pop's party :-)

This post just has to begin with a really big "THANK YOU" to my Daddy for making last Friday such a memorable one for us. Each week, Eli counts down the days until Friday because that's the day when he and Pop hang out together. Last week, they worked hard all day to set up a camp site so that E could tent camp outside for the first time. After work, I headed over to join them and was pleasantly surprised. They had prepared a nice little food tent, a fire ring and had set out some cool torches and lanterns to be lit. Eli was so excited to show me everything! Once Jesse made it from work, we all enjoyed some yummy campfire hotdogs and roasted marshmallows. It was so relaxing to just sit out by the fire and enjoy the beautiful evening. Once it was dark, we lit sparklers and made some hot chocolate on the camp stove. Eli also rode around on his tractor in the dark and absolutely loved it. This is something that he has done a few times before so he's gotten pretty good at it. He rides with a head lamp and a light attached to the front of his tractor so that he can see where he's going. It's funny to watch the little blur of light flying around everywhere in the dark:-) I was planning to participate in a March of Dimes walk the next morning so I opted out of spending the night. As I got ready to leave, E, Jesse and Daddy were all bedding down and it was really, really dark out there. I was worried about how E would do. But, by the time I made it home and messaged Jesse, E was already sound asleep. The next morning, the guys cooked breakfast and enjoyed the fire a little more. If the success of the camp out could be measured by the amount of dirt under E's fingernails and how many shampoos it took to remove the smell of the campfire from his hair, then I'd say it was super successful! The next day, Eli was telling me something about the night and referred to it as Pop's party :-) If that's the case, I think Pop's gonna have to host many more parties in the woods and next time I'm in for the whole night!

These next two pics are of Maw-maw and E running around in the field with their sparklers. They're not very clear, but I really love them. Such sweet memories!

Thanks again, Daddy! We had lots of fun!