Cub Scout Day Camp 2015

So... Niko has had a pretty awesome week at camp!

We are fortunate to live in an area that just exudes a summer camp vibe. Dense forests, lots of lakes and ponds, fishing, camping, hiking, boating-- you name it, the kids here do it. But right on the edge of town is an honest-to-goodness Boy Scout camp. Until Niko actually began as a scout, I had driven by the entrance a number of times without realizing what all was out there or how big it actually was. But the place is HUGE. And it is everything I ever imagined a summer camp could be. It's like straight out of the movies! Old canvas tents with wooden platforms beneath them for the overnight campers, hiking trails, fishing, boating, swimming, archery, bb guns, rope bridges... on and on and on. So when we found out that Niko would be able to participate in the week-long day camp program this summer, we were all pretty psyched-- especially a certain boy who could not WAIT to shoot a bb gun or use a bow and arrow.

Anyway, the week was everything we had expected, and then some! Every day, Niko and the other members of his tribe (the Iroquois tribe), under the direction of their counselor, Will, rotated between a number of activities. They swam in the lake. They did handicrafts, which involved stamping designs into leather, woodworking, and other manly sorts of things. They did scoutcrafts, which was all about camping skills, tying knots (which Niko is VERY into now), and first aid/safety. They did boating. And archery. And shooting. And nature walks. And of course, they had a break for lunch and games every day. In other words, it was pretty darn awesome! Niko came home every day filthy and exhausted, so I know he had a great time!

Today, me, Maya, and my parents drove out to the camp for their end-of-camp campfire ceremony. It was fun to hike down and really see where the boys had been all week. We watched as they all did silly skits and songs and told corny jokes (all classic Cub Scout material... much like what I remember from when my brother was a Cub Scout and my dad was the Cubmaster!). I managed to get at least a few pictures:

After the campfire, we looked around a little bit before leaving. I bought Niko a t-shirt, and he was given a patch to add to his vest (commemorating the 90th anniversary of the scout camp, which was established in 1925). I think he was sad to say goodbye, but is very excited to go again next summer. It was definitely a great experience!

While at the campfire, the camp director also gave us a link to download pictures from the week. I have only taken screenshots of the ones with Niko in them, and am still deciding which one(s) I want to buy. I'm thinking definitely the group picture, and maybe the one of him in the rain. But I don't know! Still, it was fun to see these, since I didn't get to physically be at the camp all week!

Anyway, it was a fantastic week for the boy. Meanwhile, Maya hung out with me at home while I did crazy things like repaint our front porch and all of our exterior doors. She is a good sport and a good helper, though! :)

In other news... no new chicks to report, which means that we are very likely done (I imagine Gus will turn off the incubator tomorrow). Tomorrow is also when the movers come with all my parents' stuff, so I may just drive by like a stalker and take pictures, haha! We have a barbecue tomorrow, and will be heading out on a camping trip soon, too. I think we should have Niko start all our campfires, now that he's an expert... what do you think? :)

Cute Chicks

And then there were three!

We had noticed that the Rhode Island Red egg was cracked on Monday afternoon, and fully expected it to hatch that afternoon/evening. Much to our disappointment, there had been no progress by the next morning. Gus began to suspect that the chick had died or was just too weak to hatch. We were all bummed.

So imagine my surprise when we went to check on Midnight and Fluffy after lunch, and noticed that there had suddenly been huge progress! Maya grabbed bar stools for us and I got my camera. And we got to watch this little one hatch! It took her a while (like almost an hour) to finally get the shell remnants off. And then she was very, very weak. Gus thinks it was because she was trying to break out of the shell for over 24 hours! But she could barely lift her head or move her body for hours after hatching, and she kept falling asleep. I won't lie-- I was a little concerned that something might be wrong. She didn't spring to life like the other two had!

By bedtime, though, she had dried off and was looking more alert. I decided to move her into the box with her sisters. She mostly hung out under the warmer, though I did catch this one when she decided to explore a little bit (on her wobbly little legs!):

By this morning, any fears that I'd had were erased. She was a well-rested, happy little chick. Her name is Ginger, for obvious reasons. And she and her sisters are just the cutest! The kids are in love!

We still have four more eggs in the incubator, though we aren't sure we will get any more chicks at this point. There is a possibility that one more might still hatch, but the clock is ticking and there aren't any signs of cracking on that egg. But even if we only get these three, we will be happy. They are all different types and all completely adorable. Yay!!! :)

Houston, we have chickens!! And our week in review

First things first... before we left for California, Gus put seven eggs into his little incubator. Five that he had purchased from a breeder (2 Polish, 2 Frizzles, and 1 Rhode Island Red) and two from our very own Mary Poopins. Sadly, it doesn't look like Mary's eggs were fertilized, because nothing appears to have developed. Oh well. Next year!

Anyway, the incubation period for chickens is approximately 21 days. I made a note on Thursday, July 30th indicating that it would be hatch day. So imagine my surprise when I went to wash a paintbrush in the laundry room yesterday (Sunday, July 26th) and noticed a crack in one of the eggs. I thought it was broken! It took me a minute to realize that a little beak was poking out. And then it PEEPED at me! Say what???

It stayed like that all afternoon, basically. Not much change. After the kids were in bed, I went over to my friend/neighbor's house to watch TV for a bit ("Outlander"-- she had it on DVR, hehe). I came back just before 11, and Gus had just gone upstairs to get into bed a few minutes before. I went to check on the eggs, just to see... and saw THIS!

Brand new chicken, fresh from the egg! I ran upstairs to tell Gus, who couldn't believe it (since he had JUST checked before going upstairs). But yes, our first baby, four days too early! A little Frizzle chicken. Maya has claimed her and named her Midnight. Here she was this morning after Gus moved her into the chick box:

And with her #1 fans, Niko and Maya!

Meanwhile, while we were all loving on little Midnight, one of our Polish eggs started to crack and rock back and forth inside the incubator! Much as before, there didn't seem to be much progress. But Maya and I went to go pick Niko up from Cub Scout Camp at 4:00, and returned home to this:

The kids have named this one Fluffy, and (s)he has just been moved into the box with Midnight. And, as of this writing, our Rhode Island Red egg looks like it might hatch tonight, and the other Polish egg looks like it might have the tiny beginnings of a crack. So, we shall see! The chicks are adorable, though. Let's just cross our fingers that they all end up being girls!

In other news... Niko had his first day of scout camp today, and came home thoroughly filthy and exhausted. It sounded like he had a great day, though there was a lot of discussion about the rules and not as much time spent actually doing the activities. Tomorrow should be better, he says, because he will actually get to shoot with the bow and arrow. He is pretty psyched about that!

Also, my parents closed on their new house this past Thursday morning, and successfully moved their trailer from our driveway to their own that afternoon. They are officially Massachusetts homeowners!

Their stuff should arrive in a few days, and they have been busily getting things done before that happens: repainting, replacing carpet, cleaning, etc. But I know they are eager to see their belongings again, since it has literally been MONTHS since they left California. And it will be fun to see how the house looks when it has all their familiar things in it.

Also this week, the kids and I picked about 10 pounds of blueberries in two visits to our favorite local place. There are never enough blueberries! The kids eat them like candy, and they are SO CHEAP here this time of year. Heaven!

And that's pretty much it! Gus and I have gotten back into our home improvement projects, now that everything is sort of back to normal. I made a walkway, Gus installed some motion-sensor lights in the front and back yards, I power-washed the decks, Gus fixed the roof warmers, I installed a new cupboard in our bathroom... the list goes on and on! But we are back on track, and it feels good.

I will post more on Cub Scout camp at the end of the week when I get pictures-- I can't wait! :)

Maria's Wedding/California Trip in Review

Today is the last day of our trip, and we'll be taking a redeye flight tonight from LAX back to Boston. The kids are currently with Yiayia and Pappou-- they went to see "Inside Out" (Pixar movie) and then get some lunch. And it's raining here, which is weird! Perfect time to try and catch up on blogging before we go!

Our flight out here last week was uneventful. The kids eventually fell asleep, but up until that point they were pleasant seatmates. I sat with them this time (Gus sat behind me). On tonight's flight, I get to be by myself. Yay!

Their first request the next day was to go to In N Out. So we obliged. The first time of many, this trip (I am actually sick of In N Out, which has never happened!)

Then it was time for wedding festivities... First we had the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. It went fine, the dinner was excellent, and the kids really loved getting to hang out some more with Gus' cousin from Chicago (also named Gus, but everyone in the family calls him Bebi).

The next day was wedding day. Both kids were in the wedding, and did an awesome job! I didn't take any photos during the ceremony, but Niko took his job as ring bearer very seriously and walked down the aisle all by himself. And then Maya walked down the aisle as a flower girl, holding the hand of the much littler flower girl who couldn't walk alone. She did awesome! Even though her one hand was full holding Tatiana's hand, she still managed to bend her wrist and flick flowers out of her basket as she walked down. It was hilarious! But she took her assignment very seriously as well. And then, at the reception, we all danced and had a blast!

The next day was very quiet, because we were all tired from such a late/busy day. But the next day, we went to the beach! The waves were a little on the big side, so the kids spent more time playing in the sand, but they had a good time and the weather was perfect!

The next afternoon, we drove up to North Hollywood to visit with our koumbari/ Niko's godparents. We had seen them at the wedding, but it was nice to hang out and talk in a more relaxed environment. The kids adore them!

The next day, we drove over to Huntington Beach to visit my aunt and uncle. We hadn't seen them in way too long! But they are doing well, and the kids enjoyed playing with their dogs.

From there, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed up to Grant and Melissa's house. And we swam! The kids had so much fun together... they could easily play together for days on end, but we just didn't have the time. We are really hoping they come and visit us in Massachusetts, especially now that my (our) mom and dad are there, too! We could have so much fun!!!

The next morning was pretty quiet, back at Yiayia and Pappou's house. Maya helped Yiayia cook, as always (Maya loves cooking!)

That evening, however, was a special one! We had looked into going to a Red Sox game over the summer, but the ticket prices at Fenway are pretty insane. On a whim, I looked to see who the Anaheim Angels would be playing while we were in town and, lo and behold, they were slated to play the Red Sox! How perfect is that???? And since the game was at Angel Stadium, it was much, MUCH cheaper. The kids had an awesome time and made it all the way to the end, even though the Red Sox ended up losing at the last possible moment. Boo! And the game let out at the same time that Disneyland was shooting off its nightly fireworks display next door, so we all stopped and watched that for a bit. It was a great experience-- now we HAVE to go see a game at Fenway!

Today, the kids went to see a movie, then to buy new shoes. Niko had somehow gotten the idea in his head that he reeeeeeeally wanted a pair of Skechers. I'm not sure why-- I think he thinks they help him jump higher? But he is now the proud owner of a blue and lime-green pair. Later in the afternoon, Gus' oldest friend, Min, stopped by with his wife and 8-month-old daughter, Emma. Maya wanted to steal her. SO CUTE! She has little fuzzy chicken hair. I love it!

After that, we gave the kids a long-overdue shower, ate dinner, and loaded up the car. I'm finishing up this blog post as we wait for our flight at LAX. It's been a fun week, but we are looking forward to getting home and sleeping in our own beds tomorrow night!