Daddy/Kid Campout

Wow! I (Charley) am taking a turn at the sacred keyboard to share our fun campout. It's kind of like when your parents turn over the keys to you for the first time. You aren't sure what the drive will be like, but you know you have been given the opportunity to do something special, at least for me. Here it goes:

For the last three years, our small group of friends has taken our kids camping at a nearby lake. This year, we had 16 Dads and 25ish kids. We basically took over the place. The Dads all laughed at the people who had campsites nearby that thought they were going to have a quiet, relaxing weekend at the lake!! The great thing about this trip is it is a time for us to get away and bond with our kids and friends. It is an incredible experience, especially for me to spend quality time with the girls as they watch me show off my Survivorman skills!! Okay, the latter part of that sentence may be a BIG stretch. Thank God for good friends who can cook on a hot fire, set up a tent, and put a worm on a hook. My wife sometimes questions my manhood!! Anyway, I love this time as we get to get away from our normal rush of life and really enjoy time away seeing and doing things we don't get to do very often. I love watching the girls interact with their friends and enjoy spending time with them. These are memories I will cherish and not forget for the rest of my life.

I have included a few pictures from the trip but wanted to post a few things the girls and I enjoyed most. We'll call them our Top 5 List:

Kylee and Katie

5. All the sugar they can eat and drink in a 24 hour period

4. Fishing - if you call throwing a baited hook into the water for 10 minutes fishing

3. Sugar

2. Spending time with their friends laughing, singing, and playing

1. SUGAR!!!

My Top 5:

5. SUGAR!!

4. Mr. Brandon's cooking (lovingly nicknamed Betty Crocker by me) - it's not really roughing it when Mr. Brandon is around. Really, are shrimp tacos (last year), fresh battered chicken fried steak and homemade donuts really roughing it???

3. Giving Mommy a break from the amazing job she does raising the girls on a daily basis

2. Getting to lay in the tent at night and talk to the girls and hear them tell me how much they love their Daddy and the fun they had that day, priceless.

1. Waking up with both girls cuddled up close to me trying to stay warm (both ended up in my sleeping bag by 6AM). I wil never take that for granted regardless of how little sleep I get.

This picture is of Katie getting ready to put bait on the hook b/c her Daddy couldn't stand to hold the worm. Okay, she didn't put the worm on the hook, but she was much more comfortable holding the worm than I was - I know, sad.

The picture below is Katie and her friend Caden walking back from fishing. Caden walked up to Katie, grabbed her hand and said, "Hey, I've seen you at church." After I stopped laughing, I pulled his Daddy aside and said that Caden could get away with that pickup line today but 8-10 years from now, we're going to have to talk!! I took about 10 pictures of this b/c it was a very amusing sight.

The last picture is of the girls watching the sunrise together before everyone else got up. We have a tradition of being the first out of bed (not by Daddy's choice) and heading straight to the car to warm up, b/c we are all about roughing it. I love this picture.

I love you girls and can't wait until next year. Love, Daddy