Nature Center

The Cub Scouts did their annual outing to the local nature center a few weeks ago. I found the pictures on my phone and thought I would do a post. They got binoculars and spotted quite a few bird species, but for the most part the wildlife wasn't out yet. Amazing how much can change in three weeks, wildlife is out and trees are blooming now.

It was a brisk cool day and by the time we made it back to the car we were all chilled to the bone. Not wanting to go home, I decided to take the kids to Applebees and let them pick a dessert to warm them up. They both went with the most decadent brownie sundae they had. Good times!

Pinewood Racer

It's race time again! The cub scouts are having their annual Pinewood Derby race in March which means it's time to start making the car. They give each boy a block of wood that has two holes drilled for the axles and that's it. The rest is up to them. So Wesley drew the design on his block of wood and went out to the shop with Sean and cut it. I've since learned to stay in the house because I "hover" too much. A little too afraid he's going to lose a finger on the band saw. Sean's good and lets him do everything. He got it cut out and sanded this weekend, so he'll paint it and put the wheels on it next weekend. Good job Wesley!

Cub Scout Outings, Girls Day and Water Fun

This weekend marked a "first" in Wesley's life. He got to go for his first overnight camping trip with his cub scout pack. He was a little nervous about it but got pretty excited after packing up his backpack Friday evening. He loves gadgets and seeing all the fun camping gear (lanterns, mess kits and flashlights) sure put a smile on his face. He gave us the full report after getting home yesterday. He was surprised that they "camped out right next to the road." Apparently he thought they were going to hike to a more scenic destination. He liked roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over the camp fire and made sure to not turn his completely black like some of the other boys. He said his sleeping bag was warm and comfortable but the wind kept him up all night. Poor kid slept pretty good in his bed last night. He also said he really enjoyed whittling with a pocket knife and really wants his own pocket knife now. We'll have to find him a good one. I'm super proud of him!

Since Wesley was gone all weekend I thought it would be fun to take Greta out for a Girls Day Out. We don't get to do those as much anymore since she started Kindergarten and I miss them. We went out to lunch, I stopped and got a veggie bowl at Chipotle and brought it to McDonalds to eat. She got ice cream afterwards and was being a ham so I took some pictures. This is classic six year old Greta.

We went treasure hunting at Goodwill and then off to Target to look at Shopkins (her latest obsession). The Shopkins section at Target was completely cleaned out.....there wasn't a single thing. I asked a store employee what was going on and he said that's what the Shopkins section always looks like. He said they are very popular and usually always sold out. So we went to Wal-Mart and they had a nice big display. Strange. She got five new little ones that she plays with every waking hour. We had a nice time out together.

This weekend was lovely and it hit 90 degrees yesterday. The kids begged to get the sprinkler out and I said sure! They love the sprinkler on the trampoline, it's the best of both worlds. I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Signs of Spring

The snow is all melted and the green grass is poking up through the ground. I love seeing the big fat buds on the trees and flowers poking up. Signs of spring are everywhere.

The minions are turning into the little predators they become in the spring and have brought me their first kill of the season. A poor Garter snake. I sure wish they would just stop killing everything in sight.

Another sign of spring? The kids are outside all the time. It's lovely. We are on the trampoline at least once a day. I think it's one of the best workouts ever. I thought buying the trampoline would be for the kids but I get just as much out of it as they do. They also have a newfound love of the swing set (it's getting re-stained this spring). They've become brazen enough to jump off the swing while swinging and have contests to see who flies the farthest. They come in with all sorts of scratches and bruises. Fun times!

I wanted to do something with my hair this spring, something different. I didn't want to chop it all off as I've been growing it out for a couple of years now. So I thought highlights would be fun. I haven't had highlights in over a decade. My hair dresser specializes in balayage, which is like traditional highlights but it's painted on with a brush instead of wrapped up in foil. He painted particular strands and then put plastic wrap to keep layers apart. When he was finished painting my hair and plastic wrapping me, I looked like some psychotic Saran Wrap monster.

It lightened up the hair nicely and it looks natural....like I've been out in the sun all summer. He did a great job.  I took a before and after just to see if I could tell a difference.

With spring here I knew it was time for the Cub Scouts to start having their outings. On Friday they went to the local nature center to learn about wildlife we have in our neck of the woods. Then the weekend after next they have their first camping trip. I'm kind of nervous about that one. But like the scout leader said, it's a nice way to "cut the cord". He's sure having fun in Cub Scouts.

Pinewood Derby Race

Yesterday evening was the Pinewood Derby race for Cub Scouts and Wesley was super excited (and a little nervous). He'd been building and sanding and painting his little car for a few weeks now and last night was the big night where the boys gather and race their cars to see who is the fastest.

A few posts ago I talked about his using the band saw for the first time while cutting out his design. Then after the painting he got to hammer in the axles and wheels.  Sean was really good about letting him do the whole thing himself.

The finished Minecraft Zombie car. We used pennies as the weights. You have to get the car as close to 5 ounces as possible, pennies made this pretty easy.

The car lineup. He got second in Best of Show (based on the cars appearance). Lost out to the orange car next to his.

He came in second overall, first in his pack. He was a pretty excited kid! 

February Happenings

We've been having some lovely mild temperatures this winter and decided to have a picnic on the trampoline.  The wind was a bit chilly but not horrible especially if you dress appropriately (unlike Wesley in shorts). Doesn't he look thrilled? Fun times.

Wesley is enjoying Cub Scouts this year and it's nearly time for the Pinewood Derby race. This is a Cub Scout tradition each year where each kid makes a little car to race against the other boys in the den. Then if his car wins he goes to race against the winners of the other dens. Wesley got to work this weekend on creating his car. He got to use a band saw for the first time. He thought this was pretty cool. I stayed inside and left this task up to his father because it worried me a bit. What can I say? I'm a mom, I worry. But there was nothing to worry about, he did great. Still has all his fingers intact. Next weekend is sanding and painting.

Wesley has always had a fascination with space and space travel. Always asking all sorts of questions. So when we rented the movie The Martian this weekend we decided he might be old enough to watch it (after we watched it first of course). Greta has a pretty short attention span for movies (unless they have carton princesses in them) so we knew she wouldn't watch it. He really enjoyed it, watched the entire 2 hour movie! Greta would wander in for 5 minutes at a time and curl up on the couch like this....because of the suspense. It makes me laugh.

Since this past Sunday was Valentine's Day I thought I'd share the beautiful roses my sweet hubby got me. He's such a good husband.

Cub Scouts

That's my little Cub Scout (and his sister). Wesley has decided that Scouting might be a good fit this year. So far it's been enjoyable. He has gotten to walk all over town picking up food donations for the local food pantry and this week we decorated the towns cemetery with flags for Veteran's Day. I really like the community involvement that Boy Scouts has and I'm thrilled he's part of it. Perhaps we'll get Greta involved in Girl Scouts next year.

On a side note, notice that big pot of petunia's next to Wesley in the picture? Yeah we still have big pots of blooming flowers on the deck on November 11th. That is crazy late for a first freeze. We are all enjoying this very mild Fall.