We went on our second annual camping trip a few weeks ago. It was a little different from our wing-dinger of a camping trip last year. No skunks. No baby screaming in the middle of the night (Lucy got to stay in luxurious accommodations: my great friend’s house…Dave wasn’t about to repeat any craziness of last year’s trip with that sweet baby in tow). No one forgot marshmallow roasting sticks. We got there early enough that we weren’t pitching our tents in pitch black. You get the picture. I’m sure the reason it went so smoothly was because we went with some experienced campers with all the gear you could ever want. We love you guys!I LOVE camping. The above picture epitomizes why in my mind. Like Claire you can just forget about all the pressures of life and just soak in that gorgeous nature. I have the greatest memories of camping with my family growing up.

This hammock was a huge hit.
Gotta love those camp fires.
The G. family had this amazing grill…we ate very well.
We go way back with the G. family. Dave grew up with the mom, went to college with the dad, and we ended up having the same kids…same ages, same sexes (except that instead of following suit with one last girl at the end, they opted for a dog). Those little girls on the end were born on the same day and are both named Claire.
We hiked over to a gorgeous lake. The next day we even went fishing in it. Elle caught her first fish.
Claire “looked” for fish with the binoculars. Nope, didn’t spot any.
Walkie-Talkies and wood-whittling. Could a kid ask for more fun?
Sweethearts.
Love the light.
Serious cheese whiz. I know, gross.
Great friends.
Our brand, spanking new tent is on the left. Love that thing. Good job, Dave.
So gorgeous.
The dads with “the Claires.”

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10 Comments

  1. Shawni…where did you go? It’s beautiful. I look at your pictures and imagine our family going camping here, now, in sweltering heat. Do you remember the humidity and mosquitoes here? I hope you had so much fun in nice, dry, non-bug land!

  2. Cute pictures! And what is it with boys and cheez whiz? We were near fainting in the heat and humidity at Mt Vernon all day near your old stomping grounds. All except for the beautifully breezy boat ride on the Potomac!

  3. What a fun tradition. I think being outdoors like that couldn’t be any funner for the kids. I’m not so much a camper but I don’t want my kids to know that! They LOVE going to our cabin and exploring the wildlife all day long!!
    Darling pictures…

  4. What a dream camping trip! I agree about being away from all of the distractions of life. SOOOOO nice! Looks like loads of fun Shawni!
    ~Christine

  5. Hats off to you for loving camping.

    I love your pictures and documentation.

    I can’t say that I love camping. But I guess it can’t be all bad when you have your cute family with you.

    But the dirt and the bugs–ew.

  6. I have so many fun memories of camping growing up. We are not far from a lot of beautiful places. We need to take advantage of that more. Lets go in the fall. Thanks again for dinner! It was great to be with you guys!

  7. Looks like a very fun camping trip. What great memories you are making for your kids. My kids love camping!! it’s so funny how you can take them to all kinds of nice resorts, and hotels etc, but the trips they remember most is the camping trips. One of my kids once said his favorite place to go with his family is camping, and we hardly ever go, which made me realize we need to do it more often. But I am just a 2 night kind of camping girl.

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