1st Camping Expedition

Some of my favorite childhood memories are from our annual family camping trips to Clear Lake.  Skiing on glass-calm water, washing gooey s'more fingers off in the lake and having competitions with my brothers to see who could get the furthest up the beach after a kneeboard run are just a few.

Most years we were joined by many of the Vander Zanden clan (my mom's side).  After a 15-year respite, my cousins decided we should get the tradition going again.  Bill and Scott reserved a few sites on the water (prime location) and one by the toilets (prime location with a toddler??).

Ginger and Wayne (my Godparents) stopped coming after the year of the tornado (seriously).  My parents haven't camped in a while, preferring their pillow-top mattress at the cabin.  Needless to say, I was quite surprised that both of them joined us for a night!  They even slept in tents!

Papa Mark and Daddy setting up camp.

Nonnie Ellen was on Claire duty.

We took a spin around the lake (and over several rocks) for old time sake.

It got a bit chilly!

We spent many an hour searching for and throwing rocks into the lake.

Some cousins (Joe) thought this was best done while in the lake.

Claire followed Joe's example.  We decided to be proactive and remove her pants.

Big splashes with Nonnie.

True to tradition, it rained for a large portion of the weekend.  Most meals were eaten in the screen tents.  (Side not - HUGE thanks to Bill and Scott for doing ALL the cooking!! I'll camp with you guys any time!)

Samantha (Lori and Scott's daughter) actually took this picture of us.

The nights may have been rainy, but the days were beautiful!

One of the few meals eaten outside the screen tent.

Hard to see - but the chipmunks were quite friendly.  (This one was on top of a beer bottle).

Again, true to tradition, we packed up wet gear to head home.  Claire is holding her drink umbrella over her head to keep dry.

Ever the scientist (taking after Nonnie).  Here Claire is collecting either rocks or bugs to put in her bug jar.

We put the tent up in our garage on Preswick for 2 days to dry out...no dice.  I apologized on Facebook to our neighbors for this.  (Side note, I'm real excited to soon have a backyard to do this in!).

Not pictured:

• Glow in the dark bracelets at night (thanks to Nonnie)
• Laying awake in the middle of the night worrying that our tent would cave in during the storms.
• Claire's first time in a "big pit potty" (as she calls them).
• Deep fried Grands biscuits (turned into donuts) with frosting and sprinkles for breakfast.