End of Semester Camping

Trying to start a fire again. It got rained out. Again.

Thanks for the tent Mom! We loved it!

We decided to go camping to celebrate the end of spring semester. We've had the spot reserved for a while at Natural Bridge State Park- beautiful! But unfortunately, it did rain most of the time we were there. Eric and I set up the tent in a pouring storm while the boys cheered for us from the back of the van- the back door open- Micah cheering "Seek Shelter!"

With the tent up, the rain stopped briefly enough to unload the van. The boys made beds and played in the tent while I made oatmeal and PB&J sandwiches for everyone for dinner- not the original plan but it worked. We tried for a fire that night, but everything was just too wet, so at 10:30 or so, we put the boys to bed.

Sleeping in? No. Normal 7:00-30 wake up time and the sun was out so we went for a hike after breakfast. The trail was right by our tent and it was short, so we hiked to a cave. Elijah was comfortable, confident and in his element. Micah chatted the whole time about everything he saw, where it came from, where it was going and why it was. Isaiah is more comfortable at a party with an audience than in the woods on a hike. He noticed every spider web and bug, and was quick to warn us all to steer clear.

The sun you see in the pictures was during one 3 hour window of time. The other 40 hours, it was either raining, wet or cold. Somehow though, the boys still had fun. They read comic books to each other, made up silly games and played outside. We played together as a family- games, stories, food cooked outside, and going to sleep together. Eric and I were patient with the kids, but definitely annoyed by the weather and lack of campfire. Elijah asked to roast marshmallows at least 54 times (which we finally were able to do) and no one had dry shoes by Sunday morning.

Ah the memories! Hopefully more sun next time.