Ward Campout

We went camping: Ben brought his work gloves along to make sure he was ready to help with any work we may need done. He loves to help lay out the tarps, set up the tent find firewood and put new logs on the fire to keep it going. He also made sure that we he packed his backpack…sort of. He didn’t care much what else went in it—he just needed to be sure that he had two whistles. He explained it to us by saying “Safety First, Mom.” In case we get lost in the woods he can blow the whistle and we can find him. Good plan. I don’t think it ever left the backpack, but he also wasn’t ever allowed to go off in the woods alone in the first place. Maddie spent most of her time playing with the other little girls going in and out of each others tents. They all knew the rules were no shoes in the tents, so I guess she actually spent the majority of her time taking her shoes on and off with a giant smile on her face. Jacob had recently acquired the skill of scooting. Unfortunately, he is stuck in reverse. We kept putting him down on a blanket or tarp and he would scoot himself backward until he was under the car and I’d pull him out again. He was always pleased with himself though. In order to pack up when it was time to go, we needed a safe place to keep him, so I made a makeshift highchair/exersaucer in the trunk of the car with pillows. He absolutely loved it. Soft stuff all around to grab and play with and he was high enough up that he could see us moving about. The campground is only 10 minutes from our house, so it’s easy to go anytime. Not many families were willing to sleep the night in a tent. Of the big crowd that came to socialize, only four families actually spent the night. Several people came back in the morning though to enjoy a pancake and sausage breakfast. Ben was most interested in going on a hike. Brian obliged and created a “hike” of about a tenth of a mile to the playground. They thought it was perfect. All the kids had fun roaming free, enjoying the outdoors, the rocks, the sticks and roasting marshmallows on the fire even if they didn’t choose to eat any of them. Fire is just a magical thing. We can’t put our finger on exactly why, but the Soderborg tent was a favorite. We did catch our kids throwing dirt clods on top of it and I had to go clean it off and tell them to quit. Other than that, I think they had loads of fun. Brian put Ben and Maddie down for bed around 10:00pm and Ben fell right to sleep. Maddie soon emerged back to the campfire where she hung out with the adults until about midnight. Turns out the other congregation we share our church building with was also on a men’s campout that night. At 6 am we were awakened to the noises that you can expect from a dozen 12 year old boys and their leaders would make. Their fire was only about fifteen feet from our heads and for about an hour until our kids began to stir, Brian and I laid in bed listening to what was going on outside. In its own special way, it really was comical. The two adult leaders were having a normal conversation about what I can’t recall. What I do remember was that you would hear two sentences of their conversation then “Put the stick down” and their conversation would pick up as if nothing had happened. Two more sentences and “Don’t put that in the fire,” and the conversation went on. For an hour, I heard them talk with every third sentence being direction to keep the 12 year old scouts from killing themselves or injuring each other. It was a tiny little glimpse into what scout camp might be. Wow. I pity the leaders that camp with them for a week. They must be exhausted when they return home. What good leaders.