Blanchard Springs! (Day Two)

To read the first part of this post, go here.

Surprisingly enough, sleeping in a tent on the ground is not the most comfortable of beds.  Shocking, I know.  I forgot to pack pillows, too, and we were short one sleeping bag so, well...you can imagine.  I also forgot how every sound is heard through a single-skin tent wall (or any tent wall for that matter)...both inside and outside.  Several of us caught bits and pieces of a bedtime story that Justin shared with the kids.  (Apparently each one of them contributed to the story which involved giant roaches, a Princess Gima, vampire bats, and trying to make the kingdom the worst in the land.  Humorous to say the least.)  You also find out rather quickly who the snorers are around you and uh, who knew leaves were so loud?!   Anyway, we survived and the kids actually slept better than I anticipated.

When we finally ventured out of our tent Sunday morning, several people were already awake and making breakfast.  The kids were in quite a hurry to get back to their cave, particularly Sadie, so I didn't even bother with changing her jeans.  I was kind of surprised that Justin didn't change Sadie and Josiah into their pajamas the night before (although, I'm surprised at myself for being surprised.  Dads don't typically worry or think about that sort of stuff.).  Truth be told, they were probably warmer in their clothes than they would have been in their pjs.  Still, if she was that excited about "caving" (which would undoubtedly lead to muddy pants), why change her?  So, off she went to have another adventure.  She also made a fierce and fast friend while we were there.  One of the other tiger den leaders has a daughter around her same age.  They were having a blast finding bugs and chasing each other.  As I write this, it strikes me as extremely ironic that Sadie is so much more of a Miss Priss at home, a real fashionista, but also exhibits many "tomboy" behaviors outdoors.  She didn't shriek when she saw the bat, grasshopper, praying mantises, walking sticks, or stink bugs.  At home, she'd call them "yucky bugs" and quickly try to "killed them" but out among nature she was fascinated and wanted to see them up close.

While the kids were off exploring and climbing trees, Justin and I attempted to help with breakfast.  We learned a lot about how to cook over a campfire or camping stove.  Dutch ovens are apparently a camper's must-have.  I don't believe there's much of anything that can't be made in a dutch oven.  Also, Justin was even told that you can cook bacon and eggs in a paper bag.  Somehow the grease is supposed to keep the bag from catching on fire??  We're planning to google that one.  Sounds kind of weird, if you ask me.  And did you know you can make omelets by placing prepared baggies into boiling water?  We also watched our friends roast biscuits on a stick.  It was quite a lesson in camping cuisine. ;)

Our other den leader, Kerry, went overboard fixing our meals.  Not that I'm complaining, we probably ate better than any other den there!  He made cheeseburgers for lunch Saturday and pancakes, bacon, eggs, and biscuits for breakfast Sunday.  He would have made some gravy, too, if we'd had any flour.  Saturday night's meal was provided by the Pack.  Yummy taco soup ladled over corn chips and topped with cheese.  It was all so good!  Big thanks to Kerry for our den meals and Adam for Saturday night's meal.

Once everyone had had a chance to eat, we met over in the amphitheater for communion and group pictures before breaking camp.  I was really impressed that a communion was planned and offered at this event.  There's something about taking communion with believers outside of our typical fellowship and assembly that opens my eyes to how much more we are connected to Jesus across "denominational" lines or circles.  Whatever our theological differences may be, we are still brothers and sisters in Christ communing together around His Holy Table.  How much greater is our God than we could ever comprehend!  The change of atmosphere and seeing and hearing the beauty of God's creation all around us was indescribably moving.  It was a welcomed breath of fresh air and perspective.

Next, photo time!  Of course, taking pictures of a large group doesn't come without its challenges...particularly when your subjects are elementary kids...and particularly when they're boys. :)  We were able to get some decent shots, though.  Here is a photo of just our den.  We're in the middle holding boy, girl, boy.  Do you see us? :)

After the photos, we broke camp and then started our service project of cleaning up trash around our camping site.  Our boys were certainly not very interested until I tried to make it more like a game.  "Can you find the soda can?  The first person to find the soda can and bring it to me gets a piece of candy when we get home!"  That definitely got Josiah's attention.  He'd earned two pieces in a matter of minutes.  I know some people frown upon rewarding with food or candy, but what can I say?  It works. :)

After gathering trash, it was clear that the boys were ready to go home, evidenced by the fact that they came and told us so. ;)  We told them we were going to take a little hike first and that idea was met with dismay.  "No, not a hike.  I want to go home," in a whiny, pleading voice.  Nonetheless, this was part of an achievement and Justin and I were pretty sure that they'd change their minds once they saw where we were hiking.  (And we were right.  When it was time to go, it was non-stop, "I don't want to go home.  I want to hike some more.")  

This was my first time to Blanchard Springs so I didn't really know what to expect.  It was a short walk from the parking area and we quickly met up with some of our other cub scout compadres gathered around the spring, some wading in the waters.  I guess Josiah wanted to try his hand at that because he made his way out onto the rocks and into the water before we could say boo.  Of course, he slipped once or twice and soaked his shoes, socks, and jeans.  That's when I looked at Justin who was standing some distance away and said deliberately so everyone could hear, "Look at what your son just did."  haha  Well, his son nearly gave me a heart attack skipping across some rocks that were dangerously close to where the "pool" ended and the "stream" began, if you catch my drift.  He could have easily slipped and hit his head on a rock.  The water was pretty shallow so I wasn't really worried about him drowning...more losing his footing and smashing his head on a rock or breaking a leg.  He's fairly accident-prone, so I don't think I was overreacting.  Needless to say, his wet clothes marked the end of our hike and the beginning of our good-byes.  I snapped a few pics that I'll hopefully be able to post soon.  Sadie looked exceptionally beautiful with her dirt-covered face, too. *wink* 

The spring was refreshing and beckoned me to stick my feet in but I refrained.  Definitely worth the stop before leaving, despite the soggy outcome.  I just love the sound of a mountain stream.  It's so calming and relaxing.  We'd like to take a trip back there again sometime.  Who knows?  Maybe the cub scouts will go again next year and I can wade in the water then. ;)  There was also a small waterfall that we stopped to see.  I was the only one to get out of the car that time, just to get a picture.  Everyone else stayed in the car and saw it through glass.

On the drive home, Josiah started feeling sick.  We tried our usual trick of turning the air on full blast (which just about resulted in human popsicles) and I had found some peppermint oil that I used on our last trip to Georgia for motion sickness.  You just dab a few drops onto your finger and then rub them on the soft pocket behind their ears.  It normally works like a charm but I think we were too late getting it on him.  We had to stop but escaped any major mishaps requiring major cleaning, thank goodness.  He was fine after that.

When we finally arrived, we were all so happy to be home.  We really had a marvelous time but all 5 of us were completely wiped out!  All 3 of the kids fell asleep during some part of the drive and Jackson was still asleep when I turned the car off.  Poor little guy is at home sick today, too.  The nurse called me this morning to come pick him up from school.  The principal walked him to the office straight from the cafeteria after he didn't eat any of his breakfast (which I'm happy to hear is unusual) and coming in crying.  He never even made it to his classroom.  He has a small ulcer in his throat and a low-grade fever.  It's certainly not slowing him down, though, or keeping him from talking.  Hopefully, he'll feel well enough to return to school tomorrow.  I'm supposed to give a presentation to Josiah's class in the morning about our Native American heritage.  I really don't know a whole lot about that side of my family but the internet actually fills in many of the gaps.  Please keep us in your prayers, that Jackson will heal quickly and be well enough to go to school tomorrow and that I'll have a presentation interesting enough to hold the attention of a bunch of 5 year olds.  I'll let you know how it goes, if I'm able to make it!

Blanchard Springs! (Day One)

We had a marvelous time this weekend with our fellow cub scouts and their families at Blanchard Springs Caverns in Fifty Six, Arkansas.  (Yes, that really is the name. :))  (This was also the very first Lillard family camping trip!  The very first time Josiah or Sadie had ever been camping and the very first time we'd gone together as a family.)  What beautiful country!  I really wish I could post pics from this trip.  I'm really getting sick of using disposable cameras.  (Someone, please tell my husband to get me a digital camera for Christmas! ;) )  I never know if my shots are any good and I can't immediately come home and post them online.  Instead, the questionable quality images sit trapped inside the disposable until all the exposures are, well, exposed and then developed.  So, I will try to remember to post pictures (if any of them turn out decent enough) but I'm not making any promises.  That's how I get myself into trouble...broken promises. ;)

Anyway, some from our group went up Friday instead of Saturday.  We considered doing that too but decided not to because #1-Justin works until 5 and it gets dark around 5:30 now ever since the time change took effect.  Putting up a tent in the dark is not my idea of a good time.  #2-Even if someone put our tent up for us (which they did. Thank you, Kerry!), we'd still be driving in the dark on unfamiliar roads, with one working headlight and a husband who is teetering on the verge of "night blindness".  We'd all like to get there in one piece, if you know what I mean.  And #3-We figured as soon as we got there, Jackson's "meltdown clock" would start ticking.  We thought it best to leave as much sand in that hourglass as possible.  All things considered, I think it was absolutely the right decision!

We left the house Saturday about an hour and a half later than I had hoped but I didn't get myself worked into a tizzy about it like I've been known to do. ;)  This was, after all, supposed to be a nice, relaxing, and fun weekend getaway.  I was not about to let 90 minutes of "disappointment" ruin an otherwise fantastic 2 days!  We weren't in any danger of missing the first scheduled activity anyway, the cavern tour, so we took (in my opinion) a leisurely drive to our destination.  I say "in my opinion" because I was driving.  Justin probably has a much different perspective seeing as he started singing to me a time or two on a couple of mountainous curves.  (Yes, I meant singing.)  After one occasion, I heard my precious echo from the back seat say, "Yeah, Dad.  Relax.  Everything's fine."  Love that girl! LOL

 The drive alone was gorgeous.  We hadn't gone very far when it occurred to me that I forgot to make sure we had dramamine.  All 3 of our young ones are prone to motion/carsickness but that's especially true of Josiah.  We've had more emergency stops than I care to remember in our long road trip history.  I did not want to have another one.  I'm happy to say that we made it to our campsite without incident!

Our group campsite was AMAZING.  And when I say amazing, I mean we literally had our own cave...with bats!  Don't worry.  We didn't pitch our tents in the cave.  Although, I don't think our kids would have minded it if we had.  They absolutely loved that cave!  (And there were only 2 little bats in there. Harmless, really.;) )  Jackson also found a climbing tree.  We didn't have to worry too much about where our kids were whenever we were at camp because 99.9% of the time, they were either in the cave or around (or on) that climbing tree.  Justin and I have decided that we're in the market for a cave now.  If you know where we can get one real cheap, please let us know! ;)  Still undecided on the climbing tree, though.  Jackson has no trouble climbing UP the tree.  It's climbing DOWN that causes an occasional problem or two.  We're not in the market for broken arms and/or legs so, best wait on the tree.  But, caves.  Caves are good. lol

The cave tour was fun, too.  Thankfully, they did NOT turn out all the lights inside the cave.  I think I personally would have enjoyed a demonstration like that but not with my kids in tow.  There would have been much weeping and gnashing of teeth...and clawing at Mommy.  You could tell Sadie was scared because she kept covering her ears.  Not eyes.  E.a.r.s.  Silly girl.  Josiah wanted to be held nearly the whole time and Jackson kept reminding us that he wanted to go home.  (I know what you're thinking.  "Yeah, Steph.  That sounds like great fun!"  It really wasn't as bad as it sounds, though.)  I'm really proud of them, actually.  They didn't scream or cry.  They pressed on and began to lighten up the longer we were in there.  Jackson pointed out a rock in the cave that looked to him like a dragon (and when I looked, it did look a lot like a dragon's head) and Josiah even tried to share a joke with everyone during one of the group talking stops that was riddled with bad jokes. Wanna hear it?  Question: "How many bats are in a cave?"  Answer: "One."  I warned you they were bad.  His was funny simply because it was so bad! lol

Back at camp later, our fearless leader Adam, demonstrated a science experiment with all our cub scouts involving water, an air pump, and 2-liter soda bottles.  Jackson wasn't very interested at first.  This demonstration was too close to his climbing tree and cave.  He's a boy of action and has little use or time for words.  But once he saw that bottle rocket into the air, Adam had his full attention.  Jackson laughed so incredibly loud every time a bottle left the ground after that.  We should really expose him to "The Three Stooges" because he loves slapstick humor. :)

Saturday night, all the dens each put on a skit for the pack.  They were really cute.  Our den's skit was kind of like a TV news interview gone terribly wrong.  I was the reporter interviewing the Tiger Cubs and asking each of them what they liked about being a Tiger Cub.  The first one (my son) said "Nothing." (Yeah, I'm thrilled with that answer. *insert sarcasm*)  Others said, "Because you can shoot bow and arrows, b-b guns, use pocketknives, build fires, and it's fun."  I asked if I could be a tiger cub and was told no.  When I asked why, I expected to be told I was too old but noooooo...instead, I was told it was because I'm a girl.  I have to be in girl scouts, not boy scouts.  (I think Girl Scouts of America could learn a valuable lesson from this, don't you? ;))

After the skits we all settled in around our respective campfires and just enjoyed each other's company while the majority of the boys ran wild in the field with their glow sticks screaming, chasing each other, and just having an all around wonderful time.  Our kids stayed with us and made smores.  What's a campout without smores, right?  By 8 PM it felt like midnight for all of us.  Justin took Josiah to the tent to sleep but Sadie followed him in and they started playing instead.  So, the 3 of them made up a bedtime story and it's entirely possible that Justin was the first to fall asleep.  All I know is that he never came back out that night. :)  In the meantime, I was sitting in someone else's camping chair with our 6 year old in my lap who was just as fast asleep as they come.  I do not know how I managed to get out of that chair holding him but somehow I did.  Special thanks to Meredith for unzipping our tent so I could get him inside without dropping him! :)

This pretty much sums up Day 1 of the weekend trip.  I'm gonna stop here for the night because I'm extremely tired and this post is already too long.  Day 2 tomorrow.  More fun stuff!

Link to: Day 2