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Summer Camps

  • June 13, 2011 8:55 pm

We are almost half way into our second week of summer, and the Summer Camp Schedule has begun around the Scroggins household.  There are so many to choose from, we could be busy every single day for the rest of the summer–you name it and there’s a camp:  softball, baseball, volleyball, basketball, vacation bible school, football, and that’s just the sports.  There’s also Vacation Bible School, science camp, photography camp, scrapbooking camp, and the Library Reading Club.  The list is endless and plentiful, which is really amazing for our little town.  We’ve signed up for a select few-not too many, but just enough to decrease the boredom factor for the kids and increase the productivity factor for the Mommy.  It’s a win-win for everyone.

Check out the Decatur High School Website for sports camps and the Learning Ladder in Decatur for other academic camps.  If you have any information on other camps in Wise County for our kiddos, post the information in the comments section.  Thanks!

Community Garage Sale this Saturday!!

  • April 14, 2011 2:40 pm

All that Spring Cleaning might just pay off this weekend-literally!  Decatur is hosting a community wide garage sale this Saturday, and we have merged with some friends and been put ON THE MAP.  My attic is already thanking me, and yesterday when we were organizing the loot to sell, I found a few treasures I didn’t even know I needed!

Since we’ve had all these kids, we’ve had a few garage sales through the years, and one little tradition that we started and the kids love is the Lemonade Stand.  Around here it can be a little difficult to set up a true Lemonade Stand on a hot summer day and actually get any customers to stop.  But, on Garage Sale day, there are TONS of customers, and they always fall victim to the cute, smiling faces manning the Stand.  Last year was the first year I let them do it all on their own, from making the lemonade to making the change.  They did a pretty good job, and made a whopping ten bucks in the end (that’s a lot when you consider each glass was only a ten cents!).

This year they are planning the lemonade stand again between softball, tball, and baseball games.  It might not be as lucrative as in past years with the inconsistent employee schedule, but I’m guessing it will be just as much fun.

So everyone gear up for a day of shopping Decatur Garages!  You never know the treasures you might find on someone’s lawn, and the gleam you might ignite in a child’s eye!

A backyard campout

  • April 11, 2011 12:01 pm

We love camping at our house.  My husband and I started camping in college, and it quickly became one of our favorite hobbies–enough so that we centered entire vacations around which state parks we would visit and set up camp.  Once the babies came along, the camping slowed a little, although we still tried to fit it in where we could.  Now that they are older, camping would be another fantastic plan, but now we have the problem of our Calendar…so camping has to compete with baseball, school, piano, etc.

Solution:  Backyard Campout

That’s how we spent our weekend.  We pitched tents, few kites, and played kickball.  I’d wanted to include s’mores and hot dogs around a campfire, but the one million hour winds shot that part of the plan down.  We improvised and cooked s’mores in the oven (I didn’t even know you could do that!), and I think still had a Super Fun time…not to mention a budget-friendly time.

Moral:  Backyard Campouts are crazy, cheap family fun!

Wise Hoops!!

  • March 30, 2011 6:52 pm

It’s that time of year again!  The Decatur Junior Woman’s Club is hosting its annual 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament on Friday April 15th.  Gather a few friends and pick up some games for the Midnight Madness Tournament to help raise money for local charities, including WARM, CASA, Wise County Christian Counseling, and Wise Choices Pregnancy Resources Center.

Forms are available online here, at the Decatur Chamber of Commerce office, and at both the Middle School and High School in Decatur.  Register by Friday and get a free tshirt!

It will be a great event for friends, family, or both!

Spring Break!

  • March 9, 2011 9:11 pm

I feel a little spoiled that we are having spring break after having just had an Ice-a-palooza break just a few weeks ago!  But, I’ll take it.  We have a few adventures in mind for the week out of school, and hope to have some intensive happy family bonding memories before all is said and done.

I know many people go skiing during this week, others head out on a cruise, while still others opt for a week at home Spring Cleaning or going to the zoo.

Any exciting Super Fun plans you would like to share?  Some of us might need to kickstart our Spring Fun!  :)

Walk Across Texas

  • February 27, 2011 9:25 pm

The Link

The Deadline is March 15th to gather a team, and this could be just the thing to kick start everyone into swimsuit season.  (As much as I hate the sound of that!)  I think I might just sign our little family up for the 8 week walking program-we could always use a little more family bonding.

Superbowl Sunday Traditions

  • February 6, 2011 8:14 pm

We don’t have any official Scroggins Clan traditions for  Superbowl Sunday.  Normally we do cook up some festive food, and have at times invited friends over to watch the commercials–and of course, the game, too.  But, 2011 has been the Year of the Fever so far, and today we fought another battle in that war.  Comfort food was on the menu instead, and quarantine was our activity of choice.   The air was a little more electric than usual with the Big Game being held at Cowboy Stadium, so we rallied, watched, and even managed a dance party during half time.

I know lots of fun families out there do take part in Superbowl Traditions, from the food, to the bets, to the half time performance critique.  I’m intrigued, and always looking for something to celebrate, so please share…

How did you spend Superbowl Sunday?

A Toddler View of the Stock Show

  • January 26, 2011 10:02 pm

We went to the Fort Worth Stock Show this weekend, a traditional family favorite.  We’ve been going since my daughter was a baby, if nothing else but to just look around at all the animals, the exhibits, and REAL cowboys.  This year we went with friends and their toddler.  It was so fun to see her little one look in amazement at the REAL cows making REAL moos, along with the REAL horses making REAL horse sounds!  So many times I couldn’t help but laugh because it seemed like you could see the synapses firing at a million miles a minute.  That simple exposure seemed to send baby’s mind off into extreme thinking-mode.

Alternately, TONS of the exhibits at the show are geared toward the more Big Kid, which I keep forgetting that the Scroggins Hooldums have graduated to.  Watching the milking demonstration sparked a complete conversation with our kids about dairy farmers, milk cows, actual milk, and products of milk.  The Agriculture Exhibit in one of the barns had an amazing display of all the products that come from corn. CORN.  Things like pudding, crayons, and toothpaste! From there we took a gander at the chickens and roosters–you would not believe how many types of chickens and roosters there are out there in the farm world.  At that point, I think I could hear my own kids’ synapses firing…and maybe even a few of the the New Orleans Native that was with us, too.

As an Ag Major in college, I have a soft spot for Agriculture Education, and I think events like the Stock Show really emphasize all the parts in our society that make us a whole.  Surprisingly, even living in Texas that huge piece of our culture seems lost, and in this age of technology, recreation, and materialism, it’s refreshing to simply take a walk in someone else’s boots.

And who doesn’t like a good Moo, Cluck, Neigh, or Baaaa?  It’s just good for the soul.

For more info on the Stock Show, visit http://www.fwssr.com/

Boo!

  • October 24, 2010 8:45 pm

It’s that time again!  The kids look forward to BOOing as much as they do the Tricks, Treats, and Pumpkins.  Get out there and get SPOOKY!

The air is cool, it’s time for fall

Soon Halloween will come to all

Ghosts, goblins, spooks galore

Tricky witches at your door.

The spooks are after things to do,

In fact a spook brought this to you!!

The treats that came with this short note

Are yours to keep.  Enjoy them both!

The excitement comes when friends like you

Will copy it and make it two,

We’ll all have smiles upon our faces

No one will know who BOOed our places!

Just be sure that you don’t tell

Keep it secret, hide it well.

Please join the fun, the season’s here.

Just spread these “BOO’s” and Halloween Cheer!

Black Creek Pumpkin Patch!

  • October 19, 2010 7:29 pm

We made our annual trip out to Black Creek Pumpkin Patch last week for some fun with friends.  I love this little pumpkin patch.  It’s not too big.  It’s not too small…it’s just right.  There’s a fantastic slide, hayride, train ride, jumphouse, corn maze, petting zoo, face painting, and of course…pumpkins.  It’s not far; it’s not expensive, and it’s not overwhelming.

Carve out a few minutes.  Grab a few friends or family, and take a field trip to celebrate October.

And, don’t forget your camera.  :)