And.....they're off...

The guys left for their annual 8-day quest to bond with nature...
This year, Noah was finally old enough to join the Men on their canoeing trip in the Boundary Waters between Canada and Minnesota. He was soooooo excited. Actually, all of the boys were driving me nuts with their anticipation. Like the weeks right before Christmas, they were bouncing off the walls with excitement. I will miss them, but truthfully, I was glad to see them go this time. They were getting into so much trouble. Caleb and Seth were doing "training" by dragging 40 pound bags of chicken feed around on their backs. That was OK, but it got out of hand when they decided to practice their hunting techniques on our septic tank service man. Noah and Seth had plucked all of my Peony bush buds off my not-yet-blossomed plant and, as much as I could tell, were going to use them for ammunition when the man came back around the house. Now, whether they actually would've done it, I don't know, but I DO know that my bush won't be flowering anytime in the near future, and to me, that meant WAR! It was kind of a one-sided war (since I'm their mom and they have to do what I say), so after they cleaned the bathrooms, vacuumed the living room, folded the laundry, and collected the eggs, I declared myself the winner, and sent them back out to play...

This year Paul and the boys went with my dad and oldest brother, Mark. My dad used to go up annually with his fishing buddies on the same type of trip, but hasn't been up in about 20 years or so. I really enjoyed watching his excitement as they prepared to go. My brother has been there once (that I know of) and claims that he only needs the clothes on his back for the week (no need for extra weight, of course). I think he ended up throwing in a rain poncho "just in case". I am looking forward to many interesting stories and fish "tales" when they get back.