Camping

In the middle of July I was laid off from my job. I was ready to move on and am excited about starting something new so all in all it's been a good thing. Since my schedule was suddenly wide open, we decided to go camping in the middle of the week! Many of the camp grounds near us fill up months in advance for weekend spots so we were glad to get a last minute, mid week reservation at a lake near us. It was Noah and Aliyah's first time camping but all in all everyone did great. However, a camping trip with three small children and a dog who LOVES being in the water is not particularly relaxing. A few lessons we learned:

- Noah is impossible to keep clean. I finally gave up and tried to at least wipe off his hands before meal time.
- Buffy will jump out of a boat into the water without thought of how she will possibly get back in the boat (more of a reminder than a new lesson learned :)
- Once one child in a tent wakes up, they all wake up.
- Aliyah is not very good at being quiet, even if we are all whispering and it's 6:30 in the morning and the rest of the campground is still asleep.
- Peeing on a tree is really really fun for small children, even girls.
- Pete's short time in the boy scouts as a child paid off as he was well prepared with a first aid kit when I injured my toe.
- Roasting marshmallows is always fun but it's even more fun around an actual campfire.

We came home tired and dirty and very happy. We definitely hope to go again soon.