Camping

Well, we did it. We went camping for the weekend at my brother's cabin at Higgings Lake. We borrowed Smith's pop-up camper and headed up-north. Unfortunately it rained 1/2 the day on Saturday, so we stayed at the cabin and played games (even outside in the rain). But we did have a wonderful time. Jason took all of the kids out on the golf cart. They took EXTREME rides with Uncle Jason/Dad and came back muddy but excited and ready to go out through the trails again. On Sunday, we finally got to go to the Lake. The weather was still overcast and cool so we didn't take Tom and Mary's (brother and sister-in-law's) boat. As our luck would have it, it ended up to be a beautiful day Sunday. The boys even got a little sun burned. Well, we still had fun at the North Higgins State Park. Grandpa (my dad) took all of his grand kids (all 6 of them) down the beach a ways to the natural spring. They had a contest to see who could stay in the longest, Hannah won. She was still complaining her feet were numb 5 minutes afterwards. It must have been cold.

My father remembers camping at that exact state park as an eight year old (or so) boy. He and his 4 older brothers would go camping with his parents on Memorial Weekend. His parents would then leave all the boys for the summer up at the campground. They did have an uncle who owned a gas station a few miles to the west of the state park, so they would walk to the gas station to help out, eat, or just visit. My grandma and grandpa would then go up to camp with them every weekend throughout the summer. Then on Labor Day weekend, they would all come home. Wow, life was a lot different 55 years ago. I can't imagine letting my kids do that. Geesh, I can bearly stay away from them 3 days to a week while they are at church camp.

I think we all had a wonderful time, but my parents enjoyed it the most. We (my brothers and I)are rarely able to get together. My older brother (Tom) and his wife are busy with their 3 girls. They are all active in sports. The twins are seniors and Mareena is in 9th grade. Wow, life goes fast. I can remember when they were born. I swear it was just yesterday. Well, they have grown up beautifully. My younger brother (Trevor) is a runner. He is always doing marathons and triathlons in and out of the state. Fortunately his wife also enjoys running, biking and swimming along with him (not quite to the extent as Trevor, but they make a perfect match). So this weekend was a weekend to get caught up on the latest with everyone.

With that weekend over with, it is now time to think about camp. We leave for Rock Lake on Saturday. I am ready - well with my class anyways. I will be teaching on Christmas Traditions and how all of them tie in with Jesus' birth. It is going to be a great week. As the boys are getting older and older, it gets easier and easier. This is our family mission every year. We want our kids to grow up learning how important it is to volunteer and do God's work. We have done this for 11 years now and hopefully our kids will someday take our place at Rock Lake (or at least volunteering at another place spreading the news of the Gospel).

Well, I guess that's enough blabbering. I will be letting you know how camp went.
God Bless!