camping

We have returned from our expedition into the wild.  I am not really sure if Half Moon Bay qualifies as "the wild" but we did enjoy basking in the great outdoors.

Camping brings up a thankfulness of sorts.  I love camping and spending all day outside exploring. 

I love camp food...seriously, why does regular food taste so much better when you are camping?  

I was thankful for a campsite with hot showers and toilets (a deal breaker on any campsite for me).  Aside from all of the joys of camping I am thankful that I don't have to live like that every day.  I enjoy coming home to a clean house and taking a shower without the necessity of "shower shoes" and a bag of quarters.  

This was Ashlyn, Landon and Basil's first camping trip.  Ashlyn said that her favorite part of camping was the tent.  She carefully set up her bed and spent a lot of time reading, drawing and writing in her journal about her trip..  

Landon liked making and eating smore's, the tent, using the flashlights and the beach.

Basil wasn't so sure about this whole camping thing.  I swear our dog is so anxiety ridden as soon as the suitcases come out to pack that she needs her own doggie-Prozac prescription.

This was a frequent scene anytime someone left the campsite whether it was to use the bathroom, take a shower, or venture down to the beach.  Basil would sit, anxiety ridden, until the missing person returned safely.

She would freak out if a dog walked by and don't even get me started on when those weird GIANT dogs (horses) walked by with people riding on their backs!  

The man in the campsite next to us pulled out his mandolin every night and played around his campfire.  This was actually really impressive considering how cold it was...numb fingers don't make playing the mandolin easy!  We all enjoyed the music and Landon was especially in awe.

He was even nice enough to let the kids try their hand at playing the mandolin.

By the second day if you walked by our tent the abundance of shoes probably screamed "clown car" to those passing by!  Seriously, how many people were sleeping in that tent anyway?!

Not only was this Basil's first camping trip it was also her first trip to the beach.  On day 2 we drove to a nearby beach that allowed dogs.  The drive was all of five minutes but with all the stress Basil promptly fell asleep on the floor of the car.

She was very unsure of the sand when we got there but again passed out quickly after we got settled.  

The kids loved playing on the beach despite the cold.  The only issue they really had was the horses' contributions to the sandy shores.  

(yeah those dark spots on the sand...that'd be manure)

 I lost track of how many times someone yelled "look out for the horse poop!" on our trip to the beach.  Despite the land mines and brisk temperature the kids stripped down to their bathing suits and stuck their feet in the water.  

I believe that camping is a really great inexpensive family vacation.  Working together to make a meal, set up camp and spending time together makes a lot of great memories.

Camping is as good a time as any to work on math skills!  

That smile still gets me every time. 

The back seat was quiet on the ride home.  It didn't take long for every last one of them to fall asleep.

God certainly put on a show for us this week.  Amazing was all I could say.  As I sat and watched the sunset and the splashes of pink that danced across the water I was reminded of how small I am in this world.  Small but still loved by the God of the universe.  Awesome.  

Have a great week!