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Dad and Me Camping 2009
Submitted by: Jim Ford - 05/11/09 2:54 pm

Dad and Me Camping 2009
Haley and I spent a wonderful weekend together in late March Girl Scout camping. For the second year in a row, we traveled out to the backwoods of Chatham, Louisiana for an adventure in the woods. The only problem? What had been a nice sunny 70 degrees the day before turned into 30 degrees on Saturday morning! Brrrr it was unbelievably cold. Last year was only a daytime activities outing, but this time was an overnight camping trip. Armed with our sleeping bags, jackets, and chapstick, we set out to make some new memories. And boy did we ever!

We began the day by making a picture frame constructed with large popsicle sticks. Our frozen hands turned into blue popsicles instead and it was difficult simply glueing things together. But we powered on by finding little spots where the sun shown through the trees to stand in the warmth. We went on to find huge tubs of bubble soap and made some great shapes together. Two of Haley's friends from Ruston and Arcadia were there and they soon began goofing it up together. I snapped the shot below of them posing like Charlie's Angels. How cool! We moved on to some fishing. The only thing biting was some little brim eating the worms off the hook but it didn't matter. We had a great time!

We spent the day playing, hiking, more archery, and spending time in nature together. The pics below are just a few that made me think of the peace and calm of being outdoor with my baby Haley. Although, how could being with 40 Girl Scouts and their Dads be calm!?!? :-) Haley and I both took turns with the camera. She's actually quite good at picking out artistic shots herself.

The student volunteers and paid staff were excellent. Everyone pitched in. You see Haley and the girls hanging with one of the counselors below. She loves archery and was spot on every time. I should really consider getting her own set to practice at home. She was also glad to help her friend's Dad fix his lack of hair issue with her own. It was hilarious!

We had a tough time navigating the flooded out pond in our trusty canoe against strong winds. Many Dads and kids were blown backwards and gave up. But not Haley and me. Fords never give up! :-) We spent time talking, learning, giggling, and of course always lots of hugs and kisses. After building and painting our very own bird house, I was lucky to get this picture of Haley and her friend bolting down a trail. If you look close, they're speeding by a sign that says, "Do Not Run On Trails". Ha ha ha! That's my girl! The sun finally came out and I took several pics of Haley against the sun, just beautiful. God blessed me so greatly when he gave her to me. I'm so lucky! As the evening progressed, someone heard us playing guitar and singing Bon Jovi together in our wooden cabin and the group asked me to bring my guitar to dinner. I played everything from the Jonas Brothers to Tom Petty, to you name it. They loved it! Of course, Haley gets that every day so she easily bored and took off to play. We finished up the night cooking smores and singing by a campfire.

After our normal prayer and night night song, as we lay there together in our sleeping bags, the freezing cold literally howling through the screen windows of our frozen cabin, all snuggled up like bugs in a rug.... Haley turns over and kisses me and says, "I love you Daddy". I tell her "I love you too baby". Then I wrap my arms around her, close my eyes, and thank God again for this amazing gift He's given me.

For last year's trip and pictures, check out Best Day of My Life.

Log in and leave some comments or go to my pictures page to get more details on many of the pics you see here.

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