Spring Outing "Thanks!"

The Spring Outings are over and I'd just like to say "Thanks!" to a lot of folks:

• Double D - You make it all run smooth as silk. Your dedication and friendship towards YGP is special and accounts for so much of our success. Personally, you have been a great and true friend to me and my entire family. Thanks for all your help, your patience and willingness to go above and beyond.

• Andrew & Meredith - As "newbies" to Spring Outing, you two have proven yourselves more than worthy of following in the footsteps of Moose, Bobby and Salty Dog. Your excitement for the program shows and it's that excitement that stokes the passion of the dads and kids that attend Spring Outing. Thanks for your gusto, demeanor and dedication.

• LBC volunteers - You guys are the rocks that support everything that our program stands for. Your willingness to give up your weekends to work archery, rifles, canoes, etc. and general hustle to help the YGP staff is unmatched. While there are a lot of families that helped, I have to give a special "How-How!" and thanks to the Princes, Cartrettes, Scotts, Mays & Kruegers for multiple weekends and all their hard work.

• Moose - What can I say about Moose? He's a tireless workhorse of a man that's dedicated to our dads and kids, patient with all who seek him out no matter how mundane a request or question and a rock star among children. He's a friend to all and an attribute to the program's overall success. Thanks to Matt for his friendship, patience, guidance and steering sense of calm.

• My wife, Sarah - She has given me up for 5 weekends, shared me with the Nation and spent many hours helping at a couple of Spring Outings herself. She's been willing to assist without question, shown generosity with her time and been supportive of me and the boys. From the COSTCO runs to the piles of sharks teeth she finds in the washing machine, she's done so much at home that it makes it easier to leave for the weekends. She has been wonderful in so many ways. I hope she is as proud of me as I am of her, for her dedication to the program and us. Thanks to Flipping Bird for making the Spring Outing season a great one.

This has truly been an awesome time and my experience at camp those five weekends are very special to me. From meeting new dads and kids each weekend to eating five Saturday nights of fried chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes to hearing "The Tinker" multiple times - there's nothing better than a Spring Outing... except for five Spring Outings, of course.

How-How!

Happy Mother's Day!

As another Mother's Day winds down I'd be remissed if I failed to take the opportunity to publicly thank all the Moms that help make the Arapahoe Nation as great as it is.

Without some Moms pushing their husbands to join YGP (as mine did some 6 years ago), we'd not have the thriving group we have today. Out of the 13,000+ members we have, I'd dare say we'd cut that number by 75% if Moms were not behind the Dads, prodding and cajoling from the beginning.

And while Moms give the intial poke, it's many that continue to assist the Dads in the day to day membership. They remind them of meetings, make sure the vests are ready to go, rearrange schedules, teach Dads how to glue on patches, etc. Some Dads cannot function without Mom's assistance and for that I am grateful.

I owe much to my wife for all she has put up with over the years. From weekends without us to the glue globs on the dining room table to the shouts of "How-How" - she's been a major supporter and loves the special time I get to spend with the boys. To be honest, she's a little jealous.

So all you Dads, remember the Moms that pushed, poked and/or prodded you to join YGP, all their support and say "Thanks!" - and, oh, be sure to tell her "Happy Mother's Day!" from me...

How-How!

A Spring Outing Anniversary

The first wedding anniversary if a gift of paper. The second is cotton. 25th is known as the silver anniversary. 50 is gold. But what about the 17th? How about a Spring Outing!

This past Saturday, May 2, was our 17th wedding anniversary and I hated the thought of Sarah alone in Raleigh on such a special day. At Moose's suggestion, I invited her to come experience Spring Outing with us (and do a little work as well). She jumped at the chance to do something many mom's can only dream of doing and she loved every second of it, from the first minute on top of the shark tooth pile to the last walk on the point. She was in heaven.

Needless to say, this past weekend's Spring Outing was like none other for me and the boys. Shooting Bull and Sky Walker's mother, aka The First "Squaw," was in the house; and in the mess hall; and at archery; and on the shark's tooth pile; and, yes, even on the zip line! Believe it or not, she did not cramp our YGP style in the least. If anything, she added to the experience for all of us.

Moose introduced her to the crowd at the ice cream social Friday night. The whole rest of the weekend we heard shouts of "Happy Anniversary!" from one end of camp to the other and even from high atop the zip line tower. We felt so special.

It was no vacation for Mom, that's for sure. She sold shirts at the YGP store (she made the comment that some of us dads need help sizing the kids' shirts), made the rounds hiding giant fireballs (way, way past her bedtime) and was Moose's personal raft race secretary. She was a real trooper, hanging with her boys and all the craziness of Spring Outing, and earned her keep to boot. I need to get her an LBC cap!

FYI: Sarah has several Indian names. What she's called at any given moment depends on her mood, of course. Sometimes she's "Play Doe" and other times she's "Whacka Mole." The boys kept introducing her to everyone at Sea Gull as her alter ego "Flipping Bird." That's when she's, ahem, grilling bbq chicken, of course.

Our anniversary was made even more special when we slipped away from the bonfire (and the boys, thanks to Moose & Allison) for a little romantic dinner on the screened porch of London Quarters. We used a can of sterno for candlelight as we enjoyed shrimp cocktail while Standing Horse told The Tinkerer's ghost story. And to top things off, Moose and staff left us a surprise dessert of chocolate covered strawberries to enjoy with the always amazing fireworks display. It just does not get any better than that.

Sunday was sad as usual as we packed up to head back to Raleigh, but before leaving ,we took a final walk out on the point with the boys. We searched one last time for shark's teeth, avoiding the jellyfish as we walked upon the warm sand. We held hands as we strolled and I asked Sarah if she had a nice anniversary. She smiled that beautiful smile and that's all the answer I needed...

How-How!