Camping

I grew up going camping every year with my family. It was a yearly family tradition and in general I loved it. The only thing I didn't love were the endless hours of fishing. I'm not talking about just a couple of hours on the boat...it was all day event, everyday. We came back to eat and that was about it. I still remember peeing in a bucket and pouring it over the side of the boat. My sisters and I would read through book after book trying to be quiet so as to not scare the fish away while our parents and brothers fished. I never really liked that part much when I was younger. However, as an adult I can honestly say I enjoy every part of camping- except the bugs. I do enjoy fishing now, as long as it's in moderation. I love, love, love being on the lake- especially at sunset and sunrise if I'm ambitious enough to get up early to go fishing with my dad and brothers, (this year I wasn't so ambitious.) I love lounging, relaxing and having no agenda. Campfires is a must, especially with s'mores.

Oh, and let me make one quick note about our family camping: we don't rough it. Sure, some of us sleep in tents, but my parents drive their RV and park it, so we've got a place to store lots of yummy food and supplies. We cook over a grill, not a campfire (even though I love the taste of campfire cooked food) we have pancakes and sausage for breakfast, and enjoy an endless supplies of snacks. We also have bathroom facilities and showers where we camp. Some say that's not true camping, but I choose to differ. I've done both types of camping and yes they are different experience, in my opinion it's all camping just the same!

Here are some pretty pictures I took on the boat:

And these are my adorable nephews. I had so much fun camping with them, they had a blast!

This is fearless Tyvan. He loved playing at the beach and tried to catch the duck that kept hanging around. When I say fearless, I mean fearless. Tyvie's first swimming experience was a face plant into the water- a minute later he was in the water and loving it. He had no fear looking over the edge of the boat- if someone hadn't been holding onto his life jacket at all times he probably would've went for a dip!

This is prince Brendyn with the prince crown I made out of flowers. He loved fishing, we were on the boat for three hours one night and he enjoyed every second of it. Could be because he caught five fish! He caught more than anyone that night. He loved reeling them in but didn't want to touch them.

Andy didn't have too much luck fishing- he was getting so frustrated not catching anything so he decided to use Brendyn's kiddie pole since Brendyn had so much luck. Haha! This makes me laugh. :) He ended up catching a few throughout the whole trip.

All in all, camping was a blast. We went home utterly exhausted. Inconsistent sleep, being outside 24/7 and weather changes from cold to hot definitely wears a person out. I got home, laid in bed just to catch my breath from bringing in luggage and was out within twenty seconds! I'm still recovering. :)