We do have a life apart from camping...

OK, so it may seem like all we do is go camping-well, I think we are finally all camped out-pardon the pun!
My husband really does think I'm psychotic with the camera-but fellow moms out there-please tell me you do the same...maybe it's that I think my kids are so photogenic-maybe it's because I want to remember everything...or maybe it's because I think I take good pictures...anyway...here is a sampling of my 50 shots I took in the last 24 hours...we went camping at Scales Lake with my sister, her husband, and their baby, Jocelyn. It was really fun. We did a little of everything! Even made friends with a rat named Templeton.(read on)...we even decided to go to the water slide on the other side of the lake in our clothes (since we didn't bring swim suits)... Grace reading...she has a book EVERYWHERE she goes!
The boys helping Uncle Levon with the firewood
Luke riding horses with Grandma Connie. In the past only Grace and Anteneh would ride because Luke was scared...but he says "I 4 now, so I not scared"
I just love this shot as they ride off...while Grace is old enough to ride on her own horse now, the boys sit in this little seat attached to the saddle and have a handle to hold on to...nevertheless, as they ride away, I have to sit and ask Jesus to help me not have an anxiety attack! That is a 16.2 hand horse and it's a long way down for a little 30 pound kid! I love this picture of Luke, the cherry Kool-Aid mustache, the fishing in his jammies...

Anteneh holding a bluegill (yes, we released the four fish we caught)
Grace being checked out by the baby goat at the petting zoo (this was an awesome petting zoo b/c it was a really clean (as far as barns go), nice place-it's only open on the weekends so that they animals can roam the park all week! I thought it was cool that they don't just keep them in little pens to be bothered their whole lives!
"You and me going fishing in the dark-standing around in our jammies, counting the stars, where the cool grass grows"

The menfolk fishing (while the women folk sat around bored, getting eaten alive by gnats and mosquitoes)...and here is Templeton the rat, who came to visit our campsite Saturday afternoon. He'd run in, grab a cheese cube or some other food we dropped, run away, then run back in a minute later. Uncle Levon tried to feed him, Aunt Megan screamed, the kids loved it, I named him, and Daddy stood there shaking his head, wondering how he married into a family of animals lovers...who even welcome huge rats into their campsite:)

This last video is just a slice of life from our trip...I love it...Grace entertaining Jocelyn in the tent...the boys playing with the sleeping bag pads like they are a maze...so fun....that's why camping is so great-no tv, no computer-just a tent, a fishing boat, a table cloth with snacks, and a campfire with smores...here is a video I took of our last camping trip to Marengo Cave... in it the kids are putting on their Keens and rolling up their pant legs so we can wade in the creek. I love how Anteneh is just LOVING LIFE...then runs to check out the creek with his dad...