First Camping Trip

We took Rowan on his first tent camping trip recently. We all had a GREAT time! The weather was on the cool side, but we stayed toasty warm in our tent. And it was even warm enough in the afternoon for Rowan to do a little swimming.


On the way to the camp site, we stopped to have lunch in a park. We feasted on turkey sandwiches, home-popped popcorn, salmon salad and sliced apples.

When we arrived at the state park, we immediately set up camp. Rowan loved playing inside of the tent!

We had a hard time convincing him to come out of the tent to go exploring!

But we finally coaxed him out. And I made him pose for at least one picture with his mom. I always seem to be the one behind the camera, but I want to make sure that Rowan knows that I was present during his childhood!

After I got my picture, we did a little hiking.

Rowan liked to stay in front, confidently declaring, "I'm the leader!"

We watched many boats go by on Lake Andrew.

By late afternoon, it was warm enough for a dip in the lake! I can't believe how old Rowan looks in this picture. My little man is growing so fast!

I think Rowan enjoyed the water much more than Kyle! Why is it that cold water never seems to phase little kids?

After swimming, Kyle started a fire, and I made dinner. We ate hot dogs and hobo packs filled with potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions and mushrooms. And of course we toasted marshmallows and made s'mores for dessert!

When it got dark, Kyle took out the telescope and showed Rowan the moon!

We slept really well in our tent. When we woke up, Kyle started another fire, and I made breakfast. We had apple cinnamon muffins, hard-boiled eggs, turkey sausages (cooked in foil in the fire), yogurt and strawberries.

Rowan asked why we couldn't stay for a whole week! Um...I'm not sure that I could handle a full week of tent camping. Maybe a long weekend!

Kyle agrees! In fact, although he was a trouper (and the most experienced camper among us), he often could be heard spouting "Kylisms" about camping. Examples: "Why do fires have to create so much smoke?!" or "Next time, we're camping in a cabin!" or "Sleeping on the ground feels about like you'd expect."

He made such comments often enough that it became a running joke for me to sing a little jingle after each one. Rowan quickly picked up in it and joined in (leaving all of us laughing). Here are Rowan's renditions:

Snapshots From the Cabin

Watching the boats go by.

Splashing in the cool water.

Contemplating a sand castle project.

Hauling buckets of water to wet the sand.

Practicing his casting.

How far did it go?

Fishing off the dock.

Waiting...

Being patient is hard!

Any tips, Grandpa?

Gramps offers some casting instruction.

Success!

Feeding the sunnies with Grandma...

...and Grandpa.

Silly boy!

Walking to the boat, fishing gear in tow.

First catch of the evening!

Say cheese!

"Can we keep it?"

"Hooray!"

"Just don't put it too close to me, Grandma!"

Mini golfer.

Prisoner!

Sisters.

Family.

Sweethearts.

Cousins.

San Francisco ~ Part I

Kyle and I had a great time in California earlier this month! A newsletter that I write won a Gold Quill from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). I attended the IABC World Conference in San Francisco and accepted the award at the Gold Quill Gala.

Kyle and I extended the trip to have a little second honeymoon. It was the first time we've been away from Rowan for more than two nights!

Here are a few highlights:

After we settled into the hotel the first day, we ventured out to explore the city. Our hotel was just a couple of blocks from the cable car turnaround. The line to board a car was outrageously long, but we thought we needed the full San Francisco experience. (We soon learned to take the bus or walk.)

Nearly an hour later, we were off! (Do I look a bit dazed? Let's just say that a wee bit of Xanax works great for nervous flyers. Thank you, sweet family practice doc!) Anyway, up the hills we went....

...and then we stopped (often) to let riders take pictures of the city. We did not stop, however, to let any new riders board the car. If you don't board downtown or at the wharf, you're out of luck. This ride is for tourists only!

We eventually made it to Fisherman's Wharf. Kyle took this picture of me in front of Alcatraz. A sweet older lady who walked by felt that this was a bit sad...

...so she offered to take a picture of Kyle and I together. (Thank you, sweet older lady!)

We also saw the famous sea lions. They were quite adorable!


After dinner, we decided to skip the cable car and walk home. We happened upon Lombard Street, the "crookedest street" in the city.

And we got some nice pictures from the top of the hills. Kyle updated his Monster account to include San Francisco as soon as we got home. (Good luck, sweet hubby!)

More to come...

On the Shores of Door

Man, were we lousy picture takers during our trip to Door County! No photos of the beach, or the wineries, or the campfires. There's not even a picture of the midnight swim Angie and Courtney (mostly Angie) initiated after drinking Starbucks martinis! (We did wear swimming suits, thank you very much.)

Oh well, we had a fabulous trip with Kyle's family to Wisconsin's thumb. And I suppose some details are best left to memory, although I bet Jason would appreciate having my five-point action plan for landing a wife on DVD. From what I remember, it was pure genius. Good times...

I've compiled a few pics in a slideshow. For more, visit Grandma Connie's blog.