Camping Schmamping

So, we've had a lot of fun outside lately as a family.  We found a fabulous open spaces area about 5-10 min from our house that has a bunch of trails and isn't near any developed housing areas.  It's really neat and we've enjoyed wandering it.  We've been making it a weekly walking outing to go and explore on sat or sunday mornings.  

We also made it on our one and only camping trip for the summer.....sigh.  We had wanted to go all summer, but often with Van's experiment schedule and the business of LIFE we couldn't figure out a time to do it, so we finally nailed down one night and booked a campsite at nearby Golden Gate Canyon State Park.  It's only about an hour drive from us and really lovely.  There are stunning mountains all around and the camping was great!  We had a really nice shady, secluded tent spot and enjoyed every minute of being outside (especially Daphne since she wakes up asking to go outside nearly every single day).

Having a snack after feeding the gigantic rainbow trout at the pond by the visitors center. Daphne said she wanted the fish.  I told her they were in the water.  She then said she wanted them OUT of the water.  "Daphne, if we take the fish out of the water, then they will die."  "I want them to die." So sweet.

Watching daddy lob huge rocks into the pond

Lovely me and our scrumptious dinner--crescent roll "corn" dogs.  They were decent, but not worth all the effort for them not to be doughy in the middle. I think buns are sufficient :)

Daphne loved roasting anything on the fire--although I was a little petrified she'd fall in since she kept tripping and tipping her chair over.

Eating the Jiffy Pop--she wasn't as thrilled by our campfire treats as we'd imagined.  She loves popcorn at home and liked it fine here, but I think she likes watching it pop as much as eating it.

Rockin morning camping duds.  She insisted on the hat. 

After a rough night, we saw this face a lot the second day.  We felt similarly.

 After a rough night, she was also quite changeable in mood, as were the rest of us.

Before our hike--Daphne wasn't nearly as thrilled or patient as we'd hoped.  It was a little long for her liking.  She did, however, enjoy it more than her face illustrates in this picture.

All in all, we had a great time.  Despite a middle of the night wake-up where Daphne was ready to play and I wanted to die (since I brilliantly decided to sleep my pregnant self on a backpacking pad, in a backpacking sleeping bag that was way too narrow and no pillow), we finally all slept and made it through the next day till we got home for a 3 hour nap--all of us. :)  A couple of good hikes, some fun food, and perfect weather made for a great one night camping trip.  Here's to the next one!