Camping with two children

After it took over an hour and a half to get Addie to sleep, and after nearly a dozen trips to the smelly outhouse every day with Ellie... it's hard to say whether or not our camping trip was a success. I think I'm going to skip ALL the details and just mention the highlights... in no particular order.

Awesome stone heart on our campground. It has me thinking I might make it a tradition to try to make a stone heart whenever we go camping. It would keep the girls occupied for a while and it will bring a smile to future camper's faces.

Ellie was excited to help put up the tent and was actually quite a big help. You know, instead of having to go back and redo everything she just did herself... she was an actual contributor. She was so excited about the tent that she even asked us "Is it Chwistmas???!!!"

And Addie? Well she wants to be just like Ellie. We told her she was a great "helper" too. You know the kind (see above).

Ellie also helped make cherry cheesecake for dessert. Yummy.

But Addie preferred to eat the leaves, rocks and dirt. To each his own.

Ellie played botchie ball and bean bags with us and was actually quite good. At one point, Daddy didn't get any bean bags in the hole but Ellie happened to get one. She reassured him by saying, "It's ok, Daddy. You just need a little bit magination. I have magination so I could get one in da hole, but you don't have magination. Maybe tomorrow you will have magination like me."

Meanwhile, Addie cheered everyone else on. Super cute.

At one point during the camping trip, Ellie told me "We don't want to feed da squirrels because if we feed dem den dey will not be wild and den dey will hit us wif dere pine cones! See dat squirrel? See his pine cone? He will hurt us wif it!" Apparently that's not QUITE what Gramma said, but the theme stuck. Throughout the weekend she was warning us to watch out for those darn squirrels and their dangerous pine cones.

I think over all Addie did quite well for her first camping trip, but I am VERY relieved to know that we will not be camping with a baby ever again. I can't wait for next year!!!