Birthdays

November is eventful. We have 4 birthdays this month in our house. Marley turned 4. Asher turns 9 in 2 days. Kate will be one. Stefanie will be... one year older. Add that to the other holidays and it is a packed month.

Asher had his party this last Friday. I don't know if I was brave or stupid, but I agreed to take seven of Asher's friends camping Friday night at Sugarloaf in Kenwood. Fortunately, I had some help from a number of the fathers. There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but amazingly it was a perfect trip. First off, the weather felt like June. We arrived Friday night and started off with a game of flashlight soccer. Sugarloaf campsites ring a large meadow that is pretty flat except for the gopher mounds. This meadow was perfect for a rustic soccer game of boys vs dads.We followed that with a simple dinner of hot dogs, chips, and apples. After dinner, we had some s'mores. There was an Australian family that visited our site in hopes of finding a corkscrew. Although we couldn't help them there, we were able to give them their first taste of s'mores. Yes, it is the total "Dad" cuisine. But it was simple, and everyone there liked it. Dessert was followed with a game of freeze tag in the moonlight. Then at 9 pm, we were off to bed.

Morning time brought more adventure as the boys started out trying to hunt down a turkey for breakfast. While they were on the prowl, we cooked breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. After breakfast, we played a rematch of the soccer game from the night before and went on a hiking trip. The hiking trip gave the opportunity for some rock climbing which was probably the biggest hit. At 11, we made our way home for pizza, wiffleball, and playstation.

The birthday was a big hit with the boys, and I survived the weekend, so everyone was a winner.