Man's Outing

So several months ago I got the idea of taking the boys camping every fall in an effort to create a tradition they (and I) look forward to every year. Friday afternoon Stephen (my brother who is in town), myself, and the "boys" drove off to explore Ohio. Here are the highlights from our awesome trip.

1) Sticks are great
We started hiking and had gone no more than 20 feet and Benjamin found the best stick in the whole forest. Twenty feet further and he found the second best stick in the forest. Fortunately for us we only had a mile to hike before dark .... Ben quickly realized that he was not going to be able to carry all of sticks so he tried to recruit me. The thought of me carrying Hunter, a pack with gear, and an armful of sticks was not appealing. So Ben went to plan B, as shown in the picture. I have to admit I was proud. For any concerned females reading this post the patch over Benjamin's eye was to keep dirt out of it. He has a blocked oil duct which a doctor drained.

2) Uncles are awesome
It was lots of fun having Stephen camp with us. He was a great sport to pack in with us, help set up camping, and play with the boys. Benjamin loved the "swords" which he carved out of wood and Hunter would toddle around following him. Stephen was even good enough to eat our scrambled pancakes with melted Hershey bars ... oh the joys of camping.

3) Boys love the outdoors

Saturday morning we went for a hike in the area around the camp. We climbed up the revene which surrounded out campsite and found another trail. We had lots of fun exploring fallen trees, finding a frog, walking along game trails, finding more awesome sticks, and learning about the world around us. At the top of the revene we found this rotten tree stump :). Think My Side of the Mountain ..... just smaller.

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4) A Trip to Remember
Nothing says that the boys had a great time better than the look of their faces on the drive home.....



We had a wonderful experience! I am so grateful that Sheri was so supportive, my brother was able to come, and most importantly for my two wonderful boys. I am already looking forward to next year.

David