Camping

We went camping for the first time as a family. Tents and all. In Texas, in July. Yeah, I'm surprised I went, too. I was outnumbered on this one but was willing to go for the sake of family togetherness and letting Katelyn develop her own opinion of camping instead of adopting my hesitancy toward it. So we packed up our fans and clothes I was willing to burn afterwards if needed and off we went. And honestly, it turned out well. I would go again... just maybe in October.

Katelyn, despite her everyday disgust toward all insects except roly polys and butterflies that she insists are pink and purple, loved camping. We enjoyed going for walks and seeing bunnies, roadrunners, and a whole family of deer cross our path. And there's just something strangely peaceful about falling asleep to the sound of bullfrogs in the lake. But let's be clear: I do not foresee myself ever sleeping on the ground directly under the stars, sans tent. Ever. I need those four zippered walls to protect me from, you know, a raccoon licking my face or something.

And the sticks. So many sticks to collect.

Had a great time on the boat...

And we all took a turn driving the boat...

...which I was reluctant to do because I really have no interest in boats. Actually, being surrounded by a body of water is slightly terrifying to me. Don't judge. I grew up in a farm town. We had land, not sea. But I agreed to it for the sake of a photo op, even though no one thought to bring a Captain's hat. Fail.

And then, 2 minutes later, the game wardens pulled up next to us and issued me, the current "operator" of the boat, a warning for not having some sort of additional flotation device on board. Say what? It was pretty funny and the game wardens saw humor in it as well. So much for my future boating record.

In the hottest part of the day, we cheated on camping, drove into town, and found an all-in-one arcade/theater/game place, complete with first-world air conditioning AND those big, soft pretzels. Camping is great! We also found a little park for Katelyn.

See her water shoes? She wore them everywhere and they were completely brown by the time we got home. I deserve all the credit for the cocktail of stain-fighting laundry detergent that got them pink again.

So, lots of lessons learned on this trip:
- I can tolerate camping. Enjoy, even.
- Bring the extra flotation device, whatever it's called, on a boat
- Camp in October, not July
- Camp close to town where there is air conditioning
- Enjoy God's creation. It really is beautiful.