Arrow of Light

Eleanor and Jane have been doing cub scouts for a little while and while they loved it, we decided to take a pause for a little while to do other things. That being said, Eleanor and her friend were so close to getting their Arrow of Light that their den leader sped up the process again so they could "graduate" and be done before they stopped. 

The rest of the kids had a great time making gingerbread houses at their ceremony.

Congratulations Eleanor!

Virginia Living Museum sleepover

Eleanor and Jane had a very fun opportunity to sleep over inside the Virginia Living Museum - it literally was a night at the museum! We showed up with sleeping bags (and an air mattress for me) and got to see sea stars, turtles named Mango, and all sorts of animals in between.

We saw a Planetarium show...the guy next to me fell asleep and started snoring.

Eleanor liked this seahorse...

There was story time before bed...

A scavenger hunt...

And I liked the jellyfish - very mesmerizing.

Overall it was just a very cool experience to sleep in a museum!

Meanwhile, at home, Chris handled these three like a champ.

Pinewood Derby

The girls are doing scouts this year and participated in their first Pinewood Derby. We went over to a fellow scout's house to use their tools. 

Neither of the girls' cars ended up winning for speed, but they both got recognized for design! Eleanor and Jane spent a lot of time decorating their cars. We found out last minute that there was an "outlaw" category where siblings could race cars, so we got two of Chris' old pinewood derby cars and entered them for Ben and Rosie so they would have a stake in the game. They did not outperform anyone, but Ben was very excited to have a car in the race.

Eleanor and her ice cream car:

Jane and her car: USA, All the Way

Overall a good first experience for them! Eleanor's car is going to district for design.

Camping

Eleanor and Jane decided to try out scouts this year. We had their fall campout recently and it's the first time we've done an actual camping trip outside of the backyard. Chris and Ben stayed home to have their own fun adventure, but I took the three girls on the campout.

The biggest girls had to help serve dinner, which was delicious.

We also had fun making s'mores over a campfire.

The weather was fantastic - not too cold but not warm either.

Overall it was a great experience and the kids had a great time.

Meanwhile...Chris and Ben headed to Day of Destruction! It was a car demolition event at a race track somewhat nearby and they said it was hilarious.

It was a memorable weekend!