The Not-So-Great Outdoors

"I survived Cub Scout Camp, 2008." That's what the t-shirt would read if I was asked to design one.

It started off really well. Ken and Levi went down on Friday night, and Benjamin and I joined them the following morning at 10:00. We were the first ones to get there out of our den, so I was feeling really proud of myself. The weather was beautiful, and everything was great...so far.

We did some games with the other dens and then broke for lunch. After lunch, we all decided to go on a hike. It was only 1 1/2 miles, so Benjamin and I decided to give it a try. That was fun. I had done that hike once in college, so it had been a while for me. This trail had caves and waterfalls. Ken had to carry Benjamin a few times so he wouldn't plummet to his untimely death.

Levi and his Cub Scout friends on the hike.

Ken and Benjamin on the trail. How cute is this?

After the hike, we started preparing for dinner. They were having a dutch oven dessert contest between the dens, and for some strange reason I volunteered to make something. We came up with ice cream...in a dutch oven...except in a bucket of ice...lots and lots of ice and lots and lots of stirring. The flavor was great, but it was about the consistency of soup or a milkshake at best. We didn't win, and everyone made fun of it. Lots of fun.

Now we're off to the campfire and it's about 40 degrees by now. Apparently at every Cub Scout campfire they always retire a US flag. Maybe I'm just an uninformed American, but I had no idea that you had to cut each stripe of the flag individually and then throw it into the fire and bury it later. Guess that's what I get for quitting Girl Scouts too soon. I had never seen that done, so it was cool. Frigidly cold, but still neat.

At last, it's time for bed. Everyone was exhausted, so we retire to our bed of gravel and hunker down for a cold, cold night. Ken did give me the below freezing sleeping bag, which I was entirely grateful for. My electric blanket would have been great, but under the circumstances, I guess it could have been much worse.

So, I'm done. I survived. And, this may shock you, but I didn't complain the whole time I was there. I really wanted Levi to have a good time, so I kept my big mouth shut and went along with everything.

Oh, yes, and the SPF 15 that was on my face didn't apparently hold up very well for me. I now look like a cross between Raggedy Ann and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Can't wait 'til the fall camp out.