The Fathers and Sons Outing

The weather at the fathers and sons outing this year made for a memorable time. We knew it could rain but we were willing to take our chances. The wind picked up sometime after 11:00 PM and didn't let up until 1:00 AM or so. It constantly shook the tent and I wondered if it would ever wake my boys. They slept through it but I was concerned about them so I didn't sleep much during that time. And then the rain started up just before 1:00 AM and it sounded like it was coming down in sheets. It was so loud. But the boys slept through it and eventually I fell back asleep too. Johnny woke me up around 6:00 complaining that he was really cold. He was standing by my sleeping bag just shivering and was wet from his head to about his tummy. I looked over at his sleeping bag and the whole top part was soaked, including his pillow. I was very concerned about him getting hypothermia. It was interesting because I had a few memories of things that had been taught to me from scouts so many years ago about how to treat someone for hypothermia. So, I helped him change into dry clothes and put him in my sleeping bag. I started to clean up the little bit of water around his sleeping bag. Johnny slept in the middle of the tent with Isaac and me on each side of him. On the floor of the middle of the tent is a seam. The tarp I laid down under the tent was sticking out about a couple of inches on one side which was enough to catch the rain that ran off of the tent and direct it under the tent where it seeped through the seam. Johnny's sleeping bag soaked up much of that water keeping the rest of the tent dry. Anyway, it all turned out fine and he was running around like his usual self after we had breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, I got to help cook it again this year. I've been in charge of the fathers and sons outing the last two years and have planned an awesome breakfast every time. And then Steve Conger, a local fireman in our ward brings a serious grill from the firehouse and we do scrambled eggs, pancakes and sausage for all of the fathers and sons. It is the second best part of the activity, behind being with my boys. I love seeing the look of satisfaction on everyone's face as they start to eat the food we prepare. This year I made pancakes. Making perfect pancakes is in my blood. My grandpa used to cook pancakes at some of our family outings and he was big on doing them up right. And I've always enjoyed the challenge of getting the heat just right, getting the size just right, and getting them off of the griddle when they are golden brown. It's fun. This year, I watched one of our priests eat nine pancakes for breakfast. Kenneth Stock out ate his dad. I've got a lot of respect for him. I don't think I ever put away that many pancakes before. But he did. We should have had a t-shirt or an award for him for this accomplishment. Maybe we'll do something like that next year.

Anyway, it was a great time and my boys stayed out of the fire and out of the stream and breakfast was a hit. You can't ask for much more than that.