A tale of two vans, 5 campers and a giant brown bear

Mark this in the history books- for the first time EVER we managed to take our whole family out into the woods and camp and we survived..............alone. 

No fancy schmancy RV.

No family or friends to rely on to remember what we forget.

No room service.

Just us- our two mini vans loaded to the roof tops with stuff and our bologna sandwiches.

And yogi bear.

It was awesome.  I really enjoyed myself- and the rest of our little clan seemed to as well.

The particular campground was extrememly family friendly with great playgrounds, and inground pool, hourly activities, a night time dance and plenty to see and do.

Lewis even showed his younger side and frolicked in the lake.  Later that night, as we laid down to sleep we noticed a 'smell'.  Wet lake dog mud smell.  Fortunantly, turning our heads away from the tent porch where said mutt was housed did the trick.  And he got into the tub PRONTO when we got home.

None of my kids really found Yogi to be very interesting.  Course- I don't think they've ever seen his cartoons. 

While camping, Sam got stabbed in the neck with a hot dog fork.

But he was fine. And Emily was sorry.

And Ally got burned with a hot dog fork.

But she is fine too. She did it to herself, so no one was sorry.  Except her.

Clearly the fire and sharp metal sticks are a hazard of camping. But a hazard that is well worth it- as it makes smores possible.  And who doesn't love smores?  Except Sam.  He's just a chocolate covered graham cracker kind of guy.

The view inside of our tent.

Funny enough, my air mattress was the only one that didn't have a leak.  I slept fine.........can't say the same for the rest of them.

Did I mention it was Civil War Days at this campground.

Well it was, and it was really neat to see.

But I was glad we were in the 'non civil war days' camping spot.  You know- the one with the restrooms and electricity and a water spout.  Primitive camping, as I call it.  Apparently you can camp without lights and fans- but I find that hard to believe.

Lew was in hog heaven.  Except when the civil war people set off their canons.  He didn't care for that much.

This would be a jug of tadpoles.  We brought them home.  I'll keep you updated.

And this is Ally looking into her cup of tadpoles.  This child is always about finding some tiny living creature to collect, keep in a cup, watch and beg to bring home.

Remember the clams from our Florida trip?  I so wonder what she is going to do with this interest as she grows up.  We'll probably see her on that animal hoarding show someday.

After a mere 24 hours roughing it as the pioneers- we loaded back up our vans and made the long drive back to civilization.  What- 20 minutes away from the comfort of airconditioning and a couch is a lot to ask.  It was a trial, and I say it was a success.

We might even try it again.