Two Kids in the Woods

The boys had an entire afternoon to themselves. This is a rarity! When the calendar is free of soccer games, birthday parties, or basketball practices, the boys usually play sports in the yard with the neighborhood boys. Today Keagan had something else in mind.

Keagan decided he wanted to test his ability to survive in the wilderness. He decided to try his hand at building his own shelter. Evan was intrigued and agreed to help him. Imagine my surprise when I looked up from my cleaning today to find the boys on the far side of the pond with a machete and a small fire going! They used hay bales that we have been using as the back drop for air rifle target shooting as the walls. Then they collected reeds and tall grasses to make a roof.

This is today's end product with a promise that more's to come!

Dudes at the Lake

This weekend Wes took the boys camping at Energy Lake with some of Evan's soccer buddies. It was the first night I have spent alone in eleven years, and I was beside myself with angst wondering how to spend my free time. I did the only thing I could think of. I went shopping.

The boys spent Saturday in the water kayaking, fishing, and swimming. Keagan was so excited about spending a Saturday in the woods that before he even got to the camp site he told me he planned to tell his friends at school on Monday that he had been attacked by a bear and was able to fight him off with his hands.

But the joke was on Keagan.

Early afternoon he was attacked by a nest of yellow jackets and stung four times on his head. Late afternoon, he cut the bottom of his feet on a piece of glass hiding in the bank of the lake, and he was gouged in the side by a tree limb when he slipped and fell while playing chase in the dark.

He came back home bandaged, bleeding, and blinded with exhaustion. However, he has already told me he can't wait to go back. As for Evan, his report of weekend events was a little less exciting. He told me, "It was fun."

The Great Outdoors

Wes took the boys on their first camping trip on Friday night. 

Wes is a serious camper, and like any good soldier, he went to camp prepared. He spent a good part of the afternoon on Friday gathering supplies. He even made a list of things that needed to be packed. The long awaited trip was almost cancelled, though, on Friday night when at 5:00 a major thunderstorm struck. The boys returned home and a few hours later, left for the campgrounds again. This time they were able to spend the night. When asked how the trip went, Keagan said, "It was awesome! Roasting marshmellows was awesome!" Evan was just as excited telling me about the headless horseman ghost stories that were shared around the fire, and then I asked Wes. His response was slightly different. He came home needing a nap.