Camping in IA

Greg and I are coming up on our 5 year anniversary, and this summer we realized that we've never been out to visit his cousins Daryl and Christy in Iowa since we've been married.  So, we set about to remedy that and ended up with a super weekend of camping!  Our campsite was in Lake Wapello State Park, a couple of miles from Daryl and Christy's house.


The lake was beautiful!

Our camper and pickup, not our canoe

Greg and I agreed that in just a couple of weeks it will be even more gorgeous there once the leaves all turn!

Friday night we set up and Christy, Audrey, and Darcy came over to hang out.  We had fatty patties and s'mores and enjoyed our campfire.  It was perfect weather!

Saturday morning, we all woke up earlier than normal (which is actually the normal for camping) and Greg started to make breakfast, which was sausage links and pancakes with thickened peaches.  Ooohhhh, was it ever good!

Nora and Tirzah waiting patiently for breakfast

Our three campers!  What little troopers!

Nora...not much else to say about this one.

After breakfast, it started to rain, so instead of trying to hike on sloppy trails, we went to Daryl and Christy's house.  After the kids played for a little bit, we headed into a nearby town for a bluegrass/gospel festival.  We got there just in time for the Kids' Show, where the little kids (and some big kids) got a chance to sing on the stage.  Probably the cutest was a 6 year old girl who sang "Old Time Religion" and "Jesus Loves Me."  No videos or anything...we were too busy trying to keep our kids from running/dancing off!  Probably the most impressive was an 11 or 12 year old girl who sang "Homecoming" and "Route 66."  That little girl could really belt it!

We lasted maybe an hour at the festival, and by then the rain had stopped so we headed back to the campground.  The kids played at our campsite by the lake for a little bit.

I know Nora's not looking, but Audrey and Darcy are just too cute in this picture.

Darcy, Audrey, Max

We hiked to a big building where there used to be a restaurant and kayak/boat rental for the lake.  A couple of years ago, Iowa DNR had to drain the entire Lake Wapello because of some kind of invasive fish.  Since people didn't come to the lake to fish anymore, the restaurant and rental businesses just closed up.  The kids had a ball running around the building, though.

Audrey did great at posing for some pictures.

Our kids, well......they did okay.

Family picture!  At least you can see half of Tirzah's face!

She did great in the baby carrier.  She hasn't loved it the past couple of times I've used it, but it was perfect for this trip.

The building had several places for photo ops.  Audrey volunteered again!

Max and Nora on the beach

After our hike, we came back to the campsite.  Christy took the girls home for lunch, and Greg got our fire going again to roast some hot dogs.

Greg took this from the camper...we were both inside when he looked out and saw Nora trying to open the Cheetos bag.  Just look at that mischievous expression!

Also while Greg and I were inside, Max decided he wanted another hot dog...I looked out and saw this!  He'd speared it and was trying to roast it himself!  (In case you're curious, I'm pretty sure it ended up in the fire pit.)

I got the 3 kids down for naps, and Greg went on a hike of his own.  Christy had told him about the trail all around the lake, so he wanted to do it.  I believe it was 7  miles, and he walked/jogged the whole thing.  When he got back, he decided to do a little more fishing.

And look!  He got one! :)  (Actually, he caught several that time.  We never kept any of them.)

When Nora woke up, she wanted to go fishing with her daddy.

Precious!

After all the kids were up from naps, we went to Daryl's parents' house so the kids could ride the combine and Audrey's mini 4-wheeler.

They look so small up there!

Nora in the combine tire....sorry for the eye-burning outfit...she got her last pair of jeans soaking wet, and the red/pink polka dot ones were all I had left.  With the magenta jacket and red hat, it makes for quite the ensemble.

Max got to ride in the combine as they put it away, and then he got to pet some of their bottle calves.

Meanwhile, Audrey gave Nora a ride on her 4-wheeler.  Don't let Nora's face fool you...she loved every minute of it!  Max got a ride later, after he rode in the tractor with Dave (Daryl's dad) and fed the cows.

Daryl and Christy had invited us for supper Saturday night, which was delicious.  Steak, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, jello squares, and birthday cake!  Audrey and Darcy wanted to hold Tirzah so I snapped a couple of pictures.

Darcy and Tirzah

Audrey and Tirzah

Right before we left to go back to the campsite, we realized we hadn't tried a picture of all four older kids!

Here is the best shot. :)

Everyone went right to bed Saturday night, which was very nice.  Greg and I woke up early to the sound of pouring rain.  Thankfully, it stopped around 6:45 and we were able to get the pop up cranked down and put away without standing puddles of water, at least.  We went to church and left right afterwards to come home.

This was the best part of the drive home! :)  It only lasted a couple of hours, but I was glad for every minute of it!  And yes, we did put three car seats in the back of Greg's truck...Tirzah is to the left of Max.

Thanks again, Daryl, Christy, Audrey, and Darcy for such a fun weekend!  We are looking forward to coming back next year! :)