Camping

Mike's been dying to take the family camping for quite some time now.  The last time we camped as a family, Kate was about Blake's age and it was rocky at best.

Mike's taken Dylan on a father/son camp-out but our upcoming ward camp-out was as good a reason as any to pack up the whole fam and spend a little time outdoors.

 Upon arriving at our campsite near Lake Whitney, we were greeted by a large herd of deer.  Poor things seemed really annoyed that we were there.

 Mike and Dylan did most of the heavy lifting getting the campsite all ready; building fires, setting up the tent, etc.  Like father like son. ;)

 We spent a lot of time down by the water, where the kids swam, played in the sand, and hunted for "treasures" like dead fish heads, scales, etc.  Ewwwwww!

For dinner we made dutch-oven pizzas with our pizza/pie irons that we got on our honeymoon.  We've never had much success with those irons, but eleven years later I think we finally figured them out- the pizzas were yummy!  Mike tried cooking a blueberry pie for dessert; not as yummy but I think we're learning.

A word about camping in September in Texas.  It was HOT.  Like stifling-humidity-hot.  Not the kind of cool crisp mountain air you think of when "camping."  Our tent served as a sauna rather than a comfy sleeping place.  Luckily the kids didn't seem to notice (or they passed out from heat/smoke inhalation) and Mike said he was proud of me for not complaining (very much).  All in all, I think it was a fun experience, but one we'll have to try again in November when it's a bit cooler.

Needless to say there was not much "sleeping" during the night.  Nothing that an hour car ride home didn't cure.

Yay for family camping trips!

Here's to many more (when the weather is much much cooler).