Jack's First Caming Trip

One of my favorite things about the summer is the ability to go camping. I truly love every aspect of camping. The campfires, fresh air, cold brisk mornings, great food, smores, hiking, bike riding, swimming, game playing and just hanging out with friends. When I look back at my childhood, some of my favorites memories are from the camping trips my parents took us on. I am so thankful that my parents chose to spend their money on taking us places. We have camped in every state west of the rockies and I have loved every experience. I knew that when I had kids I was going to take them camping and try to give them the same memories I had.
This past weekend we took our annual trip to Lake Tahoe to camp for Labor Day weekend. I was not sure how it was going to work out. Nearly everyone I talked to said that camping with children is very difficult and many of them have stopped camping. Well, I thought I had to experience it for myself. Jack did great during the days. He loves to be outdoors and there were plenty of people who wanted to hold him and play with him. However, the nights were a little rough. The first night it was very cold and Jack woke up several times. Charlie and I hardly got any sleep. The next night Jack did not wake up until 6am. He was more bundled up and stayed a little warmer. Finally, the last night things got a little better. Yes, camping with a baby is difficult. I still enjoyed our weekend very much, but today I am trying to recover from a lack of sleep all weekend. Jack is also recovering. He has slept much of the day.
Here are several of the pictures we took during our trip. I am looking forward to many more camping trips with our children and I know it will only get better.
Thanks to our dear friends who provided us with very warm clothes. Otherwise, we would have never made it through the week.

My brother, Alan, was able to come up for the weekend. It was so much fun to hang out with him. Alan has not seen Jack since he was a month old. At first glance Jack was not so sure about Uncle Alan, but after the weekend they bonded and had a great time playing together.

Jack reading Grandpa's morning newspaper. He crawled across the table to get this paper.

Heidi was also in town for the week, so she joined us for one night of our trip.

What a cute kid!!!!

Wow that was very cold water. Jack did not like that.

Our Great Family!!!!!!!!

Bath Time!!!! Hannah and Elijah love watching Jack do everything. They are facinated by him.

We went into town one day and looked at the fish. We also had some ice cream. It was fun to just take Jack to many of our favorite places.

Hannah and Jack. Hannah stayed the weekend with Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Larry. She had so much fun playing with Jack. Jack also loves her. She can always make him smile. Yes, the weekend was a little rough, but that will not make me stop camping. I look forward to making great memories with my children.