Father/Son campout

Our Stake had a father/son camp out the weekend of May 11th. Since Lance had a soccer game the next day and because we were driving up to Northern VA to celebrate Mother's Day that weekend, too, we decided to have our own father/son camp out in the backyard with the Elmers.

We broke out our 8-10 man tent (thanks, Mom!) and after scraping away the rocks and sticks that cover the ground behind our apartment, we set it up.

Jude wanted so badly to help. Sweet boy.

Lance and Killian wanted to hammer in the stakes. 100% boy.

George manned the grill and made fantastic burgers and brats to share.

I had forgotten just how enormous this tent really is until I watched the kids playing in it. It's huge!

Jude and Bennett had a great time being Ironman and running around with their masks on. They are best buddies.

Cole was a good sport and just hung out in his seat or exer-saucer while the festivities took place.

Mmmm! There is nothing like meat right off the grill. The Smiths came for a bit, too.

We love our friends. I can't imagine a better place to live.

The empty tent provided literal hours of entertainment for these six kids.

Crazy!

And it wouldn't be a real camp-out without a fire and some s'mores.

I think the boys were pretty wiped because Jude and Lance decided to go to bed all by themselves.

George, Lance and Jude slept in the tent all night long with the Elmers while Cole and I stayed inside. As much as I love to camp, I was pretty grateful for my soft bed.

6 a.m. came around and found these guys had ditched the hard ground and the cold night air in exchange for a couple extra hours of sleep in modern comfort.

Sweet Jude had to be touching George while he slept. Precious.

We took Lance to his soccer game that morning and then came home, took down the tent, quickly packed up and left for Northern VA to celebrate Mother's Day with our moms. We were pretty tired!