Long Beach Island

Friday the boys and I met Dawn at a rest stop off the Parkway and drove down together to Long Beach Island State Park. The kids were thrilled to see each other....it's been a year! I was worried that we were going to freeze since it was only supposed to be a high of 70*. It was overcast but off the kids went into the water. The tide was going out and there seemed to be a strong undertow. There weren't any lifeguards on duty and so Dawn and I were a little stressed trying to make sure they didn't wander out too far. We broke for lunch around 1pm and headed down to the south end of the Island. We walked for a while down on the part of the beach where the trucks are allowed to go. The highlight of that walk was a found coconut. The kids all lined up to trows the coconut on the parking lot but Morgan got it open in one throw. Yes, it had been around a while.
We took the kids back to the beach to swim in the small window of sunshine we had. They spent a few hours in the water, shivering and shaking but having fun none the less. It was funny to watch them ride the boogie boards in....they would put the boards down on the sand and wait for the water to come and pick them up. They quickly learned to get some water under them first!
Di

Magness Camp

We attended our annual Cub Scout camp Sunday-Tuesday. This year I insisted that Mike come since they boys would be heading off for the day in opposite directions. Ben was trilled to have HIS friends along this year. The first day we had to pass a swim test so the boys could swim the lake during the camp. If we wanted to take the boys out on the lake in the canoes we, the parents, needed to pass the test as well. So, in 50* water I gamely jumped in, lost my breath and swam the required 25 yds until I could get out. Ben jumps in and can't get his breath so he's doggy paddling across the lake going "uh, uh, uh, uh.....chatter, chatter, chatter...). Poor kid.
They got to throw tomahawks which they enjoyed, as well as the usual archery and BB guns. The second night we had some pretty severe winds which in a tent that is barely even there was interesting. The wind would blow and the tent flags would bang against your cot and the whole tent would billow out and in, out and in. The kids were off around camp with their friends during the down time and you'd only see them when they needed snacks or something. They had a great time and Mike and I survived another year.