“Yaaaaawwwnn,” sighed Mina Vanderhoof. It had been a long day full of tiring work.
Mina and her older brother, Willie, were nearly finished watering all the flowers around Honeysuckle Hollow. They were part of the Leaf Lovin’ Landscapers crew, along with their parents, Eloise and Madox.
As the summer season was winding down, they were finishing all their usual jobs before their busiest time of year. Soon they would be run off their feet, sweeping up nuts and raking crunchy leaves into giant piles.
“Well, that’s all the rose bushes trimmed!” exclaimed Eloise, setting the clippers down on the table. “And the front lawns mowed!” added Madox, dusting off his hands.
“Now what?” asked Wille. “Summer vacation!”cried Eloise.
Since they had such an amazing time on their camping trip last year, the Vanderhoof Moose decided to make it a yearly tradition.
They put down their tools and started to pack for their trip.
A family-sized tent? Check. A camping stove? Check. A pocket flashlight? Check.
Looks like they were ready to go!
The Vanderhoof Moose packed all their bags in their Happy Camper and hit the open road. In less than half an hour, they had reached their destination. They unloaded their stuff and walked under the shady trees until they found a clear spot for the tent. Perfect!
Eloise and Mina began to raise the tent, placing pegs in the ground. Madox and Willie unpacked their cooking accessories.
“Pots, pans, camping stove – hey, wait! Where’s the camping stove?” asked Willie.
“I was sure we packed it!” replied Madox.
Oh no! How were they going to cook their food?
Eloise headed over to see what the problem was. “Why don’t we make our own campfire?” she suggested.
“Do we know how?” asked Mina.
“I do!” laughed Eloise. “I learned when I was a young girl scout!”
Willie and Mina headed off into the forest in search of twigs while Madox helped Eloise find some big sticks to rub together.
They returned with their items and Eloise created a little nest of twigs and dried grass. She started rubbing the sticks together until smoke began to rise. Then, she added the sticks to her nest and blew softly on them. Suddenly, there was a spark!
“Yay!” cried Willie and Mina.
Soon there was a roaring fire, ready to roast some hot dogs and toast some s’mores.
“Well done, honey!” beamed Madox.
“I guess it’s always good to have a Plan B in the woods!” said Eloise. “Now come on, kids. I’ll teach you how to cook over an open fire!”
As night began to close in, the family gathered around the campfire, munching on their snacks and telling funny stories until the stars came out to shine.
“Luh luh luh,” she croaked.
“What’s the matter, dear?” asked Jessie.
“I can’t sing!” Bella whispered.
Tune in next week to join the Whooswhoo Owls in their watchtower!
