Camping at Palisades

It was nearing the end of summer and we hadn't gone camping yet. The kids had been bugging us all summer to go, and finally we found a weekend where we had no obligations! Yaaay! So a-camping we went. We knew that it could be a rainy weekend, but we were willing to brave it. We drove through rain on the way up, but there was no rain at our campsite. Phew! We started to set up camp and a few raindrops started to fall, but nothing major. Here's our lovely abode for the night:

Ethan couldn't wait to get started on building a fire:

A couple of pyros:

We got the fire just right and loaded our bellies with s'mores. Then it was off to bed. We brought the pack 'n play for Mia to sleep in and the other three just slept all together at one end of the tent. It worked out pretty well with only Mia and Jacob crying in the middle of the night and only one time each! Yaaaay! I can handle that.

I don't know what time it was, but the sun was just coming up (so around 5 or so) and we hear this downpour of downpours. Awesome! (sarcasm) It only lasted for about 15 minutes or so, but I was worried about how wet everyone would be when they woke up. Everyone stayed dry, thank goodness, but that was not the end to the moisture. We all got up, got dressed and started making the fire. As we were eating our breakfast, there was loud thunder and lightning everywhere. Then, it started to hail! Big marble-sized hail started pelting us in the head. We tried to just hide under the trees for shelter so we wouldn't have to go into the tent with our muddy shoes. That worked, for the most part, except for Jacob who got pelted pretty good in the head a few times! We survived! It felt like forever for the hail to stop, but I'm sure it was only a few minutes. Once that passed by, we had beautiful blue skies and warm weather. We finished up our breakfast and headed down to the reservoir to play in the water and hike.

I love pictures of people from behind. I think it's very nostalgic or something like that. Or I just like butts! So I took every opportunity to do this, as you will be able to tell: Then we just played in the water, skipping rocks and throwing big rocks into the water.



Then it was time to eat our lunch. Mmm nothin' better than a hot dog cooked on the open fire. Ok, maybe there is, but that's the best way to eat those nasty things!

Then it was time pack up and go home. We made it out just in time. While we were pulling out of the campground, it started to rain again. Another Phew! So, we took the family camping. Check that off the list! Now we should be good until next summer!