This year was the first year Jack was old enough to go to Cub Scout Day Camp. I love this camp, and I volunteered to be a leader just like I did when Justice went to it when he was little. Only this year, it was even better because Justice and the boys he went to Cub Scout camp with are old enough to be leaders themselves.
The first few days, Justice and his friend Will volunteered at the archery range.
And before I go any farther, let me just tell you how hot it was. It was so hot the whole week. We were out in the sun from 8 - 4 every day and absolutely wiped out by the end of the day.
Anyway, the archery range is affectionately called the Fiery Furnace of Hell because it's a wide open field that gets zero shade at all during the day.
The way this camp works is that we have different stations that the boys get to go to throughout the day. The idea is that they will get better every day and be good at that particular station by the end of the week. There is archery, bb gun shooting, fishing, crafts, water games and team sports. The first day is always the toughest because the boys spend a lot of time learning safety so they don't hurt themselves.
And there's Jack... The first day, he didn't even hit the target. The last day, he got two bullseyes. Practice makes perfect.
Hey, look. It's Bo Mack. He got to come too.
Let me reiterate how miserable this camp is. I know it sounds strange to put your kids through a boiling hot and miserable camp, but there is a point to this camp. It's GOOD FOR THEM. I hate to see the kids whose parents don't make them stick it out the whole week. Sure they are hot, tired, hungry and filthy. They may have put a fishhook through their finger and they might be burnt. They might come home with someone else shirt and they are definitely going to stink. And probably cry a little because it's HARD.
And that's awesome. And you know what else is awesome? Bo. Bo was a beast the whole week. He handled the heat and everything else better than most of the scouts.
He patiently sat through the safety briefs and instruction time.
He patiently watched Jack and the other boys fish. I helped him fish too.
Jack finally caught his first fish the third or fourth day. It was so hot the fish weren't biting much but I think all the boys caught at least one fish at some point during the week.
At lunch, we gathered to eat in the shade and play some fun games. You can barely see Jack in this picture because he's so short but he won this round of the cup stacking competition. "I sure didn't see that coming.
The every so popular "move the oreo from your forehead to your mouth with no hands" game.
I had a Japanese boy in my den. He brought sushi for lunch every day. Jack was eyeballing his sushi and the boy offered it to Jack to try. Jack absolutely LOVED it, and the little boy's Mom was kind enough to pack extra sushi for Jack every day for lunch.
That first day on the bb gun range was hairy. Haha. Those boys that hadn't ever handled a gun before were a mess. But, by the last day they were all at least hitting the target and not accidentally pointing the gun at each other.
There are two leaders assigned to each den. My partner was only scheduled to be at camp the first two days, so on the last three days I got to have Justice as my partner. Talk about bittersweet. Was it really that long ago that he was just a little Cub Scout? And now he's old enough to be a leader?
Look at these sweet faces. Good grief, time can slow down now.
Justice was great with the little kids. He's a born leader.
Oh look, there's Bo. He spent some time on the ground, resting. LOL. I can't believe I didn't pull any ticks off of him. He should have been covered in them given the amount of time he spent on the ground.
For craft time, the boys got to build boats using different materials to see what floats the best. They also got to build rockets. That activity is one of the highlights of camp, because on the last day they get to shoot the rockets off. Even the big boys have fund with that activity.
Bo even got to shoot a rocket.
Here is Justice and his buddy Will directing morning traffic. Hahaha. How funny and tragic is it that they have non-driving teenage boys directing traffic? Miraculously there were no accidents.
Did I mention how much walking we did? Oh my goodness we hiked miles and miles. There is a considerable amount of distance between events.
These two are so dumb. I love them both to pieces.
There were also plenty of team building events. This year they used water as the theme, which was fantastic because it was so hot. They tossed balloons and had other contests that relied on each other to make things happen correctly.
They also made kites for one of the crafts, then they got to fly them. I thought this was the dumbest thing ever, because I seriously did not think a newspaper, scotch tape and dowel kite was going to fly but they sure did, for a minute anyway. They exploded in a billion pieces when they got back to the ground, but in the true fashion of how little boys minds work, they thought that was the coolest thing ever. I should have known.
And then there was the water hole. It's the grossest body of water in the entire country. It's muddy, it smells and it's loaded with snakes. Ack. Boys love it. Well no, I take that back. They don't love it. Most of them hate it but we make them do it anyway.
Builds character.
Good times. One whole week of dirty, sweaty and gross little boys. Just another typical week for me!
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