It's that time of year again--Camping!

Well hello there!  It's been a little while...but life as you know has been busy!  May always seems to be a very busy month for us and it certainly hasn't disappointed!  

We celebrated Nathan and Ryan's 7th birthday party at the local YMCA with Joy (Kris's sister)here from Kansas.  She was able to see firsthand how "busy" and at times inseperable (literally and figuratively) they can be.  It seems these days wrestling has taken on a new level in our house and everything needs to be exactly equal! We had about 17 kids total from school show up to play sports and sing Happy Birthday.  

 Kris took a quick trip back to Wisconsin to take care of our home and plans for Door County building.  I celebrated Mother's Day with the boys with an early morning breakfast, church, and time together playing soccer and games.  

We ended the month of May gearing up for.... camping!!  That's right, It's that time of year again! It definitely is not for the faint of heart as it requires alot of P's--planning, preparing, and packing!  This year we seem to have somehwat of a system down.  Kris is the master planner (he is a logistician full time in the Army) so planning, planning, planning it is.  And I can jokingly say he also has all of his "bags" down to a science.  That's right...we have a "bag" for everything as they all serve a purpose (or so he says). Starting with sleeping arrangements:

1) Bag with sheets/pillowcases/towels washed and stored together (and might I add immediately after washing, they are dried, folded and returned to the "bags"

2) Kitchen items (crates filled with seasonings, storable goods)

3) RTIC cooler for drinks/easy access outside

4) Bins for the boys clothes to store under their bed and a hanging organizer in the closet to easily access their clothing (since they change clothes multiple times a day!)

5) Our bags-one for me, one for him water proof and heavy duty

5) Meal prep-lots of munchies for the boys as swimming always makes them starved!  Amanda-premade salads, veggies in quick baggies, pre-made shakes, coffee into daily baggies for quick use.

6) Meals planned out for the week--no extra trips!

7)Toys/beach gear--all stored in specific storage areas and you guessed it their own "bag" or bin

8) Gym/workout items-yes, we get exercise in nature with hiking or swimming.  For those wanting extra workouts..uh hum uh hum... always always 1-2 workout outfits with running watch, ipod, and running shoes.  You can always squeeze in a quick 1-2 mile run or if you are like me, you will do pull ups or attempt to do muscle ups on the playground equipment while the kids play Plus, you can explore a bit on your own!  I have seen some amazing sunrises and sunsets along the beach alone.  

Do we sound nuts yet?? I think so!  This past Memorial Day weekend we left on Thursday night with everything packed and ready to go before work.  Yes, we were packed before Kris and I went to work for the day!  We came home, ate, and hopped in the car.

 Traffic down and around Philadelphia was bumper to bumper with alot of delays.  But, once we turned South Philadelphia, the remainder of the drive to Elk Neck, Maryland was smooth sailing.  We literally had the campground to ourselves as no one was there!  It was very relaxing to wake up Friday morning and have no neighbors and peace and quiet!  We listened to the radio during the day describing all of the traffic "jams" in and around Philadelphia and were thankful we weren't in it!  Yes! 

 We spent the day hanging around the campground, some time at the beach or what it really is, the Chesapeake Bay.  The first day there, it was cold and very windy, but we stayed there all afternoon (the boys are never cold?!)  then went out to eat at a Crab Shack!  Kris needed to get some Maryland crab and fried chicken since we were there!  We had a campfire with smores and the boys met some nice friends next door.  On Saturday, we spent most of the morning at the beach again as we knew it was supposed to rain the rest of the day.  We were able to hang out in our nice and dry camper :) reading, while the boys played out in the rain with the neighbor kids and also napped.  It dried up a little bit that evening to have another campfire and spend time outdoors.  On Sunday, we spent almost all day at the "beach" relaxing on the Chesapeake Bay and playing in the water.  The boys are at a nice age to easily find friends and dig holes and "drainage systems" along the beach.  Very important work I might add. I took our new Oru kayak out a few times to spend some time on the water.  

Evenings seemed to come around quickly and we were always eager to get a fire started and sit around and watch the crackling and magic of the fire. Camping and swimming wears those boys out (and us too) so we all seem to sleep well at night!!

Ryan resting for a moment, enjoying a snack.

Please, one family picture!  The sun is bright!

Nathan and his snorkeling gear!

We got up early Monday morning, packed what needed to be packed up and were home by noon.  Way before any awful traffic and enough time to do mountains of laundry and prepare for the week.  It was a nice Memorial Day weekend together and on to more adventures!!