Chickens!

Okay, so I was going to wait a little longer to write about this weekend, but I really want to get this down before I forget all of the great things that we did.

Friday night:

We arrived at Seven B well after dark. It was impossible to see much beyond our headlights, and the lights near the barns. We unloaded the troop gear into the kitchen (yes, full kitchen, w00t!), then set up our personal gear. Troy brought his vcr and DVD player, along with a ton of movies alphabetized, even! ;) The kids played basketball in the half-court on the second floor of the barn (where they were going to sleep), then came down later for a movie. I slept reasonably well, nice and warm under the heating vent. :)

Saturday, early, early morning:

My alarm was set for 6:30, but starting at about quarter to six, several of the kids made trips to the bathroom (did I mention, REAL BATHROOMS?), and I had to dig through the first aid kit for one of them (the big D. Who used the last of the pepto and didn't tell anyone?). I went back to bed for another half hour.

6:30 am. I woke up, and happened to catch a glimpse through the window. OMG. The barn is located near a string of small lakes. Absolutely beautiful. My sleepiness vanished, and I got ready for the day as quickly as possible. We kicked the kids out of bed shortly after 7:00, by sending our acting leader up to play basketball with them. When one was a little lax about getting up, another adult and I grabbed the ends of his cot and moved him out from under the hoop. We played a pick up game, with about four different teams. Lots of fun.

After breakfast and clean up, we let the kids play basketball a bit more, and then decided to take a hike. We spent about an hour and a half walking around the area, looking at the animals, the flower beds, the swans (Lancelot and Elaine, former tenents of Lake Laverne on the ISU campus, where they were known for chasing students to the point that they had to be replaced by more docile mute swans). We explored ruins near the river, located a trail we wanted to follow later, and in general enjoyed seeing what the ranch had to offer. I saw lots of emerging shoots, and a new types of plants just appearing (including one with the tiniest blue-violet flowers, growing on the gravel parking area).

When we got back to the barn, some played horseshoes, while others played shuffleboard (fun!).

After lunch, which was late, and clean up, we gave the kids some time to, surprise, play basketball. At 3:30, we set out for what we hoped would be a five-mile hike.

No, we did not end up on the news. ;)

When we discovered that the path looped back towards the barn, we decided to go off of the trail. The kids had a great time with this. We were basically following the river, exploring, and taking the time to enjoy nature. In an area where the riverbank dipped to the river's edge, we found a ton of clam shells, which surprised me, as I hadn't really thought about clams being able to live in Iowa. I found a beautiful shell that had a pink pearly lining, and a couple of other ones that were also very nice. My son ended up with about 10 (great....). The river was pretty low, or we would have missed out on that opportunity. Shell collecting and skipping rocks, and discovering animal tracks in the sand...

About this time, we decided to head back. I was never really worried about finding our way home, but dusk was approaching, and we had already walked more than an hour. We learned how to tell how much daylight was left using our hands.

The boys swear that the big black dog we encountered led us back to the ranch, and they may be right. ;)

Once we got back, we rested a bit, then it was time to gather the eggs for breakfast.

Okay, you can stop laughing! I was set up, I tell you! I will get even. Oh yes, I will get even... :) Word of advice: When you are learning how to get eggs from a nest, when there are about a dozen chickens in the pen with you, keep an eye on what the third person in the pen is doing behind your back. That way, when the chickens decide that they really want out, you are prepared. I still have no idea why that one chicken went over my arms, between me and the nests...

Oh, and make sure that you have an audience. At least I did not panic, and just stood still while being swarmed by killer chickens. ;)

I don't even want to think about how much lasagna and garlic bread I ate for dinner. It was good. Very good. So good that I had to go shoot baskets to work off some calories after dinner.

Later, we sat down to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I kept dozing off, and I saw a couple of the other adults doing the same, to the amusement of the kids, as occasional snores slipped out. No one protested bed time, although I was a little dismayed, as I slipped into my sleeping bag, when I heard the distinct noise of the kids playing basketball, again. They tired quickly, though, and by 11, all was quiet.

I slept like a rock until the alarm went off at 6:30 this morning.

This was the best campout to date. I know that they all can't be like this, but it would be a good model to follow. We had a good mix of free time and activites, we kept busy, the kids worked well together, and learned a lot. The group itself was great. Not a single discipline problem, no one acted out, everyone got along pretty well, and no one got sick or hurt. (Yippee!!!) I enjoyed being around the other adults in the group, too. Very fun!

Yikes! Look at the time! I had better get to bed, after taking a couple of tylenol for my aches and pains.

I really hope I don't have to do anything too physical at work tomorrow. ;)