Tony and I went camping occasionally before we had kids. It was fun! When Corinne was a baby, a group of friends stayed in a clearing in Hocking Hills. We all had small children. They played together during the day and called out from the tents at night WAY past their bedtimes. I can still remember Corinne yelling, “FIRE!” as she pointed at the bonfire. She also woke up with the sun screaming, “BIRDS!” That was a short night of sleep. Needless to say, we haven’t gone since then…until now. Tony gets a week off after being gone for 2 weeks working. We really use his time at home to our advantage. He decided we were ripe to try camping again.

Delaware State Park was our final choice. They had water to throw rocks into (Mason & Ethan’s favorite activity) and a beach for swimming (Corinne’s choice). We packed up our stuff and headed out.

First thing we did was set up the tent. The kids couldn’t quite grasp that they would be sleeping in it outside all night long. Once it sunk in, they were estatic.

We headed to the “beach.” The water was dirty and the sand resembled dirt, but the kids could have cared less. They had a blast!

This picture may be offensive to some, but I laughed as I took it. That darn swimsuit will not stay up. Poor kid!

Mason loves fire. He burned our plates from dinner and every dry stick he could find in the woods.

(Sorry for the fuzzy picture. It was late, and I was TIRED. I think I thought the fuzziness was coming from my weary eyeballs and not the camera.)

Tony purchased some Coleman glow sticks for the kids in a variety of colors. They give off some powerful light. It was like looking into the sun. I think it actually kept the kids awake. We ended up hiding them under sleeping bags so that we could get some shut-eye.

Morning came way too soon. My kids could get work as roosters if there were ever a shortage. We ate breakfast and packed up the tent. Right when we were folding it into the bag, some raindrops started to fall.

It was a good trip. I’m glad we went.

-g.