Offroading, Apple Picking, and Cub Scout Camp

And time keeps on marching by...

Another crazy couple of weeks we've had. I have pictures for all of it, but because they're trapped in a virtual disease land with my broken laptop, they'll have to wait till next time.

Our new truck got to go on another off-roading adventure, this time with the whole family. It was about a 5 hour run (which was a couple of hours too long for the nauseous, pregnant mom) but it was a fun trip in yet another beautiful part of this great state. We decided to rest our weary bones - and wash the grit out of our teeth - at a local frozen custard place. It had frozen coffee drinks that put even Starbucks to shame.

The boys and I went to a Not Back to School party with the homeschool group we used to belong to in Tempe. It had been over a year since we've seen most of the members, and a great number of them are new. We all had a great time anyway, and the boys voted unanimously to go to more of their events in the future.

Last weekend we headed north to check out an apple orchard in the middle of the desert. Spencer got into apple picking right away, and Paxton and Evertt enthusiastically joined in once they realized that the bees on the ground were indeed infinitely more interested in the dropped fruit than any passerby. We came home with three times more apples than we could actually eat, and we've been busy making pies, pancakes, muffins, and German coffee cake.

This past weekend we headed north once again, this time to Cub Scout camp. It was our first camping experience in Arizona, and Everett's second experience ever. The area was beautiful, surrounded with pine trees and mountain views. It reminded me of camping in the White Mountains, which now seems a lifetime ago. The trip was fun, and the nights were cold. We slept bundled from head to toe, which also reminded me of camping in New Hampshire. It was authentic *camping* (none of this wimpy cabin stuff), complete with a pungent outhouse nearby. We all used it at least once (except for Everett, who completely lost the urge to go once he stepped inside) but we timed most of our bathroom breaks for when we were further down the campground and had access to actual - albeit dark and scary - toilets. Saturday was packed with enough activities to last a week. The boys did obstacle courses, knot tying, fire starting, relay races, frisbee football, service projects. Spencer's group learned knife safety. Paxton's group went on a treasure hunt. Everett happily followed along, and tried many of the events himself. That night was the closing bonfire, where the boys received their badges, did skits, and participated in a flag retirement ceremony. It was a fun, if exhausting, day, and we all went home tired and happy on Sunday.

One of us came home burnt to a crisp with a sunburn, but no names will be disclosed... to protect the identity of the genius who spent an entire day in high altitude sun, in Arizona, without so much as a hat.