Autumn is finally here, and the weather’s been fabulous. The days are warm and bright, the nights are cool and calm and the tips of the leaves are just changing. Jack suggested a bonfire for our family night and the girls eagerly agreed. Probably because we had marshmallows to roast. Whatever their reasons, we all went outside after a late dinner and settled in.
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| Getting the party started. |
Jack is a master fire builder. I’ve had my fair share of practice after using our wood burning stove last year but I am happy to let Jack take over when he’s around. The girls, my mom, Henry and I sat back in our camping chairs close by and waited for one of Jack’s masterfully crafted blazing bonfires.
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| Henry enjoyed his first campfire. |
Our fire caught quickly because I’d piled it high with the dry, otherwise unusable branches from the backyard ash Jack cut down. The flames grew, the heat intensified, and we moved back.
Then, about the time I thought the fire might melt a hole down through the earth’s crust, Jack drug out the hose, watering down the edges and subduing the flames. The girls cheered excitedly for their daddy, who, on top of his many other hats, they now consider a firefighter.
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| Showing us The Good Samaritan video (and yes, that’s Laffy Taffy in her hair). |
After a lesson about The Good Samaritan from Claire, we roasted marshmallows. The coals were still broiling and more than once, the girls whined that they couldn’t look at the fire because, in their words, “their faces were melting off.” So, they handed the little globs of fluffy sugar over to grandma or dad and eagerly snatched them when they were done.
