Camping!

 We've been camping! Two years ago, we met my mom and stepdad in middle ground in Indiana and went camping; our first summer of camping:) We had such a good time, despite the beyond freezing nights (we learned some things that time!) that we decided to do it again the next fall. Only to be waylaid by knee replacements and broken knees and things like that on my parents' end. Bummer! We were all disappointed it didn't work out but were determined to make it work this year if we could ever get settled somewhere. Well, we did (yea!) and so we planned (yea again!) and we went!

This time we went camping in Waynesville, Oh, just under 1 1/2 hours away. We were all so excited all week for the chance to get away for a couple of days and roast s'mores, among other things:) My mom and stepdad were able to get there a couple of hours earlier than us and set up camp. We got there at dinner time, set up Thomas camp on the ajoining campsite and sat down to thoroughly enjoy some Southwestern Chili that my mom made and some cornbread that I made. Mmm!

One chair waiting for Ben. He must've been putting some final touches on our lovely dwelling.

Our home away from home! It has been a good tent for us, comfortably housing a queen-sized air mattress for Ben, Eliana and I (she will move up to her own sleeping bag next year!), two sleeping bags on either side for the boys and all of our bags.

After dinner, we found the perfect little dishwasher!

She spent at least 15 minutes soaping up everything and washing and getting herself all wet:)

Ben enjoying the fire; his favorite part of camping he says!

Mugga and Papa!

We had a horrific first night's sleep, unfortunately. Between some drunk carousing neighbors who showed up when it was dark out, decided to serenade the campsite with their ukulele and guitar duets (which weren't any good) until 11pm when I decided to call and complain,  a girl from their camp with a high-pitched screaming cackle of a laugh that wouldn't put a sock in it until around 1am, our air mattress having a hole in it which left us sleeping on the ground basically and me up most of the night with a very upset stomach, it was awful! Ben actually slept in the car, no joke. So we were cold, a little grouchy and exhausted yesterday morning but we quickly turned the night's events into some jokes and were happy to see our neighbors pack up and leave mid-morning.

We spent the morning in Waynesville, browsing their cute little shops and finding a local Wal-Mart to hunt down a new air mattress and some replacement ice. My stepdad also found a radio to tune into the Buckeye game:) We attempted naps and soaked in the peaceful quiet afternoon. It was really nice!

There was a pond down by the bathrooms so I walked down with the kiddos to throw rocks in the water and take pictures. Here's Samuel getting read to attempt some rock-skipping:)

Love Mr. Z's face! He does everything with his whole heart:) He had SUCH a good time this weekend. He was just enthralled with everything: the flashlights, helping feed the fire, making s'mores, and a million other things.

Just looking:)

Always ready to give me such big smiles! She loved throwing rocks in the pond!

It was a beautiful day! Sunny and 80. Perfect!

We turned on the Buckeye game, roasted some hotdogs and s'mores and had a really nice evening. We got all 3 munchkins tucked in bed earlier, which was good, since they were worn out! (Especially Eliana!) We slept SO much better last night on our new air mattress and with no wild college kids nearby.

We relaxed for a little bit this morning by our last fire and ate breakfast and then we slowly started packing up all of our gear. We had a really good time and have decided this will be an annual weekend each fall! We get better at camping each time and are so thankful for the fun memories it gives our kids:)