Summer camping

We went camping at New Germany State park and had a great time. The weather was upper 70s during the day and in the lower 60s during the night. It was perfect.  Plus it was the middle of the week, so there were only a few other campers.  We went hiking and swimming in the lake.  We brought the kids bikes and they rode all over the campground.  They met all sorts of people.

Daddy mixing up eggs for breakfast

 Scout checking out the tent in his cute fuzzy pajamas, he loved the tent and even willingly took a nap in the tent.

 Princess however was a little chili and chose to sit with the cornbread at breakfast trying to stay warm.

 Scout thought that all stumps were his personal little chairs.  He loved walking through the woods.

 My boys hiking

 This is a Maryland Terrapin, it was in the nature center.  That mouth is fast and we were warned several times to not put our fingers near him.

 Munchkin and Buddy took a side trail to the top of the hill, we took the bottom trail.  This is Munchkin at the top.

 Our tormentors for the few days were these little bees, amazingly no one got stung, but they were around at every meal. We also had a friendly deer who arrived every night about dinner time.  He was eating the not ripe blueberries growing in the woods near the camp site.

Backpacking 2013

Daddy took the 3 big kids backpacking on the Appalachian trail for 2 nights.  It was Munchkins first trip and she did fantastic. The kids came home smelly and filthy but they had a great time.

Daddy's pack is huge, each kids pack is weighted for them. Munckin carries her water, her snack and a raincoat.  And then as they get bigger they add more stuff in their packs, clothes, sleeping mat, sleeping bag, food, eating utensils..etc.  Daddy carries the tent and everything else, for this trip is was about 10 pounds of food for 4 people.

 I don't know the details or stories behind most of the pictures, and the possibility of Daddy writing more is slim, so  you just get a long string of pictures.

 Love the cool stance in this picture.

 I have no idea what is behind this pose, but I love it.

 Thousands of Centipedes that they thought were cool.

 I love her crazy hair.

 I think this id dipping their hair/heads into the water in an attempt to cool off. 

 Following the long green tunnel...

 I love all these kids and their unique personalities.

Fall Backpacking with Daddy

Daddy took the big kids backpacking for the 1st time this summer, OK fall, but they never went over the summer.  They got to hike with another family they met on the trail, so I finally got a picture of them all together. Notice the size of Daddy's pack, he carries everything.

 

This picture I love, my kids just having fun in a tree.  

 Of course they find a dead raccoon and take pictures of it.  I will never understand the fascination of taking pictures of dead things or of animal poop.

 It warmed up the next day so they put on shorts and I blame their father for their horrible fashion sense. 

They love backpacking with Daddy and I am dreaming of Daddy taking all 4 kids to do this.  I will get to stay home alone.

Camping at Elk Neck State Park

We haven't been family camping for a while, and now that Scout is walking it is a little easier.  He was still filthy all weekend, but it was lots of fun. We did some hiking and some swimming and let the kids play in the clearing next to our camp site.  We even set up the hammocks.  It would have been perfect except for the HUGE thunderstorm on the 2nd night.  We had a seperate kids tent and about 5 minutes after it starts we hear "Mommy, this is REALLY FREAKING ME OUT"   Daddy moved into the kids tent and he got soaked.  I floated on the air mattress and slept decent once it stopped thundering and the 2 little kids in my tent fell asleep with me.

Boys Backpacking

The boys got to go backpacking again.  Princess had a birthday party for a friend and decided to stay home.

The boys had a great time and even saw a bear.  I don't know what most of these pictures are, but it looks like they had fun. 

Daddy's pack is heavier than Buddy, and almost the same size.

 It was COLD, he is wearing a t shirt, a sweatshirt, a fleece and a rain coat, plus shorts and fleece pants.

 Yes, they took a picture of Bear Scat.... I don't understand boys.

Daddy Sewing

Daddy has been working on a sewing project of his own lately and it has been very interesting to watch.... He is making himself a hammock to go backpacking.  This is double layer to accomodate a sleeping/insulation pad and a bug netting on top.  It is actually pretty cool, and it is kind of fun teaching him how to sew and the importance of little things... like pins and how to put the foot down on the machine... he is learning pretty quickly.
 
Pinning it together

 Trying to sew a straight seam (in his words, like a drunken sailor, but I give him credit, it is tough to sew nylon)

Camping

We had our first camping trip of the summer, and of course it was HOT. But we had fun. The hammocks were the biggest hit, and we spent a great day on the beach. Spent some time hanging out around the campsite, and making S'mores. Buddy got to go hiking with Daddy and Munchkin while I gook Princess to her Violin Recital. I also finally got a decent picture of all three kids. Of course we also got a lot of pictures like these.