On Friday, Will's class had their Greek festival, to complete a unit on Greek mythology, and Anna's class had Career Day. Both these projects required a little more parent involvement than I like to employ, so I was really frazzled Friday morning and we barely avoided tardy slips.
Will was Apollo. He had to do a little presentation and had a bagful of items that represented Apollo. We also had to bring in a Greek dish, so I made koulourakia (Easter cookies), and sent a photo of them to my bona fide Greek friend, who said they looked great. So I'm hoping I--I mean Will--get those 5 points we supposedly earn for said Greek dish.
Worth an "A", right?
I was going to sew him some sort of costume, but I goofed last year and made him an Egyptian costume that made him look like a girl. (In my defense, I have not seen a depiction of King Tut in which he does not look like a girl). So we decided together to just drape him with white fabric toga-style this time.
I knew all about Career Day and anticipated the costuming issues, so Anna and I discussed this several weeks back and she said she wanted to be a paleontologist. (Yes, she listens to her brother waaaay too much.) I had all the things necessary for a paleontologist costume, so I had lots of enthusiasm for this job choice. But after the kindergarten field trip to Publix, she announced that she would rather be a baker. Specifically, a baker of cakes, cookies, and cupcakes. We fancied that title up to "pastry chef", and she made a little menu of the items she would have in her bakery (including cakes priced at $12 and cookies at $5, with a glass of milk at $4). We had a lot of fun with making her poster and baking up some frosted cookie bars for her class, and she wore an apron from Aunt Missy and a chef hat that I sewed from this tutorial. I was so thrilled with that hat, until she tried it on and said, "Bakers don't wear this." After some back and forth, I realized she wanted a hair net like the people wear in the Publix bakery. Geez. I told her they'd wear a cute hat like hers if they were given the option. Maybe.
Anna's presentation was first thing in the morning, so I was able to watch her present before going to work. She was soooo shy! Luckily, her teacher is used to kindergarteners freezing up, so she pried some details out of Anna.
Will's festival was in the middle of the day, so John and I missed it--the working gig stinks sometimes, although Will said he didn't mind if we missed the program. I did get a chance to stop by during lunch and admire his friends' costumes. He was proud of his presentation, so I think that it went well.
Anyway, that was Friday. Saturday started early--a 13 mile "short" run (marathon taper!), then karate for Will and a bridal shower for Anna and me. Then the kids and I loaded up John's Jeep and left for our first camping trip with Will's cub scout pack. Poor John couldn't go--he worked this past weekend. I waffled many times as to whether to proceed with the campout without him, or just bag it and take the kids to see the Blue Angels at NAS Jax. Ultimately, I decided a night in the woods was less unnerving than airshow traffic. :-)
We camped at the Florida Sheriff's Youth Camp in Pierson--it was very nice, with bathrooms and lots of shady trees. We picked a spot near the bathrooms, and the kids helped me set up our site.
John made a LOT of fun of me while I packed, and pointed out that we could have easily spent a night in a four-star hotel for the money spent (and packed considerably less). He also talked me out of bringing the fire extinguisher and a nine-iron (for bear-beating). I like to be prepared!
We arrived in time for the flag ceremony at 1 pm, then the kids did rotations in fishing, archery, and outdoor cooking.
They hollowed out oranges, put brownie batter inside, wrapped them in foil, and cooked them on the campfire.
We also had free time for decorating our tents and carving a pumpkin. I removed the pumpkin guts, and let Will do the rest. He had a very clear design vision:
I forgot to take a picture of the pumpkin in daylight, but here it is at night (with a glowstick--in all that packing, I somehow forgot a candle):
We played some games and made luminaries with some new buddies, and Will learned to whittle wood using his pocket Leatherman tool:
I grilled hot dogs for dinner, and then everyone trick-or-treated at each tent. I was afraid the kids' actual costumes might not survive the campout, so resurrected one of my favorite costumes from a previous Halloween.
Dino and Dino-hunter, version 2014:
Afterwards, the dens did skits and told jokes around the campfire, then it was time for bed. We were tucked in at 9:30:
Official lights-out time was 10 pm, so we lay in our tent for 30 minutes listening to some crazy Webelos playing hide-and-seek and tripping repeatedly over my carefully staked tent tethers. Then it was all quiet. I woke up around 3:30 am to some very loud snoring sound from right outside our tent--I assumed that something like a wild boar had fallen asleep next to us, but I think it was actually an adult in one of the other tents. It was pretty spectacular, given that they were at least 20 feet away. I also woke up to coyotes howling at 1:30, 2:45, and 5:45, so you can guess how well-rested I felt by dawn. Luckily, I discovered that I'd left my contacts on the table outside the tent, so they were chilled to a nice 55 degrees by the time I replaced them in my eyes. Turns out that sensation is almost as jolting as my usual morning coffee.
I had planned to cook pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast, but accidentally left my griddle at home. So we settled for bacon and scrambled eggs--turns out you can cook eggs in a cup over a sterno can if you have a little butter and a lot of patience. We also had coffee and cocoa.
We went to the morning prayer service at the Chapel in the Wood, how cute:
Then we did a trash scavenger hunt to make sure we left no trace of ourselves at the campground, then packed up and drove home. The kids had a wonderful time--Will made a new friend and discovered whittling, which is his new obsession. And Anna said she wished she could stay at the campground for "a hundred days!!" And I think I can totally up my game in the camp cooking department--Dutch oven? foil packets?--so we are planning to get some use out of that tent again. And we'll take John this time. :-)
