Father/Son Campout

Jon and the boys had a WONDERFUL time participating in our homeschool group's Father/Son campout last night! They left around 1:00 yesterday afternoon and set up camp at a local park with about 15 other families. They had a great time fishing, grilling, making S'mores, playing.... We are so very blessed to have such a wonderful group of families and such fun opportunities! This was definitely a memorable experience for the boys and for Jon as well. I was glad that Jon had time to meet and visit with other Catholic homeschool dads. And it was great for him to have a fun adventure with the boys!

The camping adventure actually began for us earlier this week when we bought a tent. We just HAD to test it out before the trip, so we set it up in the living room!

 The boys actually slept down there on Wednesday night. Check out Jon's VINTAGE Star Wars sleeping bag from his days as a Boy Scout.

 And here's Ray relaxing in the tent at the campsite.

 Ray discovered a great love.... FISHING! He caught three fish!

 I don't have many pictures of Adam. Apparently, he and his buddy Ryan were running around the campsite playing superheroes the whole time.

They had a nice shelter where they ate their meals.

 Roasting marshmallows was big fun!

 Here is one of MANY shots they (Ray) took of the fire. There were more fire shots than people shots! ;)

Here's my favorite picture. At the end of the evening, the men and boys gathered around the campfire and prayed the Rosary together! How awesome is that?!?! OK, so Ray fell asleep by the third mystery and Adam told me it was just tooooo long. But what a great witness for them.... what a great thing for them to experience prayer in this setting with their friends and their dads.

 Here's a morning shot of Adam, Ray, and Ryan. Amazingly, Ray was not the first awake in camp. I think Ryan won that award!

 Ray was back to fishing first thing in the morning!

 Jon even got a fish before they left!

So, you might be wondering.... "What in the world did Katie do with 24 whole hours to herself?" Ha! It was FANTASTIC! (Can I register the boys for next year's campout now? Shouldn't it be a quarterly thing?) I did a little shopping.... took a nice long walk... read... completed a thought or two... straightened up the house... took a leisurely shower... watched a chick flick... slept in.... and then missed them!

It was wonderful to hear their excitement when they got home. We are so thankful for such a nice experience. Perfect weather. Wonderful companions. Lots of fun. I am especially thankful for all the dads... taking time off work and away from the comforts of home to be with their sons in this very special way. There was definitely a different kind of bond and comaraderie between the boys and their dad when they got home. I hope that bond will grow as time goes on and I pray that the boys will become men of integrity like their dad!