To kick off the summer in full summer fashion, we went camping and floating during the week!! This was the first time we've ever gone camping with just the four of us. It was very low key, almost boring at times...but that could be because I forgot to pack toys for the kids. We had a full afternoon at the campground, full of fishing and wading in the water. Because it was a Thursday, we had the place almost to ourselves. Riley rekindled her love of casting. Notice the blue fish on the end of her line? She has no interest in catching anything but that fish she calls "Dori".
Jude also has a love for casting. Only he likes to only catch a red fish that hasn't been named. These two spent 30 minutes at a time casting in the gently moving water. That's a like a thousand years in preschooler's time.
I couldn't resist snapping pictures of this cutie being still, because it rarely happens. And I'm pretty sure he is using Riley's rod here because his is meant for a seven year old, he's got some growing to do.
It was a little chilly that night. Fortunately, I did remember to pack hoodies and warm PJs for everyone. When we camp, we usually have fancy camping meals that require lots of prep and clean up. This time we roasted hot dogs. That's it. I think that's when I realized it was a little boring, because I did a lot of sitting that night. And sitting still is just a little weird for my busy body to do. No wonder Jude never sits still.
Woody talked me into sleeping on the ground and not using an air mattress. After my initial fear response of an adrenaline-heightened heart rate producing a sheen of sweat over my entire body, I was okay with sleeping on a hard ground and losing my beloved cozy comfy bed. Not happy about it, okay with it. Because who am I kidding? I NEVER sleep well the first night of camping. Then I'm so exhausted by the second night that I could sleep on said hard ground. But the ground wasn't that awful, and I ended up sleeping for a few hours. The grass was pretty thick and padded. But we did go purchase camping mats after this night.
One of my favorite parts of camping is after the kids go to sleep, the adults sit around the campfire and have some of the best and funniest conversations I've ever encountered. The kids got in the tent around 8:30 and quietly talked and played until 10:30. This would not ever be okay at home, but it was so sweet to listen to their little conversations that we let them have that time together. Woody and I sat near the fire (because it was 60 degrees at that point) and enjoyed some "unplugged" time together. Seriously, getting away from all the devices, ringing, dinging, notifying, etc is just good for this soul.
While we were hanging out together, we heard several owls calling to each other. Then as we were going to bed we heard a large cat, I'm going to venture and say it was a mountain lion, screech like nothing I've ever heard. It was on the other side of the river, and cats hate water, right? This is what I told myself so I could get those few hours of sleep I needed.
So the picture above (3 paragraphs north of here because I talk so much) is of the kids having breakfast Friday morning. It was such a beautiful and foggy morning. They were very worried that the fog wouldn't lift and we wouldn't be able to float, but by the time we had everything packed up and everyone sunscreened, it was nice and sunny.
And this is how we floated. The kids fit perfectly in the middle of the boat on their camping chairs. They did so great during the 8 mile float, never standing or leaning too far over. They didn't fight almost all day! It was so fun and so nice to enjoy so much sweet time together. By the end of the day, they were asking if we could come back next week. I definitely see this as a beginning of summer tradition for this family.
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