Camping 102

In September 2010 our family took our first camping 101 trip.  

Too much fun was had by all and a fun tradition was started so we decided to take our camping 102 trip again this September.  It seemed a little crazy with the temperatures still being in the mid 80's and my belly being 33 weeks pregnant but I decided it was worth pushing through it for the fun memories and experience for our family.    

1. We loaded the down the car (all this was for one night!) and headed to a family friend's farm about 20 minutes down the road. 

The kids waited in the hot car for an hour waiting on mom and dad to finish loading everything up. The kids could hardly wait. Will asked every five minutes all day if it was time to go.

2. We arrived at the camp sight and surveyed the scene.

Will was ready to wet his hook as soon as we arrived.  Molly Jane was proud of her new pink chair and plopped it down on the dock to watch the boys.

With in 5 minutes her boot was in the water.

3.  It was time to dig out the wormies and let the fishing begin.

This pond was loaded with fish and was the perfect place to entertain these two boys.

This was the first, of many, fish of the night.

Sissy was a little unsure of those wiggly, slimy creatures.  She stayed close to daddy's leg.

4.  We took a little fishing break to do some exploring in the woods.  The highlight was finding a muscadine vine.

5.  The kiddos were hot and tired and ready for a rest while daddy got the fire going.

6.  Mommy helped everyone roast hot dogs and s'mores for dinner with a little snuggle time mixed in by the fire.

7.  It was time for all the good little cowboys and cowgirls to get a good night of sleep from all their hard work so we set up the tent and rolled out our sleeping bags.

Mommy was hoping it would be cooled down by bedtime but it was not so much.  It was hot -very hot - especially in the tent with no air flow.  It did not seem to bother the kids one bit.  Once they finally settled down from all the excitement of the night they closed their eyes around 11.  There is nothing like hearing outdoor noises like crickets chirping, bullfrogs croaking and trains on the nearby track.  Mommy tossed and turned all night until about 3am when it finally cooled down and me and my big belly were able to get comfortable enough to sleep.

What a beautiful view to wake up to....

And a yummy smell to wake up to....

After bacon and eggs cooked on the griddle for breakfast the boys put their boots back on and were back at the fishing.

Here is their biggest catch of the day!

Will was proud of his huge catfish and wanted to call Poppy Doc and tell him all about it.

It was hard to pry these boys away from the pond but we managed to pack up the campsite and get back home before the rain started.  Even though momma got little sleep it was well worth seeing our two little people experience the joy of sleeping in the great outdoors and experience the beauty of nature.