Monday, October 1, 2012

Last Camping Hurrah!

 On Friday, we picked the boys up a little early from school and headed out for a 3 hr trip to Shipshewana, IN, a cute city where Ben and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary so long ago!

Due to faulty directions, our 3 hr trip took almost 4 1/2 hours so it was getting dark by the time we got there. My mom and stepdad drove from Ohio and beat us there, thanks to our several turn arounds! We got the 2 best spots in the campground, which was really pretty.

We worked quickly to set up our tent, get beds set up and to prepare dinner, which we ended up eating in the dark. Unfortunately, we weren't able to prepare well enough for the 40 degree nighttime/early morning weather and we were FREEEEEEEZING! I had an upset stomach through the night so between those 2 things, B and I barely slept at all the first night.

Thankfully, things only improved from then!


We were all bundled in many layers and warmed up by a morning fire on Saturday. Thanks to some borrowed camping equipment, we were able to cook up pancakes and sausages in the morning.



Ben became our unofficial official fire-maker. Fires in the mornings and evenings! He would send the boys around to pick up twigs and sticks and poke and prod til we had enough warmth to thaw out our frozen hands.


Here is Papa, contemplating life:) Or sausages, I'm not sure which...


Eliana just loves camping! She loves the tent, the camping chairs, the food. Everything! We had to watch her really closely since we actually had fires and not just the grill. She stayed away but she's a toddler and they trip on things and don't always pay attention. She was up til probably 11:30 or later Friday night before she gave in. She slept between Ben and I so we could keep her warm! She had on a thermal shirt, socks, thick footsie pajamas and a thick sweatshirt to sleep in.

She slept much better the 2nd night, falling asleep earlier and just sleeping more deeply. I always sleep better the 2nd night, too!



There were other people at the campground but they were really quiet and not even that close to us.


Saturday morning after we thawed out, we went to walk around the shops down in Shipshewana. Lots of Amish stuff, as it is around Amish country, and lots of really cool, handmade, handcrafted things. My favorite was probably the doll store where the ladies from this family make dolls to look like the people buying them! We told Ben to come in (Who had been sitting outside with E in her stroller) after awhile and immediately one of the ladies went over, picked out a doll head, a wig and some glasses and when she turned it around, it was like Eliana's sister!

If I had the money, I'd buy one in a heartbeat!


After we had fun in the morning and picked up some things we needed from the store, we came back for lunch and naps! The boys occupied themselves with cornhole and drawing pumpkin faces and campground maps:)


The trees all around were so beautiful, changing colors, with leaves always floating to the ground. Perfect weather!!


Here's Papa listening to the Buckeye game and Eliana keeping him company:)


We made some delicious hobo packets for dinner and topped them off with s'mores!!! The first night, my mom forgot the chocolate so we had s'mo. So it didn't count. We had to do it over again with chocolate!


The boys LOVE roasting marshmallows!!!


But they were very scary with the pitchfork-like roasting sticks!


A Mugga enjoying the campfire:)


Fissy enjoying chocolate! She ate 1/2 a graham cracker piece, a bite of marshmallow and kept coming back for more and MORE chocolate! That's my girl:)


We set up space heaters in our tent the 2nd night and it helped SO much. We slept really well. I think I like camping when it's a bit chilly out rather than 95 degrees! Makes a campfire and s'mores more fun, that's for sure. We're making plans for next year already.

We woke up, ate a leisurely breakfast and while Ben carved some pumpkins with the boys, we started the big job of packing up all the gear. Beds, blankets, coolers, bags, tents, etc. Then we headed home to unpack everything and most of all...

To take showers/baths. Best shower ever!! We washed the camping grime off the Jrs and tucked them all in bed for a good night's sleep before school today.

SO glad we took the plunge and decided to start camping this summer. Really hoping it becomes a summer tradition so we can make lots of special memories!

1 comment:

Charity said...

What a fun idea to meet Mugga and Papa 1/2 way! You should definitely make it a yearly thing. The kiddos will look forward to the tradition every year.

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