Camping

This weekend we went camping!  When I was little, my family went camping a few times a month during the summer.  I don't think we'll ever be into camping quite that much, but I do look forward to our once-a-year tradition.  I think it is important to introduce our kids to nature and let them get a little dirty.  And because Derek and I were raised in small towns (I count all of South Dakota as small town), we don't want our kids to end up to be "city kids".   

I'll be the first to admit, I was a bit pessimistic about our camping trip on Friday afternoon.  First of all, I had to work until 6 o'clock on Friday night.  With an hour and half drive, I knew we'd be cutting it close.  I was nervous we wouldn't be able to get the tent (and the rest of the campsite) set up before the sunset.  Secondly, the forecast predicted rain on Saturday.  I wasn't too excited about being stuck in a tent with two little kids during a rainstorm.  Luckily, everything worked out great!

We ended up having a fun weekend.  We spent a lot of time chasing Punky and Buddy around the campsite, playing at the playground and looking for caterpillars.  Both Punky and Buddy did great sleeping, eating and listening. 

I am pretty tired tonight, so I am just going to add some of our photos and be done.   

Punky spent most of the weekend hunting for caterpillars and putting them in this bucket. 

Punky was upset that she couldn't take the caterpillars home.  We told her that they needed to stay in the forest so they could grow and the next time we went camping she would be able to see lots of butterflies.  She was okay with that! 

Buddy enjoyed checking everything out.  He was curious and did a good job of being a little boy.   

The playground was probably his favorite part, as was the walk there because he got to see lots of puppies along the way. 

I was nervous with the kids around the campfire.  We sent them to bed when they got too antsy to sit down. 

Punky didn't want to try the marshmallows or s'mores, but after roasting 3 or 4 of them, she finally did.  She thought it was "ooey and gooey". 

We reserved our campsite back in March and didn't even realize then that our camping trip would coincide with Father's Day.  It was a perfect way to spend time together and celebrate Daddy.  Thanks for all you do, Daddy.  We couldn't ask for a better husband or Daddy.