Camping! And moving!

 We have been buuuuuusy! When we looked at the calendar at the end of August for this month, we felt really overwhelmed. But here we are....the day before moving day and we are still alive! But first, last weekend we went camping! Ben took his very first earned vacation day last Thursday and we took our long awaited camping trip, which had to be rescheduled because of all the rain this summer.

The boys got to sleep in their very own tent this time. They begged to be allowed to set it up themselves so we let them! They did a really good job:)

The end result! It's a very cozy tent, made for 2 to sleep side by side with little extra room so as they grow, we will probably have to upgrade. They were so proud of themselves!

My mom and Derek upgraded to a tent with a sunscreened porch:) They also had a hammock, which was a big hit!

Nothing in the world like a good campfire and s'mores!

We didn't go too far from home but it felt like another place! There was a nice trail to hike so we went on a long walk on Friday.

My stepdad loves to take pictures for possible paintings so I snapped him snapping pictures:)

Samuel with his walking stick! We all found good walking sticks for the weekend:)

Eliana and her daddy!

Love, love this pictures!!

We brought along the kids' nature journals and had them write observations about flowers, bugs and other things like these deer tracks. Camping is definitely educational!

Everyone hiking. We went with my mom, stepdad, my brother in law and niece. It was a fun crew!

Everyone admiring the scenery!

Eliana is such good buddies with her cousin Evy. They had the best time together!!

The boys were helping to blow up the swimming pool for the girls. It was pretty warm on Friday so it was perfect to cool off for a bit. Can you guess who's legs and who's arms those are?? (hint; it's a trick question!)

Derek took this gorgeous picture!

And here's Ben fully enjoying his brief vacation:) He took a nice long nap on Friday!

We only stayed 2 days so that we could still have a weekend, too. It was a short and sweet trip! We felt good about our camping skills this time:) Ben and I invested in a double sleeping bag which made sleeping SO much better! Now we don't have to drag along sheets, blankets, etc and be huddled shivering all night. Definitely recommend one!
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We came back from camping and our whole week has been spent trying to balance school (more on that another time) and getting ready for moving this weekend. It has been CRAZY. As a matter of fact, I have to scram and finish getting ready for our moving help to come in the morning. Ah! Can't wait! This is going to be a fun place to live!!

Pictures coming soon! (a.k.a. after the internet is installed, which won't be for another week and a half:)

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:)

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!

Roughing It

Guess what we've been doing?! One last hurrah before the cold(er) weather sets in.

And this time we didn't go it alone....

Be back tomorrow with details!

Camping Day 2!

 Instead of driving straight to CO last Wednesday, we decided to spend a quiet day together as a family. After breakfast, I took the kiddos down to the lake to throw rocks so that Daddy could sneak in another nap. 14 hours of driving will wear you out!

It was so quiet and peaceful down there and the boys loved seeing how far they could throw the rocks.

Eliana decided that looked like a ton of fun and joined right in:)

Her rocks didn't go nearly as far but it was SO cute to watch her try!

My 3 rock throwers:)

I wish these pictures had turned out better~it was such a beautiful day and they all looked so cute down by the water.

Lake Ogallala

Someone waded right in the water in her tennis shoes:)

Getting adventurous...

After Ben woke up, we decided to check out the town of Ogallala. Totally not what they claim to be online. This was their "exciting" western town.

It turned out to be a block long, in the middle of a really random, spread out, ugly town. We drove by a few times and decided to hightale it back for the campsite, with marshmallows and chocolate in tow for s'mores.

This is what Eliana thought of the town...

We spent the afternoon reading while the boys watched a movie from the back of the van. It was really hot out so we couldn't do too much. Later we went back to the lake for round #2 of rock throwing and then finished out our night with hot dogs, corn on the cob and s'mores!!

Tomorrow comes Colorado!