Uncles can teach little boys lots of things. My two little boys were lucky this weekend because they got to learn so many fun things from their Uncle Scott. We went camping at Fort Stevens and had a blast. The primary reason our family goes is for salmon fishing. Nathan caught three fish. We’ll be enjoying lots of good salmon in the coming months. The boys and I stay behind, and my mom kindly stayed back with us. We got to do a lot of fun things during the mornings, and then in the afternoons all of the fishermen and women were back to join our fun.
So what did my boys learn?
First off, they learned how to find secret places in the woods. Uncle Scott helped them find three secret places. Their favorite was secret place number one. Elias wanted everyone to come join him in secret place number one. Here are a couple pictures:
One of the evenings, we rode our bikes to Coffenbury Lake. We found a small sand dune. Uncle Scott promptly taught the boys how to run down the sand dune.
He also taught them how to make daring jumps.
My little daredevil, Simon, had to try this right away.
With all of the talk of fishing going on, Elias really wanted to participate. He is not quite old enough to go out on the boat yet during salmon fishing. So Uncle Scott took him fishing for smaller fish from the shore. He caught a yellow perch and was very very proud. Nathan didn’t get pictures of the fish or the proud looks on Elias’ face, but these are a couple of him in the process of fishing.
One thing Uncle Scott could not teach the boys was the beauty and relaxation of sitting around the campfire. Every time we wanted to sit around the fire, the boys looked at us like we were crazy and then got up to run around to their secret place or explore the area.
One thing that finally got them interested in staying in the campfire area was when they started the “throwing sticks and pine cones game.” We made a huge pile of sticks and pine cones from around the camp. Then the boys would grab a couple at a time, run to the bushes, and throw them as hard as they could into the woods. They did this over and over and over again. It was very cute to watch, and it was nice because we could actually sit around and enjoy the campfire while we watched them.
While everyone else was out fishing, my mom and I took the boys to Seaside for some fun. The boys both really loved the carousel.
We also rode our bikes to Battery Russel and the Historic Area so that the boys could explore around those areas. They had a lot of fun making echoes in all of the dark rooms of the battery, and Simon especially loved pretending to drive the army jeep.
Much to my brother’s dismay, I insisted on one no-fishing day. (At least for our family of four…everyone else still went). Instead, we went to Cannon Beach. We ate at our favorite restaurant in the whole world…The Lazy Susan Cafe. Poor Simon had to wait a lot longer for his breakfast than normal. In retrospect we should have brought him something more to tide him over. We had a nightmare restaurant scenario on our hands until we ordered an English Muffin pronto, and Simon got some food in his belly. Then he was charming and waving at all the other customers like he hadn’t been throwing forks and screaming just a few seconds earlier.
After breakfast we went to Tolovanna and enjoyed the beach. It was a chilly but beautiful day. The boys had a lot of fun playing in the sand.
We also dipped our legs in the ocean, but it was absolutely freezing. Painfully freezing! It didn’t seem to bother Elias has much as it bothered the rest of us.
Elias keeps telling me that we have to go back to camping. Both boys really loved the experience!
It all started because I wanted to teach Elias how to read a map. I’ve been looking into toddler/preschooler geography lessons because I know from experience as a teacher that it is hard to fit that kind of thing into the school day. I want my boys to have a broad world view, and one of the ways to start is to teach them about maps.
Sword making was a hit:
Where Be The Treasure?
Look at all this loot!
I decorated our house a bit for the party. This one sign was especially fun for the adults who could get the humor. I hung it on the bathroom door.
Thanks to everyone who came and made our pirate party a success!
