Summer Camp 2014 - #2

Vern was home for one night and then off to summer camp #2. This was a Boy Scout Camp near Medicine Mountain in South Dakota.

There were many hurdles for this trip. First his dad backed out at the last minute. This did not leave us any time to arrange for Superman to go. Coincidence? I think not.

Next Vern's second day there entailed a long trip to town to a doctor!~~!!!  Vern's allergies were acting up so badly he said that his throat was getting tight. So in addition to his normal allergy medication, he got additional nasal spray plus Benedryl. He was stuffy the entire trip. I heard from another mom that the pine trees were pollinating so I am guessing that is what made Vern so stuffy and miserable.

Then it was onto the bug bites. Camp number 1 left him with chiggers and bug bites on his legs so on camp #2 he scratched and scratched until they bled. He may have some scars with those horrible bites.  When he got home I had him use hydrocortizone and now he is doing better.

Rain, storms and more rain. There were thunderstorms every single day of his camp. Not fun but he managed. It was also cold.

Yes there is more!

Vern had a run in with some nails in a board in tall grass. He wasn't wearing his boots as they had given him some nasty blisters so he just had on his running shoes. Well you guessed it, Vern was walking through the tall grass and bam. He stepped on the board containing the nails and one punctured his foot. Thank goodness it didn't go all the way through his foot! He had a nasty hole in the bottom of his foot and a limp for a few days.

Next was the bad food. If Vern says the food is bad, it is BAD!  He said some of the food was expired for 3 years.  The Oreo cookies had green stuff in the middle instead of the normal white.  Thank goodness his tent mate had a lot of snacks and was willing to share.

Finally Vern was home but that is not the end of the story.


Vern had been away from mom for 2 weeks so he had none of her "Eat your vegetables." "Don't eat so much junk food."  or the infamous... "Eat that crap and you won't be able to poop!"  Yep I get home from work on Tuesday night and the tummy was hurting. Vern was also having issues going P. Finally we got tired of the screaming and took him to Children's ER. We arrived around 10:30 pm. You know how ER's are...wait-wait-wait.

Doc finally sees Vern and we take an x-ray. Vern is all backed up. He gets his first enema in his life and low and behold it does not work!!!! We get a prescription and head home. Finally climb into bed around 3:15 am. Talk about a short night... Zzz  Here is a photo of Vern in his hospital garb.

Happy Pooping!!!!

Scout camp!

As if Vern hasn't had enough to do this summer... Next he was off to Boy Scout Camp. This is a week of no showers, lots of heat, dirt, and sweat. A boys heaven!

Vern had a good time this year as he took rifle classes. His grandpa Vern gave him a rifle and he wants to use it so needed to take some classes. Scout camp gave him the opportunity to do this. What a great combo! He passed his classes.

He came back happy and we immediately left for Southern Colorado for a family vacation. Yes, I washed his socks before we left :-)

Piling them together

I am piling recent events into one blog. I am so swamped I just can't get everything done lately.

First we have the Court of Honor. Vern received quite a few patches for completing activities and attending summer camp this year.  This first photo he looks a little worried.

Here is a much more relaxed happy Vern shot. He looks so grown up in this shot. Insert proud mom heart here.

Also at this court of honor John has aged out of Scouts - age 18. The Scoutmaster had GREAT things to say about John. John is a scout who became an Eagle Scout at an early age yet continued actively involved in scouts and organizing activities. Thanks Scoutmaster for the kind words on a departing scout of the best kind.

It was the very next day and Vern started school. I always take photos of the kids before they head off to the first day of school. Here are this years shots.

Vern did get new clothes for the first day of school but unfortunately he did not have them on until later that week but that is another story. Suffice it to say Vern had a great first day of middle school. He is growing up!

Crossover

In my last post I told you this time of year is big Boy Scout season. Well my blog continues in that vein today.  Vern crossed over from being a Cub Scout to a Boy Scout. This is a big event with a dinner served and awards followed by an official ceremony where the boys cross a bridge and become Boy Scouts.  I have included some photos from the big night.

Poor Vern doesn't look to good. The night before he went to an all nighter with the Boy Scouts. This is where they stay up and play games and do not sleep all night. Vern got home and went to bed but woke up a few hours later sick. He didn't do well partying all night. So in the pictures you can see he looks a little out of it and peeked.  I wouldn't have even sent him but it is such a big deal we went and he made it through like a trooper. We tucked him into bed as soon as we got home. He still wasn't well enough to go to school the next day so he just stayed home and rested.

Pathetic fake smile. Poor guy.

Receiving his awards and pins.

Not feeling well at all.

 Order of the arrow ceremony.  He loves his arrow and has it hanging on his bedroom wall.

 If he wasn't sick I could see thoughts of poking his neighbor...

 Crossing over to become a Boy Scout. PROUD OF YOU VERN!!!!!!!

 With all his gear. Our newest Scout!

As close as we get to the real Vern all night!

Pinewood Derby 2012

It's that time of year again for all people involved in Scouting. Pinewood Derby!!!! This is where the boys (mostly dads) build a model car out of a block of wood. It has to meet specific requirements on size and weight in order to race. It is a fun competition for the boys.  In addition to the scouts cars racing, there is an open class where brothers, sisters, moms and dads can enter cars. It is fun to see the cars that are made. Some folks are VERY creative in the open class.  There are awards for fastest car and most original car in both the boys and open classes.  Here are some photos from the big day.

Here are the judges getting ready for the start of the races.

Here is one of the boys getting the cars ready to race down the track. Vern's is farthest on the left - the black one.  Vern's car ended up placing in middle of the cars. Not the fastest but by far not the slowest.

Here is Vern's dads car in the open class. As you can see it only made it down the hill before stopping. It was supposed to be a "smart" car. HA HA HA  If the weights would have been placed on the top of the car instead of the bottom it would have done much better. Great car. Poor execution. Folks had a good chuckle with this car.

Here we have Vern with his participation trophy and car. Isn't he handsome with his Scout shirt?

Here is Ann and her car from the open class. It was one Vern had a couple years ago. If she would have graphited the wheels she could have won. I think it had been sitting in the box to long.

Fun times for a wintry Saturday afternoon.