So we bought a camper.

I don’t really like camping. But my husband does and I have no doubt my children will love it too.  Who am I to be the stick in the mud? So I asked myself what I don’t like about camping and my top two answers (being cold and sleeping on the ground) made me realize that it’s not camping I don’t love, but rather sleeping in a tent.

So, we bought a camper.

I’ll be posting all about that experience soon and how I remodeled the interior (oh you know I geeked out a little) but this post is about her Maiden Voyage.

Every year my brother in law plans a guys hunting/fishing trip but wouldn’t ya know it, somehow it has evolved to include the wives and even a couple of children. So Jared packed his fishing pole, his wife and one of his children and off we went.

5 hours later, much to the sheer delight of said child, we arrived.

And immediately she went to introduce herself to the horses

Come here and give us a kiss…

 

She fed them

And Auntie Olivia and Uncle Sam looked on

as she fed them some more (nice gums!)

Meanwhile we set up our little Apache (all nestled among the Aspens)

After a few minor glitches (she’s 41 years old after all) she was all set and we couldn’t be more delighted

When we checked back in, she was still with the horses and had badgered Uncle Sam long enough (or just gave the puppy dog look with those big brown eyes) until he finally put her up on Johnny

 

I think Kid got a little jealous

We finally distracted her long enough to take her fishing. It was a short but beautiful hike to get to just the right spot.

 

 

On the way there we nearly had to drag her so Daddy figured this way would be easier

She threw her line out a couple of times.

and then moved on to picking wildflowers

On the way back she had newfound energy, ran circles around us and then went on a little climbing adventure

 

Later we found a cool furry little caterpillar

 

Then a funny bald one

Yes, she was really that dirty at this point

 

We filled one of our empty jugs with creek water and Daddy explained (a little too well) why you can’t drink it. Grace took it very seriously and wanted to make sure the jugs were correctly labeled.

 

*sigh

 

Anywho.

Daddy built us a nice fire so we could roast marshmallows

Grace was just in her element

This was pretty much the view from our little camper

 

What an exhausting day. She passed out hard.

And at the heart of it, it’s still a boys’ trip at the end of the day around the campfire.

The next day was the last, so Uncle Sam came through and Grace got a proper horse ride.

I snapped a couple of ‘nature’ photos. I can’t help myself.

 

What an awesome maiden voyage. The weather was gorgeous, the leaves were stunning and there was an abundance of fun.

Can’t wait for the next adventure…who wants to go camping?