Scout Camp

Justice went on his first five-day full blown Boy Scout camp this summer.  Camp was at Kia Kima in Arkansas about three hours from home.  Normally, I'd be really excited about the opportunity for him.  But I was extremely apprehensive about it because I was worried about Justice's behavior.  Why now?  Why wasn't I worried about his behavior during his DC trip?  Because of the other boys involved, that's why.  I knew when he was surrounded by a bunch of other nerds in that type of school-environment, he would be fine.  And I was right, they thought he was a very well behaved kid and he earned really high praises from the leaders of the trip.  

This environment, however, is different.  Justice has been dealing with some impulse issues recently.  I've always hoped and prayed that he wouldn't have really bad impulse issues with his ADHD, and his aren't severe, but they exist.  Unfortunately, this scout environment is sort of toxic for him.  I can't figure out exactly why, but this is the only place I worry about him being with regards to his behavior.  And with good reason, I've seen him act like a fool around these other boys at the weekly scout meetings at church, so I knew the potential was there.  Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying, I am NOT blaming his behavior on the behavior of other boys.  A couple of the boys are very well behaved and stay that way regardless of the kids around them.  Justice is not that kid.  And he did have an issue with his behavior one particular evening, which was pretty disappointing for me.  I over reacted and told The Coach I wasn't going to let him go on any more scout trips, but he quickly overruled me and told me he was going anyhow, ha!  It wasn't anything horrible, but it was impulsive behavior.  He burned his finger (a little), his friend laughed at him, and Justice completely overreacted by throwing his milk at the person.  And then I unpacked his shower-bag, and everything became crystal clear.  Nobody made sure he took his meds.  He left with six pills and came home with five.

Anyway, he did have a fantastic time and was exhausted when he came home.  His leaders were really good about posting some pictures on Facebook that I was able to copy and save to post here.  When The Coach was the scout leader, he wasn't allowed to post any pictures of the kids on FB for some sort of privacy reasons.  The pictures had to wait till they got home.  I'm really glad that rule has changed, otherwise camp would be a mystery and I would have worried myself to death every day.  

Justice and his scout leader, sporting some pretty tacky shades they bought at the camp store.  And hey look, Justice has his shirt on backwards.  

This board is the buddy-tag board.  There is one outside of every aquatic event.  It lets the leaders know which kids are at the aquatic event for accountability purposes.  I'm just guessing at that.  Justice really has no clue.  That's the best definition he could muster up.  He just knows he had to put his tag on the board before he got in the water.  Ha.  

The boys were responsible for cooking all of their own meals.  They ate really well.

This camp is beautiful, no doubt about it.  Why they let a bunch of stinky boys use it every year is beyond me.   Hundreds of boys go throughout the summer, and it's got a really rich history of serving the scout population.  

Justice learned to use a kayak.  He said he really struggled with it at first, but eventually got the hang of it.  I really just can't even believe he got in that water, and I'm extremely thankful he overcame his fear of the water a few years ago.  

These are the sleeping accommodations.  Two boys per tent, army style.  

He had a great time, and I'm glad to have these pictures to remind him of his first time at scout camp.  I am extremely grateful to his leaders for taking the time off of work to spend with these boys.  It's a huge commitment, and I appreciate them very much.  I remember when it was The Coaches church calling to be the scout leader of this particular group of boys, and it was extremely time consuming.  I love the scouting program, because boys today don't get enough of that stuff.  Camping, cooking, swimming, tree climbing fun stuff.  It's good for them, and it builds character.  

It's also FUN.  Lots and lots of FUN.