Labor Day Camping!

We had a great Labor Day weekend!  For the second year, we camped with 4 other couples/families on Friday and Sunday nights, spending the day Saturday out at the timber.  I took more pictures than last year, so here goes!

This is actually from last week one evening...we were out setting up the pop up to get it organized and saw a beautiful sunset sky!

Nora's hair is getting fun...she liked her 'Pebbles' style pony tail.

The day before we were camping, Tirzah figured out how to roll over by herself!  (Back to tummy....then she gets stuck on her tummy and fusses.)

She also took her first ever nap in her crib on Friday...this is how I found her when I checked on her later.

Now, on to the camping!  I was so thankful for our pop up camper...Friday night was pretty steamy, but in the camper it wasn't too bad.

Max and Nora said they were 'ready for bed,' but I'm pretty sure they really just wanted to play on their bed.  They didn't go to sleep until MUCH later. :)

Saturday morning pictures of our campsite...tipped over chairs by the fire pit...

...and our home sweet home for a couple of nights.

Love that camper!

Tirzah woke up first on Saturday morning (of the kids, anyway...Greg and I were already awake).  After she finished her bottle, Max woke up and wanted to snuggle with her.

You can't tell from the picture, but Tirzah was blowing raspberries with her mouth.  Max obviously thought it was HILARIOUS!

Mickey and Minnie came camping with us, too.

Little Londyn...she's such a ham!  It was so funny...all weekend she would just sit and stare at Max, Nora, and Maria running around playing.  Hopefully next year she will join them!

Cheese!

Saturday morning we had egg mcmuffins for breakfast...they were SO good!  Brent scrambled the eggs, Greg fried the bacon, and we had English muffins and cheese slices.  We assembled our sandwiches, wrapped them in foil, and warmed them up on the grate over the fire.  I definitely voted to put them on the menu for next year!

After cleaning up, Brent and Janelle took Londyn home for a nap.  Thankfully Tirzah was able to do her naps in the camper.  The three older kids were getting a little bit rambunctious, so Meg brought out some homemade finger paint.  It was a BIG hit!

Max mastering the red

Nora working with the blue

Maria painting with the green

Greg was over at the table helping Meg watch the kids...and I think I blame this picture on him!  Max was painting his hair!

And then Nora got some on her nose...

...which obviously didn't upset her too much. :)

After painting, I think the kids played some more with an inflatable pool that Dale and Meg had brought and we filled with water.  Friday and Saturday were HOT!

Greg had some errands to run, so he, Dale, Maria, and Nora took the truck for an hour or so and went into town.  The best part was, they brought back Monical's for lunch!  Not traditional camping food, but oh, so good!

I sent Nora hoping she'd take a nap...mission accomplished. :)

After lunch, the guys played a new frisbee game for a while.  It's called Beersbee or something like that?  Evidently it was invented on a college campus somewhere...you are only allowed to throw and catch with one hand because (theoretically) you are supposed to be holding a beer in the other hand.  If I could actually throw and catch a frisbee, I think it would be a fun game!  Instead, the girls just watched the guys play it.  Pretty entertaining. :D

It was Brent and Greg vs...

Dale and Bob.  I don't actually know who ended up winning.

Max enjoyed watching from his perch on the woodpile, though!

Londyn and Nora preferred playing with other stuff.

Sweet Nora.

If you were in central IL on Saturday late afternoon/evening, you know that the weather got a little wild and crazy!  Meg and Janelle were both home with sleeping girls, and Jenny and I ran up town to her house to get food and freshen up.  Meanwhile, the wind picked up and it started raining!  Jenny and I got back to the timber and it was really storming.  Thankfully there is a little cabin there and we were able to stay dry and (mostly) warm.  We had invited some other people for supper (Aaron, Katie, and family, Nic and Amanda, Tim and Melissa, Brent and Whitney) and debated about where to eat supper.  In the end, it worked out perfectly.  We ate in the cabin at the timber, the rain stopped long enough to get stuff cleaned up and be outside for a bit, and then when the rain came back we moved to Greg's parents' cabin to finish out the evening.  Everybody was sleeping in their own houses that night, anyway, so it worked out great.

Sunday after naps we went back out to the timber.  It was a smaller group....Rollyn and Suzanne, Brent and Janelle, Dale and Meg, and us.  Rollyn and Suzanne brought their horses out, Candy and Dusty.  Max got his first horse ride ever!  (When Greg asked Max what his favorite part of the weekend was, Max said, "Horsies!!!")

Check out that grin!!!


He is SO proud of himself. :)

Then, Candy must have thought his little fingers looked like tasty carrots...she almost gets him in this one!

After Max got his little ride and Nora turned down her chance (she was definitely a little spooked by the big horses, even though she loved looking at them), Dale and Rollyn took a ride.  I think they ended up riding over to the other Labor Day camp-out site.

Max, Maria, and Nora were all 'sleeping' in the sandbox...I think Maria was just having fun giggling at the other two crazies!

Speaking of crazies...(Max)

(Maria)

Sunday was absolute perfect camping weather.  It was chilly enough to want to sit by the fire and be comfortable in a hoodie, but not so cold that we were almost sitting IN the fire pit.


Mmmmm....lovely fire.

Sunday night/Monday morning were definitely fall weather!  Monday morning was pretty breezy and it was very cool in our camper!

Thankfully, Janelle had one of Londyn's old hats that Tirzah could wear.  I don't think she got TOO cold overnight.

Nora was really snuggled under her blanket, too!

That is all of the pictures I have from the weekend...we were packed up at the campsite by 9:07 or something like that, and Greg (being the sweet, thoughtful husband he is) took the kids fishing so I could unload everything at home and start my 5 loads of laundry (which I got all done that day!).  The kids took good naps that afternoon, while I tried to straighten the house up a bit and that evening we had a relaxing time at the cabin with some of Greg's family and Rob and Marcia.  I was ready for bed by that night, but we had a super Labor Day weekend! :)