Troop 888's first inductees, 5 scouts and 2 adult leaders, attended the Spring Gathering and completed their Ordeal at Bear Creek Scout Ranch.  The attendees were able to survive the tests and happily received their sashes Saturday evening.

This has been a big month for growth for the Troop!  We held our Q1 Court of Honor and advanced several scouts to their next rank.  We also had our first ever Call Out and recognized 6 scouts and 2 adult leaders.  They will all attend the end of March OA Spring Gathering and complete their Ordeal.

It was a big month of transition for the Troop.  We attended two Blue-to-Gold / Crossover ceremonies and welcomed eight Webelos into our Troop this month.  We also held elections and welcomed a new Patrol Leader Council.  Several of the leaders are holding their first elected position.    They completed their new leader training and earned their Trained patch.  The troop also went to Austin to attend the University of Texas MBU.  It was a good experience for the boys to attend an MBU outside of our district to compare experiences.

The Troop once again assisted our Pack 888 with their annual Pinewood Derby. We loved watching the Cub Scouts race their cars!  We assisted with the weigh in, checked in the cars, and high fives the competitors as they came up for their race.

The Troop had quite the whirlwind weekend by holding the May campout, walking in the Helotes Cornyval Parade and taking part in the Helotes Market Days.  We already planned to march in the parade when we were invited to participate in Market Days also.  Since we were going to be in the area all weekend we turned it into a campout downtown.  The boys enjoyed the mile stroll along Bandera Road while carrying the KJ97 banner and waving to the crowds.  We feasted on taquitos while a couple of troop families manned a food booth on our behalf.  We also setup a Gaga Pit in front of the band stand and invited all kids, young and young at heart, to play with us.

The Scouts had an action-packed weekend!  They started the weekend acting out scenes from the Stations of the Cross at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on Friday.  On Saturday they went on their first 5 mile hike on the Leon Creek Greenway.  Afterwards the patrols developed their meal plan and went shopping for their ingredients at HEB.  They quickly learned they have to stay within budget.  We then left for camp at Floresville.  Although the wind was strong it didn't blow away the Scouts' ability to setup camp, cook and eat their supper.  On Sunday Ms. Marissa and Mr. Albert treated the boys with Horse riding so the boys could finish their merit badge.  The boys had a wonderful time and asked the leaders to coordinate a trail ride so they could ride horses some more!  Finally the cowboys taught each boy how to rope a "cow".  They learned how to pick the right rope, how to handle it when twirling it above your head and then how to throw.  The boys were beyond thrilled.  We were able to see how the professionals rope a cow and how hard it really is.  We've been invited back anytime so we'll definitely take them up on that offer.

We were pleased to award our 11 new scouts with their Scout Rank.  We also promoted two of our experienced scouts with their Tenderfoot Rank.  They all worked very hard to learn new skills and made their leaders and families proud!

The newly expanded troop had their first overnighter at the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi.  They learned a great deal about true heroism and selflessness as they read about sailors and soldiers from multiple generations.  The scouts had a wonderful opportunity to traverse the ship and explore that world.  I'm sure we'll be back to relive this wonderful experience.