July: Camping

Fun Week concluded with a camping trip in Estes Park. Last year, we camped overnight in a little one room cabin; this year, we graduated to camping in a tent. We figured we may as well go for broke, and brought the dog as well – go big, or go home, I guess. Once again, the kids took us by surprise, behaving as though they were born to camp. Even Jack did well, spending most of the time laying in the warm dirt, and occasionally perking up when he caught a whiff of some interesting scent. We all slept in one tent, and while it was fine, we’ve decided we need to upgrade tent sizes before next summer – it was just a little tight. We did all the usual camping activities – roasted hot dogs over the fire, making s’mores and even popping a Jiffy Pop over the camp stove. Our site had a big “mountain” for the boys to climb, and we’ve come to the conclusion that they’re part mountain goats. The kids used their battery powered lanterns once the sun went down, and actually settled down pretty well in the tent when bedtime came. All in all, camping was a huge success!