Winter Camporee

The Boy Scouts go camping or hiking at least once a month, and winter months are no exception. Yes, they camped overnight in January! (Better them than me!) I dropped Kip off on Saturday morning, with his friends Paul & Sam, and stayed to watch them lash together snowshoes and a backpack frame. They invited me to stay for lunch, which Kip helped cook (beef stew and grilled cheese sandwiches). Then I supervised and motivated the boys while they broke up firewood, stacked it, and cleaned the scrap wood from the area. They had quite a pile, and very little was left when I returned for them the next morning, so I suspect they were glad they had gathered so much of it. The weather was warm enough on Saturday, while the sun was out, maybe 50-55 degrees. But the temperature dropped that evening, and was in the 20's when I picked them up Sunday morning. Everything was coated with frost, and no one wanted to do much except get into a warmed car. But there were tents to fold and duffel bags to pack. Kip said he had a good time despite being cold in the night. So it's all good. And he got a chance to use all the camping gear he got for Christmas. Thanks Uncle Colby and Grandad!

Past and Present

The house that Lon, Marla, and Colby grew up in has been razed, and a McMansion built where it once stood. We drove by one day and were amazed. Compared to the smaller, older houses in this long-established neighborhood, the new house is a behemoth. Instead of two rooms deep, it is 3 rooms from front to back! It is a whole room wider than the old house, and you can tell that it towers above the modest homes around it. Plus it's an ugly color! The back yard hill that sloped up to the woods and the playhouse has been chopped out and a retaining wall built. We'll have to come back in the spring when it's finished and landscaped, and take more photos.