We went camping this weekend with our friends and it was absolutely perfect! Curt headed to the campsite after work on Friday to get everything set up and we met him down there later since the kids had a friends birthday party that night. There are MANY reasons why I love Curt and our relationship works and this is one of them. When I found out the kids has abirthday party that I knew they'd be bummed about missing and told Curt, he didn't even hesitate. He suggested we go to the party and he'd set up camp and have it all ready when we made it there at bedtime. Personally, I think he needed a few hours of man time by himself as well.
So we got there late on Friday, hung out for a few hours then headed to bed. It was just a little cold Saturday morning, but quickly warmed up to a beautiful day. Curt got a Dutch oven from his parents for Christmas and was super excited about trying a few new recipes. For breakfast he made an AMAZING sausage, egg and hash brown casserole. Delicious!!! I have to admit, the main thing I hate about camping (previously) is our meals mainly consisted of hot dogs, turkey sandwiches and cereal. That is now a thing of the past!! Sure, it's a little more work to make and clean up a meal in the Dutch Oven, but totally worth it. He made a beef stew for dinner on Saturday night and followed it up with a little late night apple cobbler for dessert. I know you all want to come camping with us now, don't you??!!
Since Saturday was so nice, we took full advantage of all the trails and outdoor activities. We organized a kickball game in the morning that several other kids from the campground joined in. I wish I would have remembered to pull out my camera earlier during the day and taken some pics of fun around the campground and the kickball game. It was so much fun to watch the kids, especially the little ones, kick the ball and run around the bases regardless of what else was happening in the game. I was a little worried the kids who joined in our game would want to play with real rules or at least be a little more aggressive, but they actually didn't seem to mind not keeping score and letting the kids kick over and over.
After the kickball game, our family, Dustin, Lexi and Logan decided to go for a bike ride down to the creek. Unfortunately, we had forgotten what a long ride it was from this camp site. I was so proud of Caden and Keira! They made it the whole way without any problems. Keira needed a little help walking her bike up a steep hill, but made it the rest of the way by herself. I remembered the camera for this outing and I got some great pictures. The creek was sooooo cold, but it didn't stop the kids from getting in a splashing around.
Logan, Keira, Caden and Lexi
Caden was absolutely fearless in the creek. He had his water shoes on and he had no problem walking on the rocks.
Dustin, on the other hand, has much more delicate feet. I decided he needs a new nickname of Tenderfoot. I don't think he really cared for it ;) Apparently he NEVER walks around barefoot and wasn't too happy about our plan to cross the creek.
Me and my girl!
Yup, I get that face from her a lot.
I thought this pic came out soooo good. Sometimes I wonder if Keira realizes that her, Lexi and Logan aren't really blood cousins since we spend so much time with them and she calls their dads "Uncle." I guess in my mind they really are too. We are blessed to be adopted into this extended family - thanks Margie!!
The kids have been wanting to ride on the paddle boats for several visits, but today seemed like a perfect day to go for it. They seemed like they really enjoyed it and Curt got a good workout in the process. He said it was kinda hard to go against the wind paddling all by himself since Cade was a little too short to be much help.
We were exhausted by the end of all our exploits and slept so hard Saturday night! I love camping and can't wait until the next trip!!!
