Camping

"Camping is the answer. Who cares what the question is."
- Unknown

Camping may be one of our most favorite activities as a family.

When we were little we would spend one or two weeks at Sam A. Baker park camping in a small pop-up camper. All 7 of us - 5 kids and our parents. The entire week in our swimsuits going in and out of the river.

Goodness we LOVED it!  We love our parents for introducing camping to us. We still love camping. It bonds us like no other activity. What great memories.

When we go camping now-a-days there are about 30 of us - families, kids, friends, friends of friends, dogs - so much fun all together.

I think my sister Tish is the one that loves it the most, however. So, when we talked about camping for Memorial Day weekend her eyes lit up and we made plans. There were about 20 of us going this time.

We do things up right too! We pair up and prepare meals for each other. Research recipes, prepare in advance, tons of shopping is involved. Not that we try to out do each other, but if it happens that we do, well... So, we were prepared.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas.

Ok. Change of plans. We are adaptable after all.

We brought the camping indoors. You would think it would dampen our spirits. Nope.

All camping food was prepared in a friend's kitchen. We sat around the dining room table as we would a bon fire. We made s'mores on a little burner. And, we laughed.

And laughed.

We may not have had tents. Or saw the sunset this time around. But we were all together having fun.

"Camping" continued the next day at another of our friend's houses around their pool. And, the laughter continued.

We even got tattoos since we now had time. And boy did we laugh then. There were 5 of us together getting inked. Then went back to "camp" to share our colors.

We love camping. We love family. We love friends. We love laughter. We love memories.

Most of all we love being together.