Going camping!

Megan bouncing Connor to sleep.

We're leaving to go camping in a couple of hours! I really REALLY need this! We're almost all packed, we just need to get the last few things, pick up the girls, and we're off! Luckily Connor chose this morning to sleep in, so I'm able to get all of the stuff packed that we didn't get around to last night.

We're not exactly hardcore campers. Chris and I bring the mattress from the hide-a-bed and sleep in the back of the van. We bring Little Debbie snacks and tunafish sandwiches. Connor will have his playpen to sleep in with a sheet over the top of it. Chris even packed the changing table that attaches to the playpen. I put my foot down at the bassinet attachment. But there's no way I could convince Chris that we don't need the portable DVD player and Lord of the Rings trilogy. We'll bring the Zune too, but it's battery will barely last for the drive there and back, so we'll be music free while we're there. Unless of course Chris decides to stop at Radio Shack and get the adapter.

But we love it. We go about 45 minutes into the mountains and our campsite has a beautiful little stream right next to it. There are tons of shade trees and flat earth. There is even a full sized bathtub that the water made, and someone redirected some old irrigation pipes to keep it full. There is a natural water slide about a half mile up the road, but then it's another half mile hike and that would be too much sun and heat for Connor. We'll make it up there one of these years, but in the meantime there's a small water slide that the girls found closer to camp.

We're only planning on staying one night, but we're prepared for two if we're having fun, which I hope we are. Here are a few pictures of our trip last summer:

Our campsite

The girls' swimming hole:

Sara in the natural bathtub

Mary Jane gets a long run for her leash. We would leave her free, but she would just chase squirrels all day and get lost.