Last weekend was an exciting weekend for Wayne and Nathan. A bunch of dads on Nathan's soccer team joined a group called Adventure Guides which is sponsored through the YMCA, and it's just for fathers and sons. Their first big outing was a campout at Camp Grady Spruce. Nathan and Wayne left Friday around 1:00 and didn't come back until Sunday! While they were experiencing nature, Charlotte and I relaxed, watched movies, and did a little cleaning. Wayne said that the two of them had so much fun together. Wayne got to know the dads better, and they all meshed really well. Nathan knows the kids pretty well from soccer, but this was their chance to really bond and have fun. Wayne told me that he had never seen Nathan have so much fun! When the two of them got home, Nathan was so excited about his trip. He and Wayne showed me all of their pictures and explained each one in great detail. I could really tell that he loved every minute of it.
I couldn't believe how much they packed into the weekend! There were tons of kids at the campout, and each group had their own cabin. Wayne said that their group had the perfect cabin location. It was right on the lake and a little bit off from all of the other groups. Their days were packed full with: archery, horseback riding, canoeing, hiking, BB shooting, and even trick or treating! Wayne said the weather was perfect. It was sunny but nice and cool. I worried about Nathan being too cold at night, sleeping in his sleeping bag, but even though they called it "camping" they didn't really rough it too much. They stayed in HEATED cabins! They did have bunk beds though...and I'm pretty sure no one showered the whole time, so I guess that counts as "roughing" it.
CABINS: Their cabins were right on the lake. Wayne said the boys loved being able to run all over the place exploring and sitting around the campfire talking and making smores.
On Friday night, each cabin went through an induction ceremony. They learned the meaning of Adventure Guides, what was expected of them and what character traits were valued by the Guides. Things like bravery, courage, honesty, and integrity.They each had to tell their Indian names (which was one they chose on their own)...Nathan was Running Wolf and Wayne was Howling Wolf. Each child then had their faces painted by the main Chief and received an arrowhead necklace that they keep and add beads to as they complete certain tasks.
ARCHERY: When Wayne showed me these pictures, I was half expecting that they arrows were the toy kind with suction cups on the end...WRONG! Nathan made sure I knew that these were REAL arrows with pointed tips and all. They were not toys! Wayne said that Nathan loved shooting the bow and arrows and was actually really good at it!
HORSEBACK RIDING: Each child got to ride a horse on a trail while the dad's led them.
CANOEING: There's nothing like a nice, relaxing canoe trip to follow horseback riding.
HIKING: After caonoeing, they went hiking up a huge trail. There's a picture of a rock wall you'll see...they didn't actually climb all the way up it, just a little ways for fun...I think it was also a "potty break" spot. Wayne said that once they made it onto the trail, it was really steep and a pretty hard hike, but Nathan kept up. When they got to the top, the view was beautiful. Nathan and the other kids also "happened" to find real arrowhead rocks in various places. Blake's dad, Darrell, brought arrowhead rocks for each of the kids. He gave them to the dad's and secretly told them to "hide" them along the trail for their sons to find. I thought that was really neat.
TRICK OR TREATING: To end the night, all of the kids dressed up in their costumes. The original plan was for all of the cabins to go trick or treating at each other's cabins. Wayne said that their group of dads decided that it would be more fun just to hang out at their own cabin with their own group. So Wayne and the other dads just started throwing handfuls of candy out around the cabin and let the kids go crazy trying to gather it all up.
After this, they went to the closing ceremonies. All of the kids were exhausted from everything they did that day. Nathan ended up falling asleep halfway through the ceremony and stayed asleep on the way home. When they got back to the cabin, Nathan woke up and wanted to eat more of his candy. Wayne told him everyone was going to bed and that he wasn't going to eat anymore candy. This is where the crazy meltdown occurred (which is what the chief warned them all about the previous night...he said that Saturday night is usually when these dreaded meltdowns occur). Wayne told me that Nathan was so upset, that he could not catch his breath and calm down. Finally Nathan got control. Wayne said that he had been really good all weekend, but he was just completely exhausted now. So Nathan was the one that ended up proving the Chief right :)
EATING: They ate all of the meals except for Saturday's dinner (they grilled steaks at their cabin) at the cafeteria.
Wayne told me that he and Nathan had such a great time. It was obvious that not only did all of the kids get along great, but so did the dads. And I thought it was such a great experience for Nathan and Wayne to share together. Talk about bonding! They have several more activities to do throughout the year and then another campout in the spring.
