Camping in the Great North West...

We just got back from our church's first annual camping trip. We are going to try to make this a tradition. I really enjoy camping- especially when the weather cooperates.

We went to Dosewallips. There was a little girl Hannah (not Laura's Hannah) who called it "Dopey Walrus", that was too cute!

So we are off after some last minute packing... here's our directions, maps and itinerary of the next 3 days. That's right-- 3 days and 2 nights. I've only camped over night the few times I've gone camping, so this 3 dayer will be an experience! But I was ok with going cause there were "real" bathrooms (I use that word "real" very loosely) and showers.

We made it, this place is just past hood canal bridge. It took about an hour to get there. Our car was packed to the roof...We had this big grassy field that everyone just picked a spot to set up their tents. There was a huge hill up behind us that the kids could climb up with trails... setting up our tent...The girls like it...We had 2 tents, one for the 5 of us to sleep in, and one to store all our other stuff: food, chairs, extra other stuff we couldn't live with out....Jeromy with his trail mix... can't go camping with out trail mix... After settling in, one of the guys in charge made a huge BBQ for lunch, they were providing lunches and dinners for the nights we were there...Then we decided to go on a little nature walk just the 5 of us....

Jade's such a cutie...

Love all the GREEN!!!

When it started getting a little dark, the "men" got a us a good roaring fire going. We had small bible study in Exodus...

Then time for s'mores...Jade's poor marsh mellow is all charred...Time to settle in for the night. This is a 7 person tent, and since there was only 5 of us- plenty of room for all...Ok, so far the camping has been pretty good for the first day.... but since we are in the Great North West... you never know when it's going to rain. And rain it did... ALL... NIGHT.... LONG!!

Now don't laugh at my misfortune... but you may remember that I've been suffering from a stiff neck, well it's getting alot better -finally- but I wanted to make sure I slept thru the night ok cause of the hard surface. So I took some Tylenol PM, well, it really worked. Cause apparently some time during the night, our tent had a leak, everyone stayed dry but me, and since I was knocked out with Tylenol PM, I didn't realize I was sleeping in a puddle of water. Jeromy woke me up some time in the early morning hours- I think he said it was 3am, and he said I was soaked. So I was groggy with sleep, soaking wet, and I just remember saying "I don't understand how I'm wet, I'm in a tent, I don't understand". It's ok, you can feel sorry for me, it was pretty lame. So I changed clothes, and Jeromy gave me his dry spot.

Ok, next morning.... Kent was really enjoying sleeping in... he was always the last one to get up...

Friday stayed dry for most of the day. Aurora playing cards with Beriah, Nadia and Tae'....Julia and Jade hanging out...Shane and some of the boys... you probably think they are about to go fishing with that tackle box huh! Well, it was full of all kinds of legos!Wow, time to eat again. Pat made fried ham sandwiches... that was the biggest skillet I had ever seen!Jade using her pocket knife to make the perfect stick for s'mores...Wow again... dinner time. Pat made spaghetti, salad, and french bread- YUM!Time to gather around the fire for another bible lesson and then s'mores...There's a genius out there when it comes to making s'mores...My daughter who will be 18 years old next month!The fire was so cozy... we sat by it until about 10pm. Ok, so I was a little nervous about night #2. I actually stayed dry, but I still tossed and turned. Lame. A couple of the kids got a little wet the second night. Seriously, cold, wet and tired is not a fun way to be. This camping trip was alot of fun, I just really wish the weather would have cooperated a little better!

The next morning, I was already thinking about the next night... sleeping in my nice soft warm dry bed wearing wool socks... it's JULY people! Well, we sang a couple more songs around the campfire that morning and these 2 little girls: Emma and Hannah, both who are 2 and half, both wanted to sing "Jesus love me" so we all did, with the guitar strumming along, it was pretty cool, and the girls were happy that they could sing a song they knew...

Kent got in a quick sword fight...After breakfast, we started packing up... all I could think about was being warm and dry...

We had a great time, God is good, and we are exhausted... Katie and Jeromy OUT!