What a Great Weekend!

We just got back from a great weekend camping at Camp Timber-Lee in East Troy, WI. It's only about an hour and a half away from home so it is far enough to seem like a vacation but not so far that we all dread the ride home. Timber-Lee has both a Christian youth camp (i.e. week long sleep away camp for kids)and also a family campground for RVs and tents. I used to go to camp there with my church youth group when I was a kid (before we moved to Mississippi)and Jacob and Hannah have both gone a few times. This was the first time we ever went camping there as a family. We arrived on Friday afternoon found our campsite. We actually got the best site, but that comes with a price to pay....it overlooked the lake and the beautiful sunsets but was also up a pretty steep hill. Kermit and Jake were gracious enough to do most of the heavy carrying (I love my men!). We set up camp and started making plans for the rest of the weekend. One nice thing about camping at a youth camp is all of the fun activities you can sign up for. Before the weekend was over, at least part of us had gone horseback ridding, gone boating, done leather crafting, played tether ball & volleyball, built sand cakes and pies (Lily's version of sand castles)and done the other normal camping stuff like making smores and playing Uno by the light of a tiny, tiny lantern. The only disappointment of the weekend was that we could not go swimming or kayaking due to them finding "blue algae" in the lake the morning we arrived. Evidently it is toxic to some degree and they didn't want anyone getting sick. Oh, and the hayride was full before we were able to get on so we had to go on a family hike, instead. This wasn't a bad thing, just a change of plans.

Jacob was only partially looking forward to the trip. He has reached that age where he could not imagine the entire weekend without his friends and could not imagine actually enjoying an entire weekend with the family. He was sure he would not have any fun. Well, needless to say he was able to find plenty to do. He really enjoyed horseback riding and boating but was very sad that he could not go kayaking (one of his favorite things to do). But he did enjoy pouring water all over our plastic Uno cards to see if they were really waterproof. Believe me when I tell you that plastic Uno cards stick together when they are wet. In the end he had to admit that he had a lot fun (but it would have been better if he had brought a friend)... good grief!

Hannah had a blast! She loved the giant slip and slide (made out of two full size billboard vinyls) and also enjoyed leather shop where she made a musical note key chain and a coin purse. Her favorite activity was also horseback riding. She is very sore and bruised today from the slip and slide. Her poor hip bones are scraped and blue. She really had fun winning at Uno and canoeing with Jake.

Lily spent the entire weekend on the go. She did not want to stay in camp for more than a minute (we could barely even get her to eat!). Our campsite was close to the playground so when we were not doing everything else, she was down at the playground burying her feet in sand and making friends with everyone she could. Her favorite part was...you guessed it...riding the horse, although she was not old enough to go on the trail ride. She just got to ride the horse as it was led by a farm hand. She also made a pink bracelet at the leather shop and spent hours on the slip and slide.

Kermit had a weekend of relaxation...well, almost. With any camping trip comes work, but I have to say that he has camped enough that he has it down to a science. He and Jake had tents up and down in a flash and fires built from scratch in minutes. Poor Kermit had an earache most of the weekend but was still able to be a enjoy all of the activities. He said his favorite part of the weekend was spending time with the family (but we all know he really enjoyed the horseback riding).

This was the first time that we actually camped as a family alone, without the scouts. It was my first time packing for the trip and then cooking, keeping everything organized, etc. I had such a great time watching the kids play together (without fussing and fighting)and just spending time outside in God's amazing creation(the weather was gorgeous - 80 degrees, light breeze and zero humidity). We saw beautiful sunsets and heard dozens of different birds including loons and wild turkeys. Once again, I just took time to soak it all in and hide it away realizing that times like this with the entire family will be gone before we know it. Below are some pictures of our fun and a video or two.