Paul and Benjamin went to the Stake Father's and Sons Campout this year. Here they are enjoying a spaghetti dinner.
Paul: Do you have room in your heart for the 5 string Banjo? Here's us playing a few fiddle tunes...or was it Grandma's Feather Bed?
I call this one, "No, I don't want to go home. I want to stay here" which is what Benjamin said right before he pretended to fall back asleep so we couldn't take down the tent. Since the campout he's been praying every night that we'll go camping again.
Benjamin's favorite part was the morning campfire.
Peter has had terrible teething pains this past week. He finally cut his top two teeth, and his canines keep threatening to make an appearance. So now he has four teeth. This is his typical frustrated face- he snarls really loud through his scruched nose.
It's crazy how it's still hot outside, but there are already enough leaves in our backyard for a decent leaf pile.
I found a nine-week-long preschool program held once a week at our local children's museum. Parents go with their children for the first few weeks to help ease the transition. Benjamin loves it, and I love how low-commitment it is. Here's his first day of school shot...he didn't want to pose.
They learned about colors on their first day, so Benjamin got to paint and play at a bunch of the other color-themed stations.
Benjamin has a few obsessions these days: blue mailboxes, monsters, and killing monsters. A few weeks ago, I casually told him about the "Gunny Monster," who comes and eats all the children's toys, clothes and books that are on the floor after they go to bed. Although the Gunny Monster has yet to actually strike at our house, Benjamin really latched on to this idea and devises all sorts of plans to outsmart the Gunny Monster. He even drew this green monster on the shower wall the other day so he could beat it to death with his bat.
And this is probably the biggest daily harvest of raspberries we've had so far this year. These grew on the transplants that came from the very yard I grew up in. So thanks again, Mom and Dad! Hopefully they'll do a little better next year. 
The party didn't start until 1:00, so we spent the morning driving through ghetto Quincy in search of a park. The best we came across was a riverfront park complete with swarms of mosquitoes and a creepy metal detector dude combing through the mulch at the playground. What could possibly be worth the trouble? To each his own I guess. 
We found ourselves at a fabulous Greek restaurant for lunch where we met some fellow St. Louisans with a little girl Benjamin's age. They all had fun giving blow-fishes on the fish tank. 
Not knowing quite what to expect, we were devastatingly ill prepared to entertain two young boys during a political rally for 4-5 hours. The St. Louisans were nice enough to let us share their spot of ground which was great, but we had to be vigilant about keeping any of the thousands of old cigarette butts out of Peter's mouth. Benjamin and Margot had fun playing with her tractors and watching Shrek on their portable DVD player. 
Benjamin would tell you that the highlights from the trip were the blue mailbox, his new friend Margot, and the "stinky yellow potties (portapotties), that were soooo stinky." Some of our favorite parts: Reading Twilight together in the car, Andrew Breitbart's speech, and the hot (says Sarah) 27 year old congressman from Illinois who gave the best political speech I've ever heard, hands down. Oh to be 27 again! Best sign goes to "You Can't Multiply Wealth by ÷ It." All in all it was a fascinating slice of Americana. Good times.
