A Favorite Ritual

I want a bumper sticker that says, "I'd Rather Be Camping."  I would rather be camping.  Not just right now, but yesterday, last week, next week, in October, next May.  Everything is brighter sitting around a campfire alone or with friends.  

Every May I spend my birthday weekend camping with my friends and family, and it's most definitely my most favorite weekend of the year.  In May we went to Devil's Lake.  I looked forward to hiking around the lake and enjoying time with my closest friends.  

These are my parents :)

Devil's Lake State Park is in Baraboo, and is the third oldest state park in Wisconsin.  Hikable bluffs reaching 500 feet high surround a 360-acre lake.  When I was a child, this lake gave me a horrible case of swimmer's itch (which has been eradicated); now the lake is the most refreshing thing after a morning of hiking.  

And as birthdays should be all about doing your favorite things, I spent part of my big day at Shooters Supply, gun in hand.  Favorite day.

For Ben, we usually go skate at the Pettit, and out for hibachi before we celebrate the New Year.  What are your favorite birthday activities?  Do you do different things each year, or do you have a celebration ritual?