We had an extended weekend vacation to Salt Fork State Park with Kevin's family and even through the soggy Saturday, the trip was a great time! Uncle Nate set up camp with us while the rest of the family stayed at the nice lodge with front row view of the beautiful pool!
Here, at the start of our trip, is Uncle Nate driving behind us with the boys in tow. What a great uncle/brother! Kev, Meredith and I got to hang out together in the mini-van for the ride to the park.
Nice red tint of the tent, eh? The boys were
so excited to camp and this was a rare moment where they weren't using the tent for cage-match wrestling.
Like I said, the pool was gorgeous and the boys had a ton of fun in both the baby pool and big pool. Benny got to try out his new Spider-Man goggles, with matching foot and hand fins. Thanks, Aunt Joanie and Josh!
Meredith got to use her new butterfly swimsuit and hat that says "I love hugs!"
Not sure where I heard it, or if it really worked, but someone told me that if you rub dryer sheets on you it'll ward off those dreaded mosquitoes. I rubbed the boys down with sheets and laid a few around Meredith, creating a barrier of sorts. No one got bit the entire trip, so if it did work--how awesome is that?! But there might be a chance that mosquitoes just don't live in this park. There are, however, some pretty wicked moths. They come in more colors and sizes than I could have ever dreamed. Here, I had Louie hold up a quarter so that you could see why I was so impressed. The boys thought they were butterflies. They were actually really nice bugs who didn't bother us at all. I'd take them any day over mosquitoes!
Here is Char-Bear, refusing to take a walk. Partly tired, but mainly wanting to remain the baby of the family with all the privileges that come with the title, we're trying to break him of the habit.
On the way back he won out because he really was tired, and it was raining. We needed to get back to the campground faster than his two-year-old legs would take us there.
Saturday it rained nearly all day. We had to come up with some things to occupy us. The boys raced to the big tree in the middle of the cul de sac. Lou won and Ben is on the ground pouting. Or he could be meditating. Those of you who know Ben best can decide.
We thought that if we brought a bag filled with rain jackets and boots it would be enough to keep the rain away. Not so. But the boys were prepared to go puddle jumping, and that's what we did. That, and then when that got to be not as interesting, we pulled out sparklers. It was the first time the boys had ever seen them, so you can imagine how enthralled they were. Good news: there were no accidents related to the fire or the sharp, poky sticks.
All my boys
Daddy and Meredith enjoying some breakfast together.
We headed down to the lake after breakfast to do some fishing and poor Charlie couldn't last that long. He fell asleep in the car and slept until the fishing expedition was over. Louie and Benny had a good time, though, practicing their casting and using licorice as bait!
Turns out little boys enjoy licorice much better than fish do. But fishing brings them so much joy that the fact they didn't even get a bite doesn't matter to these guys.
Thursday night we went out to dinner at the Bear's Den and then went back to the campsite for a fire. Both Friday and Saturday nights we made dinner at the site and enjoyed the fire and, of course, roasting marshmallows! Here's a shot of some of the gang around the fire.
Sunday morning we took it slow, having breakfast and then we started to pack. The boys are all worn out from watching and decided to take a break around noon to have some left over chips and string cheese.
Sidewalk chalk is such a great thing to bring along camping and here is a picture of a grizzly bear Louie drew.
Here is another picture he drew. I was loading things in the van and looked over to see this nice drawing and commented on it. Unfortunately I said that it was something it was not. We celebrated Uncle Nick and Uncle Jay's birthdays over the weekend and from over by the van this looked like a cake to me. It is, in fact, an island with palm trees and water. I see that now, looking over the picture. Guessing what kids draw should be in the same category as asking a woman if she's pregnant--never, ever, ever, ever, ever ever do it. Instead, ask a kid to tell you about the drawing. You can never go wrong that way.
Here Louie is showing off his Spider-Man skills. I'm not sure how he knows what Spider-Man does, but he's shooting webs out of his hands. Charlie's not sure what's going on.
After we packed up we headed to the golf course where Kevin played on Friday. He wanted to show us the view from the deck, and it was worth the trip.
My blue-eyed-boys don't care for bright sun shine without their hats or glasses, so that explains the unsmiling faces, but it really was a beautiful view!
And here we go, back on the road again. A nice ending to a fun vacation.
Here, at the start of our trip, is Uncle Nate driving behind us with the boys in tow. What a great uncle/brother! Kev, Meredith and I got to hang out together in the mini-van for the ride to the park.
Nice red tint of the tent, eh? The boys were so excited to camp and this was a rare moment where they weren't using the tent for cage-match wrestling.
Like I said, the pool was gorgeous and the boys had a ton of fun in both the baby pool and big pool. Benny got to try out his new Spider-Man goggles, with matching foot and hand fins. Thanks, Aunt Joanie and Josh!
Meredith got to use her new butterfly swimsuit and hat that says "I love hugs!"
Not sure where I heard it, or if it really worked, but someone told me that if you rub dryer sheets on you it'll ward off those dreaded mosquitoes. I rubbed the boys down with sheets and laid a few around Meredith, creating a barrier of sorts. No one got bit the entire trip, so if it did work--how awesome is that?! But there might be a chance that mosquitoes just don't live in this park. There are, however, some pretty wicked moths. They come in more colors and sizes than I could have ever dreamed. Here, I had Louie hold up a quarter so that you could see why I was so impressed. The boys thought they were butterflies. They were actually really nice bugs who didn't bother us at all. I'd take them any day over mosquitoes!
Here is Char-Bear, refusing to take a walk. Partly tired, but mainly wanting to remain the baby of the family with all the privileges that come with the title, we're trying to break him of the habit.
On the way back he won out because he really was tired, and it was raining. We needed to get back to the campground faster than his two-year-old legs would take us there.
Saturday it rained nearly all day. We had to come up with some things to occupy us. The boys raced to the big tree in the middle of the cul de sac. Lou won and Ben is on the ground pouting. Or he could be meditating. Those of you who know Ben best can decide.
We thought that if we brought a bag filled with rain jackets and boots it would be enough to keep the rain away. Not so. But the boys were prepared to go puddle jumping, and that's what we did. That, and then when that got to be not as interesting, we pulled out sparklers. It was the first time the boys had ever seen them, so you can imagine how enthralled they were. Good news: there were no accidents related to the fire or the sharp, poky sticks.
All my boys
Daddy and Meredith enjoying some breakfast together.
We headed down to the lake after breakfast to do some fishing and poor Charlie couldn't last that long. He fell asleep in the car and slept until the fishing expedition was over. Louie and Benny had a good time, though, practicing their casting and using licorice as bait!
Turns out little boys enjoy licorice much better than fish do. But fishing brings them so much joy that the fact they didn't even get a bite doesn't matter to these guys.
Thursday night we went out to dinner at the Bear's Den and then went back to the campsite for a fire. Both Friday and Saturday nights we made dinner at the site and enjoyed the fire and, of course, roasting marshmallows! Here's a shot of some of the gang around the fire.
Sunday morning we took it slow, having breakfast and then we started to pack. The boys are all worn out from watching and decided to take a break around noon to have some left over chips and string cheese.
Sidewalk chalk is such a great thing to bring along camping and here is a picture of a grizzly bear Louie drew.
Here is another picture he drew. I was loading things in the van and looked over to see this nice drawing and commented on it. Unfortunately I said that it was something it was not. We celebrated Uncle Nick and Uncle Jay's birthdays over the weekend and from over by the van this looked like a cake to me. It is, in fact, an island with palm trees and water. I see that now, looking over the picture. Guessing what kids draw should be in the same category as asking a woman if she's pregnant--never, ever, ever, ever, ever ever do it. Instead, ask a kid to tell you about the drawing. You can never go wrong that way.
Here Louie is showing off his Spider-Man skills. I'm not sure how he knows what Spider-Man does, but he's shooting webs out of his hands. Charlie's not sure what's going on.
After we packed up we headed to the golf course where Kevin played on Friday. He wanted to show us the view from the deck, and it was worth the trip.
My blue-eyed-boys don't care for bright sun shine without their hats or glasses, so that explains the unsmiling faces, but it really was a beautiful view!
And here we go, back on the road again. A nice ending to a fun vacation.
1 comment:
Annie I know you don't know me but I sometimes catch you through Amanda's blog. I am from Salt Fork Park region. Born and raised for 21 years and I loved seeing your take on my local area. Thanks for the cool post. Your kids are adorable and your post is always so honest and funny.
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