First Junior Ranger Badge of the Summer!

When we went to the National Park side of Kings Mountain, I noticed they had the centennial junior ranger badge and Kings Mountain had a patch now.  Lon picked up the booklet for the centennial and I put it in the car, since I did not hike over.
I asked for and received permission from the scout master not to go back with the troop. I took Lon over to the visitor's center!

Lon worked his book outside. The weather was good, and we were just finished camping. We thought it best to stay outside as long as possible.

The Ranger went over his book. Lon finished it well. There was nothing the Ranger found that needed to be changed.

Getting sworn in by Ranger Steve.

Ranger Steve thought he did a great job.
He earned his special wooden 100th anniversary badge and the new patch!

Kings Mountain is such a pretty place.

Camping at Kings Mountain State Park

This weekend was a Boy Scout camp out!  I was able to go with Lon this weekend.
We met up at the church at 7:45 am to load up and get on the road by 8.  It is a 3 hour drive upstate.

The boys campsite.  I was standing in front of my tent. The other adult tents were near mine.

There were latrines near the camp, about 274 steps from my tent, according to my fit bit in the middle of the night.  The running water was a pump near the latrines.  It worked well.

After the camp was set up we all had some free time.

This is a game called Viking Sword.  I am not sure how it is played, but the boys like it.

On our way to the camp ground we saw a History Farm, so off we went to that!

a little bit about the house.
The house was very small, but there were lots of out buildings, and land.  Not much time was spent in the actual house

Looking from the house, the forge and the loom building.

Lon and I learned about this at Middleton, it strips off bark and excess plant material from sugar cane and or sorghum.  The big copper bowl over a fire pit was close to the machine.

The garden is starting to come along!

They are going to have grapes!

One bull, but there were some cows and a mule and a horse in the other pasture.

We met this pup. She would smile when you scratched her tummy.  It is always fun to meet a nice dog

Near the barn,

making dinner. The boys are in charge of their own food. They make the menu, buy the food they need and prepare it.
It is a very big learning curve

The next morning, after the boys made breakfast and cleaned up, they hiked over to the National Park side of Kings Mountain. The hike was 5 miles round trip.   They were supposed to have renactors, from the Revolutionary war through the Vietnam era.  Sadly, because of the rain they all packed up and went home.

We ate our sack lunch at the National Park visitors center.

Back at camp, the boys were practicing starting a fire with steel and flint.
The leadership scouts made it back to camp. They went on a 16 mile hike.   All of these leadership scouts were either Eagle Scouts or going to be.

Lon being fire marshal. that means he has to stay by the fire and make sure all is well.

Playing cards. War!

It did not rain very much, if at all over night. The boys were packing up their kitchen and chuck box.

They learned that someone, anyone from their patrol needs to make sure the garbage bag is packed up and put in the trailer overnight.  They had raccoon visitors  There may or may not have been a bear who walked through the camp that night also, We just heard something big.
The raccoons were the ones that did the damage to the garbage bag. Yes, the boys had to pick it all up. The scouts left no trace.

It was a fun camp out. Lon and I both enjoyed ourselves.

Last Day of Elementary School

Yes, this is true.  Lon is now in middle school. Jr. High even.  Today was his last day as a fifth grader!

We decided that we needed a doughnut to start our day. We also thought that not many people bring in things for the office staff. We brought in coffee and doughnuts to the office this morning. Lon also brought in a gift for his teacher.   It was a mason jar cookie mix.

Today was the teacher versus the fifth graders basketball game!

The teachers were bringing it and the fifth graders were not taking any guff.  The teachers were taller.  It was fun to watch

The teachers won.  It was a half hour game.

 An already emotional day got even more emotional. This year, one of the fifth grade teachers got cancer and sadly, just a few days ago, passed away.  The fifth graders went to the courtyard, to help plant a new tree in Mrs. Steed's honor.

The kids placed the rocks around the tree. The painted rocks were from the children in Mrs. Steed's class.

It was a beautiful tribute

The kids went back to their rooms and decompressed a little, talked to each other for a little while before the 5th grade promenade though the school

This is Lon's last time leaving his trailer class room!

Lon walking though the school

A celebration lunch at Way Back Burger. It was were the boys wanted to go.

Time for the our summer adventures to start!

Azalea Lunch

Today was the last full day of fifth grade.  
The fifth graders walked down to Azalea Park for lunch.  I went with them. It was the last school time lunch of the year.

This morning, we got up late and it just snowballed from there.
I did not have time to make Lon his lunch. I stopped by the grocery store and picked him up a slice.  He seemed happier than if I had just made him a pb&j.

After lunch everyone walked over the bridge to the pond side of the park. There were balls to play with, jump ropes, and books to read.

Lon is looking at one of the two balls that made it into the pond. One of the kid's dads, he was able to get a pool skimmer from maintenance workers in the park and retrieve all the balls in the water. He is a rock star

Looking at the fish and turtles. The turtles and fish loved all the bread scraps from the kid's sandwiches!

Hanging out, reading, near the water.

Lon had a good time. He was hot and tired when he came home.   He took a nice long cool shower when he came home.

Field Day and Awards

Two and a half days of school left in this school year.  Today was Field Day for the 5th grade.  I was able to volunteer at the sno cone stand!

 I was in the multi purpose room.  It was inside and air conditioned.

The kids played a game with rubber band around their legs and they shot rope knots at the other side.

Lon's class was the last class to come through the multi purpose room

The next game was musical chairs.  I was there for all the other fifth grade classes, Lon's class was the most sportsman like with the musical chairs.  No one yelled or screamed or got upset when they lost.  The kid just ran over and got their sno cone.  I was impressed

Since Lon's class was the last class through, they may or may not have gotten a little extra sno cone

The Awards Ceremony was tonight at 6pm.

Lon got awards for Robotics and Quiz Bowl.

It was good to see everyone.

Fifth Grade Wax Museum

Today, the last Monday of the school year, is the day the Fifth Graders give their wax museum presentations. They have been working on them for about three weeks.  I thought there was a written report also but it was just a rough draft for their speaking parts.
Each child had a famous person to work on, after much back and forth, Lon was able to go with Jacqueline Cochran.     He worked hard on knowing his stuff.  He was unsure how he was going to dress up, but he finally figured out he could dress up as Floyd Odum, Jacqueline's husband.

The scene of the wax museum.
The fifth grade gate class was the only one who participated in the wax museum

He was doing very well giving his presentations.

And he loved being in a suit and tie. He does have school clothes he is changing into for the Reading Carnival later today

Only a few kids did the poster board. I think Lon did a good job on his.

Velocity

Today we had the opportunity to go to Velocity air sports to celebrate Danny's birthday.  We had never been there before. Lon can not wait to go again.

Jumping bean!

He is having a great time

He is wearing himself out

He went over to the Ninja section. He was loving that

Group Party Picture

 Waiting for Ice Cream at Brusters. It was a nifty place. We had never been there before.  They were a bit overwhelmed, only two people were on staff.  We will try it again


It was a very fun afternoon.     We were so honored to be invited.