Well...that was quick!

Crabtree Falls Virginia

I can't believe that it's Sunday already!!

Well, we had a super busy week, but the weekend made it all worth-while. We went camping again. We had such an amazing time! We went to a spot that Race and I have been going to since we first began dating in college. And it is still just as great as it was back then!

It always amazes me how the term "camping" means so many different things to so many different people. I thought that I would show you how we camp. We've been camping this way since before Austin was born and the only thing that's really changed is the quality of our gear and how much food we bring with us!!

This is a really special place for us up at Crabtree Falls. Isn't it beautiful? And the river is teeming with trout!

This is how we camp:

The first thing that we do is choose a place to camp. This is always scary. We don't do campgrounds much, so we do the off-road camping thing. Race always picks out the spot and then eases my precious-life-sustaining suburban down steep ravines and over gigantic river rocks that make me constantly spew helpful comments like, "Are you sure that we can get back in here?" and "Do you think that we can get back outta here?" and the even lesser appreciated, "Oh CRAP! what are you doing? You're going to kill us all!!"

But after this little excercise, we arrive safely to our campsite. Time to unload and set up. Now, one of the best things that Race ever did was to buy each of the kids their own, private, one-man tents and show them how to put them up, take them down, and care for them. It makes camp set up a snap!

Here, you can see Jack heading to the river with his net to scoop up bountiful treasures. He is walking past Austin and Savannah's tents already set up...off to themselves, mind you...so that they can blast the ipod over A's speakers. (Ahhhhhhhhhhh.......camping with TEENS) Luckily we all share pretty much the same tastes in music.....so....ROCK On!Here you see Austin running away from his embarrassing, camera-slinging mother. The indignity of it all.

Anyway this also shows what camp looks like after it's set up. The wood has been gathered by the slave children, ready for burning in the fire pit to your left. The ginormous appetites of the slave children that we bring along force us to use the fire pit and the little grill simultaneously, for cooking. The orange tent belongs to Race and myself. We LOVE this tent!! But more on that later.

Jack set his tent up right beside us for safety and crowd control reasons. Then Savannah and Jackson headed to the river for a swim, while Austin got the fire started in the pit.And can you blame them? How fun does that look? Wading out through the rapids like that!

A shot of boyhood bliss. (sigh)Isn't this just a beautiful spot?? We really LOVE it up here.

Tune in tomorrow for more of the hot topics and how-to's of tent camping.....including " What's a Cat Hole?" and "Why does my mate keep crawling on me?"

Cheers!

Melissa