Fall Camping

We managed to finally squeeze in a camping trip this fall.  It was nothing too crazy, just one night in Martinak State Park along the Choptank River.    It was rough going a few times, but the kids hung in there and we were glad we did it.

The obligatory picnic table diaper change...

They had an awesome playground!

We bundled Tamsin up in her bear suit when it started getting cool.

Carter on the other hand was "too hot" and started stripping down while we cooked dinner.

Dinner time in front of our new tent - Thanks to Gram, Grandad, Grammy & Grandpa!

Licking off the s'more residue and staring into the fire.  We've all been there.
Shortly after this, Carter asked to go to bed.  That was a new one.  Gotta love the fresh air.

It was chilly the next morning, thank goodness for hot cocoa and oatmeal!

"I'm too sexy for this blog."

Sometimes, Carter gives us a little ham:

Click to encarterate

But you gotta work for it:

Click to cutify

We went...

Papi Camping!!

For last year's Christmas present, we got Papi a round trip ticket to come camping with us sometime and he redeemed it this weekend.  We headed to western Maryland and the Green Ridge State Forest.  I think (need to verify) that this was the first time we've been camping with the little guy for more than one night in a row.  This kid was F.I.L.T.H.Y. by the time we got home, but boy did he have a ball-

We strutted,

Papi and Carter clowned around with Papi's hat,

Carter decided he wants to be a car salesman (just take a look at these wheels!),

Or a fleece model for R.E.I.,

There was dump-trucking,

Brian and Carter hanging by the creek looking for fishies,

Carter mugged it up for the camera,

One sweet afternoon nap with Papi,

Snacks with Mama as usual,

Laughing when Papi caught the rare owl-frog,

Oh, maybe we threw some rocks into the creek (just one or two),

And Carter played by himself a fair bit, too.

I tricked him into kissing me once or twice,

And there was major Papi time - click to biggify...

We had a great trip camping - only one major meltdown (on a cold morning with delayed breakfast - understandable) and just a few bug bites.  I think he wore himself out just being outdoors so much because he slept for a good 1.5 hours on the car trip home when he NEVER sleeps well in the car.  All in all, he was a trooper and he seems like he'll turn out to be a really helpful little guy.  The weather was perfect and we couldn't have asked for a better campsite.  

Come camping with us again, Papi!

There Will Be Mud

We went camping with some friends this past weekend - at Martinak State Park on the eastern shore of Maryland.  We chose the area because it was close and rain was possible, so we wanted to be able to bail out and drive home easily.  The weather was beautiful during the day and we went on a short walk:

Carter had a nice time playing with his new friend, Ann.  Here he is clowning around with his hat:

It's been raining on and off for about a month here and the ground was pretty wet, so Carter spent most of his time with his feet on the blanket and his bum in the mud.

It was a little chilly and Carter actually tolerated having his hood up for a while.

We're hoping to turn Carter into a first rate camper and I think we're off to a decent start...