Camping!

We were so excited for our first camping trip of the year last weekend. The weather turned out to be absolutely perfect. We camped at Prince William Forest Park with 3 other families from our original babysitting swap. Even though we were stuck in traffic to get down there on Friday (expected) and even returning on Saturday afternoon (cursed I-95!), it was so nice to be out in the woods enjoying a gorgeous weekend, away from the traffic.

The girls had so much fun playing with friends and just running around in the trees and being outside. Playing in the tent is always a bonus.




Looking for bugs...Elsa spotted the first caterpillar of the day.





We made Chicken and Potato Delight in the Dutch Oven for dinner and the Dyckmans made a yummy Caramel Apple Crisp.




And this was before we added the cheese...


I can still taste that apple crisp.

I planned a bug hunt for all the kids and gave them bug kits from the dollar store. We hid a bunch of plastic bugs and they had fun searching for them. Of course we found some pretty cool real bugs as well.


Taryn, Amelia, Liz, Ethan




Found one!









In the morning the Nielsons and Pomeroys made a delicious pancake breakfast with sausage, bacon, and eggs. The kids had fun being chased by Corey and his lasso.





We went on a little hike down to the river. It was getting pretty hot so it felt good to walk around in the water. Amelia walked around in her clothes for a bit and then decided it was time for her swimming suit. Corey and Ben were brave enough to get very wet (it was COLD water) to transport the kids through some deeper parts of the river.














Elsa discovered her love for licorice.



Of course there was the usual post-camping tick removal when we got home. Amelia always seems to attract ticks, though we've all had our fair share since moving to Virginia.

We're already thinking about our next camping trip...