Camping Trip!

On Friday afternoon we went boating and camping on Norris Lake with friends. This was our first camping trip since having children, and it was quite an experience-especially being 8 months pregnant! We put the boat in the water and went to find a camping spot. Once there, the kids immediately got in the water while the tents were set up and the fire started. We had sausages and the kids roasted their own hot dogs...well, kind of. After dinner we went back out on the boat and found a nice spot to swim. Everyone went for a swim...it was great, but I had some serious trouble trying to get back into the boat. I thought they were going to have to pull me back to the campsite. Haha!

When we got back to camp everyone changed into dry clothes. The kids looked so comfy in their jammies! We built the fire back up and had Bible Time around the fire. Hayley fell asleep on my lap, exhausted after an exciting day. Around 10:20, John, Eric, Harley, Luke, and Haddon set off for some night fishing. Susie and I sat around the fire talking while the kids played in and out of the tent. Helene found a "grasshopper" that she insisted "really likes me." I had to convince her to finally put it down so he could go back home. The kids went to sleep about an hour later. We tried but ended up back out by the fire shortly after. We kept rebuilding the fire and the guys came back around 1:30. Luke and Haddon had only stayed awake for a short time on the boat. John, Susie, Harley, and I stayed up talking for an hour or so. Eric spent the night/morning fishing. I slept approx. 3 hours, waking up at 5:39am for good. I got out of the tent about 6:15 and a few minutes later Harley joined me. We went for a walk along the beach and made friends with an unidentified animal swimming in the lake. I wish I had my camera with us so I could have zoomed in on him. We still don't know what it was, but we guessed an otter, or something like that. He was just as curious about us. He would duck under the water and come back up and look at us. He did this over and over staying right in front of us until eventually he swam off.

Once everyone was up we had breakfast and wondered where Eric and the boat were. Finally we were able to reach him by cell phone and he told us the battery was dead and he wasn't sure where he was. Thankfully it wasn't the battery after all. He got the boat started and John guided him back to us. We almost had our very own "Gilligan's Island." After his return, we packed everything up and loaded the boat. We took the kids swimming again and a brave Havana and Daddy tried tubing behind the boat. Havana was the only kid to try it and she had a GREAT time! John went too...until he broke the tube! Haha! All in all it was a great time. We got home just in time to deliver a birthday cake, go out for a yummy lunch, and hit the bed for a 3+ hour nap.