Camping

I love our annual camping trip. It's so fun to take off the day after school gets out and head for the pine trees. Well, except this year, we had to do a make up snow day on what is normally the first day of summer break. But, we left as soon as the kids got home.

And they wasted no time getting lost in the forest.

 We had a very wet winter and we were finally able to have a campfire! It's been a few years since they were allowed. We've had to do smores on our stove! It was nice to have fire.

 The day before we got to camp it snowed. Just a few inches, but enough that we knew it would be cold. And it was. David had on a ski mask, his eye mask and his warmest hat. He actually slept like this.

 I opted for the Kenny from South Park look.

 

The next morning, David grilled us up a yummy breakfast. Yes, we have a coffee pot. It doesn't plug into anything though. So basically, we tried every which way to make camp coffee and it was all horrible...too strong, too weak, grinds floating in it. And a decent cup of coffee in the morning can make all the difference. I found this coffee pot and it's insulated. So, we head up water on the stove. Then, we pour it in the top and shut it. It slowly drips out like a regular pot of coffee. It works great! 

 Emily and Noah even get a long when we camp. It's a lovely site.

 The kids all play games. Our cell phone reception was awful, so they all enjoyed time with no screens!

 We had a little Starbucks run for the girls. They only rode in the back of the truck until we got to the main road.

 When I got back from Starbucks, I found Ben half way up a tree.

 It was cold, so we would lay on the pavement to warm up. It was nice and warm.

 The trees are always my favorite.

 There was some volleyball.

 We had dinner, and we brought strawberry shortcake.

 We took walks to the lake.

 His our friends and their son in law. HA! Yes, that's Noah with them. They have an 11 year old daughter and an 7 year old. Noah is right in between and I'm convinced he'll marry one of them.

 Emily made Alanah a leaf ring.

 It was Steph's birthday, so we got her a little cake when we were in town.

 Noah wasn't feeling so great. He ate too much junk food. Then, he felt better and he was running around the fire and he had his hands inside his coat because he was cold and he fell flat on his face. Luckily, he was just a little banged up, as was his ego.

 The next day we played some games. We were supposed to spend a third night, but the forecast called for rain and turning into snow overnight. If we had a trailer, we probably wouldn't mind, but in a tent, well, that's more than I sign up for. Besides, we've gotten in this habit of going for two nights and leaving later in the day on the last day. My theory is the only thing we are missing out on is a bad nights sleep!  We get home in time to get a shower and sleep in our own beds. It's a perfect compromise for me.

 We made the kids Jiffy Pop too!

 Noah would not let me take a picture of his face, so Emily and I acted like we were taking a selfie, but I had the camera turned around and I got his face.  It's not too bad, but it looked worse once all the scabs formed.  He'll be fine though.

All in all, another great camping trip! Dakri's son Josh didn't want to go. He had graduation parties to go to and hanging out with friends. He just graduated high school last week. So, I added it up and if Emily does that same thing, we will only have 5 more camping trips with her!  What!!!!!  NO!!!!!!!!!