Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

The last time I camped in July was 16 years ago and it was a 12 mile backpacking trip. I have great memories of that trip. But, I was in Alaska. Camping, in July, in Alaska, makes sense. Camping, in July, in Virginia, not so much.

Fortunately, the company was top-notch, the pool was large, and the evenings were cool, so our 4th of July camping trip was a good time overall. I do not think, however, that is the new tradition. I think we'll save any "annual" potential for the fall or spring. What can I say? Heat, sun, and large swarms of biting gnats are not my thing. This is what our vehicle thermometer was registering as the outside temperature as we drove away from our campsite this afternoon:

Yes, that says 102 degrees!

One of the funniest things about our trip had to be our wardrobe on day 1. We had decided to tie-die shirts. Don't ask me why. It seemed like a festive idea at the time. However, when Ryan's school spiraled out of control last week, the actually tie-dying was left to our camping buddies, Ryan and Eve. They took our kids for a few hours, tie-died shirts for everybody, and allowed us to get some school work finished so that we could actually go camping. Now, when I went to pick the kids up on tie-dying day, the shirts were all hanging out on the line and they were red, white, and blue, just as we had planned. I was impressed. However, when Eve washed the shirts, they actually became more of a red, mauve, and blue. Lovely. But, Eve said we could all just look like dorks together. So, we did. And boy, did we get the looks. It actually made for lots of laughs. Somehow, we "forgot" to take photos of all of us in our regalia, but here are some shots of the kids decorating cookies while we set up camp.

The kids had a great time swimming in the pool, playing in the dirt, and chasing fireflies by the lake.

Boys and arm wrestling- why is that?

Raring to head down that bank with the big kids.

The goggle girls.

Good buddies!

Me. Thinking about how my forehead is probably going to be hurting tonight in spite of my 85 SPF which has already been reapplied once.

Abe loved, LOVED, loved this water slide. We just took turns standing at the bottom and catching him over and over.

It was a fun time for all and we were thankful for the chance to spend some down time with our kids and some good friends. So, Staunton River State Park, thanks for the loads of memories, the little bit of sunburn, and all 32 of these bug bites!