Camping Tradition

Our friends tent collapsed on them in the middle of the night!

Ryan is trying to stay warm...there was frost on the ground when we woke up

Ryan and Jordan playing in the dirt - a boys best friend

The boys were dying to go fishing - even though the fish were way on the bottom of the lake staying warm...Ryan was being patient and waiting for the fish to bite his hook - so cute

My boys are obsessed with playing in the fire - we could only have a coal fire - no open flames due to the burn ban - at least we could have something for warmth!

Breakfast of champions!

Dana is keeping her doll warm - she'll be a great mommy!

It appears to be a new tradition in the making - camping with our dear friends. We've been camping with these guys for 8 years now. Even though we have moved away from the Houston area we have met the past 2 years to spend some time fellowshipping while we camp. This year we went to Nails Creek, by Giddings. We had a great set up for there being so many people there. The only draw back was that our sites were by the boat ramp. Normally that wouldn't seem to be a problem, but let's look at what time of the year it is - HUNTING season is in full force and those dedicated duck hunters were driving in and launching their boats way too early! One guy even started up his horribly loud air boat way before dawn. After the boat noise settled down, then you get woken by the gun shots of the hunters just across the small lake. So even though it was a great place - I really would've liked to have been able to sleep a little more soundly in the morning. Not that I got much sleep anyway. Friday night the cold front blew in with furry. I had been waiting and waiting for some cold air because it was way too hot to be camping - but honey, when that front line came through - I would've prefered to be indoors. The winds were gusting aroudn 30 mph...not bad if you're in a house - but we were serving up hamburgers and hotdogs! The kids were freaking out as their food started blowing across the field. The wind stirred up sparks from the fire that had to be tended to right away before we caught the field on fire - and the portable canopy over our heads was about to take fiight! After we got things under control we were able to finish eating in our tent while the winds blew and the ground got damp with some drizzle. We were able to come out a little while later and enjoy some time around our coal camp fire and visit with friends. Of course the drama continued though as we headed for bed. As Jeremy and the older 2 boys were putting things away outside so they wouldn't blow away, Ryan and I were in the tent and he was going crazy. The winds were blowing so hard the tent was laying down on top of us every once in awhile. Jeremy finally drove our SUV over to block some wind and tied the top of our tent to our car so it would at least stay up - needless to say - I didn't sleep much at all that night. The boys fell asleep quickly and slept all night - even as the tent whipped around in the wind. While we were sleeping - our friends tent pole broke and their tent fell on them. They didn't have many options so they just stayed there and slept the rest of the night with the tent on top of them. I have a picture below showing Chrisy finally deciding she could get up and out of her collapsed housing.

Anyway - we had a blast with our friends and the boys will always remember that trip because of all the drama! Fun times as a family :-)