Scout it out!

Jonathan, Jeremy and Jeffrey have decided that Boy Scouts is a "go" for this year. In fact, Jonathan is serious about becoming an Eagle Scout and is planning and plotting his way toward making it by his 18th birthday (the requirement). He's been studying the Scout Manual and practicing tying knots. And he's getting good at it! Jeremy would like to do it as well, but the whole broken ankle thing has thrown a damper on his enthusiasm toward it all. I have a feeling that it will all pick up again since his leg is now "free"!

Last weekend Michael took the boys on another camp out with the troop. (Let me just pause to say how awesome my husband is....I mean, it was rainy all week before so at the very least there is a 100% chance of MUD even if there's no additional rain and there was a 70% chance of rain. So intead of eating cheese dip and watching college football, he took his boys to a camp out in the mud and rain, just because his boys want to do scouts. Awesome!) They went back to Camp Fawcett. This campout was a "Bear Creek Challenge" so each patrol competed against each other in seven different challenges. Turns out, Jonathan and Jeffrey's patrol (Cougar patrol) won the entire competition!! Way to go guys! Jeremy was very bummed about not making it. But he's said many times since then, "I'm going on the next one!!!"

Here's the patrol running on a task. Here they had to climb over a gate, tie a timber hitch around a log, run the log down a taped path, touch a tree (the one in the background) and then run back with the log, untie the timber hitch climb back over the gate and head to the next station. Jonathan is the second from the left (the tall one) and Jeffrey is behind Jonathan. He's in a dark green shirt that's not so easy to see.

Here's the Cougar Patrol pioneering. They had to tie a round lashing, tie three taught lines, tie a sheepshank knot (the bonus knot that Jonathan knows how to tie VERY well now....he's been practicing!!), fall in and "dress left" with the patrol leaders, "dress right dress" (to space evenly) and do the scout sign, say the Pledge, the scout oath and the scout pledge.

Here's the patrol getting their award for winning.

On the way home, Michael stopped in Hondo so the boys could get their picture taken with the Cadalliac chicken at Church's Chicken. It's Church's chicken's version of the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile.

Here's the campers! Don't they look great!