Ahoy There Maties

No other Bears or Wolves from our Pack signed up for Cub Scout Day Camp this year, so I had the privilege of going with Joseph for 3 days to Day Camp. We joined up with a den of Cub Scouts from Mesa. When we introduced ourselves to them, and they told us where they were from, Joseph immediately replied, "I'm from Mesa too. I was born there." They were a great group to be with, and they took Joseph under their wing. Together we made Den 18. It was a pirate theme this year. Notice that the cannon on our ship is shooting out water balloons. Our den yell was one that Joseph and I came up with together, since we had not found the rest of our den yet. "Den 18! We aargh strong! We aargh mighty! We aargh wet?! Den 18, aaaaaargh!" The wet part had to do with the fact that we were always wet. Because it is so hot out there, the leaders were always encouraging us to drink lots of water and also to spray each other at every chance. There were times that we were drenched. The boys shot BB guns, practiced archery, swam, ran an obstacle course, played double soccer and double kickball, had pingpong boat races, painted their flag and boat, sewed a loot bag, glued together a treasure chest, went on a treasure hunt, learned to tie knots, and threw a lot of water balloons. Left to right (top): Joseph, Garrett, Jake, Zane

Left to right (bottom): Titus, Trevor, Braeden, Dan, and Jake Day Camp started at 3:00 each afternoon, and ended at about 10:00 p.m. We usually got home about 10:45 each night. We were there Monday through Wednesday, and yesterday Joseph and I slept in a great while in the morning, and were still pretty pooped through the rest of the day. It wears on a person to be out in the heat like that, but all in all we still had a great time together. The rest of our den left early on Wednesday, skipping out on closing ceremonies. We stuck around, and it's a good thing we did. Den 18 won the best den yell. Joseph went to collect his prize, and ended up performing our yell all by himself to a very large amphitheater of scouts. He did great, and I was so proud of him. He said that his heart was beating SO fast, but he did it anyway. It's a pleasure to be your mom, Joseph, and I'm glad for the time I was able to spend with you!

P.S. A HUGE thanks to Rebekah and Christine for holding down the fort here at home. I'm sorry I had to leave you kids for so many hours, and I appreciate the way you kept things together.