Sticky and Sweet!!

Almost every year, the kids put together a gingerbread house....and these easy-to-assemble kits are awesome!! It's so easy that they really didn't need my help, so I was able to sit back and snap some really cute pictures.

While I think more icing and candy went into their mouths rather than on the house, the outcome was super cute....and they had so much fun!!

Mason's side

Reagan's side

During the house making festivities, Adrian was DJing on the computer, so the kids totally had to stop and bust a move (and hopefully burn off some of that sugar!).

Doing the TWIST!!

Check out Reagan's shirt....hehe!!

Festival of Lights at Mike's Farm

Going to Mike's Farm to see the Festival of Lights has been a longtime local tradition here in Jacksonville. Although we have been to Mike's Farm before, tonight was our first time to see the Festival of Lights and it was AWESOME!! We purchased our tickets and although the line was quite long, it moved quickly. While we were waiting, Santa Clause came out to visit!After around 2o minutes, it was finally our turn!! We boarded our hayride bound for a beautiful light show.

The last attraction in the light show was a huge American flag and a Marine kneeling next to the grave of a fallen warrior. The hayride came to a stop and the song "Proud to be an American" was played. Mason and Reagan sang along and it was so sweet! It was the absolute best part of the show!!After the hayride, we checked out the Country Store and Bakery. First, we went into the Christmas store, which had so many breakable ornaments.....not protected in boxes, but hanging from trees and all I could imagine every time the kids went up to admire one, was the sound of shattering glass and the four of us leaving the store with our heads hung low. Needless to say, we got outta there quickly! Our next stop was the Bakery. Everyting was so old-timey and all the drinks were served in glass bottles. And while I like Coke, I LOVE Coke in a glass bottle (seriously, it tastes so much better!), so I was grinning from ear to ear when I saw them in the cooler! We bought a few sweet treats, popped the caps off our drinks and found a nice place to sit inside. The kids picked big-as-the-size-of-your-head chocolate chip cookies, I got a cream cheese puff (delicious!) and Adrian got an apple jack, which he LOVED and couldn't stop talking about all night! I admit, it was soooo good and the moment I took a bite, it reminded me of my Granny Scott's apple turnovers.

Cheers!

On the way out, I snapped a few cute pictures of the kids.

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree!!

The kids especially liked the outhouse. Potty humor....when will it end???

We even ran into a sheep and a donkey on the way out. It is a farm, afterall!

Pack 90 December Meeting

Pack 90 held their monthly meeting tonight at Bitz (Mason's school). A pack meeting is were all the Dens (Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Weeblos 1 &2) of Camp Lejeune get together to recognize each individual scout's achievements. They also have a color guard, play games and ususally have a performance by one of the Dens. This month, our Bear Den led a Christmas cheer.

Bear Den 7

"We say 'Merry'......"

".......You say 'Christmas!!'"

After the cheer, each Den was called up and belt loops and patches were passed out. In addition to Mason's belt loops and patches, he was awarded a medal for his 2nd place finish in the Raingutter Regatta.

Receiving his belt loops and patches from Mrs. Amy.

Raingutter Regatta Medals
Mason - 2nd, Jaron - 1st and Mark - 3rd

So proud of his medal!!

After the awards, they all played a fun game where they had to race around a loop while balancing a (shatterproof!!) Christmas ornament in a spoon. Fun!!

Mason's Awards:

BB Shooting, Archery and Fishing Belt Loops

Space Derby and Raingutter Regatta Patches and Raingutter Regatta Medal

Reagan Lopez, V.I.P.

This week, Reagan was selected as the Student of the Week in Mrs. Adam's classroom. On Wednesday, she was presented with a V.I.P. award and given a pencil and a certificate for a free kids meal at Logan's Roadhouse. An "All About Me" sign that lists some of her favorite things and a few pictures of her hung on a bulletin board in the hallway all week long. This morning, Adrian and I were invited to share in a V.I.P. breakfast with her in the cafeteria. She may only be V.I.P. at school for one week, but she is always a V.I.P. to us!!

Receiving her V.I.P. award from Mrs. Perry, Principal.

"All About Me"

"The Gingerbread Man"

What a day it has been for Reagan! Not only was she V.I.P. this week, but today her class put on an AMAZING Christmas play!! Mr. Robinson, the school Music Teacher, wrote the play and composed the music based on the books "The Gingerbread Baby" and "Gingerbread Friends" written by childrens author Jan Brett. For weeks, the kids have been learning their lines, creating their costumes, working on backdrops and the results were FABULOUS! The play told the story of 4 gingerbread men (played by Reagan, Kristian, Tyree and Jeffrey) who are always running, trying not to get caught by the old people, butchers, cows and pigs, but are finally eaten by the sneaky wolves. Everytime one of the groups of characters tried to eat the gingerbread men, they would run from them, singing "Run, run, fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man. No, no , I won't come back. I'd rather run than be your snack!"

Popping out of the oven, freshly baked by the old people.

Talking things over with the butchers.

RUN!!Lauren, a narrator, and the Cows
The PigsReagan and her friend Kristian singing "Run, run, fast as you can......"

Those sneaky wolves, doing the "I Missed The Bus" dance.End of the play singing "We hope you enjoyed our Gingerbread Show. We have a secret we want you to know. Gingerbread is what we like to eat." to the tune of "Santa Clause is Coming to Town."

Reagan with her teacher Mrs. Adams.

Grace and Reagan

Carlee, Lauren and Reagan....the Tripod!

Kudos to Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Flott, Mr. Robinson and all the students on a wonderful job!!