Just another day (or 2) at the beach....

Well, I seem to be a week behind these day. April 11 was the 2nd Annual OCS Beach Clean-A-Thon. As a Kindergartener, E-man got to go on his first field trip and first school bus ride, as well as his first clean-a-thon. I got to ride on the bus with the second graders (E-man was way less scared of his first school bus ride than T-bone for his second!), and Pete met us at the beach with his camera.

Getting instruction and splitting into groups (needless to say, T-bone's group filled their pail first, and filled it twice--with just 2 kids!)

Sharing beach rocks with his teachers:
E-man takes a leap!
T-bone enjoys his well-deserved snack:
Our efforts at getting sponsorship, though, showed us how horrible the economy truly is. It's been so much harder getting sponsorships this year. Though we aren't particularly pushy (I think). Between how much harder fundraising is getting, how much the Governator keeps cutting school funding, and the obsession with memorizing standardized test information, I don't see how public schools are going to teach kids any form of problem-solving skills whatsoever. That will make for a great country in 25 years.

Anyway.

It was such a beautiful day on Friday that we went back to the beach Saturday just to play (and it was so clean!). It was 90 degrees and we were there for 5 hours. Yes, five. For the first time ever both boys had tons of fun running in and away from the waves. With some digging and snacking thrown in, of course. Good thing I packed some food!

Spring Break week 2

Oh, I'm behind again! Blogger gives me fits on occasion when trying to add photos. And then I give up.

On to week 2! A great playdate, me trying to recover from the cough with a cold that is going around, some walks, and lots of cub scouts.

First was the Pinewood Derby. 

Go Waste Management! (That would be T-bone's, of course, before it needed emergency repair to put a wheel back on.)

Go, Volvo! That would be E-man's, racing a small white version of our car in the open division, for parents and siblings.

T-bone and E-man were both very excited that E-man's Volvo beat (over 6 heats!) the Ferrari made by the dad that is waaaayyyyyy too into the Pinewood Derby (every pack has one, right?). E-man got second overall, but his victory was beating that Ferrari.

And then followed another week of walks and scooter rides, errands, a big playdate, and checkups at the dentist (they argued about who got to go first!).

And then, the last weekend of Spring Break. Cub Scout Rocket Camp! A weekend camping at the scout reservation in Brea. Making rockets, launching rockets, bikes, BBs, archery, and a skit for T-bone. Making and launching a rocket for E-man. Hunting for frogs, climbing up and down bluffs, sliding down bluffs, soccer at camp, and eating bad food and drinking--well, really, what was that "punch"? Drinking corn syrup and red dye 40, I guess. 

Boys and rockets: E-man's is the Tom and Jerry Shooter, T-bone's was nameless, but said "Keep Space Clean"--of course!
T-bone clips in his rocket.
We have lift-off!
T-bone retrieves his rocket after its 700 foot trip up--and down!
Uh-oh. After many tears, Tom and Jerry was retrieved by dad the next day, after borrowing a very very long polished tree branch from someone in area B. And no one got poison oak!
The sea of tents (the other direction looked the same!).
Lessons learned: someone has a very long pole for the purpose of retrieving rockets from trees, and bring your own food!