It's no secret that Garrett loves his Daddy. He loves Scout and Mommy, too, but he LOVES Daddy. It's probably more accurate to say that he wants to be Ryan. He imitates him at every chance, and is planning his future based on what Ryan does. For example, he's always running some race in our house, our yard and at the park. He requires a medal and post-race interview each time. After the race, he talks about how long and difficult it was. The mileage always varies, but it's never under 15 miles. It's usually up there, and he's fully convinced he's run that far and that he's faster than Ryan. He even sometimes comes to me asking for me to tape his toes or to tell me "Yeah, Mommy, that toenail is black. I think it's gonna fall off soon." He's so convincing and serious about it, I sometimes freak out for a second before realizing what he's doing. He's getting good at push-ups and tries his very best at chin-ups. He tells long and detailed stories about when he grows up and starts working for TDS. He plans to have an office next to Ryan with a bed in it, so that he can sleep there, and to have meetings with Ryan all day. He'll have his own ranch next to the TDS ranch with various made-up and interesting exotic animals. We have at least 4 garbage trucks in our house for which he knows the names of the basic parts. He's known to give lectures on the evils of littering and the benefits of taking care of the earth through responsible waste disposal when he sees a piece of trash on the ground. When he was just learning to name pictures in books, I was showing him a picture of a lamb. When he called it a sheep, I said, "It's a baby sheep, called a laaa..." , to which he responded, "A landfill?" He sings at the top of his lungs to any song he even slightly knows and gets very animated when it's a song that he knows Ryan likes. Every toy he has, in his mind, includes an iPod, a phone, and a GPS. He always pretends to drink Diet Coke. I've even caught him pretending to pluck his nose hairs (sorry, Ryan) and wince after each painful pluck and rub his nose.
Soooo, when the opportunity presented itself for Ryan and G to go on the Father/Son Campout with our church last weekend, Garrett was more than ready. We packed up his little backpack with everything he needed, including his bug catcher, and he wanted to wear it all day. He changed his mind pretty quickly after realizing that he wasn't going to stay on his feet if he tried to play like that. When Ryan got home, G was beside himself. Jay and Cohen came to pick up my boys, and when Jay asked Garrett if he was ready for camping, Garrett quickly informed him that it was not camping but a campout. Armed with his new-found knowledge, Jay helped them load up, Cogie squealed with glee, and they headed out. Scout was not very happy to see them go, by the way.
Scout and I headed out to visit and have dinner with the girls and the other children left behind. As the wind picked up later that night, I was praying for all the tents out there to stay put. They next day, I got the scoop. They did not blow away, and once Garrett found a warm spot in Ryan's chest for his nose, they slept well. They weren't able to have a fire, because, as G informed me, "all the trees would burn up." They had good fajitas, though, and candy in lieu of s'mores. The next morning's battle was getting Garrett's pj's off to get his clothes on in the freezing tent. He later told Ryan to "never do that again!" After breakfast, they found a sunny spot behind a hill that blocked the wind to whittle some sticks. They didn't come home with any finished products, so I guess it wasn't a long session. They packed up everything and came home around lunchtime.
I'm so happy that they had their little time to bond, and I hope it's a tradition that they continue. We'll cross our fingers for a little less wind next time!
Garrett loaded down with his backpack and ready to go.
Ryan and Garrett packed and heading out.
Garrett bundled up in the tent and ready for bedtime.
Garrett whittling a stick.
No comments:
Post a Comment