jake. It looks just like him, talks just like him, but he ate grasshoppers at camp and that just CANNOT be my son! They had a wonderful time, better than the year before and we had fun talking all weekend about their adventures! Jacob worked hard and earned 7 merit badges at camp. He is about to advance to Star Scout and almost has enough to earn his Life Scout rank, though he has to wait 6 months to get that. Then his Eagle Scout rank 6 months after that, which he should have around his 15th birthday! I am so proud of Jake. When Richard got home he told me how much the little kids had grown since he had left. Well, I can honestly say the same of Jake. It is amazing the difference one week can make!

Jake decided to earn his wilderness survival badge, which meant going on an overnight journey, missing dinner, and sleeping with nothing but a survival foil blanket. He said he got awfully cold, but he did survive! When he told me he ate grasshoppers I felt really bad! I said, I am so sorry they made you eat grasshoppers. I was sure it was a requirement. But no, that was optional and very few boys tried them. He said they were pretty good once you got the head off! YUCK! The brown ones tasted like chicken and the green ones tasted like watermelon. I will just have to take his word on that. He told me that 32 grasshoppers is one serving, but he only ate a few.

Richard went on a Scoutmaster horseback riding excursion and even worked on getting his Scoutmaster badge. So they both accomplished a lot while they were gone. They came home a little bit sore, a lot tired, but both were glad they had gone!

When Jake was 12 and left the cub scouts to join the older kid scouting program he was into the show Man VS Wild. His big idea was to make a show called Scouts VS Wild. He talked about that all the time. I think Jacob could truly do such a thing now!!

We were very happy to have daddy and Jake back home! Friday night I took the kids to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. This is a 24 hour walk to raise money. We have been involved in it for many years now because my sister Megan has always had a team and for the last few years has been on the committee. We have always enjoyed supporting her in this important cause! Our camp was near the sand pit, so the kids spent most of their time playing in the sand! I left Adrienne and Annalina to spend the night because they really wanted to. Joseph and I went home around 9:30 and he slept in my bed with me. He really wanted a movie on, so I put one in and five minutes later he rolled over and went to sleep.

In the morning we went back over. The girls had a long night. They slept under a shade tent, but got very cold when the dew settled on them and they probably only slept 4 hours or so. They were very tired, but they had fun. Adrienne took very good care of Annalina for me and I appreciated that very much! Adrienne also got to spend some time getting to know Wendy a little bit better. They had fun comparing and listening to music on their i-pods.

We left around 1 to get home to greet the boys. And they got home not long after that! It also happened to be Richard's birthday!! After a long shower and a long snuggle session with Joseph, he opened gifts. He got a small RC helicopter that he has had great fun flying with the kids. We had pizza for dinner and home made ice cream for dessert. It was an eventful day and I was hoping to blog about all the on Sunday, but didn't get time until now.

I will add picture of camp later when I have access to the 900+ photos Richard took while at camp!