The Guys Go Camping (by Karl)

Since Sarah was out of town for her big race last week, I decided to take the boys camping - my style. I don't plan particularly well for such things, partly because I'm not too organized, partly because I don't have the most spectacular memory, and partly I don't usually feel like planning.* So the plan was simple - head up Squaw Peak Road until we find a spot.

Finding a spot on a random Thursday wasn't hard, although we weren't alone.

First item of business: check out the area.

That includes bugging little creatures.

Then they had to get themselves to the sweet mud puddles

that we drove through on the way in.

That meant bikes, which is always fun.

Then the good stuff. The mud.

Next: clean up a bit. You'd think that we wouldn't need to do much of that, since we had their rain gear on them, but oh no. The video only shows the first few minutes of mud play. It got much more, uh, involved after that point. The mud was inside their boots, all over their hands, and much more. They did an excellent job of getting their skin muddy. Max was actually rolling in a huge mud puddle at one point.**

The boys are still trying to block the clean-up part of the trip from their memories, because

a) it's tough for young lads to part ways with mud, and

b) the water I used to wash them off was cold.

Next item of business: get warm by a fire. Unfortunately, the same rains that had caused so much lovely mud had also made all the wood wet. It took some serious wood collecting and lighting and blowing and relighting, but we got it going.

Then after a while they started getting comfortable enough to get goofy...

...which continued while eating dinner when it started getting dark and cold.

There was no need to tell the boys to go to sleep.

Once Noah was in his cocoon, there was no resurrecting him until morning.

Max was out pretty quick too.

We missed Provo Canyon!

*He also likes to take a break from my planning-frenzy. I am a planner and I just can't help it!

** I am sure glad I was not there for that part!

Thanks, Karl, for coming up with your own father-and-sons camping trip! The boys had a great time and I am so lucky to have you around!