Roughing it

As these beautiful, busy summer days pass, I am shocked to realize how long it has been since I blogged!! The warm weather has pushed us along in our many (outdoor) home improvement projects. I am happy to say that my *new* patio and driveway are soon coming! If the weather cooperates, the patio should be poured on Saturday ☺☺☺ I have been taking plenty of before/in progress/(and soon) after photos to share with you all.

This past weekend was unseasonably cool for this time of year. Matt and I used to go camping often...but we have not been, even ONCE, since the girls were born. So, we decided to take a trip to a sweet little lake/camp ground only about 40 minutes from home. It was a nice opprotunity to get away from the stresses of home for a couple of days.

After we arrived Friday night, it became rather windy. That, combined with the slightly-not-dry-enough firewood, made firemaking a little difficult. Eventually we had enough to make something to eat.

A "cowboy meal", consisting of baked beans and brats over the open fire.



Matt's family has a tradition of making homemade potato chips when they camp. I sliced some thin-skinned potatoes very thinly and deep-fried them over the fire until they were golden brown.

I think I made about 4 or 5 plate-fulls of chips, but they never lasted long at all!

I felt a bit like a Pioneer woman as I heated water over the fire to wash dishes. (Note to self: grab paper plates next time).

I brought some Jiffy Pop along, which the girls refer to as "magic popcorn". Bella tore into it! She didn't eat much for supper that night after all of that popcorn.

Someone had carved a heart into the tree that was right in the middle of our campsite. My husband took it upon himself to Sharpie our initials into it. How romantic ;-)

Little Mr. Tiffin had an amazing time being outside with us (and sleeping in the tent with us). He is always a happy little boy, but this weekend he was just so relaxed. On Saturday evening, we decided to make the 2-mile trek around the lake. He was revved and ready to go!

This photo is sort of an optical illusion. At first, it appears that you are looking up at the sky between the trees. ACTUALLY.... I was looking down a bluff and into the water, where the clouds and blue sky were perfectly reflected by the setting sun.

It was such a nice evening. Many people were still on the lake fishing.

I didn't bring my "good camera" camping, so my picture quality isn't what I would have hoped. But I think this is a nice silhouette of Matt and the girls.

We were up by 6 a.m. on Sunday. Matt started packing up our things as I cooked a campfire breakfast of bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs. Then we loaded everything up and went home, just in time to get ready for church and back to reality. The girls were asleep in their seats before we were too far down the road. Poor Tiffin! He always gets the headlock, but he doesn't seem to mind.