Boy, do I love alliterations...and "boy" is right! My marvelous weekend started out with some news from Caroline and Jeremy that they are having a boy! How exciting! You know, I could use this time to gloat about how I knew it was a boy all along and never doubted him for a second, but I'm too classy for that ;)
Caroline called me Friday afternoon after her doctor's appointment. Josh and I were at the gas station filling up and grabbing some ice for our camping trip. After talking with Caroline and relaying the news to our families, we headed to Clarkco State Park for a night of camping with our puppy Charlie. We arrived at the park to discover that we had reserved a campsite right in the middle of all the RVs and pop-up campers. We didn't want to put our tent on a paved driveway right beside 20 other campers. We decided to check out the "primitive" campsites, and we were gladly surprised to find absolutely no one using them. Josh informed the rangers that we would be camping in the primitive spots, and we had that whole section to ourselves. It was great! I know that camping without electricity, water, or a bathroom within 20 feet doesn't sound fun to most people, but we love it!
I grew up camping. I think my family was conditioning me for my Africa trip all along. We would take tents and go camping for a week long vacation with my mom's family. We grew up camping in tents and swimming in lakes and eating hot dogs cooked over a campfire. I will freely admit that I CAN and WILL pee outside in the woods. I know it isn't girly, but that's just me. Camping has always been a part of my life. From the vacations mentioned above, to my trip to Nashville with Beth, Caroline, and Lauren our senior year of high school (camping at Nana's and Papa's), to EXTREME camping with my college buddies, to my 3-week camping excursion in Africa, to my first camping trip with my husband. Camping is just part of who I am. I can build a camp fire, I can cook campfire potatoes, I can make a pretty awesome S'more, I can put up a tent, I can sleep in a sleeping bag, I can tell some campfire ghost stories, I can raccoon-proof a cooler, I can bear-proof a campsite, I can pack all I need into a backpack, and I can camp in the rain. This is me. I don't mind getting dirty or sweating, as long as we get that tent up. I don't mind getting bit by tons of bugs, as long as I get to sit and enjoy the campfire with Josh and Charlie. I don't mind the rain, as long as I get to laugh at it all later with friends. Some of my favorite memories involve a campsite, and this weekend's trip is sure to make the list.
We started a campfire, got the stove and lantern working and got the tent up, all of these involved some folly or series of comedic events. That's what made it so fun though. We laughed about it all the way home on Saturday. We froze Friday night, Charlie was scared of the lightning bugs, our air mattress lost some air, Josh broke his lighter, Charlie chewed her harness off, and we both got eaten alive by bugs. We ate hot dogs cooked over the fire and campfire potatoes for dinner, we made scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast, we sat by the fire and laughed and talked, we watched the fireflies, we laughed at Charlie (who did not get the concept of sleeping in the tent), we went for a beautiful walk around the lake, and we worked together to set-up and take down camp. Man, it was a blast!
Sunday was yet another wonderful part of the weekend. We had church that morning, and then we headed to Butler for a miscellaneous wedding shower that Nena Beth was hosting for me. It was so much fun! The food was great, the punch was to-die-for, and the company couldn't have been better! It was so nice to meet everyone, and it was great to spend some time with the family! All in all it was a truly wonderful weekend filled with fun, family, and a campfire.
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