Sunday, November 26, 2006

camping with kids



A few weeks ago we went camping with another teacher, our friend Dan, and a half dozen 7-9th grade boys. For one thing, I forget what boys are like at that age, without girls around. Or maybe I never knew. In any case, we slept in our car, while the boys raged all night long, fueled by mountain dew and freedom. They toilet-papered eachothers' tents, pulled pranks, climbed trees and threw bark at eachother, scaled coconut trees, etc. Being pregnant, they exhausted me. I laid in the car, amused but aware of how different boys and girls are. Our friend Dan is a saint for volunteering his time (four days, three nights) to take those boys out for camping and bodyboarding. Here is a shot of him body boarding at dead trees, a notorious Big Island surf spot, where screwing up can give you "tattoos" - or scars from where the lava rock claws you. Looked fun when he was doing it.