Gavin's first camping trip

This weekend was busy. It was Sahara's 5th birthday. It was also the annual Stake Father & Sons campout at Ensign Ranch, about an hour drive up over the pass. I'd been looking forward to this campout because it would be Gavin's first. I go camping every month with the Scouts, but it's against the rules to take boys under 12, so poor Gavin gets left at the door when I leave. Not this time!

Gavin was so excited just talking about going camping. As we packed Friday afternoon, I gave him one of my hats to keep the sun off him. He ran upstairs and got my other hat so that we could both, "have scout hats." He wore his like a badge of honor.

Gavin was an eager assistant when it came to setting up the tent. We'd setup the tent in his room a few weeks ago (practice run) and he, Sahara and I had spent the night, so he's seen the setup before and immediately broke out the tent poles.

With the tent up a the gear inside, Gavin sat in a camp chair and watch daddy and Adam Swank setup the cooking area and get the dutch ovens ready. There were sticks everywhere and Gavin loves a good stick, so he was really enjoying himself. It was warm and sunny, perfect camping weather.

After eating a slice of deep dish dutch oven pizza and hanging out with all the other families that showed up after us, Gavin was ready to hit the sack (mostly he just wanted to go inside the tent and play). We got him on the phone with Mommy before he went down, which he liked. Gavin loves his mommy!

This was an epic adventure of a lifetime for our little guy, and it took some doing to get him down. I put my down coat into a stuff sack and made a pillow for Gavin. The biggest problem all night was that he's a roller. I had a tough time keeping him inside his bag (finally gave up on that) and under his blankets. He settled down the second half of the night and even slept in the next morning, not waking up until I roused him around 7:30am.

Saturday morning Gavin woke up in a strange new world. He was apprehensive and a bit cold all morning. I got some pancakes and sausage in him, which helped. We packed up quickly and joined in the service project with the other men and boys--every year we clear the trails and campsites in the Far West campground. Gavin was just getting into his grove when we had to leave. We wanted to be back to join mommy, Dallin and Sahara for the festivities. I'm not sure how much Gavin will remember about this campout, but if there are no memories, a good impression was certainly made. This was the first of many campouts for me and Gav.