Cub Scout Camp

Guess what I got to go do again this summer?  I got to be a Den Leader at Cub Scout Camp!  This was Jack's second year to attend camp.

I think the best part of camp this year was that Justice was old enough to be a Den Leader, so he and I were in charge of our Den all week.  

I'd be lying though if I said I didn't get a little emotional about that.  The first time I was a Den Leader at Cub Scout Camp, these two fools were in my den as cub scouts.  Now look at them, both Eagle Scouts and leaders at camp.

Jack means business at camp.  He wants bullseyes, and he wants them every day. 

Craft time is always fun because it's out of the rain and the heat.  Bo gets to participate in craft time also, he loves that.  

Making slime.

 Will did a fantastic job of making sure we didn't lose any of the boys hats during arts and crafts.  Haha! 

I don't even know what to say.  Ha.

Jack excelled at archery this year.  It was by far his favorite activity.  He consistently hit bullseyes every time we went to the range. 

He did so well at archery that he got called up by name at the end of camp one afternoon so the archery range master could tell everyone how well he was doing and gave him a gift card.  That was the definite highlight of camp for Jack.  Being called up to the front by one of the camp workers is a big deal for a little guy.

Camp had a pirate theme this year.  The camp leaders put on a little show every morning before we started the day.  

They were so realistic one morning that it terrified Bo.  The camp staff came around to find him after the show to give him his own pirate gear so he wouldn't be so afraid.  

Bo's shirt says "I am why we can't have nice things".  That's a hand me down from Jack, the original reason I bought the shirt.  

Bo caught his first fish this year!  It was a little bitty fish, but whatever.  To him it was everything!

Jack didn't catch a fish the whole week, so Bo was feeling pretty awesome about his tiny little fish.

Justice is great with little kids.  Probably because he's not so far away from being one himself. 

Nobody leads a conga line like Justice.  Ha.

But even he was tired at the end of the day.  I'm pretty sure Will is asleep in this picture.

It was either hot and humid, or hot, rainy and humid.  It was pure misery.  Everybody was soaked to the bone, and boy can little boys whine when they get wet.  I was fortunate though that Jack did not whine, but Bo sure did.  Wooooo.  I brought him a half dozen extra pairs of socks and dry shoes the next day and he was fine.   Turns out as long as his feet are dry, he's ok.  

But let me tell you who the real champ was in the rain.  Justice.  He gave whole new meaning to the word drenched.  And he kept on smiling.

The water slide was gross as always.  And as always, the kids had a blast with it.  When you get closer to the slide, somebody puts dish soap all over your chest so you can whiz right down the slide.

Bo got to go this year, too.  

And here is the slide in all it's gross glory.

Justice spent one afternoon working the slide.  And that's his butt, so he also got to go on the slide himself.

Look at this silly fool.  I feel like I say that a lot, haha!  But really, he's a lot of fun to be around, and that's why the kids like him so much. 

Especially Bo.  Bo loves his Bubba.

I also feel like I saying the word gross a lot.  The slide was nothing compared to the mud hole.  

The mud hole is a camp rite of passage.  They fear the mud hole all week, and then on Friday they close out camp with the traditional slide into the pit of muddy, disgusting, snake infested water.  The mud hole turns boys into men, if you ask the little guys.

Do you see that little bitty brown body sliding down the slide?  That's Bo.  Bo isn't scared at all.  Not of the mud, and not of the snakes.  I remember the first year Justice came to camp, he almost didn't go.  Eventually he talked himself into it, but not because he wanted to.  It's not easy being the kid that's too scared to go.  I got all my boys in my den to go this year, because Bo went.  Nobody wants to have their man card pulled by a four year old.

Now, back to saying gross a lot.  There are a lot of gross things about cub scout camp.  And you know what?   That's the best part.  Boys are dirty, they are stinky, they have blisters, they chafe, they get sunburned, tired, and sometimes sick.  They get scratches, and a little poison ivy if they aren't careful.  They cry, they fight, and they swear that first day they aren't coming back the next.  I always tell the parents at pick up, "make them come back!".  And by the last day, the crying has stopped, the skin is tougher, they remember to bring sunscreen, and they are laughing and smiling.  They have caught fish, shot guns, bows and arrows, and made all sorts of slime and other gross things.  They make friends they will remember instantly the next summer.  

And they build character.  Scouting builds character.  It's hard.  And it's something boys don't get enough of these days.  They need dirt, and they need character.  And they definitely get it at camp.

2017 Cub Scout Day Camp, Den 6