My Boys on a Campout

There is this fabulous tradition for the men at our church. Each spring they have a father-son campout on the church property. Yesterday afternoon, lots of the dads (mostly with young sons) set up tents in the empty (large) lot, build a big ol' fire, haul in heavy machinery for fun, and prepare for a night of excitement! This year was Zeke's first year getting to go!!! I think I was just as happy for the guys as they were that they got to spend a whole night with their Daddy doing guy stuff. They cooked out on the fire, ate lots of junk food, played music, drank soda and lots of sugar-filled juice drinks, shot automatic weapons (thanks to Jacob Talor and his SWAT awesomeness!), dug with a REAL life excavator (thanks to Josh Beer and the company he works for), played ball with the other boys, rode in tractors, messed around with their flashlights, slept in sleeping bags on the ground, woke up filthy and smelling like smoke. Basically, it was little boy paradise! They were so completely exausted and over-stimulated that when I brought them home in the morning (Manny had to leave early for work so my Dad stepped in for the breakfast part of the shindig) they went straight into a hot bath which left the tub a dingy brown and into BED again! They both slept for nearly 3 hours! This campout really is one of the highlights of their year and I'm so very happy that Manny was able to take them. We weren't sure due to his work schedule, but the Lord provided the way. I love that he's making these kind of memories with them. They will treasure them. Before they left, after the car was all packed with camping provisions, I took a few photos of the guys ready to head out. Elijah asked me so sweetly if he can have a copy of the photos with their Daddy so he can always remember this awesome campout! Of course! Those pics are going in the "special things box" for sure!

Here are some pictures I took of them before they left. Manny did take some w/his phone too, but I don't have those.