The Great Outdoors

Photos: June 26 & 27, 2008

Ah, the Great Outdoors. There is really nothing like a family camping trip in the summer. It's so relaxing to pack up everything you own and trek to a lovely dirt campsite and pitch your tent within 5 inches of your friend's tent. Yes, you too can enjoy a leisurely evening of cooking without any of the conveniences of home while shooing bugs away and digging through four different coolers in search of a cold beverage. And, after hours of breathing in sooty campfire smoke, you can crawl into your very own pup tent to share with your family and be lulled to sleep by the sounds of the bathroom that is 5 yards away. Oh camping, how we love you.

This was our very first camping trip. When I say first, I don't mean Jonas' first, I mean the first time Tony and I have ever gone camping together since we first started dating 12 years ago. And, despite the description above, we had a great time and are actually planning on going again this next weekend.

We may never have gone camping if our friends Travis and Michelle hadn't suggested that we all go together. Jonas loves their kids, McKenzie 3 and Jace 1. They all got along together and had a lot of fun.

For the kids, the #1 fun thing was playing in the tent. Jonas is a maniac when it comes to tents. He loves, loves, loves to be in a tent and run in and out and play all the live long day if given the chance. I don't really know where this comes from since we had not, in fact, ever been camping before. I just know he loves tents.



#2 favorite thing for Jonas: CAKE!!! It was the day after my birthday and Michelle was so nice to make and bring a cake and candles! Unfortunately, due to the fullness of her car, Michelle had to put the cake on the dashboard of her car on the way to camp and all the frosting melted and stuck to the lid. Oopsie. It was still incredibly tasty.

#3 on Jonas' fun-time-camping list: CANDYLAND!! McKenzie brought her Candyland game and showed Jonas how to play. He'd never really played before but caught on pretty quickly. It was so funny to see them trying to work out all the rules together. There were a few fights but judging from McKenzie's body language in the photo, it was overall a relaxed game.



#4 on the fun list: Hanging out with friends. There was a lot of general kid-play with digging in the dirt and some deep, meaningful conversations.


#6 on the fun list: Relaxing in the shade. I think this might have been the parents' favorite more than the kids. We were camping at Tumalo State Park. On the second day we crossed the road to the day use area that was actually shaded and grassy which was the complete opposite of our campsite. (This is the Rain Forest we were at in the previous post.) We hung out over there for a few hours and Travis took a little nap on the blanket with McKenzie and Jonas using his arm for a pillow. What a generous guy.


#7 on the list: Going from perfectly clean to Mud Boy in 5 seconds. This fun activity is demonstrated by Jace. The following two photos were taken only a few minutes apart. You can tell how much fun Jace had in between.



#8 favorite: Reading a good book with a good friend. 1 book + 2 friends = LOVE. (This photo occurred just a couple minuets after they were screaming bloody murder at each other.)

#9 favorite: Watching a Elmo DVD in Travis' truck while the adults pack up and try to get the heck out of there. (This would have been higher on the list if Jonas would have known about it sooner.) On the second morning everyone was tired and cranky. The adults were trying to pack and the kids were having a minor meltdown. Thanks be to technology for the ability to watch Elmo while camping.


#10 Jonas favorite (#1 on my list) : Hanging out with Dad by the campfire. Isn't camping all about family time? Well, that and S'mores. Gotta have S'mores or it's not really camping.