A Cav-tastic Good Time!

Last week the Battalion FRG (Family Readiness Group) went on a family camp out.   However this was not your typical camp out, this was a Cav-tastic, Cavalicious, freaking Cav of a good time!  A few months before this deployment started the FRG leaders and I got together and planned out events for the entire year of deployment.  The idea was to have a big event at Battalion level each month of deployment to help the deployment go by a little faster and so families would have something to look forward to.  The 'camp out' started as just that - a camp out at a state park, but then an idea sparked.....  I had been to the Buddy Walk out at Reunion Ranch in Georgetown several months earlier and fell in love with the place.  Granted I had been to Reunion Ranch before, way back in the early days - back '93 (you know, the day of the BIG A$$ cell phones and you were super cool if you had one) when we lived at Hood for the first time and I worked in Austin.  (That was the time way back when Hubby said to me "Honey, don't worry about learning anything about the military. I'm serving my 4 years and I'm getting out.  No, you don't need to go to those coffee things, don't worry about FSG - ((NOPE, that is not a typo - I remember when it was called FSG))....blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.....") Any who...the company I worked for had our Christmas party out at Reunion Ranch back in '93 & that was my first meeting with Reunion Ranch.  After all these years, I'm glad Reunion Ranch has stayed on my radar because - let me tell you the families (our family included) of the HHBn benefited tremendously from this place!  Not only did the kids have fun, but moms were able to relax, talk with other mom's and just hang out.  Something that is MUCH needed 6+ weeks into deployment.  This is a time when the mom's start pulling their hair out and start needing a little 'adult' conversation.   We had 80+ people at the camp out, I was wishing for more, but the families that were there had so much fun I forgot about the number and just enjoyed the time and the families that were there. 

Some of the things we enjoyed were:  swimming, paddle boats, canoes, miniature golf, Cavalicious contest, basketball, tetherball, volleyball, horseshoes, washers, zip lines, team games, tug-o-war, dancing, movie under the stars, hanging on a 'beach', 3 HUGE play areas, sleeping under the stars and more!

Upon arrival, we set up tent city. 

Then we had the Cavalicous Contest!  Who do you think should have won? 

And everyone had a great time just hanging out at the ranch -