A Week Without Mom

Maybe our little Father sons outing was inspired, because when Jenn said she really wanted to go see her brother and his little family after they had their little baby, Jack and I were geared up and ready.

Two weeks, no problem! Jack and I were ready for some serious father son time.

Honestly, I can’t believe how healthy it was for us. As soon as we dropped the girls off at the airport, it was time to start prepping for some long hikes, serious birding, and other manly projects.

We went to bed late and Jack was fine just snuggling up in my arms every night till his mom came back.

My goal each day was to wear him down by having too m
uch outdoor fun. We started at 5am most days and would build combines or tractors with Jack’s Kinex toys inside until the sun came up. Then we got our gear and the camera to head out to Hidden valley with the dogs. We spent a good 2-3 hours a day just exploring out there and climbing hills.

The Boat Safari that Almost Happened…

We were spotting 8-10 new bird species every day and Jack was really getting into it. I knew Jenn was having fun with her family out in California and I wanted to plan something epic with Jack. After going to the lake near our house and spotting King Fishers diving for fish, I started planning a boat safari out in Akagera.

Akagera National Park is located near the farms that I work at and I wanted to take Jack out on a boat safari to see what other birds we could site out there. We started the day at Heaven Restaurant for breakfast and then we headed out with Landry. It was a long drive, but when we got to Akagera, we were seeing birds left and right. Jack had patiently waited to do his boat safari all day and we were all excited. As I talked to reception they were quick to say that I had to pay for the driver, vehicle, and regular safari ON TOP of the boat safari….In the end it was ridiculous since we were only going to have Landry drive us in a mile and drop us off so he could take some supplies to the farm.

Driving back towards the entrance gates, I vowed that we would at least site as many birds as we could before we left. We were not disappointed! We sited a Fish Eagle, Grey horn-bills, and other rare species. It was like they heard we had been shorted on our safari plans cuze they were poppin out of the woodworks!  That night we were both completely drained but we still rolled out some dough so we could make homemade pizzas together. He made his own little pizza but ended up falling asleep while eating it.

Saving a Cheetah

A few days in, we got a call that Howard’s Cheetah had arrived at the office. Jack and I brought our tools to go “save” the cheetah in the box. I don’t know if Jack thought I was serious or not, but he was excited either way. When we started opening the door and he saw the tail sticking out and his mouth just dropped open. He pushed us to work faster to get the cheetah out. The whole time our cleaning lady was keeping a safe distance away (even though the thing was stuffed).

Jack went right in there to save the poor thing. When it came out, I cringed. The cheetah had a Grinch-like face that was, without a doubt, some taxonomist’s mistake or simply a bad joke. It really looked funny with such an amazing body. In the end, most people wouldn’t notice and Jack thought he was the man after getting the cheetah out.

Late night Off-roading

Jenn informed me while she was in the States that we needed to help a mother at church who didn’t have food for family and wasn’t able to pay rent. Jack and I had to pick up the missionaries late that evening and we all figured it would a quick run there and back. As we started going deep into the ghettos, the dirt roads got more and more menacing as if people purposely were trying to keep cars out. I had to trust the elders as they guided me over two iffy looking planks that were acting as a bridge for vehicles. Two inches off and we would roll right into the massive crevice that had been formed from decades of water runoff.

After finally making it an hour in, I realized that I missed Jack’s bed time.. AGAIN! He ended up falling asleep in the car on the way back, which was twice as treacherous as we couldn’t see anything. Trying to get that kid to go to the bathroom while he is dead tired either leads to unavoidable messes or turns into a screaming horror film cuze he just wants to go to bed. Yup, I would definitely take a wild Grinch-cheetah over that kid when it comes to “handling” him past his bedtime!

Finishing the Chicken Coop (the Aggie WHOO-coop)

Having Jenn out of the house gave us the time we needed to complete our Chicken coop. I was surprised at how well it turned out and Jack was a little champ when it came to holding boards and helping with nailing things in. Jack was proud as punch to have such a big project finished up and he has been climbing in and out of it ever since. We still need to get our blasted chickens for it! That should have been the easy part...

Lessons learned

·      As a father, I highly recommend doing a long stint with a boy. We had a few tough moments but I think it’s important for a boy to know that he is alright just being with his dad.

·      Having a little buddy on your side for a couple weeks can really get your creative juices flowing whether you like it or not.

·      I thought we would be pretty burned out by the end…kind of like a marathon, but I was surprised that both of us were ready for another week. Jack made sure to talk Jenn’s ear off about all of the adventures we had.