Camping!

Last Thursday I got the camping bug. I asked Mary if she wanted to go on Friday night and she thought it sounded like a good idea! So Thursday night we put together a list of the items we would need, opened up Dad's pop-up camper to make sure it was stocked with the dishes we would need, and on Friday afternoon we hit the open road with the truck and the camper!

Our destination was Hickory Hollows Campground in Lasalle, IL. It was a very nice campground with clean sites, a nice pool, a little park, and very nice bathroom facilities!

We got to the campground around 3:30 and set up camp. Then we headed over to the pool and enjoyed a refreshing swim until the sun started to set behind the trees. After we returned to the camper, we started preparing supper. Max and I prepared Mahi-Mahi over the fire while Mom and Nora made some corn on the stove. We also had applesauce and muffins!

One very nice perk was that our campsite was right next to the park! We spent quite a bit of time swinging and sliding much to Max and Nora's delight!

After spending a bit of time wasting quarters trying to claw an animal from the vending machine or win a big treasure for Max...we decided to head back to the fire and make some S'mores!

After the tasty S'mores we put the children to bed...in shifts...and then Mary and I sat out on the picnic table until we were convinced that the mosquitoes would not go to bed hungry! Upon entering the camper this is what we found. I'm sure the moment would have warmed my heart if not for the threat of my loving wife of what would happen if that flash woke either of them!

The following morning we woke and made bacon, hash browns, and scrambled eggs! Yummy! Then we enjoyed a leisurely morning cleaning up and organizing. After we left the campground we headed over to Matthieson State Park to do a bit of hiking. Max and Nora did great and we really enjoyed the beautiful state park! I will post the rest of the camping pictures in a new post to avoid hours of formatting to make it look just right!