D & R's first camping trip, E's 2nd! WE DID IT!

WE DID IT! After five years of marriage, we've only been camping ONCE. What a tragedy because we both love camping. We've had the gear and pure aspirations to get out and back in nature. First the art museum, then this. I feel complete and surrounded by God's goodness and renewed in what is outside our four walls of home and routine! We were exposed to some new "culture" with this little girl in a diaper that was cussing (which reminded me of Pearl the Landlord) and a yucky mess in a bathroom, but other than that we enjoyed each other, setting up camp and cooking over a fire. We left Monday afternoon, got lost getting to Mounds State Park (thanks mapquestionnable directions) and realized 8 miles down the wrong road that we forgot to pack our cooking gear bag and stopped in Dollar General for some basic needs. We survived. The kids had their first smores and did great roaming around our site, playing at the playground and making friends. Eagan got a remote control helicopter which we took along and was a hit with the other camper-kids as well. On our 2nd day we did it all: biked up and down some serious hills, hiked to the sacred mounds, experienced a hand-made canoe and toured the nature center, after this we returned to suit-up and go swimming. We returned to relax just a smidge and prep for dinner: ground turkey goulash (marinated ground turkey, potatos, onions, peppers, tomatoes, zuccini), apple and squash dessert, turkey italian sausage and tried a bake-a-cake in an emptied orange that really just warmed up the batter after an hour...still delicous though...ha! Justin was fire master and dealt with the wet wood in stride. I still can't believe we did it...FINALLY...and can't wait to go again!