Vacation - #1

Camping!

Camping: The art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower and flush toilet

~Author Unknown

We were on vacation…and I wish I could say that both my husband & I came home relaxed and refreshed. But in all honesty, it just isn’t so. Not that it was bad or stressful (it wasn't!)…it’s just that vacationing (camping, to be exact) with a couple tents full of kids and cooking outside and running little kids back & forth to the bathrooms several times a day, and trying our best to keep the littlest ones from falling into the pond while they were precariously perched on a rock or on the slopping shoreline while casting their fishing pole, or consoling a crying child after a sibling waved a dangling earthworm under their nose and scared them ½ to death, and listening, more than once, to the overly tired 3 year old screaming and having a temper tantrum…well, you know, it wasn’t exactly what you would call relaxing. We didn’t swing in a cozy little hammock and listen to the breeze gently blowing, nor did we peacefully read the book that was beckoning to us from inside our tent…but, we did have a grand time…we stayed up until late at night and visited around the campfire and cuddled with sleeping children who had fallen asleep sitting on our laps, we talked & laughed (often times quite heartily), we slept later than usual every single morning (no alarm clocks for us!), we ate & ate (and ate) lots of junk food (that we normally do not have at home!), we watched the little kids get giddy with excitement at catching a tiny little sunfish, we saw beautiful scenery all around us, and we were so thankful to have perfect weather the whole time we were gone, we were also blessed to see beautiful green, green grass & very healthy gardens and acre after acre of luscious crops on each farm that we passed, so vastly different than here at home…and so while our little vacation may not have been exactly relaxing for Wayne & myself, it was a change of pace and we were grateful for the chance to concentrate on family time as well as spend some time away from work and our normal daily responsibilities of home…

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We camped at a wonderful location...directly below a tree-filled bluff (lots of shade & breezes!) and out front was a pond stocked with lots of fish and there was a wonderful park and playground on the other side of the small pond...

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Small town living - ya just gotta love it!

I just couldn't resist this picture! We had pulled into the gas station to buy some ice, when what should we spy but a man on his riding lawn mower pulling up to the pumps to gas up---and on the other side was a horse & buggy (giving tours of the area) parked at the station and in buying snacks for their little ride!