Monday, March 21, 2005

Camping is to go in your tent


The nice weather this past weekend has made me want to go camping. I can't wait for it to be nice all the time. The last camping trip we took was to Chester Frost Park. We went in November 2004 with the Cooleys. The weather was awesome --except for the rain we got that night and the next morning, but then it cleared up again and was gorgeous. And rain just makes it more of an adventure. The boys waded in the water and tried to feed the ducks -- or geese -- I guess that looks like a canadian goose.


Amber and I sat on the dock held babies and talked, while the dads took pictures. Here we are with Oliver, Marlow and Abel. Especially with the little guys, it is incredible how much they change in just the past few months. It is a bit sad to see them growing up but a lot of fun to see their personalities emerge and see who they are becoming.


I grew-up going camping for spring break with my family or during our summer vactions. I have always enjoyed camping, although I have to admit, I am most used to parking and pitching a tent because that is what we did as kids. Now that I have kids I know why my mom didn't try to backpack in with five kids. We will try that when they are a bit older and can handle a backpack. For now we will settle for pitching our tent next to our car, having electricity and a bathroom nearby. The funnest thing about camping now is watching our kids and seeing how much they love being outdoors.


We rarely got all four of the "big" boys in the same shot because they run around so much. Here they stopped for a moment to eat a snack. Joseph and Mark didn't make it in many photos either because they were the main photographers.


Throwing rocks was a big event. The object was to see who could get the biggest rock and make the biggest splash. My boys, and probably most kids, love to see things splash in water. Anytime they see water, whether it is a river or a puddle they try to throw something in it or spash it with their shoes. There is a book called "A Hole is to Dig: a First Book of First Definitions" by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It is full of children's definitions of things like, "A face is something to have on the front of your head" also, "a face is so you can make faces." "hands are to hold" and also "a hand is to hold up when you want your turn." "A party is to say how-do-you-do and shake hands" and also "a party is to make little children happy." I'm not sure if it is in there or not, but there should be "Water is to splash," "big rocks are to make the biggest splash," and "Puddles are to jump in."


A parting rock throwing shot. The boys figured they would get the biggest splash if they threw their rocks off the dock, so they all found a rock and hauled it up there. I like Aiden's technique of holding it on his head.

Friday, March 18, 2005


My girls. This picture was taken by Alison DeMoss (In His Image). It was one that didn't make the final cut for the giant framed portraits, but I like it, so I've got a small print of it next to my desk at work. Posted by Hello

Me and Marlow on a chilly March hike at Cloudland Canyon Posted by Hello