Devil's Lake

People in Wisconsin must really like to camp because one has to plan months in advance to get a campsite on a weekend.  We don't ever seem to plan months ahead for camping, so there is never anything left when we spring comes and we want to go.  So, in May, we decided to take the kids out of school and go camping at Devil's Lake on a Monday and Tuesday.  The kids thought it was fun to play hookie from school and so did we!

Camping is a lot of work.  Camping with young kids is even more work.  So much preparation went into a camping experience the lasted a mere 24 hours.  No wonder we don't book a site months in advance!  But we do it for the memories, right?  I have great memories of camping with my family growing up.  I loved it.  I always wondered why my mom was stressed leading up to a camping trip and why she wondered, sometimes aloud, if it is worth the effort.  A couple of weeks ago, I found myself wondering the same.  Not only was there a lot of work involved just to get there, but more work once we did get there with camp set-up, getting a fire going and getting dinner cooked.  Not to mention that most of our dinner burned. :(  Thank goodness for plenty of snacks and S'mores!  Bedtime was a bit insane.  The kids were tired since we didn't actually turn in until 10:00 or so (much past their normal bedtime), and there was a lot of fighting and whining, to put it mildly.  We had tired children the following day as well, and experienced more fighting and more whining.  I discovered something interesting, though.  I discovered that it is worth it.  I think both David and I were surprised by this revelation.  We probably had more negative moments than positive, but those positive moments completely outweighed the bad.  By the time we left, those good moments filled up our buckets and we drove away as happy little campers.

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Luke was put to work helping dad set up the tent.  He was so good at hammering in stakes they were difficult to come out.

The kids loved the fire.  In the car ride home, we asked each of the kids to tell us their favorite part of this camping trip.  For Luke, it was the fire.  The boys loved foraging for sticks and fueling the fire.

Camping just isn't camping without S'mores.  Thank you Hershey's for not manufacturing your chocolate in a plant with peanuts so our kids can have a camping treat they can ALL eat!

The boys received these kid-sized bunk bed cots from their grandparents for Christmas this year.  They are so nice because they free up room in our tent. Too bad we had some tired children at bedtime.  There were a couple of our kids (they know who they are) who could not help but pester their bunk-mate to the point of David finally taking a bunk himself and I slept next to one of those said children.  This was not one of our finer camping moments.  It makes me laugh now as I think of David sleeping on a cot so not fit for a man!  I honestly don't know how he did it.  At the very least, it shows how bad things got that night for David to sacrifice his sleep for the greater whole.  He is a good man.  I have always known it.

These are the morning smiles.  They did not look like this the night before.

Breakfast was fabulous.  David and I don't typically do anniversary gifts for each other, but last year David brought home this Coleman Camping Grill that we love!  Camping isn't really David's thing, but with this new item, we can so do this.  We ate bacon, eggs, and pancakes.  And we didn't need a fire!

After breakfast, we took a "hike" around Devil's Lake.  

I loved this part.  It was really just a walk, but I like being with my family out in nature.  I am praying my body (health issues stink!) will someday allow me to do some real hiking with this crew.  I do not want to be left at home as my family goes out exploring.

We had a great time together.  At least for awhile.

This picture does a great job revealing a couple of our children's attitudes at this point on our very mini adventure.  We walked a little longer than Caden and Porter would have liked, but the rest of us were enjoying it so much we just kept going.  We did finally turn around, much to their delight.

We filled their bellies with food.

And headed to the beach!

This was the favorite part of our trip for Caden, Porter and Ryland.

Finally, a completely happy camper!

I am a wuss.  I do not like cold water.  I tested it.  It is Wisconsin, so it was frigid.  I left the boys to the cold water and went back to my comfy spot on the beach.  David tested it prior to me and did the same.

Our camping trip was thrown together rather quickly and I forgot to bring fun things for the kids to do at the beach.  It didn't matter as they found things to keep themselves entertained...rocks, sticks, logs, rolling in the sand, piling on each other.

Luke used the sand to warm up his cold body.  Maybe that is why they all repeatedly rolled in the hot sand.

Ryland keeps asking when we can go "tenting" again.  I say anytime!  I think. ;)

Here is a video of our tired kids on the drive home.  By the time I got the camera out, we missed the best part of the show and David (who was watching in the rear view mirror) was already in tears from laughing so hard and struggling to drive.