Friday's Flick

This week's movie of choice was Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008). Originally filmed for 3-D viewing in the theaters, it was still good on the small screen. Jacob had belly laugh moments and also cuddle up to Mom times. Jim rolled his eyes a few times, but we both enjoyed it, too. While it wasn't a movie version of the Jules Vern novel, it was enough to pique Jacob's interest in reading the book...always a plus! It was a fun movie and if you like lead actor Brendan Fraser, you'll like him in this movie, too.

We also found a new pizza place. Actually, we've been waiting for this place to open since it was built and the sign on the marquee read "New York Pizza". We had a great pizza place in South Carolina (NYPD Pizza) and we were hoping for something close to it . It just opened this past week and the place was busy last night! Clearly we weren't the only ones waiting for the open sign to light up. The pizza is good (we had fresh garlic and basil) and in "New York style" with a yummy thin crust, but it certainly was not as good as true pizza from the city. However, for deep in the heart of Texas, it will do just fine!

"Bond, James Bond"

Jacob got his first nickname over the weekend; it's "Bond". The older scouts all said his "accent" sounds like he's from England and thus the nickname. He said they kept asking him to say "Bond, James Bond" and "Shaken, not stirred." Of course, he had no idea why. They also recommended that he watch the movies. Hmm, I'll have to give that one some thought.

He wasn't the only first year scout to get a new moniker. His buddy Austin, the one with the peanut allergies was nicknamed, you guessed it, "Peanut."

Jim and I are thrilled that he had such a good time on his first hike and we think it's great that they liked him enough to give him a new name. We'll see if it sticks.

Happy Trails and Tales

**I'm just the typist. Jacob's tale as dictated to his Mom.**


Jacob loading his backpack in the Troop trailer on Saturday.

I went hiking with my Boy Scout Troop 133 at Bastrop State Park. It was a 9.4 mile hike including the 1.1 mile hike to and from base camp. It was the first time I hiked with a backpack and it was 18 lbs.

I hiked with my buddy Austin and had to make sure I didn't bring peanuts because he has peanut allergies. My patrol name is the Scorpions and Austin is in it, too! But, Austin and I were the only ones from my patrol to go on this hike, so we had to join the Pirate patrol. We had to share a tent with Ryan and Hunter from the Pirate patrol. It was cold outside, less than 40 degrees. I was a little cold in my sleeping bag because I slept at the side of the tent. Someone played a practical joke on us and sprinkled oatmeal around our tent so the critters would scratch at our tent. And I was unlucky to be at the side of the tent.

For dinner, which I really didn't like, we had chicken flavored Ramen Noodles...ugh! Breakfast was better. It was hot cocoa (for it was cold outside), banana cream oatmeal and vanilla breakfast bars that got frozen overnight. They were hard.

The best part about it was the 7.2 mile loop hike. It was more fun than the short one and I got to spend more time with my buddies. Today I'm tired and hungry and want to go to lunch now.



Going home Sunday... hungry and tired.

Unloading my pack.

Let the Pigs Fly

Since Jacob had a camp out today with Boy Scouts and Jim had just gotten back from a week in SC, we decided to flush Friday movie night and replaced it with family game night. Due to busy schedules, it had been several weeks since we just sat around the table and played a board game...something Jacob loves to do! The game of choice was Pass the Pigs!

For all those that remember this game from college, there was no drinking involved. We got this game as a stocking stuffer for Jacob because we knew he'd get a kick out of it. For those not familiar with this game, players take turns rolling these two little pigs and depending in what position the pigs land you get points for that turn. The first player to 100 points, wins. You can roll as many times as you like, but if the piggies land in a certain position you "pig out" and lose your points for that turn. Little did we know he'd be so good at it (or should I say lucky!) He has beaten us almost every time we've played and of course he is thrilled to do so. We told him it's because he is not as cautious with his points as we are and he is willing to take more chances, so he just keeps letting the pigs fly. It's a lot of fun!

Crazy

That's what our weekend turned out to be. Friday we did our traditional pizza and a movie. This week's flick was Sandlot. Jacob has seen it several times, but just loves it. We thought we owned it, but couldn't find it and ended up renting it. Saturday morning started out with the three of us helping a fellow scout with his Eagle Scout project which involved sorting and repacking boxes of medical supplies to be sent to a new hospital in Mozambique, Africa. Jacob was very excited to help, but found the work a bit tedious. After two and half hours of "work", we went to lunch and then the day went downhill from there.

Jacob has his first Boy Scout hiking/overnight trip this coming weekend. We had to find him a hiking backpack that was small enough to fit his 10 year old body and still be able to carry all his essentials. When we went to the Coleman Outlet we were very disappointed to find that they were sold out of the external frame backpacks that we were looking for. Not to mention our sticker shock when we priced a compact sleeping bag. Anyway, the rest of the day turned into an almost futile attempt at finding him a pack. Even the grandaddy of all outdoor stores, Bass Pro Shop (which is massive and we didn't have nearly the time to check it out properly), didn't have want we needed. Fortunately, we ran into a fellow scout and his parents that were hunting for other items on the list and they gave us a lead on where to find the correct backpack. After five stores and several hours of stress, we got him one that fits and hopefully will do the job. It was 8 pm before we stopped for dinner. Had we known it was going to be such a chore, we wouldn't have procrastinated!!!

Sunday was a lost day. Jim had to pack and fly to Greenville, SC for a week of training. So he was gone by 10:30. I was sick and very tired. All day Saturday, both Jim and I had tummy issues after lunch that lasted all through the shopping fun and into the night (we both ate the same thing, so we are pretty sure something was amiss) Jim, who can sleep through anything, did just that while I still felt horrible and my mind was stressing about the week ahead. I didn't sleep and thus the lost Sunday. Thankfully, Jacob had off school today and we got a few more things purchased for his trip. Our challenge today was finding just the right kind of hiking socks and made for a child. Four stores later and we found the correct item...one more thing we could check off the list! We did a lot of camping with his Pack in South Carolina, so we had a few things he could use, but mostly we've had to start from scratch. This backpacking is a whole new ballgame! I just hope he likes it...

Ask and ye shall receive...

...either that or wash your car and it shall rain! Yes, we finally got rain! It wasn't nearly the amount we need, but it was enough to wash down the dust and make some mud. Too bad that it was also 80 degrees and windy yesterday and today, thus drying things up pretty quickly. They are predicting more rain for tonight, we'll see if it gets here! **Update** The rain got here and boy did it come down. Great light show. We had some high winds, but nothing too severe.

Texas Dust Bowl

Who likes dusting? Not me! Seems like I no sooner get things dusted in this house and I have to start over again. Dark wood furniture and black granite in the house shows everything! The makers of Swiffer and Orange Glo need not to worry about the economy, because I can single handedly keep them in business. I know excess dust is quite common with newly constructed homes and I'm sure getting the ducts cleaned would help. However, my duct work is the least of my troubles as we have a bigger culprit at work here. The San Antonio area is in a three year drought. It's pretty serious and it means the ground is dry, hard and cracking. To make matters worse, new streets and service lines are being "cut-in" behind our home to extend the neighborhood. Opening windows for fresh air is definitely not possible.

However, it's an interesting process to watch, and Jacob and his friends do love the rock and dirt piles it creates. Except, it's not like digging trenches in the Northeast or in SC. We are talking dry, hard earth and good ol' Texas limestone. What a mess it makes! I've seen green trees and shrubs turn powdery gray in one afternoon. It looks like nuclear fallout!

This area desperately needs rain for the water shed, farmers, animals and rivers, but selfishly I wish it would rain just to cut down on the dust! In the meantime, I will continue my futile efforts with my handy Swiffer and maybe even write a love note or two to Jim in the dust. We'll see if he notices.