Father son outing

Caleb and I went out camping the weekend to celebrate the restoration of the priesthood to the earth.  We had a great time.

 Caleb wasn't sure if he liked leaving mom behind, but everything was okay when our juice monster discovered that CapriSun was part of the deal.

Jacob made a bold statement in pink galoshes.  Whales and Eskimos don't wear galoshes.

We had the boys setup camp while we sat around telling jokes.  My heart sank when I went to fill up the air mattress only to discover that our re-chargeable pump was not re-charged---not even a little.  Suddenly the ground looked rockier than it had a moment earlier.
Fortunately, I had brought my cot.  Usually, I keep it by my desk at work.  I've had a few occasions to use it there.  People who come in think it's because I spend late hours at work.  Actually, it's because of late hours at home.  Sometimes work is the only place to find a few moments' peace and quiet.
Unfortunately, the cot doesn't fit in our tent, and with recent rains, there were all manner of insects out, seemingly in search of blood.  My heart, already sunken, now found new depths of annoyance.

By partially dismantling the cot and stretching out the tent in a way that probably destroyed the water-proofing, we managed to get the cot protected from the bumps in the night. 

I helped Caleb to bed after the fireside program (lampside, due to the current burn-ban).  He snuggled up with his bears and blankets.  I headed into the tent after chatting for a little bit longer.  It didn't come as a surprise to me that I had somehow not brought my own blanket in my rush to get everything out the door.  I wrapped my jacket around my legs and curled up underneath the cot with a small blanket Caleb had jettisoned.

It got cold---much colder than I had anticipated.  Caleb woke up whimpering and I covered him back with his blanket, put my shoes back on to cover my feet, and wore the jacket.  Not much later, Caleb was still cold and I was pretty miserable.  I went to the car and found the wool blanket that my blessed mother had given us to keep in the car for emergencies.  I shared it with Caleb on the cot.  He slept fine the rest of the night/morning.  I listened to his rather loud breathing, accepted his kicks and elbows as payback for my own father's uncomfortable camping experiences, and watched the sky lighten ever so slowly. 

 It was kind of a rough night.  But the juice monster was satisfied to curl up with the blanket and wait for breakfast.  He left Dora the Explorer's chair for me.

Breakfast was delicious.  While we were breaking up camp, the cows wandered over to see why there was so much commotion in their bathroom.  We (mostly Brother Smith) had shoveled a rather large number of pies out of the way.  The cows were put out that their careful decoration efforts had been undone and told us, "Aw dry up" when we asked about their cottage cheese.

We had a good time and were home before eleven in the lovely morning.  It was fun to camp out and spend time with friends, but what a sight for sore, tired eyes were the beautiful ladies who partied at home while we shivered through the night.