A Camping the Ryans Will Go!!!!

The weekend after the Corn Festival, we all decided to go on a camping weekend together. (Unfortunately, Lori wasn't able to join us that weekend, but we are looking forward to seeing her next weekend when we will go on our last camping trip of the season!) We hadn't gone camping with Joe and Jen since Juliana was about a year old and James was three!

After having seen our pictures from our camping trip to Woods Lake in July, they quickly decided that that was where they wanted to go.....beautiful scenery and a good fishing lake! What could be better? They don't have a lot of camping stuff, so we told them we'd try to make it as easy for them as possible. They did buy a tent, so they did have their own "home". We took two camp spots, side by side....we staked our "claim" in our "regular spot" as we've now camped at the same site three times! We really like it there. Joe and Jen pitched their tent in the adjoining spot, but other than sleeping there, they were with us at our site all the time. We cooked and ate together and had campfires both nights together.

During the daytime, Dusty and Joe took the kids fishing up at the lake and Jen and I hung back at the campsite, visiting and taking care of little Jack. All of the kids did so well that weekend. Camping can be intimidating for young ones, when you take them out of their familiar surroundings, but they all really seemed to enjoy themselves! Even Jack enjoyed watching the breeze blow through the leaves and played contently in his "pack and play". The highlight of the weekend was that both Juliana and JT caught their very first fish! And so now the fishing excitement goes into the next generation of the Ryan clan!!!

Here are some pictures from the weekend......

Our little man, JT...all bundled up in the morning. It really wasn't all that cold!


Jen with Jack


Juliana with her very first fish! Yeah, Jules!!


Jen got matching fleece jackets for all of the boys and a girl's version for Juliana! We couldn't miss out on this photo op!!! So cute!!


One of my favorites of the weekend, of Juliana and her baby brother!


This was the first time we allowed James to clean a fish! You can be sure the adults were hovering close by as he worked with that sharp knife, but he did very well!!


Here is the photo-elusive, Joe Ryan!!


James, deep in thought, about what who knows!!


James and JT, during campfire time!


Father and Son (Dusty and Joe) enjoying the campfire....


JT trying his hand at fishing up at the lake.


Homeward bound....we had one tuckered out boy and dog! James discovered that Lacey made a great pillow!


It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend! The weather cooperated, with clean skies and no rain, although the wind did blow alittle harder than we would have liked. But I would have settled for wind over rain anytime!! We ate well and made smores over the campfire. And more important than anything else, we made many happy family memories that weekend!!