Camping Trip 2011

Every year, we go camping on my brother's property with his family and a bunch of friends. It is a blast! It's something that everyone looks forward to. As soon as the last of the snow melts and the buds begin to form on the trees, Jake asks (almost every day!) when we're going camping.

And let me tell you, this is camping, like really camping. No running water . . . no bathroom . . . no shower . . . no refrigerator . . . no lights. It's just us in a tent with a bucket in a pop-up deer blind for a bathroom, melting ice in coolers to keep our food fresh, and baths in the water-filled gravel pit . . . And a bonfire, and stars, and s'mores, and fishing, and swimming, and four-wheeling, and relaxing, and quality time spent together. And laughing, lots of laughing. 

Camping.

Alyssa caught her very first fish with my brother's help. Jacob caught many, many fish - no help required. Zac had fun playing in the sand, throwing mud, and chasing the dog. We saw many frogs, toads, deer, geese, turkeys, and other wildlife.

I've spared you the 700+ pictures and shared . . . just a few.

Now can you see why we love to go camping???

Wordless Wednesday 9/7/11

Tasty Tuesday: Indoor S'mores & Camping Trip

We still have some birthday cake and petit fours, so I didn't want to make anything big. I remembered that a friend of mine told me about making s'mores in the oven. And since Alyssa got a tent, sleeping bag, flashlight, and fishing pole for her birthday, they would be perfect.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned how much we love camping. My brother and sister-in-law own property about an hour and a half from our house. We camp with them a few times a year and always have a great time. We won't be camping with them anytime soon though, since it's currently 32 degrees and expecting  more snow. We went camping by ourselves instead. In the living room.

What? It's time for bed?

Fishing in our lake.

It's a keeper!

Cinderella wanted some of that s'more. Trust me, its all over her face . . . on the sleeping bag.

Much safer eating s'mores in the kitchen.

Hmm, that looks tasty.

Fish on! Fish on!

Alyssa liked standing over the fish she wanted. If that didn't work, she picked up the fish and stuck it to the magnet.

Cookin' up some grub.

Cotton balls on skewers are great for roasting marshmallows over a toilette paper tube fire.

Mmm, roasted perfectly!

 They liked turning off all the lights and shining the flashlights and lantern. They had fun "sleeping" in the sleeping bags in the tent. It got a little crowded when Daddy joined in though! Jake's favorite part was definitely fishing. (It's his favorite part of real camping too.) We also went for a swim in the lake and almost got attacked by an electric eel! Despite the dangers, we had a great trip.