Labor Day Campout

Apparently the need to camp over the Labor Day Holiday is programed into children the way salmon are programed to swim upstream. No mention was made by the adults in our family of camping, because we weren't going camping. Benton, however decided we must. It took a little work, but eventually he got us all roped into participating.

Here Benton is all decked out and ready to go. That's his sleeping bag strapped to his back, he's carrying his picnic and the keys to the van. And let's not forget the drum. We do not go camping without the drum. He drove (the couch) with Nathaniel sitting

next to him trying to take over the wheel. I sat in the back seat and "rested" (as I was told).

Benton built a snowman while the tent was being set up. I guess we were snow camping, but it wasn't cold. Here Benton is showing off his snow man. What do you mean you don't see him? "First I made the balls with snow and put them together, then I went over here and got him a carrot nose!" He's the one Benton has his arm around. Don't worry. Benton couldn't see him today either.

Daddy is "the best at building tents," so that was his job. This one involved a blanket, a rocking chair, the couch and a couple of Light Sabers for support.

And here are the boys, ready to sleep in their tent. I was half tempted to let him spend the night in it, but by the time bedtime rolled around, the camping trip was over.

Frankly, I could get used to camping like this. I didn't have to spend three days packing, cook in the rain, sleep on a partially deflated air mattress, incorporate creative bathing techniques, insist the baby not eat out of the fire pit or identify any mystery stains that should be pre-treated before laundering.

Benton's phrase of the day: "God waked me with the morning light! I looked out the window, and I saw blue sky and green trees and white clouds and God waked me up!"