The MacFarland's » Events

McKinney Falls

krmac — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:32:44 +0000

Saturday we drove out to McKinney Falls State Park to spend the day with our Cub Scout Pack. It was a gorgeous day, the weather was great with a gentle breeze…a perfect spring day! We got there around 9:30am and I got ready to teach a lesson on Geology. The boys enjoyed it and I had brought along several rocks for them to look at, which they loved. What boy doesn’t like rocks? After the lesson, we had several hours to kill as we waited for the 2pm group hike to start. We ended up hiking and exploring both the upper and lower falls, which were just so pretty. The best part of the scenery for me was the massive amounts of bluebonnets! I have never seen so many in my entire life, they were everywhere you looked, in thick patches along the park roads. During our hikes we were surrounded by tons of other kinds of wildflowers which were equally as beautiful. I spent the whole day in awe of Mother Nature. And I don’t think the camera ever left my hand! Later on we met up with our group and enjoyed another hike to the falls, a repeat of what we had done earlier as a family. It was fun, but after being in the sun for so long already that morning, we got hot and tired pretty quick. Luckily most of the hike was in the dense shade except for the area around the lower falls. It reminded us of how the surface of the moon looks. After our group hike we rested back at camp and watched the boys play. Dinner time came and we enjoyed a group cookout with our den and a few members of the other Bear den. We enjoyed hot dogs, grilled chicken, salad and homemade dutch oven bread and apple cobbler cooked up by a dad in our den. Mmmmm good! After dinner we all met as a pack around the campfire and listened to some jokes and funny stories. After that we had a flag retirement ceremony which was unexpectedly moving and emotional. Most everyone, including myself have never seen one so it was very neat to be able to pay respect to our country’s flag and give it a proper send off. The boys stayed so silent and so engaged, we were all so proud of them! I don’t think there has ever been a time when all the boys sat that still and quiet. You could have heard a leaf fall in the woods, literally. Even though we didn’t camp overnight, it was another fun day spent with friends, who are more and more every day becoming like family.

See the rest of our photos here

Cameron Park Zoo

krmac — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:55:35 +0000

Saturday we met up with our parents in Waco and had lunch together then surprised the kids with a trip to the Cameron Park Zoo. The whole thing was actually a surprise for Brady for his birthday. 2 weeks ago we planned everything out that we would all meet at Luby’s and the grandparents would surprise him. The timing worked out beautifully and all the grandparents were waiting inside when we pulled up. We told the kids we were just stopping for a bit to have lunch then we had 5 more hours in the car. Yes, we are cruel, I know Brady’s face was so funny, he looked like he was thinking he was being set up or something. I think he was genuinely shocked to see them. We hadn’t told the kids anything about the day except that we would be driving somewhere fun. They had all sorts of guesses but never guessed we would be meeting the grandparents for an exciting day in Waco. The zoo was so much fun! None of us had ever been so it was exciting getting to check it all out. The kids had a blast and I think everyone else did too! Click on the link below to see the photos from our fun filled day at the Cameron Park Zoo.

Zoo Photos

Happy 100th Birthday BSA!

krmac — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:12:33 +0000

Saturday was our annual Blue and Gold Banquet and we celebrated by throwing a birthday party in honor of the 100th year of Boy Scouts of America. This year as Bears, we were responsible for putting on the banquet, which was a major undertaking. I have the best den as everyone pitched in and pulled their weight to make this event happen. The night was wonderful, everything went perfectly and everyone looked like they enjoyed themselves. Saturday morning I met our den up at the church to get everything set up. We had to set up roughly 32 banquet tables and 240 chairs. Then since I was responsible for centerpieces and table decorations, I went to work with a couple of great helpers and got it all looking great. I couldn’t have done it without my awesome den moms and their daughters, who were so eager to help and got things put out correctly without me even having to give them instructions…so proud! That night the girls also headed up the ticket and check-in table and did a mighty fine job of it. Even though the day was very stressful trying to get things in order, it was fun being stressed out with my den parents. I really do have such a great group! After we rushed to get all 240 people served their dinner, we were able to sit down and enjoy the events. Each den was called up on the stage to be recognized with their badges. All ten boys who started out the year, graduated and got their badge…what an accomplishment! I think we might have been the only den that had all of their boys graduate. I am one proud den leader! The biggest moment of the night for us was when Brady won the category of “Most Campy” in the dessert contest. His face was priceless when he heard his name called, he was so happy and I was happy for him. We closed out the night by saying goodbye to our Webelos II scouts with the Arrow of Light Ceremony performed by a local Order of the Arrow troop, which is like the honor society of scouting. We also said goodbye to some great leaders including our current Cubmaster who will be moving onto Boy Scouts with his son. It was an overall wonderful night and was so happy that everything went as planned. I can’t wait to sit back next year and watch the new Bear parents do all the work!

Here are some photos from the evening

Pinewood Derby

krmac — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:30:42 +0000

Today we were up bright and early for our cub scout pack’s pinewood derby car races. Brady and Scott worked really hard on B’s car and it turned out really good! Brady drew up his own plan and Scott let him use the saw (with help of course) to cut out his design. They then worked on sanding the body and polishing the wheels and axles. Then Brady painted it and I helped him apply the decals. The last step and the most important was to put the weights on and put graphite on the wheels to make them zoom. His car was the fastest out of our den and he came in 4th overall for our age group. Not bad! We thought he would end up in third place and advance to the finals, but it wasn’t to be. We are all very satisfied though because he had a much faster car this year than last. Brady had a great time and I loved watching the faces of all the boys…the winning, the losing, the happy and the dissapointed. It’s all an important thing to experience for these young boys. They were all such good sports and even if they didn’t do too good, they were happy for one another and happy and clapping for the winners….that is what it is all about!

Happy Halloween!

krmac — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:32:25 +0000

We had a really fun Halloween and the kids loaded up on candy. At first we didn’t think our little candy corn witch was going to be trick or treating with us. Friday night she came down with a stomach virus and it looked like she wasn’t going to get to celebrate with us. She took a long nap Saturday afternoon and woke up feeling a little better and decided she wanted to dress up and walk around. She did fine and I think forgot about being sick. Brady had fun seeing all his friends come by all dressed up. He was dressed up as a zombie doctor and pulled it off quite good, I just loved his costume! I love Halloween and am so glad Kacey was feeling better. She looked so sweet in her candy corn witch costume. There were so many cute kids in cute costumes and we actually ran out of candy this year!

Elbow Deep in Pumpkin Guts!

krmac — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:04:13 +0000

Last night the kids and I carved the first of the two pumpkins that we bought this weekend at the Pumpkin Patch. We decided to do a traditional jack-o-lantern face since it’s been a few years. The kids helped me cut out the eyes and nose and loved getting their hands all in the squishy pumpkin guts. Tonight I will tackle the larger pumpkin and we still need to decide how we want to carve it. Scott snapped some photos during last night’s carving session…he makes a pretty good photographer

Cub Scout Campout

krmac — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:47:45 +0000

UPDATED: Skit Video, Revised Top Ten List and The Lizard Story that I can’t believe I forgot to tell.

This weekend was our Fall Cub Scout campout at the gorgeous Inks Lake State Park. We had a blast hiking, sitting around the campfire on the cold nights and watching the boys go crazy. Saturday morning all the dens met at one of the trails to take a lengthy, scenic hike. After that it was back to camp for some lunch then den activities. Our den worked on the Wildlife Conservation Belt Loop and we worked on our skit. We got to take a little rest after our belt loop work then it was time for the Pack games. Lots of team-building games and of course everyone’s favorite, a massive tug of war. And just like last year, it ended up being parents versus kids. After the Pack games it was time for our Pack cookout and campfire. Lots of good food and lots of joke telling, then all of the dens performed their skits. Ours got good laughs and the boys did great! Sunday morning before we left our family rented a paddleboat and went around a small part of the lake. The kids thought that was just awesome. We made it home around 1:30pm…sunburnt, exhausted and filthy but wouldn’t trade any of it! Priceless memories were made this weekend.

{Update} Scott brought it to my attention that I forgot to mention the funny thing that happened as we were packing to leave on Sunday. Scott and I had just folded up the tent and I looked down and noticed a lizard on the tarp that had been under our tent. It wasn’t just any lizard, but a good sized Texas Spiny Lizard. I called Brady and some other kids over to look at it and when Brady stepped up to it, it scampered to my boot. I said “I think it’s under my boot” and Scott replied that it wasn’t under my boot but had gone up my pant leg. I thought “Nah, couldn’t have” then about that time I felt something going up my pants!!! The lizard had indeed found shelter from the kids in the comfort of my sweatpant leg. I quickly put my hand down on my leg so he couldn’t go any further then bent over and folded up my pant leg to reveal the creature clinging to the inside of my pants. The kids were going nuts and one of the parents even came over to see what the comotion was about. It was really neat and I don’t think any of us will ever forget that moment!! We all got a chance to touch him, he seemed really tame. He jumped to my other leg then down to the ground where he ran to a nearby hole in a tree. I really wish I would have had the camera with me at that moment.

Check out all the photos HERE

MY TOP TEN THINGS I LEARNED THIS WEEKEND……

1. Boys are attracted to fire, no matter what the age.

2. If there is water, young boys will find it.

3. Trying to herd a group of boys is like trying to herd a group of wild buffalo.

4. Jiffy Pop will catch on fire when being used in a manner not consistent with the directions on the label.

5. Walking to the bathrooms by yourself in the middle of the night, while camping, is scary.

6. Little boys are most content when they find a dead fish to play with. Keeps them entertained for hours.

7. Putting your hand down on a little green, fuzzy caterpillar is no fun, just ask Kacey.

8. The smell of smoke from a campfire doesn’t easily come out of your hair or your clothes.

9. Getting into the wild outdoors is one of the funnest things I could possibly do with my family.

10. Packing up to leave is not nearly as fun as getting there and setting it up.

Our Den’s Skit for the Pack Cookout

Down on the Farm

krmac — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:26:43 +0000

Yesterday Kacey and I accompanied Brady’s second grade class on their field trip to Elgin Christmas Tree Farm. We left the school at 9:15am met the buses there around 10am. When I first found out that they would be going here for their spring field trip, I was puzzled and kept wondering why they chose this over some of the other things they could have done. I mean, come on, a Christmas Tree Farm…in the spring?! Well, turns out that the Farm operates not only during Christmas but October and April as well. In April they open the farm up to school field trips only. It was a very nice day and the kids (and me) had such a fun time. When we first got there our class headed over to a barn where they each planted some wildflowers in a cup to take home. There were plenty of animals to pet, even some baby goats, kittens and ducks. Sally the Bassett Hound was a hit and if I could have smugled her out of there without being noticed, I would have. The kids got to run through a maze, although it is still being built and will eventually be a maze of 6 foot tall wood fencing. As you will see in the pictures, even with just the orange netting, the kids kept going in circles trying to get out, all the adults thought it was so funny! We ate lunch under a big pavilion and listened to one of the ladies that works on the farm talk about what it takes to raise the trees. We were shocked to hear that last year they lost many trees due to the 8 month drought. That’s right…8 whole months without a single drop of rain! She also did a project with the kids that involved making a flower out of a pencil, some clay and a pipecleaner. While the kids worked on their projects she talked more in depth about growing plants and flowers and what they need to grow. After lunch we all hopped on a lengthy hayride that criss crossed and went all around the huge property. The tractor driver dropped us off at a play area back in the trees. The kids got to play for a bit before it was time to leave. It was a fun day, complete with a few sunburns and some alleriges, but all in all it was a blast! The kids and I decided we really need to go back during Halloween and Christmas. Click on the picture below to view all of the photos.

Take me out to the ball game

krmac — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:31:45 +0000

Last night we went to game 2 of the opening season series for the Round Rock Express. For anybody who doesn’t know, the Express are the AAA team for the Houston Astros. Even though they lost, it was a great game with a few really good plays by both teams. Scott enjoyed explaining the game to Brady and Kacey sat still and did really good for most of it. We pigged out on hot dogs, nachos and cotton candy. I just love being out at the ball park, there is just something about the smells, the sounds, the atmosphere. I love the sound of a fastball going into the catcher’s glove. I love the sound of the crowd cheering. After the game, we watched the fireworks show. It was great and had a fantastic ending. We really enjoyed our evening and the weather was perfect!

Here are the rest of the photos from last night.

Kacey’s Preschool Class Egg Hunt

krmac — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:18:44 +0000

Today Kacey’s preschool class had their Easter egg hunt and boy were they all going crazy! The teachers had them line up at the entrance to the playground then opened up the gate and let them run in to find all of the eggs. It was more like an egg scramble than a hunt! It was cute seeing all of them finding and comparing their eggs.