Saturday-  Busy day!  Got up early and updated all my web sites and my blog while I waited for Zach to get up.  Then we went to town to get groceries and more candy (never leave a woman alone in a house full of chocolate!) and a few things for my Lia Sophia party on Wednesday.  Zach carved the pumpkin when we got home.  We cleaned a little, headed for church and then came home, made supper and handed out candy to the trick or treaters while watching the Wild game (which they won-laaa!) Whew!

Sunday-  Woke up at 4:30am.  Obviously I’m not on daylight savings time yet.  After Zach got back from catechism and we ate breakfast we went to town to upgrade our cell phones.  The boys (Jeff being the worst) have been bugging me to do this for months.  Basically, the rest of the day(aside from watching the Vikes win) was spent playing around on their cell phones and trying to figure them out.

Monday-  At Scouts tonight most of the older Scouts helped out with the Eagle Scout project at Oak Lawn Town Hall while some of us leaders stayed behind to help the new scouts work on their Scout and Tenderfoot ranks.

Tuesday-Looked at the wrong clock at work today and left 1 hour earlier then intended for my doctor’s appointment.   Stayed in town for an additional 2 hours to go to the Faith Formation meeting only to find when I got there it had been cancelled.  Grr!  Finished off the evening by making a few snacks for my Lia Sophia jewelry party tomorrow night.

Wednesday- Had my Lia Sophia jewelry party tonight.  Lots of fun!

Thursday- Bible  Study tonight on Matthew 4, Jesus facing temptation in the desert and the start of his public ministry.  Loved when Jeff Cavins talked about how even though Jesus was tempted by the devil he was never enticed.  There is a huge difference.  We had a great discussion tonight with our super group!  Came home and finished watching the Wild game- which we lost.

Friday- Monica & Gracie followed me home from work.  I made polish sausages and tater tot hotdish for supper while Zach & Gracie watched Ratatouille and Monica played Doggie Dash on her computer.  Monica stayed at our house last night while Ty spent the night at his Grandma’s.  The hunters went to bed relatively early to be ready for opening day!

Tonight I had my Lia Sophia Jewelry party and it was fun!  Carrie, my jewelry advisor arrived at 6pm and set up her showcases.  She had a lot of new jewelry pieces since the last show I attended so it was fun to see the new stuff.  I looked up as the first car pulled in, followed by the second car, then the third then the 4th.  Everyone arrived at the same time!  I had 8 guests join me for the evening.

Carrie started tsalking about the jewelry and passing it around for us to look at and try on.  The catalogs never do it justice and everything was so much more beautiful in person.  Everyone was trying on necklaces, bracelets and rings and looking at themselves in the mirrors.  We were all so “accessorized!”

When Carrie was done I set out the appetizers and opened 2 bottles of wine and had cider for those who don’t like wine.  I had shrimp coctail, cheese and crackers, salmon apple wedges with caramel apple dip, and chocolate chip cookie dough truffles.  You know if I’m doing something there has to be food involved!

Now the difficult decisions begin?  What do I get with all my free bonus money?  I’m finding my wish list is way too long!  Will someone please host a party and invite me so I can buy more of the items on my wish list?? lol

Saturday-  Camping with the Mighty Eagles patrol (see previous post).  Jeff’s truck dies and Dondelinger quotes him a price of $1200.00

Sunday-  Got home from camping soaked.  Spent the rest of the day doing laundry to get the smoky smell out of everything.

Monday- Jeff had his truck towed to Tech Auto where they finished the work in a few short hours and charged us $491.00!   Scouts tonight was working on the second half of our physical fitness testing.  We are getting ready for Fall Court of Honor.  Rumor has it over 50 merit badges have been earned since the last court of honor.  That’s awesome.  Way to go 43!

Tuesday-  Picked up Zach from school today.  He was feeling feverish so I took him home.  Thankfully the next day he felt fine.

Wednesday-  A free night at home (yay!).  Got to watch the Wild and was giddy with their 3 goals in 1:47.  It was fun to watch even though they ended up losing.

Thursday- Bible Study tonight was on Matthew 4 where we focused on John the Baptist and his role in the Gospel.  Got home and the sore throat and the cold I was getting really got the best of me so I was in bed by 8:30.

Friday- More rain all morning then in late afternoon came the snow, so the Eagle Scout Project for tonight at 5pm had to be cancelled.  Harvest Ball at St Mathias was still on so that’s where we ended up.

Where has decency and compassion gone?  What happened to humanity?  Why would 20 people think it’s okay to watch and participate in a gang rape on a 15 year old girl that went on for over 2 hours?  I can not imagine the horrors and humiliations that child went through and my heart breaks for her.

      The D.A. must follow through on the threat to prosecute anybody who took photos or videos of this brutal crime with charges of child pornography.  I watched in stunned disbelief as talk show hosts revealed the horrifying details of this savage gang rape and tears ran down my cheeks.  My hope is she will have a strong support network to help her through the difficult upcoming days, months and years ahead. 

Back from our patrol campout this weekend.  Had a great time as usual!

Friday night arrived at the campground only to find that the only tent in the whole campground (the only one camping period) is right smack dab in the middle of where we set up every year.  That kind of threw me for a loop since we need such a big area for our stuff.  So, we drove around looking for other sites and waited for Mark to get there so we could decide on a spot.  We ended up setting up our tents in the dark and then got the fire roaring for heat and supper.  We had roasted wienies and baked beans as well as Oreos (double stuff and peanut butter) for dessert.  We sat up around the campfire until about 11:30 and then went to bed.

The night was a long one.  Even though it was a cool 28 degrees we were toasty in our sleeping bags.  About 3am I realized I needed to go to use the bathroom but I didn’t want to get out of the sleeping bag.  I had just made my mind up to make the move when the pack of coyotes we had heard earlier started barking and howling.  I heard them running closer to the tent then retreat a little.  Needless to say it was about 5:30 before I finally got the courage to get out of the tent!

With plenty of coals left from the night before, starting a fire was easy.  As the rest trickled out of their tents we made Breakfast Burritos, cleaned up and the older boys spent the morning biking the campground while the two new scouts worked on their Scout and Tenderfoot ranks.

After a lunch of ramen soup and sandwiches the boys and their assistant Scoutmaster took off on their 15 mile bike ride.  I was the pace car.  I counted off the miles, kept the bike pump and tools in the car as well as the drinks.  I wanted to attempt the 15 mile myself but I was afraid my old knees wouldn’t take it.  They all did awesome!

Resting up their jelly legs was a necessity before starting supper.  Alvin, one of the dads, gave each boy their own P-38 can opener and they each had to give it a try.  We made Cabin Casserole (not hotdish, Eric!) in the dutch oven as well as caramel sticky buns in the dutch oven for dessert.  Our cooks did a fantastic job because it was all very yummy!

The rain started while we were making supper but it was light so we got through supper and sat around the campfire for a while getting wetter.  At about 8pm we decided the rain wasn’t going to give up so we did.  Two of us took our radios into our tents to listen to the Wild game before falling asleep.

The rain pelted our tents all night.  Most of us woke up wet.  We decided to tear down early, skip breakfast and head for home.  Because one of the 12 points of the scout law is a scout is “reverent” we had a short worship service before we left.  Even though the rain cut our weekend short I think all will agree we had a great time.  Thanks Austin for getting in and cooking at least part of every meal.  Thanks Josiah for trying and completing the 15 mile bike ride.  Thank you Mark for keeping us in wood and the fire roaring and to Alvin for having everything we needed and forgot in your vehicle.  Eric, Andrew, and Zach- you guys always supply the fun.  Can’t wait for our next campout!

Saturday-  Went to Wal-Mart and bought a tall bookshelf.  I was tired of all my books spilling out from under the bed.  It’s full now and I don’t have all my books in it yet!  After lunch I  went and visited the boys at the Muzzleloader cabin.  They hadf a great time shooting all day.

Sunday- After breakfast at the Sawmill Inn and a haircut for Zach at Great Clips;  Jeff, Zach and Tyler (at my Dad’s house) watched the Vikings game.  Then we spent the rest of the day doing housework.  Yah, I know…real exciting!

Monday- Had a Cook-off tonight at Boy Scouts.  No winner was officially announced but all the boys did a fantastic job.  And so creative!

Tuesday- Tri-Parish council tonight was mostly about looking at the new mission statements and yearly goals from each of the 5 commissions and talking about possibly  starting a new commission on evangelization.

Wednesday- Janeen and I finally got around to going out for our birthday margaritas.  I brought home subs (Zach’s favorite) for the guys and we hit the happy hour at Poncho & Lefty’s.  After we were happier, we came home and made up our candy making list for this holiday season.  We will be busy gals!

Thursday-  Zach and Jeff finished the packing I had started earlier for our camping trip this weekend and I went to Bible Study.  Tonight we did the second chapter of Matthew.  The note that stood out tonight was after the magi visited baby Jesus they had to go home a different way.  Once we encounter Christ we can never go back the same way.  We are forever changed.

Friday-  After work today we will be taking off for Rock Lake to go camping with our Mighty Eagles Patrol.  It is supposed to get to 28 degrees overnight and I came down with a cold in anticipation of this, but I am excited none the less!  Supposedly Saturday will be nice for our 15 mile bike ride and Sunday should be just as pleasant.

I’m not worried that our boys won’t get enough to eat on a campout.  They had the opportunity tonight to cook for themselves on a stick, over a fire, or using their tin can stoves they made last week.  Scoutmaster Dan was the taste tester and even though an official winner in the Cook-Off wasn’t declared he proclaimed that everyone’s food was great.

Most of the boys decided to use their tin can stoves for cooking.  Zach made Pita Pocket Pizzas and Pineapple Upside Down “Cake”.(click on favorite recipes tab at top of page for recipes)  Other dishes I saw prepared were: Breakfast Burritos, Apple Pie Burritos, Orange Shell Cake, Venison Sausage Patty, Scrambled Eggs, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Cheesy Alfredo, Tacos, & Popcorn.

Bob, one of our leaders wound some bacon around on a forked stick and cooked that over the fire.  When it was almost done he set some bread on top of the bacon to toast.  It smelled wonderful!  I love the “survival” aspect of some of the things they learn in Boy Scouts.  And the excitement of the boys as they cook their scrambled eggs on top of a hot tin can is contagious!  I love being with this fine group of young men and I will certainly miss them as they grow up, attain Eagle and move on.

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     Over MEA break last weekend the Boy Scouts decided to spend a night at the Muzzleloader Cabin.  Jeff took off Friday and Saturday so he could go with Zach.  In preparation for the weekend event the Scouts made tin can stoves at their last meeting that they were going to use for cooking.  Jeff and Zach bought the food they wanted to cook for the weekend, packed their sleeping bags and guns and headed out.

     Supper Friday night was burgers and chips.  Jeff went to bed at 8pm and Zach at midnight.  The next morning they got a fire going under their tin can stoves and Jeff started cracking eggs to go on top of the can.  There being not too much of a lip on the top of the can he promptly had 4 eggs slide off onto the ground.  At least they had the Little Smokies I had bought to fall back on.  Those at least you can cook on a stick!

     When I arrived for a visit Saturday after lunch they were taking a break from shooting to kick around the football.  After Lonnie & Jennifer took some time to throw together an apple crisp for dessert they headed back to the rifle range.  It looked like everyone had a great time and we thank Lonnie and the Muzzleloader Club for sharing this special spot with us! 

**If you point at the picture on the slideshow it will stop and provide a caption!**

     Our book club,  The Bookies met tonight to review A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  October is traditionally our classics month.  This is not mine nor many bookies’ favorite month but we decided to keep a classic book read in the mix because we think it’s important to really stretch ourselves and read books we wouldn’t otherwise read.  For me it is a stretch because if I didn’t have to I would probably never read another classic.

In the past some of our classics have included Wuthering Heights, Waldon, The Screwtape Letters, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Lady Chatterley’s Lover and now A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  I will have to say that as classics go, this was better then the others but still not quite my style.  We pick our classic read several months in advance to give everyone plenty of time to find the book and get it read.  Normally I will start the book club book a week or less before our meeting so it’s fresh in my mind.  But this book I started 2 weeks before our meeting and really struggled with it.   In fact I practically had to lock myself in my bedroom last weekend just to get it done.  It was very slow moving. 

The meetings however are never dull.  This month we had our meeting at Sheila’s house and it was a potluck featuring foods that were in the book.  Since the family was a very poor Irish family in 1917 Brooklyn there weren’t a lot of really good choices but our Bookies are very creative women.  We had minestrone, potatoes and straka.  We had bread pudding (click on favorite recipes tab at top of page for recipe-stale bread was used a lot throughout the book), penny candy and even Klondike Bars.  Klondike Bars?  Yes, even though they didn’t have Klondike Bars in 1917 the main character did attend a Klondike dance, hence the ice cream dessert.  I told you we are creative!

Saturday-  I woke up at 5:30am this morning, looked out the window and my first thought was WTF?!  This was not what the weatherman predicted!  It better melt fast and get 40 degrees warmer real soon since we will be camping October 23-25 with our Boy Scout Patrol.  After church this evening we went in to town to visit Nana in the hospital.  Her pneumonia is getting better but now they have her insulin all screwed up!

Sunday- Made steak, egg and cheese bagels and hash rounds for breakfast this morning.  “McMommy’s….can I take your order?”  Took the opportunity while the Vikings game was on to pick up Mom and visit Nana in the hospital.  She got out today.

Monday- At Boy Scouts tonight we made tin can stoves for the boys to use at the Muzzleloader campout this weekend.  Jeff has a Friday and Saturday off so he will be camping with Zach for a change.

Tuesday-  Our book club met tonight at Sheila’s house.  We reviewed A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  It was a potluck of foods that were featured in the book.  My friend Lori from work came for the first time tonight and brought her sister with her.

Wednesday- nothing going on.  Enjoyed an evening at home with the fam.

Thursday- Bible Study tonight on Matthew Chapter 1.  Matthew 1 is on the genealogy of Christ and I wondered how Jeff Cavins was going to talk for an hour on just that little chapter, but he did and it was amazing.  As always, I learn so much!

Friday-  Jeff and Zach were at the Muzzleloader cabin for a Boy Scout Campout and I went to my friend Brenda’s for a Lia Sophia party.  My friend Carrie has just started selling Lia Sophia jewelry so I went to support both her and Brenda and I ended up booking a party.  I am such a sucker!  Look for your invitation in the mail soon!