Weekend Away

This past weekend, our family had double the adventures, but we were divided. Allen and Will went with the Cub Scout group, and all the boys had their first backpacking camp-out. Though it was not a long hike, they did hike to the primitive camping area at a state park, camped overnight, then put it all back on their backs to head back in the morning... the very cold morning. (Hopefully a friend will share the only photo that was taken.)

Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to take Ben, Maddie, and Jon to go see my parents. We had a laid-back weekend with no firm plans, but we had a nice time visiting and resting and exploring and learning. We got to Waco Friday evening. Saturday morning, the kids were anxious to get outside to play. When I went out, we four investigated a cedar waxwing that had died after it flew into a window. I was interested in the feather arrangements on the wings, but the kids were curious, too. We were all quite surprised to learn WHY these birds are called "waxwings." The little orange things hanging off the bottom of the wing really look like neon-orange melted wax -- they aren't feathery at all, but may be an odd-shaped extension of the quill. I've read that the color of the wax-tip is determined by what the birds have been eating; based on that, I can only assume these birds have been snacking on orange traffic safety cones -- there really were that bright!

Dad took the kids out in the canoe before lunch. Maddie and Ben tried to fish from the boat while Jon helped Dad paddle. When they were done, the guys fished from the shore for awhile, but I don't think the boys caught anything.

After lunch, Dad and I took the kids to look for fossils in a riverbed. Last summer, Allen and Will and Dad had gone to the same place, but back then, the riverbed was dry. This time, there was water, so we walked along the rocky edge that had an incline. We ended up walking upward slowly -- at one point, I looked over a steep edge and wondered how we got there. Our adventure continued over a hill and then the kids were amazed at the huge hill that they sort of climbed down and slid till were were all at the river again. We did find some fossils, and Dad and I tried to teach the kids how to skip rocks on the water. It was mostly fun, but since I hate heights, I was pretty nervous when we had to pass the steep cliff again -- I was much more afraid the kids would go over, than I was worried about me.

Overall, the weekend was fun for all of us. Allen and Will said they were cold, but comfortable. The others and I were glad to get to visit with my parents, and all of us were ready to begin another busy week.