Fathers and sons and hamsters

This weekend was the Father and Sons campout for our stake. I wasn't able to leave work until a little before 6, so by the time I got home, got Griffin, and drove out to the camp site it was already a little after 8. I knew we were going to be that late so I stopped at McDonalds on the way to pick up dinner which we ate in the car on the rest of the way. We arrived just in time for the fireside, then I found out where our ward was located and we went there. It was a little fun finding a place for the tent and setting it up in the dark, but it was a nice clear night with the moon over half full so we managed. Then we went in the tent and spent quite a while making shadow animals on the tent wall and telling jokes and silly stories until way past G's normal bed time.

It was a somewhat restless night - G woke me up once because he didn't want to go out by himself to use a tree, and in the very early morning a very noise gaggle of geese flew in to the lake we were camping beside. (We didn't get up that early.)

After we did get up we took the tent down and put it away. G was a big help with that. Then we went to breakfast. After that we wandered around for a while with one of the boys in G's primary class and his dad and brother while we waited for a canoe to become available. The five of us then took the canoe for a trip around the lake. After going back to the campsite to see G's friend's tent (G was a little too helpful with that), we went back to the main camp area and played tug-a-war and soccer and baseball and other games for a while before heading home.

I just asked G what his favorite part of the campout was. He said it was the shadow puppet show. It occurs to me that we could have stayed home to do that. Oh, well. I know he really enjoyed the canoe trip as well, and that would have been harder to do at home.

I notice that it's been a while since I wrote here. In the interval, Tigera's name changed to Bubbles, but Bubbles got wet tail and had to go back to the pet shop. Then a week later they called to tell me he had died. So we have a new hamster now. His name was Tiger for quite a while, but I think now he's Tom. I doubt it is possible to teach a hamster to come when he's called by name, but even if it isn't ours will probably never manage the trick with how often the name changes. Anyway, Tom/Tiger is doing well. He's already outlived his predecessor by quite a bit. He's well past the point where the pet store would take him back if he got sick. He also seems friendlier and more at home in his cage.

Sorry about the lack of pictures this time. I forgot to take my camera on the campout. I think another family in our ward got a picture of us in the canoe, if I get a copy of that I'll add it in here.