B+C+B+C+B+C: Father-"Son" camping trip

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Father-"Son" camping trip

When Brian told me he wanted to take Brianna on our ward's Father-Son camping trip, I gently reminded him that Brianna was his daughter, and his only son would be camping with me exclusively for a couple more months. But that didn't stop him. He asked Brianna if she wanted to go camping with him (I'm pretty sure she doesn't remember what camping is) and she said, "YAH! Go pamping! Mommy go pamping too?" When we told her no, that I would be staying home and she would camp with just daddy, she had to think about it for a little bit. But she ended up jumping in the car with him Friday night and heading up to the Three Peaks camping area for a night of campfires, Dutch Oven, and hiking. Brian got photos just of the hiking part (with friends David and Tyrus):

I didn't actually stay home - a couple of my friends in the ward wanted to have a girl's night, since we were all husbandless. So we did a potluck and played games and just hung out. Then I got home and had a hot date with laundry, the vacuum, and our ridiculous CD collection. I organized the whole mess and got rid of a few dozen. I can't believe the lame junk I used to listen to. Brian's collection was even worse - he had a bunch of mixed ghetto pop/rap music burned. The next free Swap Meet in June will feature a substantial musical donation from the McKells.
So back to the camping story - the wind was so bad that they couldn't sleep in tents. So B & b "slept" in the back of the van with the seats folded down (yay for large uneconomical vehicles!) He said they read bedtimes books by flashlight, and she climbed all over the front seats playing with every button and knob, before finally settling down.
I would've been alarmed when I heard our door open at 3:30am except that I immediately heard Brianna yelling out, "Mommy, I had fun CAMPING!"
Brian wasn't quite in the same happy mood.
Apparently she woke up after just sleeping a few hours and insisted that they go home. Brian's not the type to say no to her (ever. Yeah, it's a problem), so they took off in the wee morning hours.
They were both filthy and smelly so I tried to get them to shower, but he wasn't in the mood to let me boss him around. I figured he wouldn't want to ever go camping with her again, but today he asked me if we could go on a camping trip with him for his birthday to Lake Powell!

4 comments:

Sarah said...: This post speaks volumes about your husband. How awesome to take his daughter camping, and to want to go again after a sleepless night. You're a good sport too, camping while pregnant is an adventure in my book.
Funny how you mention he doesn't like to say no to Brianna. It's similar in our household, even though Corey's in law enforcement, most of the enforcing at home is done by me, too!; May 23, 2010 at 6:18 PM
summer said...: that is super cute that they had some time together....even if it was cut short. And I get the part of not dealing with a husband that is without sleep - I'm finally learning (after 9 yrs. of marriage) that Bryson hates - yes hates...that word we don't use in our home! - to be kept from sleep or woken up. He would rather sleep in his clothes, in a child's bed all cramped in, teeth unbrushed and obviously not ready for bed than for me to wake him up. I just don't get it...I am opposite, I might be grumpy for a minute, but I have to have everything just right before I doze off. He is actually in the state that I just described above...his father & son camping is taking place right now, with Jacob in the bottom bunk. Thankfully these crazy husbands keep us young....right?! I hope!!!; May 24, 2010 at 10:09 PM
Debbie said...: I like Brian McKell.; May 24, 2010 at 10:33 PM
valmike said...: That's amazing. Kudos to Brian for being, "the cool Dad!"; May 25, 2010 at 7:33 AM

Quotes I want to remember

"The Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain."
- Neal A. Maxwell

"It is a fundamental truth that the responsibilities of motherhood cannot be successfully delegated. No, not to day-care centers, not to schools, not to nurseries, not to babysitters. We become enamored with men's theories such as the idea of preschool training outside the home for young children. Not only does this put added pressure on the budget, but it places young children in an environment away from mother's influence."
-Ezra Taft Benson

“Perhaps there has never been a time when we had greater need to pray and to teach our family members to pray. Prayer is a defense against temptation. It is through earnest and heartfelt prayer that we can receive the needed blessings and the support required to make our way in this sometimes difficult and challenging journey we call mortality.”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. And bear your testimony! Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own.
-Jeffrey R. Holland

"We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith."
-Neil L. Andersen

"Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts."
-Neil L. Andersen

President Hinckley admonished both men and women to be nurturers. He said, ‘How much more beautiful would be the society in which we live if every father . . . and . . . mother regarded [their] children . . . as gifts from the God of heaven . . . and brought them up with true affection in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord.’ ”
-Susan W. Tanner

"Children are like trees. When they are young, their lives can be shaped and directed, usually with ever so little effort. Said the writer of Proverbs, 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it' (22:6). That training finds its roots in the home. There will be little of help from other sources. Do not depend on government to help in this darkening situation. Barbara Bush, wife of former U.S. president George Bush, spoke wisely: 'Your success as a family, our success as society, depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house.' "
-Gordon B. Hinckley

“I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion.”
-Henry B. Eyring

“Reverent behavior is not a natural tendency for most children. It is a quality that is taught by parents and leaders through example and training. But remember, if reverence is rooted in love, so is the teaching of it. Harshness in our training begets resentment, not reverence.”
-Margaret S. Lifferth

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
- M. Russell Ballard

“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’?”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things.”
-Kent D. Watson

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Father-"Son" camping trip

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