Monday, July 27, 2015

the campers--

 Our annual Tony Grove camping trip was last week.

We had so much fun. Sleep-deprived, smoke-drenched, sticky-fingered fun.

Let's break down the campers, 
by enthusiasm:
First up--the most excited.

Almost six is a fantastic age, guys.
Nicholas is awesome. He's sweet and thoughtful and obedient and self-reliant.
We occasionally struggle with his need to challenge authority, but overall, he's just the sweetest.

And camping is probably his idea of heaven.

 This is his goldfish trail, designed to
"Make the chipmunks not so scared of us, Mom. They'll come to the trail and I'll teach them to come closer!"

 Tuesday afternoon was warm enough for the kids to do a little swimming. 
My aunt Rachel taught Nick how to use this mini kayak, and after a few moments of circling,
he got it.
And then he spent the next three hours (no joke!) paddling around the lake. 
He tied the little red tugboat behind him and paddled around, picking up floating toys, chasing the other kids, and being very careful about not going past the big log to where it was too deep.
 When he finally tried to stand up,
his little legs were so stiff he walked around like a skinny old man,
hunched over and crook-legged for a while.
I laughed until I cried.
Kids are awesome.


The best thing about Nicholas this trip, though, was how diligent he was about obeying the rules.
I made it clear the first day that I needed to know where he was at all times,
and that it wasn't safe to wander off without a grown up. 
(Because when he and Sam get together....they kinda lose sense of the real world)
So every time he wanted to go somewhere else,
he was so good and so careful to find me, explain where he wanted to go, and make it very clear that "There's lots of big kids and grown ups there and I'll be sure to look for cars."

He's a good boy, this kid.
And a wee bit silly.



Just a little.
Cutie.