Camping

Last week we spent a few days with Ben's mom and dad camping at Council Grove.  We lucked out with beautiful weather and had a wonderful time. 

 It turns out that the boys LOVE to wash dishes when camping!

 Our campsite was near the beach and we did our best to take advantage.

The temperatures outside were relatively cool and the beach was very rocky so the boys did more playing outside the water with their shoes on than in the water.

 This goofy guy lost a front tooth last week!

 Campfires are always amazing, but a campfire is especially amazing when the temps are cool and the warm fire actually FEELS good.  Hot weather and hot fire just don't seem like a good combination.

 We had a great campsite and for the first night we had relatively few neighbors.  You can see the lake in the background of this photo.  However, by the time we left on Saturday morning the place was so full that I don't think we could see the lake much at all anymore. Having lots of camping neighbors makes camping feel less like a quaint adventure outside and more like trying to figure out how this spontaneous community is supposed to get along.

 The boys kept busy at the playground near our campsite, playing with water and riding their bikes.

 There were also several games of hide-and-seek and we played catch with the football some, too.

 Riding bikes was fun for the older boys as well.

The boys struggled with their allergies while we camped.  We were prepared for it so thankfully we kept them somewhat comfortable.  The first night in the tent was a bit rocky with all the sniffling, snorting, coughing, tossing, turning, bathroom runs (thank goodness they're boys!), and covering up to keep warm.  But we made it and then all slept much better the next night.  We couldn't camp without Tim and Sue - they know what they're doing and they have a camp stove and all the other cooking equipment.  We do however, have enough gear to comfortably sleep in a tent - all four of us, and that's my favorite part of camping.