Category Archives: Scouting

Brandon’s back!!!

Today we picked Brandon  up from Cub scout camp and it was great to see the little guy.  I really missed him, while I knew he’d be just fine I did worry quite a bit.  He said he really enjoyed the medieval theme (of course he’s 8 lol) and made a lot of new friends, whom he’ll see next year because they made a pact to do the same theme in 2020.  He asked if he could do two weeks next year and we’ll see lol as it’s really expensive.

The kids were sleeping in tabins, a cross between a tent and cabin, there was no door so he got eaten alive by mosquitoes. 🙁

Ugh looks terrible but despite the bites, Brandon said the camp was worth it and told Maggie he’d do it again.  It’s great to have the family under my roof again, whenever someone is away i can’t help but worry about their safety.

Brandon’s at camp

So this morning we dropped Brandon off at the Woodland Trails Scout camp, it’s medieval week and he had a big smile on his face when he saw some of the scouters dressed up in capes and with swords.  It’ll be his first time camping out in a tabin and while I know he can handle it just fine, I’m also worried.  To be fair I always worry when Brandon or Maggie is away and prefer that they’re close so I can protect them. Sigh he’s growing up so fast and isn’t my little baby anymore, he’ll have a great time and I can’t wait to see him on Friday.

Beaveree 2019

Yesterday Brandon and I went to the 2019 version of the Beaveree and it was a lot of fun.  Since Brandon’s a Cub, he’s one of the “big kids” and was helping out, I was really proud of what he did but I’ll elaborate on that a bit later in the post.  Our group always puts on a good showing and we had so many kids out we had to split up our group in 2.  I walked around with Nithya with the orange team while Tanya & Sheri went with the reds so there are not that many photos of them lol.

Brandon helped set up the decode the message game and ran a game himself, I was so shocked at how assertive he was organizing the little kids into groups and explaining how things worked.  Obviously it’s great to see my boy grow into a leader and I was definitely proud.

I’ve informed my colony that I will not be returning as a leader next year.  It’s the most rewarding thing I do but I think I’d like to take a break, they have enough leaders in Cubs so I’ll just be a parent who takes pictures of their kid.  Estelle, Imran & Georgia are trying to move into my area soon and if they do they’ll put G into Beavers so maybe I’ll volunteer again, we’ll see what the future brings.

We are outdoor people

Uh well perhaps I should say Brandon and I are, Maggie is a fair weather person. 😉  Saturday after Brandon’s usual activities, we went to Woodbine beach for a walk and it was beautiful!  ~14C though the wind from the lake made it feel a bit colder but that’s alright spring is in the air.

My absolute favorite lens to use is definitely the Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS II, it has such a versatile range and is just so damn good at many things.  A few random shots that I took while we were out, not sure what the rose was about but decided to shoot it anyway.

The only way the weather would have been worse is if it were snowing but near freezing temperatures and rain typically means a lousy time but Scouting goes on rain or shine and it was our spring park clean up at the L’Amoreaux park.

Despite what the adults thought was a crappy situation, the kids had a lot of fun which is great and we collected a fair amount of garbage.  Sigh what in the world goes through someone’s mind when they see a beautiful green space then throw their trash just anywhere. One of the kids took a steak knife so I took that immediately then stabbed a full garbage bag so it’d stay in place and not hurt someone.  Kids & parents were dropping like flies so we cut things short at just over an hour but it’s the lesson that’s more important, respect nature and clean up after yourself.

All the park photos were shot with the 70-200 F2.8L IS II, the rain was relatively heavy at times but woo my Canon 6D MK II & lens are weather sealed!  Love that the equipment can survive that type of environment because we really do things in regardless of what’s in the forecast.

The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling at home, sigh my weekend is over and Monday is going to be super busy but that’s how life goes.

2019 Beaveree

So today was the annual winter Beaveree, it’s where the local Agincourt group comes together and put together for all the Beavers in our area and the kids definitely had fun.  Brandon came with, while he’s a Cub it’s alright if he tags along and he helped keep the younger kids in line. 😉

Obviously I took more photos but only really posted pictures of Brandon because he’s my boy.

On another note I don’t know if I want to do this next year, my heart isn’t really in it anymore now that Brandon is in Cubs.  Maybe taking a break and stepping away is good, there are no shortages of leaders in Cubs and there are quite a few Beaver leaders now so I don’t think they’d miss me too badly…

Winter camp!

So over the weekend Brandon and I attended the Beaver & Cubs winter camp at Durham Forest Educational Center, it’s the same place we go to at the end of year camp and was interesting to see it all covered in snow!  The theme was cooking, the kids made many of their own meals & had a great time along the way.  The weather cooperated, it wasn’t bone chilling cold like earlier in the week thankfully, Saturday it was around -10c which was perfect for our outdoor activities, cold enough the snow didn’t turn into slush and we didn’t sweat too much when doing physical activities.  Sunday was around 0-4C and it was much wetter, still we went for a hike in the morning and that was fun.

We were fortunate that the pipes didn’t freeze over in our cabin, at the building where the co-op students were their pipes froze.  Still the Friday to Saturday night was pretty darn cold and I was shivering at times in my sleeping bag!  It didn’t seem to affect any of the kids though so that’s a positive, I guess I’m just getting old lol.

Tried some “artsy” stuff, unfortunately I didn’t have as much time as I thought I would, the kids are definitely a handful!

Thankfully my job has a lot of flexibility and I’m working from home today, I only got 6 hours of sleep over the weekend and definitely feel like a zombie right now.  Along with work, I also took the Toyota Prius in for a software recall for the inverter so yay I guess.

Downtown walk

Today I met up with Mario for lunch and since he works on Front St, I did my best tourist impression.  Mario’s fun and lunch was great, surprisingly the wings were actually really spicy, most pubs aren’t and I was impressed as I can handle a lot of spice!  After lunch I walked around downtown and took some pictures.

The light in Eaton center kind of sucked and I’m not happy with how that picture turned out but meh I’m still learning.  It’s been a while since I’ve been to Dundas Square and I found it odd that instead of movies or some sort of merchandise being promoted, it was an Amazon Prime TV show.  How the times are a changing, with that said it was also a bit sad to see all the stores on the East side of Yonge closed down just north of Ryerson.  I wonder what they’re going to build in its place, another condo?  Man I’d hate to live there, the transportation infrastructure simply can’t handle all the buildings going up.

I tried an artsy thing with me standing on the island and took a picture of the oncoming traffic (there were no cars close to me) it turned out ok but I’m very much a beginner and new to this stuff.  In the last pic I thought it was odd there were no advertisements at Sheppard station, I dunno I just thought it was neat.

In the evening we did Christmas caroling at the old folks home and man the seniors really do love it & it makes it all worth while.

Cub Scout camp!

So this weekend I went camping with the Cub Scouts and it was better than I thought it would be!  It feels obvious now but the older kids need less babysitting and can keep themselves entertained if need be.  The weather was also pretty good, while there was between 5-10 cm of snow on the ground it was warm and thankfully everyone dressed for the conditions.

Friday night I went out with Darcy later to take a look at the moon, he brought his telescope while I shot some pictures and it turned out pretty well!  The cubs were suppose to shoot their bottle rockets and Brandon decided to have a Christmas tree themed rocket, his went the highest but that was primarily due to luck rather than something we did.  It rained quite a bit on Saturday but again the kids had the proper attire so it wasn’t a problem though we did need to hang up pretty much everyone’s coat and snow pants to dry overnight.  On a side note I’m so happy with Canon’s weather sealing, the 6D MKII had absolutely no problems with the wet & cold weather.  Also loving full frame at night, yes my pictures are grainy but at least they capture something, many of the pics would have been impossible with the old 70D.

We left camp just after lunch, got home and boy was I dying for a shower…  Cleaned up our stuff and relaxed the rest of the day, glad I’m not too sore and am looking to go to work tomorrow to tell the guys about the adventure. 🙂

Cubs camp

Last night, Steve asked if I could attend the Cubs camp next weekend and of course I said yes.  LOL frankly I was looking forward to a weekend without Brandon but I know he wouldn’t ask unless he was short bodies.  Darcy is busy that weekend so I have no problem stepping up to lend a helping hand, though at the same time I think B should start to do these things without me too.

Still I love spending time with my boy and this is an excellent opportunity to see how he deals with the colder temperatures. 🙂