bonfires & raccoon teeth

The brisk autumn air is here. Granted I prefer the hot summer air, but there are some big perks to the fall. Campfires being on the top of that list. Our church small group went on a group hayride/bonfire recently. As Chris and I were loading the kids in the car, 4 out of 4 kids were making me a crazy person. Crying. Hitting. Toy stealing. Trips back inside the house to got to the bathroom – after seatbelts had been buckled. Just a lot of nerve wracking chaos.

I looked at Chris. “Why are we doing this again?”

He responded, “I don’t know. I think this is supposed to be fun.”

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Eventually, we did get on the road. We drove out of town. Through trees with leaves falling all around. Over bridges. Sun sinking in the sky. The peaceful sounds of happy and content kids…..entertained by a mini van dvd player. Bliss.

When we arrived, I quickly remembered why we were doing this. There were tons of kids and not near as many of us adults. Good friends. Outside away from stuff. And it was fun.

I may or may not have started the leaf fight.

I love these boys. Only 3 are mine, but I’d easily claim them all.

While the campfire burned, little boys explored. Several returned with animal skulls (this is now a very common occurrence when camping). My 5 year old spent a good amount of time trying to pull the teeth out of a raccoon skull. He even convinced another dad to help him (thanks Ryan). Yes, I know some of you are completely disgusted by the idea he was even holding a raccoon skull – let alone pulling its teeth out.  It grosses me out, but nonetheless I love his fury for discovery. I didn’t even ask why was trying to remove the teeth.

As he was crawling in bed, he told us he was putting some raccoon teeth under his pillow to see if he gets anything. This coming from a boy who has yet to loose any of his own teeth. What do you say to a boy like this? No, that is horribly gross. How did you sneak those into the house? Take them outside NOW! But, on the other hand, you’ve got to give a boy credit for such a creative and kind of genius idea. I was proud of him for thinking outside the box….not to mention all the work he put in to remove those teeth! So, he slept with raccoon teeth in a plastic bag under his pillow. And in the morning, he found a note from ‘Randy Racoon’  thanking him for finding his friend’s teeth…with some Smarties attached. He was quick to wonder how Randy got in his room, but never questioned how Randy wrote the note.

He’s awesome.